RP2040 Emulator Brings The Voice of the 80’s Back to Live

[embedded content]

While the chip shortage has begun to ease up, it is still putting the squeeze on some makers. Availability has dwindled for the General Instrument SP0256 is used for an specific, yet iconic, robotic voice from the 80’s. Blackjetrock on GitHub created an emulator with the RP2040.

Via Hackaday:

[Andrew]’s need for such a chip stems from his attempts to give voice to his collection of Psion Organisers, another 80s relic that was one of the first pocket computers. Some time ago he built a speech board for the Psion based on the SP0256-AL2, but had to resort to building an emulator for the chip since none were to be had. The emulator uses an RP2040 and lives on a PCB that has the same footprint as the original chip, so it can just plug right in. He dug up WAV files of the allophones and translated those to sequences of bytes, allowing the RP2040 to output the correct sounds as they’re called for. Speaker problems notwithstanding, it sounds pretty good in the video below.

See more!

• SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
• PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
• PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
• PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
• PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
• Source: https://blog.adafruit.com/2023/10/09/rp2040-emulator-brings-the-voice-of-the-80s-back-to-live/