Rogue SoulMar 12, 2023

Having a bit of a box sort today. Just the tip of the iceberg... I keep finding Speccy's I forgot I had 🤦‍♂️. Send help!

#retrocomputing #oldschoolcomputing #vintagecomputers #sinclair #sinclairspectrum #commodore64 #amiga #retrogaming #8bit #computermuseum #vintagegaming #retrotech #nostalgia #classiccomputing #vintagehardware

Show threadbenklaasen
@roguesoul
That #Dragon32 is an underrated gem. I first heard sampled speech on a friend's Dragon32 around 1983. I've no idea how it was achieved.
Mar 12, 2023 at 9:48pmFedilab
Show threadRogue SoulMar 12, 2023

@benklaasen I wonder if your friend had a Sound Extension or Expansion pack plugged in? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efx2VeGiHuo&t=228s

I only picked up this particular Dragon32 last year (I missed out on it back in the day... brought up on Speccy's and BBC Micros). But hoping to learn much more about it when it's fully up and running and restored!

Demo of a Dragon 32 and a TRS-80 Speech-Sound Pak 26-3144

YouTube
Show threadbenklaasenMar 17, 2023
@roguesoul sorry for the slow response - only got to watch the vid now. That's fascinating (and reminds me that the Dragon32 had much in common with the TRS-80), but I remember hearing something different - a clip of a few seconds of barely comprehensible speech. It wasn't interactive and it wasn't built from phonemes. Now I'll have to go off and see if I can dig up any references to it!
Show threadbenklaasenMar 17, 2023

@roguesoul
OK, there's a reference in the "fire your imagination" brochure to something called the "Dragon COMPUTAVOICE program": https://www.gondolin.org.uk/hchof/related/pdf/dragon32-fire-your-imagination.pdf

I'll have to have a further rummage to see if I can turn up source code or a binary! I have no idea in what format that software was made available.