To learn how you can be more productive with speech recognition, visit our main website at www.voiceteach.com.

Excerpted from VoicePower's Troubleshooting Guide, Copyright © 2007, All Rights Reserved

1.1 Dragon Microphone & built-in sound cards

a) The microphones that are packed in the Dragon box are mediocre and will not give you great recognition, especially in noisy environments.

b) The sound card that is built-in to your computer was probably not designed for and will not work well for speech recognition. (Exceptions are SoundBlaster LIVE! & Audigy and other quality sound cards.)

c) THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU NEED TO SPEND A SMALL FORTUNE ON A REPLACEMENT MICROPHONE AND SOUND CARD.

1.2 Suggested Microphones & Sound Cards

Some marketing claims to the contrary, you don't have to spend a lot of money on a quality microphone and sound card. After years of experimentation (and frustration) we have standardized on a Buddy USB Sound Pod and a VXI TalkPro Express Microphone. This combination not only provides good quality, but reliability. If you have special needs, there are other microphone /sound card combinations that work well.

(Placing equal weight on quality, reliability and reasonable price, you will find only a few microphones on our web site at http://www.voiceteach.com/products/accessories.asp.)

2.1  If nothing happens when you speak

If you get no response when you speak into the microphone:

1. If your microphone or USB pod has a mute switch, check to see that it is not muted. If you have a mute switch and it's not muted, switch it on and off a couple of times to confirm that it is working correctly. Also, if your microphone has a quick disconnect, make certain that it's firmly connected.

2. Check that the microphone is properly connected to the computer and is plugged into the correct port (make sure that the microphone cable is plugged into the microphone port on your computer. Don't rely on color coding, look at the icons on each.)  and if your computer has two sound cards, e.g., a USB sound card and a built-in card, check that the microphone is plugged into the correct sound card. As you are checking the connections, check the microphone cables for damage.

3. If the microphone uses batteries, test / replace them. (If you're using a USB soundcard, it's unlikely that your microphone needs batteries.)

4. Check your microphone position, confirming that it's around 1/2" to 1" away from the corner of your mouth.

5. Check to see that the microphone is on and that it is not asleep. (The microphone icon should be maroon and the icon should be in an upright position.)

6. Make sure the window in which you want to dictate has active cursor focus. (Its title bar is dark and not grayed out. The cursor should be blinking inside the window. - If you can type into a window, you can dictate into it.). The active window can change when you use another application or save your user speech files. A window or dialog box must be active for you to dictate into it successfully.

7. Check your microphone and sound system by running the Audio Setup wizard. To run the Audio Setup wizard click the Tools menu on the DragonBar, click on Accuracy Center and click on Check audio settings.

2.2  Dragon puts extra words on screen

If Dragon starts putting extra words on the screen when you're not speaking or starts misrecognizing most of what you say:

1. You probably have a microphone problem. Run the audio setup. If the microphone doesn't pass the audio quality test, try (2) and (3) below. If you don't pass the quality test, but you get a score of 13-15, redictate the audio quality text in a louder voice, being silent for a full second or two after every 5-7 words. (A quality test result of 13-15 does not usually indicate a defective microphone, just a low speech to noise ratio. Speaking louder and giving the test sample some absolute quiet moments will increase the speech to noise ratio, usually increasing the score significantly. If you still can't pass the quality test, try another microphone.)

2. If you have a mute switch, toggle the switch and try again. Sometimes mute switches don't get fully engaged.

3. Check all of your microphone connections to confirm that everything is properly connected with the microphone icon connected to the sound card's microphone icon and the headset icon connected to the sound card's headset icon.

4. Do a test: go through the audio setup and jiggle the microphone cable while you dictate the audio quality text. If the audio quality is unacceptable when you do this, you have a defective audio cable. Also, listen to the playback. If you hear noise during the playback, then you probably have a damaged cable.

2.3  Dragon slows down your computer

1. If Dragon slows down your computer, try rebooting your computer, often this will take care of the problem.
2. A poorly adjusted or broken down microphone can slow down Dragon and your computer. Go through Dragon's Audio Setup Wizard to test your microphone. A high audio signal level will allow your microphone to pick up too much extraneous noise, slowing down performance.
3. If you have been dictating a single document for a long time (for example, for over an hour) and performance is slowing, make the necessary corrections, save the document, close it, and then reopen. If you have NaturallySpeaking Profession, Legal or Medical versions, you can save your document with your voice files so you can edit the document later..
4. If your dictation in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect is slow, try dividing your document into multiple smaller documents. Large documents (50 pages or more) cause Dragon NaturallySpeaking to work more slowly. The maximum document size you can have depends on your system and its resources..

2.4  Your microphone won't pass Dragon's Audio Setup Wizard

See the audio setup section in this document:

2.5  You're getting very poor recognition and/or erratic behavior

If your dictation accuracy or command accuracy suddenly gets bad or if your accuracy is fine for a while, then gets bad, then gets better, try the following:

1. You probably have a microphone problem. Run the audio setup. If the microphone doesn't pass the audio quality test, try (2) and (3) below. If you don't pass the quality text, but you get a score of 13-15, redictate the audio quality text in a louder voice, being silent for a full second or two after every 5-7 words. (A quality test result of 13-15 does not usually indicate a defective microphone, just a low speech to noise ratio. Speaking louder and giving the test sample some absolute quiet moments will increase the speech to noise ratio, usually increasing the score significantly. If you still can't pass the quality test, try another microphone.)

2. If you have a mute switch, toggle the switch and try again. Sometimes mute switches don't get fully engaged.

3. Check all of your microphone connections to confirm that everything is properly connected with the microphone icon connected to the sound card's microphone icon and the headset icon connected to the sound card's headset icon.

4. Do a test: go through the audio setup and jiggle the microphone cable while you dictate the audio quality text. If the audio quality is unacceptable when you do this, you have a defective audio cable. Also, listen to the playback. If you hear noise during the playback, then you probably have a damaged cable.

2.6  You can't hear the playback

1. Check all of your microphone connections to confirm that everything is properly connected with the microphone icon connected to the sound card's microphone icon and the headset icon connected to the sound card's headset icon. To be certain that all the connections are secure, unplug and re-plug all the connections, including any "Quick Connect" connections that you may have.  If you're using speakers, turn them on and adjust the volume.

2. Adjust the playback volume. Right click on the volume icon on your taskbar and select volume control (Or, go to the Start Menu > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio > Audio > Sound playback > Volume). Increase the adjustment for both the Volume Control and Wave Volume on the dialog box. (If this doesn't work and you have more than one sound system, check that you are using the correct sound mixer device: Click Options>Properties and pick your sound system from the drop down box for the Mixer Device.)

3.1  Connecting your microphone to the computer

There are three typical microphone connections.

        Microphone plugged directly into the computer.

Connect the microphone plug into the computer's microphone jack. Usually the microphone plug and the microphone jack are pink or red and they have a symbol representing a microphone:  If necessary, use a magnifying glass to be certain that you are making the correct connection.

Connect your headset or speaker into the computer's speaker jack. Usually the speaker plug and the speaker jack are green or black and they have a symbol representing a speaker: 

Open Dragon NaturallySpeaking and check your connections by running Dragon's Audio Setup wizard.

       Microphone plugged into USB sound pod.

If Dragon is open, close it. Plug your USB sound pod into one of your computer's USB ports . (Always use the rear ports on a desktop computer.)

Connect the microphone plug into the USB pod's microphone jack. Usually the microphone plug and the microphone jack are pink or red and they have a symbol representing a microphone:  If necessary, use a magnifying glass to be certain that you are making the correct connection.

Some USB pods are monaural devices and only provide sound-in to the computer. So if you connect your headset or speaker into the USB's speaker jack (the speaker plug and the speaker jack are green or black and they have a symbol representing a speaker  ), then you need to use the USB pod's pass-through cable to connect the USB speaker-out port to the computer's speaker jack. (As in the illustration below.)

Or easier, just bypass the USB pad and connect your headset or speaker into the computer's speaker jack (the speaker plug and the speaker jack are green or black and they have a symbol representing a speaker  ). (As in the illustration below.)

Open Dragon NaturallySpeaking and check your connections by running Dragon's Audio Setup wizard. Do NOT unplug the USB soundcard while Dragon is still running.

       USB Microphone plugged into USB port.

If Dragon is open, close it. Plug your USB sound pod into one of your computer's USB ports .

Open Dragon NaturallySpeaking and check your connections by running Dragon's Audio Setup wizard. Do NOT unplug the USB microphone while Dragon is still running.

3.2  Dragon's Audio Setup (The audio setup will configure your sound system and confirm that your microphone is working.)

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking's Audio Setup

Say: "Check Audio Settings"  or click | say: NaturallySpeaking>Tools>Accuracy Center>Check your Audio Settings.

If you have more than one audio device, you'll be asked to pick your sound system:

2 If you have a USB sound pod and it is NOT listed, cancel out of this window, close Dragon, connect or reconnect the USB sound pod, restart Dragon and try the Audio setup again. (If this still doesn't work, reboot your computer and try once again.)

Check your microphone connections (see previous section) and choose whichever sound system the microphone is plugged into. (If you're using a USB SoundPod, it may be listed as an AK-5370 sound system or other name.)

Click "Next>".

Dragon will prompt you to position your microphone.

Put on your microphone and place the front of the microphone so that it faces your mouth.  (A white dot or other mark may indicate the front).

·  Place the microphone close to your mouth, so you can just fit your thumb between your lips and the microphone.

·   Keep the microphone at the corner of your mouth.  If it is placed in front of your mouth it could pick up breath noise.

·  To make sure Dragon clearly recognizes you, position the microphone correctly and keep it in the same position each time you use the program. Check the placement of your microphone often. If the microphone drifts away from its ideal spot, your recognition will suffer.

Once you've positioned the microphone Click "Next>".

Dragon will prompt you to read some text so that it can adjust the microphone volume to the loudness of your voice. Click "Start Volume Check", pause 3-4 seconds and read the text on the screen out loud. As you dictate the sentences, cup your hands around your mouth\microphone (or speak louder than you normally do). This will force the system to lower the recording volume adjustment, making it less sensitive to noise. When Dragon is finished adjusting the volume it will beep. Click "Next>" to move to the next step.

2 If Dragon returns an error message stating that the sound level is too high, then reread the text without cupping your hands or speaking louder than you normally do. If the volume is still too high, move the microphone further away from your face and speak softer. If any of these things work, you can get an attenuator (S-100 signal adapter to decrease the mic's volume) from Andrea Electronics at http://www.andreaelectronics.com/Buy/accessories.htm. If none of these things work, try another USB sound pod or microphone. Some microphones and sound pods are 'hotter' than others, e.g., the Andrea USB Sound Pod is 'hotter' than a Buddy USB sound pod.

2 If Dragon returns an error message stating that the sound level is too low, then:

Adjust the microphone so that it's closer to your mouth. Click "Start Volume Check", cup your hands around your mouth/microphone and speak louder as you read the passage again.

If you get an error message that the sound level is too low a second time, follow these steps:

1. Click "OK" to close the error message.

2. Check that your microphone is plugged into the correct sound system. (See the previous section on "Connecting your Microphone.")

3. If your microphone has a mute button, make sure that it isn't muted.

4. Check that the correct side of the microphone is facing toward your mouth. Most microphones have a white dot indicating this.

5. Check that the microphone is no more than a thumb's width away from the corner of your mouth.

6. If your microphone uses batteries, confirm that they're still fully charged.

7. Cup your hands around your mouth/microphone to increase the volume to the microphone and/or speak a little bit louder than you normally talk

If you get a "sound level too low" error message a third time, you could try boosting the volume of your sound card. To do this, edit the audio.ini file for the user (within the user's "current" directory usually located under "\documents and settings\all users\application data\nuance") and change (or add) the line

MicBoostState=00000000

to

MicBoostState=01000000

If this works, you'll have to do this each time you run the Audio Setup Wizard.

If you get a "sound level too low" error message a fourth time ask for some help. The problem could be that: you're trying to use the wrong sound system, you're using the wrong adapters, your microphone is broken, or you're using the wrong microphone or USB sound pod. If you want to learn more about this, check out http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/microphone_powering.html#basics

Once you've adjusted the volume Dragon will prompt you to check your microphone quality.

(The system is measuring the speech to noise ratio.)

When Dragon is finished checking the quality of the microphone it will beep. Click "Finish>" to move to the next step.

2 Dragon may return an error message stating that the quality of your sound system is unacceptable.

Dragon will return a "Speech-to-noise ratio". Ideally, the speech-to-noise ratio should be between 18 and 28. 

If this number is 13, 14 or 15, don't be alarmed, you probably have a minor problem. Dragon's quality check is not a reliable "quality" test. You just need to game the system to make your system pass the test. Click "OK" to close the error message and then click "Start Quality Check." As you read the passage again speak louder and pause for 1 second after every 6 or 7 words. By speaking louder with distinct pauses you will increase the system's speech to noise ratio (which is what the test is measuring) usually allowing you to pass this quality test.

If Dragon reports a "Speech-to-noise ratio" lower than 13, then you might have a more major problem. Go through the 7 steps suggested in the previous section. If one of these suggestions doesn't help, try another microphone and/or sound system or ask for help.

3.3  Adjusting your Playback Volume

 If you can't hear anything - or if your volume is too loud or too soft - when you play a demonstration or when you ask for a playback of your voice.

1. Check all of your microphone connections to confirm that everything is properly connected with the microphone icon connected to the sound card's microphone icon and the headset icon connected to the sound card's headset icon. To be certain that all the connections are secure, unplug and re-plug all the connections, including any "Quick Connect" connections that you may have.  If you're using speakers, turn them on and adjust the volume.

2. Adjust the playback volume. Right click on the volume icon on your taskbar and select volume control (Or, go to the Start Menu > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio > Audio > Sound playback > Volume). Increase the adjustment for both the Volume Control and Wave Volume on the dialog box. (If this doesn't work and you have more than one sound system, check that you are using the correct sound mixer device: Click Options>Properties and pick your sound system from the drop down box for the Mixer Device.)