TTS Talk-Tracker User manual

USER GUIDE
Easi-Torch
Warranty & Support
This product is provided with a one year warranty for problems found
during normal usage. Mistreating the Talk-Tracker or opening the unit will
invalidate this warranty.
All out of warranty repairs will be subject to a replacement fee.
Technical Support
Please visit www.tts-group.co.uk for the latest product information.
Email [email protected] for technical support.
TTS Group Ltd.
Park Lane Business Park
Kirkby-in-Ashfield
Nottinghamshire,
NG17 9GU, UK.
Freephone: 0800 318686 Freefax: 0800 137525
Nxxxxx
N448
TTS Product Code:
EL00110
WARNING: Do not dispose of this product in
household waste. Hand it over to a collection
point for recycling electronic appliances.
WARNING! Not suitable for children under
36 months due to small parts – choking hazard.
Made in China, on behalf of the TTS Group Ltd.
Talk-TrackerTM
TTS is proud to be part of plc

Records children speaking
in their natural environment
Talk-TrackerTM
USER GUIDE
TTS is proud to be part of plc

Important Information
n Please retain these instructions for future reference
n Talk-Tracker contains a non-replaceable, rechargeable battery
n Do not attempt to remove the battery
n Do not allow your Talk-Tracker to come into contact with water or
other liquids
n In the event of an electro-static discharge, your Talk-Tracker may
malfunction. In this case, you may need to connect to a computer to
reset it
n Warranty is void if the case is opened for any reason
n The warranty does not cover any data loss from the unit nor any
consequential loss of information
Know your Talk-Tracker
Built-in Speaker
Microphones on all
four corners
On-Off Switch
Green ‘Play’
Button
4-way Switch
LCD Screen
Red ‘Record’ Button
Headphone
socket
USB socket
Menu Button

Talk-Tracker Controls
There are two sets of controls which are used to control the Talk-Tracker,
The Record and Play Buttons and the 4 way switch and menu button.
Recording & Playing your First Track
n Switch on the Talk-Tracker by sliding the On-Off switch until the Status
LED lights Orange (steady or flashing), indicating it is waiting in
standby
n Press and release the Record button (Red ring). After a second or so,
the Status LED will change to Red indicating it is recording
n The recording can be paused at any time by pressing the Record
button briefly. The Status LED will flash to show the recording has
been paused. Simply press the Record button again to continue
recording
n When you are finished Recording, press the Record button, and hold
for 2 seconds, to stop the recording and save it as the last track. The
Status LED will change to Orange (steady or flashing)
n Alternatively you can press and hold the Record button during
the whole of the recording and release it when you have finished
recording
n Press the Play button (Green ring) to play your track. The Status LED
will light Green while the track is playing
n When the track is finished, Talk-Tracker will return to standby and the
Status LED will be Orange
n The Talk-Tracker will not store recordings of less than 2 seconds, so
LCD Screen
Vol+
Previous
Status LED
Next
Vol-
Talk-TrackerTM

ensure you record for longer than this
n Please note that the Talk-Tracker can only store a maximum of sixty two
tracks, regardless of the length of track.
Recording & Playback Modes
Talk-Tracker can record and playback files in two formats: MP3 or WAV files.
Depending on your application, you may want to use one of these formats
rather than another. For instance, much podcasting is done using MP3 files so
this would be the best format if you wanted to make podcasts.
Status LED
The Status LED provides you with a clear indication of what is happening with
your Talk-Tracker. Please take note of the following information so that you
can get the best results.
n Flashing Orange: Ready to Play/Record MP3 file
n Steady Orange: Ready to Play/Record WAV file
n Steady Green: Playing (or fully charged)
n Flashing Green: Playing Paused
n Steady Red: Recording
n Flashing Red: Recording Paused
n Flashing Red/Green: Charging
n Flashing Orange/Green: Battery low
Pausing or Stopping a Track
n Press the Play button (Green ring) to play a track. The Status LED will
shine steady Green
n Press the Play button again to pause the track at the current place. The
status LED will flash Green
n Press the Play button again to resume playback
n To stop a playing track completely, press and hold the Play button for
2 seconds

Fast Forward & Reverse
n While a track is Playing or Paused…
n Press and hold the Prev(ious) or Next track button on the 4-way rocker
switch
n The Status LED will flash Green and will move within the current track
at a fast rate
n When the button is released, Play or Pause will continue at the new
position within the track
n The Play position will not pass beyond the start or end of the current
track
Moving Between Tracks
n While a track is Playing or Paused…
n Press the Prev(ious) or Next track button on the 4 way rocker to move
to the selected track
Charging the Battery
Talk-Tracker is supplied with a partially charged battery and can be used
immediately without charging first. It is recommended that the Talk-Tracker
is full charged before its first use, or before storage. The battery can be
charged by connecting to the USB port of an active computer. No software
is required:
n Connect Talk-Tracker to the USB port
n The Status LED will flash Red and Green
n When Talk-Tracker is fully charged the Status LED will change to steady
Green
n A complete charge of a fully discharged battery will take about 4
hours
n Do not put a discharged battery into storage for long periods of time.
It is recommended that the product is charged before storage.
Talk-TrackerTM

Using the Menu System
The LCD on the Talk-Tracker provides a multi-level menu system that allows
you to select certain configurations, manage the sound files and select
recording and playback functions.
The display comprises two separate parts: the status area at the top in
Yellow and the selection area at the bottom in Blue.
The Standby screen is the first
screen shown when the Easi-
Speak Pro is switched on. The
status shown here is:
Active track is number 1 out of 7
tracks
Repeat mode setting is repeated
Record/playback mode is MP3
Volume is set to 17
Battery is fully charged
MP3

Playback Screen
Recording Screen
Playing track 1 of 24
Now 6 seconds into a 39 second track
Playing track
Playing is paused
During playback, the central part
of the screen shows the name of
the track currently playing.
Recording in MP3 mode
Recording in WAV mode
Recording track
Recording is paused
Battery 50% full
MP3
WAV
Talk-TrackerTM

Config Menu
Selecting the item from the standby screen, displays a menu of
configuration settings:
Rec
Recording mode: MP3 or WAV
Backlight
Defines the length of time backlight is on after the last keypress.Press any
key to switch the backlight back on.
Language
Select from the available languages for the menu system. Note that this
does not change the standby screen
System Info
Displays firmware version and available memory
Browse Menu
Selecting the item from the standby screen displays the files
and folders internal to the Easi-Speak Pro.
When you select a folder, the display changes to show the files and sub-
folders within the selected folder. Select “Parent Folder” to go back one
level.
When you select a file, you can then choose whether to Play the selected
file or Delete it.

Connecting to a PC or Apple Mac
n Switch off the Talk-Tracker
n Plug the Talk-Tracker into an available USB socket using the USB lead
provided
n The first time Talk-Tracker is connected to the PC, it will automatically
install the drivers and may require the PC to be rebooted depending
on your operating system
n The PC or Mac will recognise the device as a USB mass storage device
and it will appear as a removable drive in the file explorer window
n The tracks you have recorded will appear in the folder MIC_REC. Use
this same folder to copy MP3 or WAV files to for playback on Talk-
Tracker
n You can delete from, add files to, or format the Talk-Tracker directly
from the computer if you wish
Installing & Using Audacity
n Audacity is provided with Easi-Speak Pro for your convenience.
TTS do not support it or provide any warranty for its use. It is not
part of the Easi-Speak Pro product.
n Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing
sounds. It is available for Mac OS/X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux
and other operating systems.
n Connect Easi-Speak Pro to the PC or Mac and browse to the Audacity
folder (contains release 1.2.6).
n For Windows, run the file audacitywin.exe
n For Mac OS/X (PPC), run audacitymac.dmg
n You may find it easiest to copy the folder to your PC or Mac before
doing this.
n Instructions, latest versions for all operating systems and licence
information for Audacity can be found at http://audacity.sourceforge.
net
Talk-TrackerTM

Technical Specifications
• Records directly into MP3 or WAV file format
• 128MB of flash memory, up to 4 hours recording
• MP3: Bit rate: 128 kbps (44kHz sampling)
Max time: Approx 2 hours
• WAV: Format: IMA ADPCM
Bit rate: 64 kbps (4 bits per sample)
Max time: Approx 4 hours
• For maximum recording time, delete the Audacity and User manual
folders to give additional memory space
• Built-in 380mAH Lithium-ion battery
• Battery supplied partially charged (50%-90%)
• Loud-speaker and four microphones
• One stereo 3.5mm headphone socket
• Power consumption:
75mA standby, 100mA recording
80-120mA playback (depending on volume)
• Battery life approx 3 hours of recording or playback
• Size: 135mm long, 75mm Wide, 23mm height

Problem Status LED appears to flash randomly
Solution Battery is low. Charge the battery
Problem Missing Start or End of Recording
Solution Talk-Tracker automatically fades in and out of recording &
playback. Ensure you leave a second or two at start and end
Problem Files corrupt or buttons don’t work
Solution Format the drive in Windows (use the FAT format, not FAT32)
Problem LED flashes Red during Record
Solution Memory is full. Delete some files
Problem Some tracks do not appear to play
Solution Probably because they are in the alternative format. Try
swapping between MP3 and WAV formats
Problem Status LED doesn’t come on
Solution Battery completely flat. Recharge
Troubleshooting
Talk-Tracker is designed to work reliably and predictably in all normal
conditions. However, it is possible that problems may occur. Please check
the following before contacting technical support:
Troubleshooting
Talk-TrackerTM