🚀 go-pugleaf

u009@csx.cciw.ca (G. Stewart Beal) writes:

>I'm looking for suggestions for chips to look at for a sound I/O project
>for a small Micro. I've got limited space for glue chips so I'd like to
>find something with a fair bit of smarts at the interface side. I know
>very little about the devices in use on cards like the Sound Blaster but it
>seems the volume of glue there indicates somewhat older parts. I'd like to
>generate stereo, of course, and have the capability of a D/A type path
>(CODEC or not) for speech, as well as the standard noises produced with
>synthesis techniques.
>If I can't find the info, I'll probably use a couple of 558's or the
>PM7528 mentioned by an earlier poster.
>I'd like to hear your suggestions for chips to use. I'll have reasonably
>standard AT type interface signals, but I've only got a space 75 by 80 mm
>or so in size, so standard cards are out of the question.

I was also looking for a sound chip similar to or somewhat simpler
than you describe. Didn't have too much success. Here's what
I found:

Simple three-channel sound chips like the one that was found in the
Commodore 64 are very hard to find now, having been obsoleted by
their manufacturer. Some that fall into this category:
General Instrument AY-3-8910, AY-3-8912, Mostek 65??

Low cost sound generators for simple consumer applications are hard
to find. Applications include appliances, automotive, and medical 
devices.  The ones I could find from the 1992 IC master are:
Siemens SAB0800 (replaces SAE series) 3-tone chime. Specifically
inteded for a doorbell, but has other uses.
Samsung KS-something: Single chip song players.
Unicorn Micro: Claims all listed in 1992 IC Master are obsolete,
don't know if they are any replacements and don't know whether
chip designs have been transferred to another company.

Lower end music chips for PC's: The Adlib and the Soundblaster share
the same FM-synthesis chip. Its type, I think, is OPL-3 meaning it can
do a 3-operator FM-sysnthesis function. I think it has 11 channels,
but I'm not sure what its limitations are.  The newer sound boards
like the Soundblaster Pro use an OPL-4 chip, also from Yamaha.
Unfortunately I don't know the number of the chip, and it's
difficult to get information from Yamaha.  The list of sound chips
provided by a distributor did not mention the FM chips. Also, I
looked on an Adlib board; the numbers were sanded off. If you
do find the number of this chip, I'll try to get some data on it.

Another interesting chip was shown at COMDEX. I'll look it up and
post some data. Do you have any info on the PM7528? I missed the
earlier post.

If anyone has more info about low-end chips, please tell me! I
am looking for prices in the $3 range. (qty 100)

Andrew