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AtariVox+ Speech Synthesizer
What is that sheeee and wut-it-dew?
From the Atari Age website:
The AtariVox+ is a self-contained speech/music synthesizer and memory card for the Atari 2600 and 7800, Vectrex, and other video game consoles with compatible controller ports.
The heart of the unit is the SpeakJet--an amazing chip with phonetic speech, preset sounds and a five channel music synthesizer. All of these are controlled by the console via a serial interface emulated through the driver software.
Similar to chips used in 80s speech synthesizers but with extended capabilities, the speech retains a nice retro quality, making it a perfect partner for classic consoles.
Also onboard the AtariVox+ is 32K of non-volatile memory which can be used as a memory card. The flash memory will retain data without power for 200+ years.
An allocation scheme has been devised so that no file is ever overwritten, allowing many different games to store data on just one unit.
Dip Switch Settings
The AtariVox+ contains a bank of dip switches that allow you to select which mode the AtariVox+ will operate in:
AtariVox - for the Atari 2600 and 7800 (default setting)
VecVoice - for compatibility with earlier Vectrex speech synthesis - mainly for the speech-hacked version of Berzerk (Verzerk) and Y.A.S.I.
VecVox - for the Vectrex.
AtariVox+ Supported Games
Atari 2600:
Aardvark
Amoeba Jump
Anguna
Assembloids 2600
AStar
Avalanche
Drive!
Duck Attack
Elevators Amiss
Fall Down
Galagon
Go Fish!
Juno First
Lead
Mappy
Omicron
Robot City
Scramble
Space Game
Strat-O-Gems Deluxe
Super Cobra Arcade
Sync
Three.s
Thrust+ Platinum
Tower of Rubble
Venture Reloaded
Wall Jump Ninja
Wizard of Wor Arcade
Zoo Keeper
Atari 7800:
b*nQ
Dragon's Cache
Dungeon Stalker
Serpentine
T:ME Salvo
Worm!
Vectrex (via VecVox):
Brecher [2015]
Color Clash
Debris Revisited
Shifted
Space Frenzy
Spike's Circus
VecFahren
Vectoblox
V:Hockey
VecVox X-Mas
Vectrex (via VecVoice):
B.E.T.H. (Boulder Escape Terror Hazard)
Deathchase [2015]
NOX [2015]
Pythagorean Theorem
Verzerk
Y.A.S.I. (Yet Another Space Invaders)
Homebrew Developers
 If you're developing a new homebrew game for the Atari 2600, 7800, or Vectrex and you'd like to add AtariVox support, we maintain a memory allocation list for games wishing to use the save feature of the AtariVox. Blocks are allocated in 64 byte chunks, useful for saving high score information, game state information, user settings, and so forth. Games can be allocated more than one block if necessary, but we ask that you be efficient in the storage of any data your game must save to the AtariVox, as a limited number of blocks are available.
AtariVox Memory Allocation List
Please contact us if you'd like us to reserve space for your game. Also, if you've written a game that takes advantage of the AtariVox, please let us know and we'll add your game to the above list, as well as the AtariVox+ manual!
Atari 7800 and Vectrex Users!!!
If you want to use the AtariVox+ with an Atari 7800 or Vectrex console, you will need to purchase an appropriate controller extension cable. Original Sega Genesis extension cables work well, and some third-party cables that match the Sega cable may work as well. However, the commonly available Retro-Bits Sega Extension Cable does not work, as the AtariVox+ cannot be plugged into the cable (the fit is too tight). You can also remove the AtariVox+ from its shell, and it will then fit in the 7800 controller port without issues.
Additional Information
The AtariVox+ includes the AtariVox+ and full-color, four page manual.
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