[TRLog] Re: Switch box

[Tony and Celia Becker]

At 01:52 PM 8/22/97 -0500, Gerard Jendraszkiewicz <jend@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:
>7. Sound blaster support, with provisions to record off the local
>station mic, seperate level controls for input/output.

Coincidentally, last night I sent the following related request to W9CF, author of the Sound Blaster Digital Voice Processor emulation TSR, SBDVP.EXE.

######## begin enclosed message

Hi Kevin!

I have been testing your SBDVP program and find that it is just GREAT!  Makes my cheap Sound Blasters work just like expensive DVPs without giving up a precious EISA slot!

I have been using DATOM's Contest Voice Blaster for three years now.  Last spring we had five stations running at once at a local multi-multi effort.   Each station had a voice keyer, including three DVPs and two Sound Blasters running CVB.

One drawback was that the limited functionality and the completely different user interface of CVB caused frustration and confusion.  I am considering using your SBDVP in the future to solve this problem.  One thing is missing, however.

It is very inconvenient to have a separate microphone available to record the messages.  CVB has a command line option to send a "High" data signal out of a parallel port on pin 2 (designated for the external relay band output by Tree), or out of a serial port on pin 7 of a DB9 or pin 4 of a DB25 (designated for the PTT by Tree).  This output is used to energize a relay configured to switch the operators microphone (a Heil boom set is the standard) into the Sound Blaster during recording functions.  The operator thus does not even have to take his fingers off the home row to change his messages.  Thus it would work _exactly_ like a DVP and cable set!

If you don't like the idea of reusing these CVB designated pins, parallel port pins 3-6 are designated for the DVK F1-4 keys by TR and CT, and thus are available for use when emulating the DVP.  (If you had a DVK, you would probably not be running SBDVP.)  It may also be possible to use the joystick port on the Sound Blaster

If you could add such a "recording active" function to SBDVP, we would all be greatly in your debt.

Thanks for the great program and see you in the contests in any case!

73

AE0M, Tony Becker - becker@sprintmail.com - Silicon Valley, U.S.A.

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