Ampcontrol VAA, User Manual

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VOICECOM USER MANUAL ISSUE 4
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CHAPTER 6 – Creating And Downloading Voice
Messages
The VCA Controller has the capability of storing and playing up to 255 individual, pre-recorded voice messages.
These messages are created in the easy steps:
1. Record and edit the voice message sound files on a PC.
2. Create the Voice Message Bank using the Ampcontrol Voice Message Bank Editor PC program provided.
3. Download the message bank into the VCA.
Recording and Editing Voice Messages
The voice messages can be recorded using a PC with a sound card or similar audio input/output hardware. A myriad
of PC programs are available that can record and edit sound files. The main requirement is that program has the
facility to save audio files as 16bit 44kHz WAV audio files, which most do. We have successfully used a PC program
called “GoldWave”, which has a comprehensive set of audio recording and editing features. GoldWave can be
downloaded from on of the many internet
shareware and freeware download web sites. Refer to your PC manuals for
information on setting up audio hardware.
The procedure for recording and editing voice messages will vary depending on the audio editing application chosen.
However, below are some tips that may help with this process:

Decide on the voice messages required for the specific installation and produce a printed script with the text of
the voice messages.
 Instead of recording and saving one message at a time, record several message at once with a pause in
between each message. Many audio editors will let the user to easy cut portions of a recording and save them
as individual files.

This might seem obvious, but try to conduct the recording session in as quiet an environment as possible. Many
microphones are sensitive enough to pick up noise from the air-conditioning, PC fans and disk drives.
 If possible, select a voice that is clear sounding (female voices seem to get the most attention).
 When editing try to trim as much silence from either end of the message sample as possible. This will eliminate
any unnecessary pauses when messages are played.
 Maximise (amplify) the samples as much as possible without introducing distortion and compromising sound
quality. A combination of audio compression and amplification can be employed to produce high volume, even
sounding messages. The louder message samples are the louder they will play on the VoiceCom system.
 Always save WAV audio files at 16bit 44kHz. Most audio recording programs will allow this. The VCA Message
Bank Editor has the facility to down sample files if required. Higher sampling rates produce better sounding
messages. VCA Message Bank storage space permitting, voice messages should be set to the highest quality
format (resolution and sampling rate) possible. The audio format setting is explained later in this chapter.
VCA Message Bank Editor
The next step is to build the voice message bank. This is done using the VoiceCom VCA Message Bank Editor PC
software provided with the VCA Controller. The VCA Message Bank Editor is a software program for Windows PCs.
It allows the creation, configuration and downloading of voice message banks. A voice message bank is a single file
that encapsulates all of the pre-recorded voice messages and associated parameters such as message address,
audio format and pre-tone number.
Voice Message Bank Editor Installation
The VCA Message Bank Editor consists of a standalone executable (.exe) file, that can be installed anywhere in the
PC’s file system. When run for the first time, the program will create a settings file with the extension “.ini” in the
same folder as the executable file. No other installation or configuration is required