EIII: Two Voices Not Appearing At Main Outputs

[ditabeardmemo]

My Emulator III just came home from my technician, and unfortunately, he seems to have missed a problem involving two of the voices. When I play back a mono sample, it appears in the main left/right outputs on all but voices 9 and 10. On voice 9, it only appears in the left output, and on voice 10, it only appears in the right output.

I also checked to see if voices 9 and 10 appear at their respective individual outputs, and they do.

I'd like to see if I can fix this myself before I haul this back to my tech and ask him to look at it again. Does anyone have advice on where to start?

[dr.c]

Does someone have the diagram of the output board ? I have one, but its not clear. Or even better, the whole manual I can download somewhere...

[dr.c]

Okay... what you can do is to unplug these cables (see picture) and put them back, and try.
Never intervert cables, wich is to say, put tha "A" cable at the "B" location, for example.

Otherways, it can be damaged jack plugs, or damaged resistor packs. I need to have the diagram, I have one, but its crappy.

[ditabeardmemo]

Thanks Dr. C, I will certainly try this. Just to confirm, I want to unplug and re-connect the four ribbon cables labeled A, B, C and D, right? I presume that the larger ribbon cable to the left is for the SCSI and RS-422 connections.

[dr.c]

Exactly.

I make a drawing for you

[dr.c]

You may loose channels if you moove the flat cable according to the arrows. If this happens, forget avout averything.

Go to a Radio-Shack shop, buy 10 x 20 pin connectors, 10 x 20 conductor flat cable in sufficient lenght, a special plier for these connectors and, if needed, redo all the four cables.
Imagine that the audio goes thru these non shielded cables.. incredible...

The "A" cable provides as well the +5V to the jack board, so, be carefull, do not mix.

Think, observe how this is done, re observe, take pictures, verify what you do, verify your verification, be a kind of nazi for this, don't even trust yourself neither your mother, verify, in cause of the slightest doubt, redisassemble or forget it.

Take notes, especially to where goes tha "A" cable on the other side, for example... uh ?

[dr.c]

What a jerk, I forgot the drawing I did for you

[esynthesist]

Or even better, the whole manual I can download somewhere...

Hi Dr C

...check your PB box...

///E-Synthesist

[dr.c]

Thanks for the manual !

According to diagram, it can be RN12 and RN4 wich are resistor packs on the jack board, page 159/189.

Maybe RN12 tough... its a 470 Ohms, 2%.

I would find this VERY SUSPICIOUS that BOTH resistor packs would be faulty. One, maybe, but two... I have NEVER had any faulty ones and I fixed HUNDREDS (no exageration) of EIII's or the same ones but all toghether, hundred of times   )

Are you SURE you have the signal on the separated outputs ? Sorry, I doin't think you are an idiot, but this is really strange. If the signal is there on the separated outputs, the flat cables are okay !

This is a mystery....

[ditabeardmemo]

Yes, I'm quite sure I have the signal on outputs 9 and 10. In fact, I created two demonstration audio files so everyone can hear what I'm hearing.

The source sample in both recordings is mono (I only used the left channel in sampling mode.) I sampled this in new, today... it is not loaded off a disk or taken from an "unknown" source.

http://www.hypefactor.com/files/eiii/

In the first audio file (stereo_e3.aif), I play the same key (G1) 16 times in a row to demonstrate the performance of each voice. The left channel you hear is the left/stereo mix output of the EIII, and the right channel is the right/mono mix output. On the 9th keystroke, you can clearly hear the right channel drop out. On the 10th keystroke, you can hear the left channel drop out. I also noticed that keystrokes 12 and 13 produced a slightly lower volume level than all other keystrokes. Could this be a similar/related problem?

In the second audio file (indiv_e3.aif), I play the same key (G1) 16 times in a row again. But after every two keystrokes I switched my quarter inch cables to the next pair of individual outputs, so the first two keystrokes you hear are coming from individual outs 1 and 2, the next two keystrokes from 3 and 4, etc. As you can hear, every individual output produces a sound when it should. I did notice once again that individual outs 12 and 13 seemed to produce a slightly lower volume level than all other outputs.

Thanks everyone! Your help here is very much appreciated.

[dr.c]

Ahhhhh..... this is very different !

Do you have the original software (operating system) diskette delivered with the machine, or maybe, a software diskette you may have made BEFORE the problem occured ?

If not, you are going to need the UST disquette (Universal Sound Test) the instructions (in the manual) and a scope or maybe a console wich has a LARGE (long, I mean) bargraph to see the signal level with the most accurate way.

First : have you got the software diskette, or not ? This woul make us save a lot of time.

The reason : the Filters, VCAs, etc... adjustments are in the software. If someone mùessed with the adjustments, they are lost, unless you have a copy of the non messed-up software on a diskette.

If you have it, put it into the machine, power it ans let it boot with the diskette.
After then, go to "copy software" and copy the software from the diskette to the disk. Do not make a mistake !

After then, shut the machine down, take the floppy away, restart your machine, and it will start with the correct software wich contain the correct adjustments.

[ditabeardmemo]

Unfortunately, no, I do not have the original software system diskette. I purchased this machine second hand, and it did not come with any disks. The only software on the machine is stored on the internal hard drive.

Does someone on the forum have a copy they would be willing to sell me? I don't want to purchase one from Route 66 given the things I've heard about their customer service.

Dr. C: Are the problems with voices 9 and 10 also a result of the software? I'm not quite clear.

Thank you!

[dr.c]

It is totally USELESS to buy a software diskette ! (Unless you don't have a copy and your disk is dead).

READ ATTENTIVELY, PLEASE :

The ADJUSTMENTS of the machine (calibrations) are embedded into the software.

This means that if someone makes you a software cpopy from HIS machine, and you dump this software into YOUR machine, your machine will have HIS calibrations ! The calibrations of youir machine will be gone forever !

The channel boards are the two lowest ones. If you swap them, the calibrations of channels 1-8 will apply to 9-16 and 9-16 to 1-8.

What you need is an UST diskette (Universal Sound Test) wich will allow you to calibrate your machine. Patience, and an oscilloscope.

After then, retard your machine and you just make a copy of your newly calibrated software into two floppies in wich you write your machine serial number and the date and software version on the sticker.

THE CALIBRATIONS ARE LOADED FROM THE FIRST BOOT UNIT

This means that if you start your machine with the disk and copy a new software from a floppy, ONLY THE SOFTWARE WILL BE COPIED, NOT THE CALIBRATIONS ! You will not erase the calibrtations !

Now : if you start your machine with the floppy and copy the software to the disk, you will put the calibrations of the floppy into the disk, and CRASH the previous calibrations.

When I was fixing machines, the first thing I did was to make a software copy on  floppy.
Once I finished the repair, I recalibrated the machine, shut the machine down, retart the machine and made copy of the sofware on a floppy wich I back to the client, telling him to KEEP this and bring it back the next time and as well another one for me (as an archive) because I knew that this idiot would NEVER bring the floppy I made for him.

When it comes to gain problems etc... the first point is to recalibrate the machine in order to assume that the machine is REALLY having a problem and not having a crappy calibration.

This is what you have to do, first, finding an UST diskette..

[midipuppies]

Here is an untouched copy of the O.S. 2.42

[dr.c]

I can't believe it... I am sorry... but am I dealing with a bunch of idiots, or what ?

I am spendinh hours to explain here that there are NO "UNTOUCHED" copies of software, EVERY ones are different by the adjusments made in factory, because, every machines are different, by the tolerances of their components, for example !!!!

Its a nivce intention of yours, but it is totally useless ! Please re-read what I wrote previously.
Yes, a software can eventually, even if its not the specifica machine one, be helpfull, but still, the levels will be wrong, as well as the "Q" of the filters, etc....