VOGONS


Reply 640 of 894, by Scali

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root42 wrote:

The mqdiag tool had no problems

Ah yes, I could try that, to see.

root42 wrote:

Did you check if maybe your VGA card has an IRQ jumper?

I think it does yes.
Perhaps that could explain it?
As in, the VGA card also connects to that pin, so even though the IRQ is not enabled on the VGA card, perhaps the card's connection pulls up the line or such? In which case, it probably depends on such weird analog capabilities such as resistance/capacitance whether or not the MIDI interrupt will be detected. So it may be pure coincidence that the MQ doesn't work and the Lo-tech card does.
I'll try to disable the IRQ on the VGA card tonight and re-test.

root42 wrote:

Also would love to see a recording of that demo!

Someone already recorded them: https://youtu.be/Y9jJYVM-dq0

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/just-keeping-it- … ro-programming/

Reply 641 of 894, by keropi

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really interested in this , I only had resource conflicts with ACPI and systems pentium1 and above (and ofcourse the main soundcard hogging port330) but a 286 system?
Something uses IRQ2 , could be the vga as stated above...

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Reply 642 of 894, by Scali

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keropi wrote:

really interested in this , I only had resource conflicts with ACPI and systems pentium1 and above (and ofcourse the main soundcard hogging port330) but a 286 system?
Something uses IRQ2 , could be the vga as stated above...

I tried disabling the IRQ2 on the VGA card with the jumper, but that didn't make a difference (which is more or less what I expected, since IRQ sharing should be reasonably common for AT systems).
Funny enough, IRQ3 worked even though my IBM Music Feature Card was also configured to that, so that IRQ was shared as well.
I have to say though, only the Ecargxus demo appears to work on the MPU-401 at IRQ2. I can't get the others to work either. And at least the Real Thing demo worked at IRQ3 on the MQ.
So IRQ2 may work 'better' with the MPU-401 than the MQ card, but it does not appear to be flawless either. It could be an issue with the machine. I will have to investigate further, and also test the cards in another machine.
It could also just be buggy code in those demos.

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/just-keeping-it- … ro-programming/

Reply 643 of 894, by root42

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Do those demos run on a 286? Then I can test it as well.

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Reply 645 of 894, by keropi

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Very weird... IRQ2 should be free on a 286 machine, is this a brand pc or a custom one? Does MSD or some other utility report IRQ2 as free?
My money is on buggy detection from the demos since the real thing also fails.

I also use an mpu with my 286/16 pc , it just works at irq2/p330 , I did not try any demos though just games...

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Reply 646 of 894, by Scali

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keropi wrote:

I also use an mpu with my 286/16 pc , it just works at irq2/p330 , I did not try any demos though just games...

Yea, I tried a few games, Monkey Island, Larry 3 and Colonel's Bequest, they all worked fine at IRQ2. Not sure if they actually use the IRQ though.

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Reply 647 of 894, by keropi

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Gateway uses it AFAIK and it's really sensitive to resources, give it a try

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Reply 649 of 894, by keropi

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I just tested Exargus demo Scali linked some posts above, it just works for me on both my 486DLC and 286/16 systems using IRQ2/P330.
The only cards used in both systems was a 5429 ISA VGA, the XT-IDE-CF lotech controller and the mpu.

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 650 of 894, by RetroBoogie

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Hey Keropi, I finally got around to testing that card you sent me a month ago. I'm listening to peons chop wood in the background with glorious MIDI music (Warcraft 1). Haven't tried MT-32 yet but don't foresee any issues.
Thanks for such a great product!

I had an issue initially where the card worked but it stopped my mouse from registering movement and clicking (DOS). Went into the BIOS and changed my serial port to Auto and that seemed to solve the conflict. My guess was PS2 mouse was initialized by ctmouse using IRQ2/3FE8?

Reply 651 of 894, by keropi

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Always nice to hear satisfied users, thanks for the feedback!
What you describe sounds like an irq conflict with the serial port indeed, glad you solved it so easily.

A word of caution about ctmouse, depending on your system's ps2 implementation there is a chance that you will need 1.9.1 or 2.04a , they have different initialization routines. I have found the hard way I when I was getting lockups in space quest 4 and ultimate monkey island talkie edition ( nothing to do with mpus or soundcards or resource conflicts) . I just reverted using Microsoft's mouse.com with my systems .

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Reply 652 of 894, by matze79

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You should also go for 1.9.1 if your Mouse does work fine in DOS but does not in Windows 3.x 😀 (Jumping Cursor, does not move at all, mouse stops working in DOS after quiting windows..)

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 653 of 894, by keropi

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^ yeah that is also true! I just don't use it anymore and don't bother with issues... it also helps that I can use UMB blocks on my systems with either TheLastByte or URAM or UMBPCI so loading the microsoft mouse is really a non-issue

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 654 of 894, by RetroBoogie

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keropi wrote:

Always nice to hear satisfied users, thanks for the feedback!
What you describe sounds like an irq conflict with the serial port indeed, glad you solved it so easily.

A word of caution about ctmouse, depending on your system's ps2 implementation there is a chance that you will need 1.9.1 or 2.04a , they have different initialization routines. I have found the hard way I when I was getting lockups in space quest 4 and ultimate monkey island talkie edition ( nothing to do with mpus or soundcards or resource conflicts) . I just reverted using Microsoft's mouse.com with my systems .

matze79 wrote:

You should also go for 1.9.1 if your Mouse does work fine in DOS but does not in Windows 3.x 😀 (Jumping Cursor, does not move at all, mouse stops working in DOS after quiting windows..)

keropi wrote:

^ yeah that is also true! I just don't use it anymore and don't bother with issues... it also helps that I can use UMB blocks on my systems with either TheLastByte or URAM or UMBPCI so loading the microsoft mouse is really a non-issue

Thanks guys. That is EXACTLY what I was pondering and what I needed to hear. I used to use a lower version, can't remember why I changed.

Tried some MT-32 last night - all's well, as expected. Looking forward to trying MI Ultimate Talkie next.

Reply 655 of 894, by Thallanor

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I received my card in the mail today! 😀 Real dumb question (that is probably answered somewhere in the 30+ pages of this thread) but what is the green mini-stereo jack used for? 😀 And on the IRQ jumpers, this is more curiosity, but what is the leftmost (P) jumper for in that block? 😀 And are the L and R volume jumper blocks related to the mini-stereo jack? 😀 Wavetable daughterboard is obvious but what is aux used for? 😀

Sorry if this has been answered already...

Reply 656 of 894, by keropi

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hehe not to worry , here are the answers:

- 3.5mm stereo jack: this is where the audio-out from the wavetable daughterboard goes (that is if you install a daughterboard 🤣 )
- L + R volume jumpers: these attenuate the volume of the wavetable audio-out , usable for cards with real loud output like the NEC XR-385 (clone of DB-60XG)
- AUX : once again this is related to the wavetable audio-out , offers internal connection to your main soundcard , same deal as with cd-rom audio for example
- P jumper: if installed then the MPU uses port #330 (default) , if removed then MPU uses port #300 , for best results use port330/irq2

You can grab the support package here as well: http://www.mediafire.com/file/h7qh5c15hz8ft3g … age_v2.zip/file

Anything more just ask!

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 657 of 894, by Thallanor

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keropi wrote:

hehe not to worry , here are the answers:

Awesome! That should be everything! Might not have a chance to play with it until Sunday but i'm looking forward to it! Thanks again for making these!

Reply 659 of 894, by keropi

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dreamblaster was kind enough to give us some space in his shop - there is a contact form link at the end of the description 😀
https://www.serdashop.com/ISA-MPU-Card

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website