ChanServ changed the topic of ##yamahasynths to: Channel dedicated to questions and discussion of Yamaha FM Synthesizer internals and corresponding REing. Discussion of synthesis methods similar to the Yamaha line of chips, Sound Blasters + clones, PCM chips like RF5C68, and CD theory of operation are also on-topic. Channel logs: https://freenode.irclog.whitequark.org/~h~yamahasynths
<l_oliveira>
Windows 3.1 had no wave synthesis I am sure about that :)
<l_oliveira>
I think they only got wave based synthesis when they were pretty late on DirectX (maybe Windows 98?)
<l_oliveira>
I think back on 95 days a Japanese programmer sold some wave synthesis package
<kode54>
Wingroove?
<kode54>
speaking of which
<kode54>
check out this web site, caught in a time machine
<Lord_Nightmare>
ValleyBell: how many pins? an arduino mega-256 has a lot of IO
<Lord_Nightmare>
ej5: that chart recorder, are the cr2032 batteries on board layer down 2 layers from the top (layer 3?) dead?
<ej5>
haven't tested them but most likely
<ej5>
why do you ask
<Lord_Nightmare>
ok. if they were alive i was worried the device would refuse to boot unless it gets 'blessed' with some volatile date in sram
<Lord_Nightmare>
like a crude HSM
<Lord_Nightmare>
as some stupid form of warranty protection
<Lord_Nightmare>
i've heard of such bullshit in medical devices before
<ej5>
oh yeah could be
<ej5>
i've half a mind to just part this thing out. it's huge and heavy and not that interesting. i have a saleae, why do i need one that is 50 pounds?
<Lord_Nightmare>
if the batteries are alive, replacing them may require some clever work with alligator clips or a bench supply to keep the voltage applied while the batteries are removed
<Lord_Nightmare>
because its cool
<Lord_Nightmare>
you can chart synth functions on it on actual paper
<Lord_Nightmare>
also if the flash gets dumped someone might want to emulate it in MAME
<ej5>
right but is it 50 pounds of cool.
<ej5>
i dunno, i'll ask twitter if i should part it out. someone on there must have used it, or knows some obscure thing that needs it.
<Lord_Nightmare>
people will pay for 50 pounds of cool
<Lord_Nightmare>
especially if it works
<Lord_Nightmare>
if the batteries are dead, put some new ones in and see if it boots
<Lord_Nightmare>
it probably needs the date set, which would likely involve digging into menus
<ej5>
well, it mostly works, there's an issue with the print head so some rows are dead, and the print roller is slowly turning to goo
<Lord_Nightmare>
ick.
<ej5>
inside there's also a nicd pack which has turned fuzzy and white, but someone disconnected it.
<Lord_Nightmare>
goo roller however can be dealt with, i remember 2 years ago i found 2 companies who do new rubber rollers
<ej5>
the memory card is interesting though
<Lord_Nightmare>
i think they make them by taking a metal rod drilled/punched through a piece of rubber narrower than the rod so it stays fixed, then ?freeze? the rubber with liquid nitrogen and turn it on a lathe before it unfreezes?
<Lord_Nightmare>
or something like that
<ej5>
it's a mitsubishi mf3512 melcard
<ej5>
yeah i've heard of that technique before
<Lord_Nightmare>
is that what goes in the pcmcia slot?
<ej5>
yeah it's not a pcmcia slot at all, it's a single sided fine pitch edge connector
<Lord_Nightmare>
i remember someone (charlymac? or maybe al kossow?) was getting new rubber rollers from a company which made them to spec
<Lord_Nightmare>
for fixing tape drives
<Lord_Nightmare>
the DECO cassette system arcade system tape drive the rubber rollers are almost always completely ruined
<Lord_Nightmare>
so getting new ones made is pretty much a must to keep the original cassete thing working
<ej5>
al might have been, i think i remember him talking about it
<ej5>
usually he uses rubber hose that he finds at the hardware store
<Lord_Nightmare>
assuming you don't replace the cassette part with something digital which emulates it
<l_oliveira>
kode54 oh yeah it was Wingroove! thanks for remembering
SceneCAT has quit [Quit: *Mreow*]
<l_oliveira>
that mf3512 card has contacts like a hucard but some sort of metal shutter cover on top of it?
<kode54>
l_oliveira: I still have the 3 midi files from Wingroove
<kode54>
wingroove was unique for its time, because it even supported some GS messages, like enabling extra drum channels
<l_oliveira>
the page is on archive.org
<kode54>
even Windows' crappy synthesizer doesn't support that
<kode54>
the only thing I didn't like about Wingroove was I didn't have the means to register it
<l_oliveira>
something made by someone who enjoy what they're doing
<kode54>
back then, it involved trusting a parent's credit card to KAGI in the 1990s
<kode54>
fat chance
<l_oliveira>
would it be a crime crack it now? lol
<l_oliveira>
it's a 16bit application so you need a 32bit OS or older to run it
<ej5>
Lord_Nightmare, dumped the flash memory. it's got a bunch of strings in it but it is clearly the main application.
<Lord_Nightmare>
huh!
<Lord_Nightmare>
I wonder what thermal elements it uses for the print head... anything standard?
<Lord_Nightmare>
are the bad pixels on the element actually open circuit or is it a failed zebra strip connecting the print head to the pcb
<Lord_Nightmare>
zebra strips are easy enough to replace, but the printhead itself maybe not
<ej5>
friend of mine's father collects data loggers, and was not interested in this one due to the roller going bad and the thermal paper being hard to find
l_oliveira has quit [Quit: ChatZilla 0.9.92-rdmsoft [XULRunner 35.0.1/20150122214805]]
_whitelogger has joined ##yamahasynths
futarisIRCcloud has quit [Quit: Connection closed for inactivity]
<Lord_Nightmare>
hard to find? can't you just get thermal fax paper and cut it to size in a saw?
SceneCAT has joined ##yamahasynths
<ValleyBell>
balrog/Lord_Nightmare: It's more about physical access. It's 34 pins spread across 50-51 mm.
futarisIRCcloud has joined ##yamahasynths
<ValleyBell>
Basically, we need a card slot replacement. So that we can dump multiple PCM cards without having to solder wires directly to the card.
l_oliveira has joined ##yamahasynths
<andlabs>
which card series is this?
<andlabs>
I may want to ask the same question for Yamaha's TG-55/SY-55 cards
<andlabs>
can't find any brand new sealed ones though :/