INSTRUCTIONS
General Setup
Connect the power and audio cables to their appropriate
jacks on the back of the Voice Tracker
TM
Array (see
Figure 1). Plug the power adapter into a standard 110-
volt wall outlet and connect the other end of the audio
cable to the
“mic in”
input on your computer’s sound
card. The adapter supplies 6V DC power (center pin
positive) to the microphone.
Figure 1 – Audio and Power Cable Connections
The Voice Tracker
TM
Array may be used as the audio
input device for a variety of speech and multi-media
applications. Many of the software packages which
utilize a speech input have setup tools, which allow you
to specify that you are using the “mic In” connection on
your soundcard and to adjust the sound level (volume)
automatically. Please refer to your specific application
software for details. To adjust the volume or input
selection manually on a Windows PC, see the
Adjusting
Your Soundcard
section at the end of these
instructions.
Positioning
Aim the array in the direction of the desired talker(s).
When properly positioned, the talker will be able to see
all 5 green position indicators.
Figure 2 – Voice Tracker
TM
Array Front View
The Voice Tracker
TM
can be tilted up or down to facilitate
mounting on the desktop (tilted up) or on the monitor
(tilted down). For speech recognition applications, the
desktop position will exhibit slightly better performance.
If you mount it on top of the monitor, makes sure it is
secured so it doesn’t fall off. The Voice Tracker can be
mount on the ceiling by removing the weight in its base,
and using the 4 screw hole in the base.
Mode Switches
The Voice Tracker
TM
has 4 operational modes, selected
by two switches: the Field switch and the Location
Dependent Squelch
TM
(LDS
TM
) switch (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 – Field and LDS
TM
Switches
The Field switch determines the scanning range of the
array. In the wide-angle mode, the Voice Tracker
TM
will
scan +/- 90 degrees. This is useful if the user desires to
listen to an entire room. In the narrow-angle mode, the
array
will scan +/- 45 degrees. The narrower scanning
range helps to reduce the impact of undesired talkers
and noise sources outside the region of interest. Note
that the Voice Tracker does pick up sound from behind,
giving it a full 360 degree field of view. However, it is
more sensitive in the forward direction.
When the LDS
TM
switch is set to On, the Voice Tracker
TM
will turn off during periods of silence and when the sound
source is located outside the array’s reception region as
determined by the Field switch. The array turns on
again very quickly when the user resumes talking.
When used together with the narrow field of view, the
LDS
TM
can be employed to ignore unwanted sounds.
Once the talker pauses and the Voice Tracker
TM
turns
off, the array will only turn on again when sounds come
from within the +/- 45 degree listening area (see Fig 4).
Figure 4 – Listening Area
For speech recognition applications, when the limited
scan range and LDS are on, the generation of spurious
words or commands from sources outside the listening
area will be reduced. However, since the beginnings of
words may be clipped off, recognition accuracy may
suffer. The user should decide whether this feature
improves performance in their particular noise
