Kurzweil VoicePad
FAQ (Last Update: August 20, 1997)
1.When I do a sound levels check I get the message "Silence
Too Loud" and can go no further. What should I do?
Click the Mike Gain button in the Sound Levels dialog box. Lower
the microphone gain setting to make the microphone less sensitive.
Experiment with microphone gain settings until you can complete the
sound levels check.
2.Can more than one person use Kurzweil VoicePad?
Yes. Each of you should use your own voice profile. At the Start
User dialog box that appears when you start VoicePad, click New
to create a voice profile for a new user. Then select your own profile
each time you begin using VoicePad. See "Creating a Voice Profile"
on online Help for details.
3.Do you have any tips for running Setup?
Yes, let VoicePad auto-detect your sound board for you. Verify that
you have the sound board that VoicePad has chosen. Make sure you
have 20MB of free hard disk space.
4.During Setup when VoicePad chooses Sound Blaster 16
compatible as my sound board, VoicePad "ghosts" out the
microphone choice, and I cannot choose the appropriate
microphone. Why?
You do not have to choose a microphone when you have a Sound
Blaster 16 compatible sound board because most microphones will
work with it.
5.During Setup I get the message "VoicePad cannot locate (or
does not recognize) the sound board." What should I do?
There are two possible reasons for this error:
1.Your sound board is not compatible with VoicePad. Verify
that you have a 16-bit sound board and that it is fully Sound
Blaster compatible.
2.Your sound board is not set up correctly. Try recording and
playing back a sound in the Windows Sound Recorder to test
this possibility. If you cannot successfully record and playback
a sound in the Sound Recorder, contact your sound board
manufacturer for information on setting up your sound board
correctly.
To record and playback a sound in the Windows Sound Recorder:
In Windows 3.1x
1.Open your Accessories program group.
2.Open the Sound Recorder.
3.Click on the Record button (with the microphone icon).
4.Speak a few words into your microphone.
5.Click on the Stop button (with the square on it).
6.Rewind the sample.
7.Play it back.
In Windows 95
1.Click on the Start button, choose Programs, then Accessories.
2.Choose Multimedia, then Sound Recorder.
3.The Record button should be the only one highlighted (with
the circle on it).
4.Repeat steps 4 through 7 above.
6.Where do I plug in my Telex Nomad microphone?
On the back of your sound card, plug the green lead into the mike
jack, plug the black lead into the sound out jack.
7.Can I train all the words/commands in the different categories
of word lists?
Yes, you can, with the exception of free text. VoicePad has words
divided into Different categories of word lists such as VoicePad
Commands, Windows Commands, Navigation Keys, Dictation
Commands, Global Words, Free Text, etc.
These can be viewed in the Active Words list, which is docked on
the lower right Side of the VoicePad screen. With the exception of
Free Text, you can train All words in a given category by highlighting
the category, clicking the Right mouse button and selecting train from
the menu. Unfortunately, this Does not currently work for Free Text.
If indeed you need to train specific Words in Free Text they will
need to be trained individually.
Instead of training all the words in a category, here are some tips for
optimum performance:
1.Do a sound levels check to be sure that levels are set properly
2.Be sure that the microphone is positioned properly about an
inch from your mouth. Avoid clicking, etc.
3.Don't try to speak too quickly at first. Be sure that you have
clear gaps between words when dictating.
4.When you make mistakes (this is important) be sure to correct
them. This will cause your voice profile to be updated and will
greatly enhance recognition not only for the current word but
all words on the system. After an hour or two of usage, you
should get much better results. (This will take considerably
less time than training thousands of words)
5.Be sure to enroll. Your voice may be quite different from the
profiles that we ship. If so, your recognition should improve
substantially after enrollment.
8.What are the minimum system requirements for Kurzweil
VoicePad?
Kurzweil VoicePad Release 1.0 requires the following minimum
software and hardware configurations:
486 DX4/75 microprocessor or higher for Windows 3.11.
Pentium microprocessor recommended for Windows 95.
(Kurzweil VoicePad will take advantage of the additional
processing power of faster PCs to boost its accuracy and
throughput.)
8 MB dedicated RAM
20MB dedicated hard disk space
VGA or higher resolution video adapter
Windows 95 or Windows 3.11(running in enhanced mode)
16-bit sound boards from Creative Labs, as well as other
Windows-compatible, 16-bit sound boards
9.If you try to use VoicePad and one of the following occurs:
1.After VoicePad loads the user you get the error message
"VoicePad executed an invalid instruction in module
KVG3SW.DLL."
2.You get the message "Exiting due to a recognition error"
3.Or in Win 3.1 you get a print problem: you execute the print
command and your printer doesn't work or you get a bunch of
blank pages.
What should you do?
You should contact user support by e-mail or phone and leave us a
message containing your mailing address, phone number and your
product i.d. number (which you can find on the back of your CD
case or the paper label of the first floppy disk) and we will send you
a patch to correct the problem. Also, include in your message the
Kurzweil product the you are using.
10.The prompts and text in the VoicePad windows appear in an
unintelligible font, what should I do?
You probably have Adobe fonts selected. You must turn the Adobe
fonts off (refer to your Adobe software manual).
11.How do I add a word to VoicePad's free text?
Simply say the word that you wish to add. If the word does not
show up in the correct-that box as an alternative, say correct-that,
type it in the take-keys box, then say take-keys. This will add the
word to your free text vocabulary.
12.Can you give me some tips to boost VoicePad's recognition?
Yes, here are a few:
Perform a sound levels check. This will calibrate your voice against
the background noise.
Choose the VoicePad menu by clicking it or say
VoicePad-menu.
Choose Sound Levels, by voice or mouse, and follow the
prompts.
Use the Recognition Wizard. To use this option:
Say VoicePad-menu or click on theVoicePad menu command
Say Recognition-Wizard or click Recognition wizard with the
mouse
The Recognition Wizard offers to solutions to a variety of
problems, choose the problem that best describes the one you
are experiencing and click or say solve. The Recognition
Wizard will take you through a few steps, depending on the
problem that you specified. Test the words in dictation.
13.I am receiving a message indicating "Insufficient Vocabulary
Memory"!
Kurzweil VoicePad requires 5 MB of dedicated RAM while
Windows 95 requires 8 MB. Kurzweil VoicePad does not share
RAM with Windows 95 indicating that you will need a base system
of at least 13 MB. If you do have the appropriate RAM in your
system make sure that you do not have any other programs running
while using Kurzweil VoicePad.
14.When loading Kurzweil VoicePad I receive an error message
"problem communicating with sound board"
You may have experienced problems during the installation process.
You should look in the [General] section of the KV95.INI file
located in the Kurzweil VoicePad default directory and determine if
the following key parameters are present.
G3A_DLL_NAMES=KVG3SW
APA_MIC_SYSTEM_FILE=NOMAD.MIC
If problems persist after adding these parameters please forward us
the event.log file located in the default directory of Kurzweil
VoicePad. If your user name is "mike", the event.log file is located in
the c:\voicepad\users\mike directory. You can either email the
event.log file to support@kurzweil.com or fax it to Technical
Support at 617-893-6525.
15.I am running Kurzweil VoicePad on a laptop and am
experiencing misrecognitions.
We recommend that you plug in the laptop's power cord so the
sound card is grounded. This will lower the background noise level
and improve recognition accuracy.
16.Can I use Kurzweil VoicePad on Windows 3.1x or Windows
NT?
Kurzweil VoicePad runs under Windows 95 and Windows 3.1x. It does not run under Windows
NT.
17.Does Kurzweil VoicePad support any foreign language
vocabularies?
At this time Kurzweil VoicePad only supports North American
English.
18.I am experiencing misrecognitions using my own microphone
with Kurzweil VoicePad?
If you are experiencing misrecognition you should check the quality
of the signal from your microphone. This can be done easily with the
Windows 95 Sound Recorder, usually found in the Accessories
Group. The sound you hear when you play back your recording
should be clear and crisp for Kurzweil VoicePad to work properly.
19.Can I use another microphone other than the Telex Nomad?
Currently, Kurzweil VoicePad supports the Telex Nomad
microphone. Please refer to the Kurzweil Hardware Compatibility
List for a list of microphones that have been tested in the Kurzweil
AI Compatibility Lab.
20.Kurzweil VoicePad doesn't seem to work well with my installed
sound card.
We are unable to control the microphone gain on all sound cards.
We recommend that you adjust the microphone gain in the Audio
Mixer Application that came with the sound card.
21.Can I only run Kurzweil VoicePad on a Pentium processor?
We recommend a Pentium processor if you are running Kurzweil
VoicePad under Windows 95. If you are running Windows 3.1x we
recommend at least a 486 DX4/75. Please refer to the System
Requirements for additional information.
22.VoicePad appears deaf to me. What should I do?
Make sure your mic is plugged in correctly:
The Telex Nomad microphone has two plugs: the green is for the
microphone and the black is for the ear piece. They should be
plugged into the back of your sound board. The green plug goes into
mic, the black goes into line out or speaker out. (The black plug is
optional. You do not need to unplug your external speakers if they
are plugged into line out.)
Check the fidelity of your sound board. Make sure you can record
& play back in the Windows Sound Recorder at the correct
sampling rate. Make sure the sample plays back crisp and clear, with
no static. (If you cannot record & play back in the Windows Sound
Recorder, call your sound board manufacturer to get your sound
board set-up correctly for recording.) To do this:
1.Open your Windows sound Recorder
In Windows 95:
- Choose the Start Button,
- Choose Programs,
- Choose Accessories,
- Choose Multimedia,
- Choose Sound Recorder
In Windows 3.1x:
- Choose the Accessories Group,
- Choose Sound Recorder
2.First change the sampling rate in Windows 95: (In Windows
3.1x this option may only be available in your sound board
audio mixer)
3.From the Edit menu, choose Audio Properties.
4.Adjust the active volume sliders to midway for both Playback
and Recording. Depending on your system, both of the sliders
may not be active. Adjust any slider that is active.
5.Choose the Customize button.
6.On the Customize dialog box, select the following values:
Format: PCM
Attributes: 22,050Hz, 16 Bit, Mono
7.Click Save As and save these settings with the name "test."
8.Click OK on the Customize dialog box and the Audio
Properties dialog box to return to the Sound Recorder
window.
9.Click on the record button
- Speak a few words into your microphone,
- Click on the Stop button,
- Rewind the sample,
- Play it back
What to listen for:
Your voice recording should be audible with no loud buzzing or
crackling in the background.
23.In the sound levels test my Kurzweil product "listens"
to the
background noise but it barely hears "testing". What could be
the problem?
If you get a reading on the background noise, but when you say
"testing" the level of testing bar turns blue and the black line wavers
slightly, you could need an auxiliary power supply for the
microphone. Some sound boards do not put out enough power to
the microphone, so it appears deaf. This is especially true with
laptops. Please call Andrea Electronics at 1-800-707-5779 to
discuss this option.
24.What should I do if I get the message "silence too
loud" in the
sound levels check?
Click on the Back-up button, then click on the Mike Gain button.
Lower the microphone gain by increments of one, until you get a
background noise level reading. If you have no mike gain button,
lower the microphone gain in your sound board mixer.
25.My enrollment stops calculating and gives me the error
message "the command you initiated was not performed".
What should I do?
Make sure that your screen saver and power-down options are
turned off. Also, try turning off any programs you may have running
in the background (virus scans, etc.). Then try the calculation again.
26.Can you give me any tips on getting better recognition?
Yes, make sure there are at least two clicks between the background
noise and your voice level during the sound levels check. If not,
adjust the Mike Gain or choose Help to achieve this.
Make sure you are correcting all the misrecognitions by using the
Take window and the correct-that command.
Use the Recognition Wizard to solve common recognition problems,
for example. confuses a pair of words, does not recognize a specific
word.
Keep the microphone out of the path of your breath, slightly off to
the side of your mouth. Your Kurzweil product may hear your
breathing and interpret it as a word.
When you are not dictating, keep the microphone off. Your Kurzweil
product may hear you talking on the phone, etc.