Delays and audio output
Where the VOICE sound comes out, how to set the volume of the voices and the bell, and the delays that make an announcement land at the right moment, or not at all.
1. The audio output
VOICE plays everything (voices, bell, countdown) on the Windows default audio output. It has no sound card choice of its own: to play through the public address system, choose it as the default output device in Windows (speaker icon in the taskbar) before launching VOICE, then check with Test and Listen.
- Only one sentence plays at a time; the countdown and the bell cut off the one playing.
- The volume of each language (Voice tab) balances the voices against each other; the overall volume is set in Windows and on the mixing desk.
- The bell has its own sound (WAV file): set its level in the file, or on the desk, not with the voice volume.
- A FINISH computer that also rings the bell (“Ring on this computer”, in FINISH) and a VOICE that rings it: two bells. Choose one of the two.
2. The delays
| Setting | Default | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Delay before the start announcement | 5 s | Not talking over the gunshot or the first push. 0: right at the start; up to 60 s. |
| Silence between announcements | 300 ms | A breath between two sentences. |
| An older announcement is not spoken | 12 s | Beyond that, a lap time is no longer current: it is discarded. In short track (laps of 9 to 12 s), 8 s; in long track or for a patient audience, 15 s. |
| Max pending announcements | 6 | A short queue stays up to date; a long queue says everything, late. |
| Lead time for each word (countdown) | 150 ms | Makes up for the time the sound takes to come out: “Finish!” must land with the end on the clock. |
| Only the countdown speaks in the last | 10 s | Nothing overlaps the countdown. |
Maximum age of a bell (in reglages.json only) | 2 s | A late bell does not ring. |
3. Setting the countdown lead time by ear
- A test timed race
In FINISH, a 1-minute race (with SIM if you have no athletes at hand), with Speech synthesis checked, and a TABLEAU showing the clock.
- Listen to the end
“Finish!” must land when the clock reaches 1:00. Late: increase the Lead time for each word (ms) by 50; early: decrease it.
- Check the clock
The VOICE status must say FINISH clock … with an offset of a few ms. Clock not synchronized: the countdown cannot be accurate; check the network (port 8213).
4. VOICE says nothing?
- The button says 🔇 Mute? Click it.
- Is the race checked in Announce and in Voice (FINISH) (Races received from FINISH)?
- Is the athlete muted in FINISH, or do their options only check the name?
- The log says “no "nl" voice on this computer”? Install the voice and restart VOICE.
- The log shows the sentences but nothing comes out: the Windows default audio output is not the right one, or it is muted.
- Lots of “discarded (too old)”: laps arrive faster than the voice can speak. Trim the options (without the lap time, without the position), raise the rate, or reduce the queue size.