The casing allows adding any of the Vox modules inside just by removing four screws.
As with Emy, Terminal can be used in a CV-controlled environment or act as a MIDI instrument.

You can install the various firmware on the SD card before powering the device.

A pair of shunts allows the user to connect Terminal either as a MIDI USB unit or as a host for a USB keyboard for text entry.

On request, a serial TRS jack MIDI Type B connector can also be added.
(note: not all firmware are supporting MIDI yet. MIDI support is under development)

Please  check this page for more information: https://www.polaxis.be/

Features :

100 % Emy compatible, including adding additional voices
USB port for power or MIDI or USB connection
Optional TRS jack MIDI Type B connector
USB host connector for computer keyboard
Shunts (must be removed when connecting a keyboard, otherwise, they must be placed vertically)
Line in & out stereo jack 1/4″ (line in only used for the Robovox module)
Trimpot to adjust the audio level input (only used for the Robovox module)

Emy user manual

Terminal hardware manual

Terminal in action

What is Dectalk

Dectalk was a speech synthesizer and text-to-speech technology developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1984, mainly based on the work of Dennis Klatt at MIT.

The Dectalk Express what connected to the serial port and would speak what was being “printed.”

The synthesizer can process text and produce speech with nine different voices. The Dectalk engine includes a parser that gives users fine control over the synthesized speech’s quality, pitch, and intonation. Dectalk can also be programmed to play phonemes and sing with quite a realistic expression.

[hxae<300,10>piy<300,10> brr<600,12>th<100>dey<600,10> tuw<600,15> yu<1200,14>_<120>]
[hxae<300,10>piy<300,10> brr<600,12>th<100>dey<600,10> tuw<600,17> yu<1200,15>_<120>]
[hxae<300,10>piy<300,10> brr<600,22>th<100>dey<600,19>xdih<600,15>rdeh<600,14>ktao<600,12>k_<120>_<120>]
[hxae<300,20>piy<300,20> brr<600,19>th<100>dey<600,15> tuw<600,17> yu<1200,15>]

The command syntax for musical coding sequences is:

[phoneme<duration, pitch number

Timing

Latency
There is a latency of 200 ms between the trigger and the start of the speech. This latency is very consistent, allowing the speech to stay in the tempo even if not precisely on the beat. The firmware uses the gate going down to stop the speech, preparing the chip for the next utterance, so when sequencing some stutter-like speech in a loop, they still fire up in sync with the tempo.

Real-time
The various voice parameters are applied just before triggering the speech and are ineffective while speaking. They are applied to the next utterance. The best is to fiddle a bit with the knobs for the desired effects.

Firmware

Vax Firmware 82.59 KB 13016 downloads

  Firmware load : Option 1 Saving the "firmware.bin" on the SD card and restart Option...

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Vax Manual

DECtalk user guide 1.08 MB 9035 downloads

A very useful guide to help you using the DECtalk command and building your own very...

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Text files

Apollo 11 complete transcript 709.93 KB 9017 downloads

Credits here I modified the script so the various callsigns use differents DECtalk...

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Long text 73.41 KB 10327 downloads

These text files with a .spk are to be read by the SD reader mode in VAX. The text...

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Singing demo 0.61 KB 6424 downloads

...

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Designing Voices 0.73 KB 5377 downloads

Load this file to learn how to design your own voices by tweaking the various voice...

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Spell mode demo 2.71 KB 8584 downloads

2 files to show how to use the spell mode : one with a list of  three letter acronym...

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Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" - pseudo singing mode demo 0.00 KB 42 downloads

Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" First 3 lines in normal text to speech mode,...

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Oblique Strategies 3.58 KB 6765 downloads

Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies Original 1975  version (113 lines) ...

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Songs

Songs 3.89 KB 8655 downloads

A few songs to play with VAX ... Daisy Imperial March The Star-Spangled Banner USSR...

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Media