Copyright (c) 1994-1999 ChipChat - www.ChipChat.com
Document: 12310 REV F
Your product should contain the following items:
If any of these items are missing or damaged, or if you encounter problems while using this product, refer to your point of sale contact.
Prolonged exposure to excessive noise can cause hearing loss. The volume level on audio headphones must be kept at a reasonable level to avoid hearing loss.
Congratulations on your purchase of a high quality, versatile stereo sound card for your Micro Channel computer. It brings your computer alive with exhilarating 16 bit CD quality digital sound and advanced music synthesis. It allows recording and playback of audio to your hard disk drive and adds music and sound effects to your games and presentations. The -32 version of the sound card comes with an advanced WaveTable music synthesizer for the highest quality music reproduction. The -16 sound card has advanced FM synthesis and is ready for the WaveTable upgrade - refer to the Ordering Information and Options section of this manual.
Compatible with industry standards:
To install the sound card you need your copy of the Reference Disk for your particular computer. Some systems have the reference information installed on the hard drive. First, you will install the card. Second, you will update your Reference Disk.
After you install the sound card in your computer and apply power, you will get a #165 error on your screen - indicating that a new card has been added to your computer and it needs to be configured. Since this is the first time you have installed the sound card into your computer, you will have to update your computer's Reference Disk.
Place the Reference Disk for your computer into drive 'A' and press the F1 key. If your system has the reference information on the hard disk, the configuration program will automatically start.
Installing software support for your operating system
The sound card comes with comprehensive driver support for various operating systems. You must install sound support for your operating system to be able to use the sound card. To provide the most up-to-date information, the instructions for installing software are contained in document (*.DOC) files on the sound card's Disk-1. Please read and follow the instructions in the appropriate document file. You can view and print these files by typing "README" from the floppy drive that contains Disk-1.
Some software require you to setup the application with the address, interrupt and DMA channel of your sound card. Always select the following:
| Sound Address | 220 |
| Interrupt: | 7 (or 5 refer to FAQ.DOC) |
| DMA: | 1 |
| MIDI Address: | 330 (WaveTable) |
When you install DOS support using the instructions in DOS.DOC, several DOS specific DOC files are created. These files contain important information about setting up your DOS applications for sound, and the use of DOSMIXER for games.
The document file FAQ.DOC on Disk-1 contains "Frequently Asked Questions" that may be helpful for troubleshooting any problems you may have.
The sound card supports industry standard connections to audio devices, joysticks, external Midi devices, CD-ROM audio, and IBM front panel MultiMedia systems.
PICTURE OF SOUND CARD IDENTIFYING
CD-ROM AUDIO IBM Front Panel Audio Input Microphone Input Audio output Joystick & MIDI
The sound card supports industry standard 3.5mm audio plugs for stereo line in, microphone in and stereo line/headset out. Use caution when connecting sources that your audio volume is at a safe level.
Using a standard 3.5mm (1/8") audio cable, you can connect other devices "Audio Out" to the "Audio In" of the sound card. This connection will allow you to record audio from another device onto your computer's hard disk.
You should only connect Line Level signals into the sound card's "Audio In". Typical Line Level "Audio Out" devices are:
You should not connect an amplified signal into the "Audio In". Typical amplified signals that are inappropriate connect to speakers. Refer to the sound card's technical specifications in this manual for maximum input settings.
You can connect a microphone into the sound card for live recording. The microphone needs to have a 3.5mm (1/8") plug. The plug can be either stereo or mono. The sound card only requires a mono microphone. A stereo microphone can be used, but only one channel will be recorded.
Using a standard 3.5mm (1/8") audio cable, you can connect other devices "Audio In" to the "Audio Out" of the sound card. This connection will allow you to playback audio from the sound card into another device. Typical "Audio In" devices are an amplifier for external speakers or tape recorder. You can also connect the sound card's "Audio Out" to a set of stereo headphones for private listening. The sound card is not designed to drive large external speakers directly. If you connect to speakers, you should go through an amplifier first, or use speakers that have their own amplifier.
The game port connector accepts the standard DB15 plug used on all joysticks. Some software applications use dual joysticks. The audio adapter supports dual joysticks through the use of a game port splitter cable. This cable is an industry standard and is generally available at most computer stores. The joystick splitter cable is a single DB15 plug for attaching to the sound card that splits into two DB15 sockets to allow connection of two joysticks.
In addition to providing connection to joysticks, the DB15 connector also contains the MIDI IN and OUT signals. These signals are generally used by musicians to connect to external MIDI keyboards or other instruments. To gain access to these signals requires a joystick/MIDI break-out cable. This cable is an industry standard and is generally available at most computer stores. The joystick/MIDI break-out cable consists of a single DB15 plug for attaching to the sound card that splits into a DB15 socket to accommodate a joystick and two 5 pin din connectors - one for MIDI IN and the other for MIDI OUT.
The ChipChat Sound Card can accommodate both internal and external CD-ROM audio devices.
If your computer has an internal CD-ROM drive, you can connect the audio of the CD-ROM drive to the internal connector on the sound card. This will allow you to hear the sounds playing from CD-ROM disks and music CDs. On the back of your internal CD-ROM drive, there is generally a connector for CD-Audio. This connector is usually a single row of three (1x3) or four (1x4) pins. CD-ROM audio cables are unique for particular CD-ROM drives and are generally available in most computer stores.
The audio card provides a couple of CD-ROM audio connectors for the most popular configurations. Most CD-ROM audio cables have a SoundBlaster type of connector and should work fine.
The CD-ROM Audio connectors on the sound card
(view from front component side of card)
IBM
SoundBlaster
R G G L
G L G R
Generic
Generic
R G G L
G L G R
* The IBM connector is a special connector used by IBM in some of their MultiMedia PS/2 systems. This connector is now obsolete and may not be on your sound card.
If your computer has an external CD-ROM drive, you can connect the audio from the CD-ROM drive to the Line-In of the sound card. Normally this requires a 3.5mm stereo cable. You can connect the cable from the headphone output jack on the front of the CD-ROM drive to the AudioLine In on the sound card. If you connect your CD-ROM audio this way, remember that now when you use the audio mixer, the setting for "Line In" will be for your CD-ROM audio and the "CD-Audio" mixer selection will be un-used. The "CD-Audio" setting in the audio mixer is for an internal CD-ROM audio connection.
IBM UltiMedia PS/2 systems equipped with Front Panel Audio (e.g. M57, M77) can directly connect to the audio card's Front Panel connector. The front panel cable included with the PS/2 are keyed with pin 14, and can only be connected one way.
Front Panel Connector Pin-Out
(viewed from front component side of card):
2 4 6 8 10 12
14 16
1 3 5 7
9 11 13 15
Note: PIN 14 is missing
For ordering refer to the following items and part numbers.
| Product | Product Number |
|---|---|
| ChipChat Sound-16 | 12316 |
| Wavetable Upgrade | 12324 |
| ChipChat Sound 32 (with Wavetable) | 12332 |
| ChipChat User's Guide & Software | 12310 |
The ChipChat Sound-16 comes standard with an enhanced 20 voice 4 operator FM music synthesizer. The synthesizer provides the background music for games and presentations. An optional WaveTable add on card is available that provides incredible CD-Quality music synthesis with 32 voice polyphony for stunning sound reproduction. Whereas FM synthesis combines sine waves to emulate various instruments, WaveTable synthesis uses actual instrument samples. When it comes to the highest quality sound reproduction, WaveTable has no equal. If you purchased the -32 sound card, you already have the advanced WaveTable Synthesizer. If you have the -16 sound card without the WaveTable option, then contact ChipChat for an upgrade and prepare yourself for some incredible game playing action and unequaled professional presentations.
Should your product require factory service, the following guidelines will help you get the fastest service.
To arrange for service for your ChipChat Sound Card:
Note: Policies may change without notice.