Newsgroups: comp.robotics
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From: rstevew@armory.com (Richard Steven Walz)
Subject: Re: miniature sound chips
Organization: The Armory
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 1994 12:37:26 GMT
Message-ID: <CtE8EG.Jxq@armory.com>
References: <30go1s$8q0@Tandem.CAM.ORG> <30mila$cke@cronkite.central.sun.com>
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In article <30mila$cke@cronkite.central.sun.com>,
Jon Poland SE Sun St Louis <jon@albatros> wrote:
>Francois Ostiguy (ostiguy@cam.org) wrote:
>: Hi!
>: 	I am not very familiar with robotics but I thought that someone here
>: might be able to help me.
>: 	Here in Quebec, Molson brewery has a contest for its dry beer. About
>: 5,000 beer caps have a small chip in them that play a tune when the
>: bottle is opened signaling a winner.
>: 	I have heard that the cost for this quantity is ten dollars per unit.
>: 	Does anyone know where such chips can be bought?
>: 	Thank you in advance,
>: 		Francois Ostiguy
>
>First my reply address is wrong - it will bounce.  Use the email address
>below.
>
>There is a company in San Jose, CA whose name is Integrated Storage
>Devices (ISD) which manufactures several families of chips which use
>their "DAST" technology to store analog signals for record and playback.
>A typical application is the Hallmark brand of "talking" greeting cards
>which uses a 10 sec version of the IC to allow the customer to record a
>customized message which plays-back when the card is opened by the
>recipient.  These talking cards cost less than $10.00 in the US.  Radio
>Shack also carries the ISD1000A 28 pin DIP 20 sec chip for single
>quantities of US $17.00.  In quantities of 5000 the price should be less
>than US $7.00 each.
>
>I doubt that Molson uses these in its contest.  If I were them I would
>have a sound chip manufactured with my own custom ROM in it.  Even for
>quantities as low as 5000 the cost would be less than using the ISD
>technology.
>Jon Poland
>jon.poland@central.sun.com
-------------------------------
Actually, ISD has a sole distributorship with New Horizons, and the chip
cost IS $7 for qty UNDER 10!!!! BUT!!!!! The lead time on these chips is
now 16 weeks plus, and this is because ISD is scared that they have a
temporary Tiger by the Tail, and that since their chip only parrots short
phrases, that someone will come out with a cheap processor board with
EEPROM and sigma delta which will blow them out of the market except for
small novelties!!! To buy the chips now you must promise non-competition
with Hallmark. Radio Shack's supply has dried up, and they favor the
enormous buyer and have cut all small customers to the back of the line. 
Good fucking luck! I was an ongoing small customer, and now a whole line of
small assemblies I created are down the tubes. They are running scared. The
speech racket is going to sampling and such, and to dedicated complex sound
engines. We MIGHT get some of these if their popularity in consumer
electronics diminishes, but they know it's only a matter of time.
-Steve Walz   rstevew@armory.com

