Spoken Alarm System Requirements

In order to hear a spoken alarm, all of the following must be in place:

•    Microsoft SAPI 5.1 (or later) speech engine installed on the computer.

This engine is installed on Microsoft Vista by default.  To install on Windows XP, the speech software development kit can be found on the Microsoft Downloads website (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads).  Use the search tool in the website to look for the keyword "SAPI".  You will need to download and install the file SpeechSDK51.exe

•    The workstation must have speakers and audio capability.

Refer to your system configuration.  Please ensure that the speakers are turned on and that the volume is set to an audible level, both on the speakers and in the computer.

•    Configuration parameters related to the alarm text-to-speech system must be set.

At a minimum, your config.ini file will require AlarmSpeechEnable = 1. Please refer to Spoken Alarm Configuration Settings for a complete discussion of the related configuration variables.

•    The alarm priority tags must be configured to enable alarm speech. 

As circled in the following image, the alarm speech enable option must be checked and the Alarm Annunciation Cycles set to a value greater than 0 in the alarm priority tag used by your alarm.

•    The alarm must not be configured to use a sound file.

 The alarm priority tag may use a .wav file. If the number of tone cycles is set greater than 0, the .wav file will place before the spoken alarm.  If the alarm tag has a .wav file configured, only that sound will be played.

If the Tone Cycles is set to either 0, or the default of -1, then only the spoken alarm will sound.  If set to 1, the tone will play once before the alarm is spoken.