Burke & Burke CyberVoice

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A programmable voice for OS-9

CyberVoice was Burke & Burke’s speech synthesizer package for the TRS-80 Color Computer, combining SC-02-based hardware with software for OS-9 Level II. The company announced availability for late October 1990 and offered either a complete hardware-and-software package or software for owners of Speech Systems’ Super Voice.

This cartridge bears a CyberVoice Speech Synthesizer label with a 1990 Burke & Burke copyright. Its exterior also carries a handwritten SuperVoice notation. The photographs do not reveal the circuit board, so the exact chip marking, revision, and any modifications to this specimen remain unconfirmed.

The pronunciation rules were yours to change

Burke & Burke promoted CyberVoice around a device driver that let users specify their own text-pronunciation rules. Its April 1991 advertisement also described escape sequences for controlling voice style and pitch, with adjustments for high or low pitch and fast or slow delivery.

The company emphasized instantaneous inflection control. These controls shaped the synthesizer’s delivery; descriptions such as male and female referred to adjustable synthetic voice characteristics, rather than separate recorded speakers. The software was sold independently for use with compatible Super Voice hardware, making the driver an important part of the product.

The SC-02 / SSI-263 connection

The manufacturer’s advertising explicitly identifies the Votrax SC-02 as CyberVoice’s speech synthesizer. This places it in the SC-02 / SSI-263 family already represented elsewhere in the museum. The family constructs speech from programmed phonemes, with adjustable delivery, instead of requiring a ROM of complete recorded words.

The advertised chip family is documented, but the package marking inside this particular cartridge has not been photographed. A unit may carry a Silicon Systems designation or another family marking; the exterior label alone does not establish the exact silicon revision.

Hardware and software sold separately

The launch advertisement priced the complete CyberVoice package at $74.95 and the software-only option at $24.95. A March 1991 advertisement still offered the complete package at a special price of $74.95. By April 1991, the advertised hardware-and-software package was $99.95, while the software-only option remained $24.95.

These period advertisements show why CyberVoice and Super Voice often appear together in CoCo speech history: Burke & Burke sold its own speech package while also supporting an existing manufacturer’s hardware. They do not establish that every surviving cartridge with one name is physically identical to the other.

Specifications

Manufacturer

Burke & Burke, Maple Valley, Washington

Computer family

TRS-80 Color Computer

Software environment

OS-9 Level II

Documented speech-chip family

SC-02 / SSI-263

Exact chip in photographed specimen

Not visible; package marking and revision unconfirmed

Announced availability

Late October 1990

Documentation and downloads

• Burke & Burke product advertisements

  Manufacturer launch and later advertising for CyberVoice, including hardware and software options. Hosted by Color Computer Archive.