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Details:
"This complete and unused kit contains everything you need to understand speech synthesis and build your own synthesiser. Produced by Bell Systems Laboratories in 1963, the kit contains all the original equipment and parts which includes the book with complete instructions. The kit is complete and has never been used. It was intended for high school and college students and not for young children. This is an excellent source for hands on learning. When Bell Labs made something, they made it extremely well."
Update via Pete in the comments:
Bell Labs Speech Synthesis site
Kits still available here
the back of the box is the circuit board for this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.johnsonsusedbooks.com/speechsynthesis4.jpg
it looks like a saw oscillator and 3 passive formant filters. if the buyer reads this you should be a nice person and post the component values for the filters so we can diy some
I have an entire closet full of those kits at work. Only tow of them were ever opened. They've been in storage at the college I work at for years. Last summer, someone wanted to throw them away but I stashed them, knowing they'd be worth something to someone.
ReplyDeleteDo you still have them? I built one as a boy, then ended up working at Bell Labs in speech synthesis.
DeleteJust found another one on the Bay for $53 and got it. We'll see how this thing turns out...
ReplyDeletei'd love to hear it. and i've serious about those part values if you'd be so kind.
ReplyDeletehey jason if you ever feel like hooking someone up with a reasonably priced cardboard synth let me know
i can't type
ReplyDeleteApparently you can still buy these kits from,
ReplyDeletehttp://hometown.aol.com/comspace/
I wonder if they are the original kits or new versions with new parts?
Someone should buy a kit from these guys.
Update! I found a PDF of the same manual in the kit. Here it is, and it has the schematics inside,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.porticus.org/bell/
belllabs_kits_ss.html
Looks like a simple circuit.