To provide more complex audio effects, you can use one audio channel to modulate another. This increases the range and type of effects that can be produced. You can modulate a channel's frequency or amplitude , or do both types of modulation on a channel at the same time. amplitude modulation affects the volume of the waveform. it is often used to produce vibrato or tremolo effects. Frequency modulation affects the period of the waveform. although the basic waveform itself remains the same, the pitch is increased or decreased by frequency modulation. The system uses one channel to modulate another when you attach two channels. The attach bits in the ADKCON register control how the data from an audio channel is interpreted (see the table below). Normally, each channel produces sound when it is enabled. If the "attach" bit for an audio channel is set, that channel ceases to produce sound and its data is used to modulate the sound of the next higher-numbered channel. When a channel is used as a modulator, the words in its data set are no longer treated as two individual bytes. Instead, they are used as "modulator" words. The data words from the modulator channel are written into the corresponding registers of the modulated channel each time the period register of the modulator channel times out. To modulate only the amplitude of the audio output, you must attach a channel as a volume modulator. Define the modulator channel's data set as a series of words, each containing volume information in the following format: Bits Function ---- -------- 15 - 7 Not used 6 - 0 Volume information, V6 - V0 To modulate only the frequency, you must attach a channel as a period modulator. Define the modulator channel's data set as a series of words, each containing period information in the following format: Bits Function ---- -------- 15 - 0 Period information, P15 - P0 If you want to modulate both period and volume on the same channel, you need to attach the channel as both a period and volume modulator. For instance, if channel 0 is used to modulate both the period and frequency of channel 1, you set two attach bits -- bit 0 to modulate the volume and bit 4 to modulate the period . when period and volume are both modulated, words in the modulator channel's data set are defined alternately as volume and period information. The sample set of data in Table 5-4 shows the differences in interpretation of data when a channel is used directly for audio, when it is attached as volume modulator, when it is attached as a period modulator, and when it is attached as a modulator of both volume and period . Table 5-4: Data Interpretation in Attach Mode Independent Modulating Data (not Both Modulating Modulating Words Modulating) Period and Volume Period Only Volume Only ----- ----------- ----------------- ----------- ----------- Word 1 |data|data| |volume for other channel| |period| |volume| Word 2 |data|data| |period for other channel| |period| |volume| Word 3 |data|data| |volume for other channel| |period| |volume| Word 4 |data|data| |period for other channel| |period| |volume| The lengths of the data sets of the modulator and the modulated channels are completely independent. Channels are attached by the system in a predetermined order, as shown in Table 5-5. To attach a channel as a modulator, you set its attach bit to 1. If you set either the volume or period attach bits for a channel, that channel's audio output will be disabled; the channel will be attached to the next higher channel, as shown in Table 5-5. Because an attached channel always modulates the next higher numbered channel, you cannot attach channel 3. Writing a 1 into channel 3's modulate bits only disables its audio output. Table 5-5: Channel Attachment for Modulation ADKCON Register --------------- Bit Name Function --- ---- -------- 7 ATPER3 Use audio channel 3 to modulate nothing (disables audio output of channel 3) 6 ATPER2 Use audio channel 2 to modulate period of channel 3 5 ATPER1 Use audio channel 1 to modulate period of channel 2 4 ATPER0 Use audio channel 0 to modulate period of channel 1 3 ATVOL3 Use audio channel 3 to modulate nothing (disables audio output of channel 3) 2 ATVOL2 Use audio channel 2 to modulate volume of channel 3 1 ATVOL1 Use audio channel 1 to modulate volume of channel 2 0 ATVOL0 Use audio channel 0 to modulate volume of channel 1