speak and sanity.. =D

[kitsophrenik]

(posted this in site comments aswell... but im a pleb so let me off!)

=)

hi!

first post from me.... been lookin thru the site and now joined the forum and looking thru here.. love it!

been circuit bending a couple of toys for my first projects... will post results if you want!

these are actually some piks of my first project on my f.b account! lol
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=4357212&id=508297472

ill try and get sum vids up on youtube or sumthing... just got an account there as it happens! wondefull thing this internet ey!>?

what im really interested in is circuit bending some old vtech toys or especially a speak and-whatever-i-can-get-my-mits-on!

got a speak and read but it doesnt seem to like turning on.. =(

any one got any tips/ideas/projects for me to have a go with?

also any idea where i can get a speak-and-something from.. i have a few bids on one on t'ebay but i didnt really wanna pay through my arse for something im most likely going to break!

thanks guys!

kitson (rob) =)

[Circuitbenders]

Try starting up the speak&read by shorting the pins of the keybaord connector together. They are the row of pins in between the big chip and the two smaller ships in the middle. I can't remember which two pins it is but if its going to turn on at all then shorting two ofthese pins together will start it up.

Otherwise check the little power supply board on the right and see if anything is getting hot.

Its difficult to actually kill a speak while bending it but yes, the prices for speaks on ebay are ridiculous. 

[kitsophrenik]

ill have a look tonight.... gotta getmyself some c batteries aswell! dont fancy using mains power whilst poking around at circuits!

ill try tht with the pins and power board first off... will b well chuffed if i can get it on!

ive got another query... have u herd any of this gameboy chipsound music? im looking to bend one of my gameboys (iv got a few kickin around!) but i cant for the life of me find any info online how to do it... just this under and overclocking procedure which i think allows me to control tempo but not much else...  i feel like im missing something cos the ones ive seen online seem to be able to play there own music... n chipsounds etc..

meh! taa

[crossedout]

here are the most basic bends on a speak and read

http://makezine.com/extras/32.html

[kitsophrenik]

hi... thanks for tht list of bends mate, well intresting stuff there... had a few ideas of my own aswell... unfourtunatly my speak and read is well and truely dead...

gutted! i  had bids on 6 on ebay but am i fook paying over 25quid for sumthing im only going to dismantle anyways! i realise i could dismantle it bang 2 friggin switches in it and sell it for £150 aparently! but i just bloody wanted one to annoy the neighbores/my bird or damage my own eardrums!

meh!

rant!


=)

[kitsophrenik]

also..... got a couple of decent vtech toys on the go... one of them alphbet apples! and a full alphabet desk... alltho the latter may be fried allready! lol

[kitsophrenik]

righteo! so ive bent a cuple o vtechs and my speak and spell... i now have a cuple of speak n maths... (just built my dub siren and started making a glitch mod fingy out of a talkin computer..)

...yeah so speak and maths...

bends?? more advanced ones ?

any help appreciated!

=)

[kitsophrenik]

pwese!

[marmora]

Have you seen this?:
http://experimentalistsanonymous.com/diy/index.php?dir=Schematics/Circuit%20Bending%20and%20Modifications

[kitsophrenik]

niceeeeeee one! will b checkin some of them out tnate!

so any one in here fancy trading a perfect working spean n maths for a speak n read?

u got any paul?  lol =D caaaaaaaaammmmmmmm onnnnnnnnn!

[marmora]

Just found this:
http://www.sailormouth.org/binfo.html

Maybe some of the stuff in the first two entries can get your machine started!

[Bogus Noise]

Sorry for bumping an old topic, but I've been having a go at fixing Rob's Speak & Read.

Power board has definitely gone - took it out and tested it on some a dfferent, definitely working Speak, and it didn't work..

I replaced the Read's power board for a working one, which lets the Read turn on, but mostly it only shows a row of full stops on the screen. Once it flashed up 'Spell' on the screen. Very briefly though, and haven't been able to get it to do it since. No sound happening at all.

Other things I've tried - soldering the pitch up/down knob on, to give a bit of range in case something's up with the clock resistors, and switching that component that goes by the power board. Both to no success.

Anyone encountered a similar fault, and know what else I could try to fix it? Or is it likely a lost cause?

[Dylan]

If the screen's lights are just on all the time I would assume there was a bridge somewhere on the screen's pads. If not there, maybe when you attached the board you accidentally bridged something. I'd just go over the board with a little magnifying glass to find a bridge.

[Bogus Noise]

Nah, it's not a solder bridge. Was nowhere near the screen or keyboard connections. Sometimes you'll get one of the screen letters duplicating another, which you'd instinctively think is a bridge by the screen, but can actually be caused by accidentally bridging the keyboard connections - you can simulate the effect by holding down the Replay and C buttons at the same time.
Also, if it was a screen problem, I'd still expect the unit to make the right noises.

[kitsophrenik]

cheers for everyones entuthiastic saupport and continued interest....

cough