CrossBow777 wrote:

I've done a quick video on this tech before, but after my frustrations with lack of information on the web about this specific sound module, I thought I would do a small sieres of videos detailing more about it and what I've discovered in using it. Here is part 1 where I cover the basics on the functions or the modules various buttons and describe the uses of the ports along the back. Especially important is that I do a basic overview of the hidden diagnostic/test menu that is hiding within this module and I suspect others as well. This is Part 1 of what I predict will be a 3 part video series.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/WmOLiu_6pIc

Great video! I haven't had time to watch the whole thing yet but nice to see such an in-depth look at this underappreciated piece of gear. 😀 Looking forward to the next parts.

bjwil1991 wrote:

I found documentation online about this unit. Is it a good one to have for GM/GS games? I'd like to have that unit for games (for my Packard Bell Pack-Mate 28 Plus and another retro machine). Is there a KVM switch box that uses the 5-pin 180 degree DIN, and would it be possible to hook up multiple MIDI boxes (MT-32, MT-200, etc.) to the switch box, or is that a bad idea?

Well it has been awesome using it with the GM and GS games that I've played through it. I've not had the handing note issue that the original OP spoke about. Then again, mine contains an updated firmware revision as the OPs was version 1.0 and mine has version 2.01 on it so that might have something to do with it.

I actually have mine connected using the Roland UMONE mkII usb to midi cable. Just have it plugged into the Midi IN on the MT-200 and it just works! I think it sounds really good and even better than the SCB-55 I've got in a box that used to be attached to an old SB-16 in my older computers back in the 90s.

To answer your other question about using it with other modules. In theory, yes. I will be testing this as I have an MT-32 on the way and plan to hook it up using the Midi Thru from the MT-200 to the Midi IN on the MT-32. I will swap between them using a standard AV switchbox I have laying around and just use the audio parts from each module to select them back to the line in on my PC. Not the cleanest solution, but should work great for my needs to be able to play games using the MT-32 by selecting the audio out from it, and then switch back to the MT-200 audio when I play a GM or GS game.

I'm finishing up my part 2 video now. It isn't nearly as long as I strictly cover how to change the clock date/time and go more into the details of the disk drive and how to use it for file playback.

Part 3 when I figure out exactly how to do it, will cover how I have it connected to my modern day computer and configured to work through ScummVM and DosBox. I'm really hoping that using the Midi Thru will allow a single Dosbox config instead of the different configs I use now to swap between using the MUNT emulator and my MT-200.

Part 2 was uploaded last night and set public this morning. In this video I go more into how to set the actual date and time (Never seen the procedures for it so here you go), along with quite a bit more detail into disk drive functions themselves.

https://youtu.be/USFq8O6-WRs

bjwil1991 wrote:

I found documentation online about this unit. Is it a good one to have for GM/GS games? I'd like to have that unit for games (for my Packard Bell Pack-Mate 28 Plus and another retro machine). Is there a KVM switch box that uses the 5-pin 180 degree DIN, and would it be possible to hook up multiple MIDI boxes (MT-32, MT-200, etc.) to the switch box, or is that a bad idea?

I received my MT-32 Friday and can confirm that I think the easiest way to use it along with my MT-200 is to use the Midi thru on the MT-200 into the MT-32 midi min. Less cales, and I use a simple AV switch box to switch between the outputs. So while they are both getting the midi messages, it doesn't seem to cause any issues with them. So I switch on the MT-32 when playing a game designed more for the MT-32 music, and switch over to the MT-200 for general midi stuff.

BTW...I really should have gotten the MT-32 first because even with MUNT...the MT-32 still sounds different overall. Better with more depth but I digress.

Will have a new video up tonight on the MT-200 and the configuration, installation process to put a GoTEK floppy emulator into it. I suspect the same process can be followed for the MT-120, 80s, 300s, and 90s but don't quote me on that.

** UPDATE ** - Here is my video on installing a GoTEK floppy emulator into an MT-200. I suspect the jumpers and the drive emulator I used would also work for the MT-120, MT-80, and the MT-90 as well but I can't be sure of that. Still this is highly recommended as while the drives in these modules are pretty robust from what I've seen of the construction, floppies themselves are not. I've several old floppy disks that formatted fine and worked great for like a week, and then start generating read errors..shortly after. Anyway, here is the video so you don't have to pay the $80 dollars for pre-configured ones on eBay and Amazon. Just pick up a cheap generic GoTEK for about $20 shipped and watch this video on how to make it work. Pretty easy...

https://youtu.be/ib1qC7yRIoI

Part 3 of my MT-200 basic tutorial is done and upped to YouTube. In this final video segment featuring the MT-200 I go through the basic hardware needed to connect it to a modern Windows10 computer and show my setups for ScummVM and DosBOX to use it. Finally I show how I have the MT-200 connected to my personal computer along with the MIDI pass-thru to also use my Roland MT-32 as well and show a final demonstration at the end on everything in use using the game Space Quest 1 (VGA remake). The audio is poor on the last section due to how much compression the Geforce Experience software uses for audio it would seem but I've not found a better way to capture my desktop and audio in perfect sync for less. Thanks for viewing these if you have and it has been a lot of fun learning this wonderful sound module and understanding its secrets! Enojy!

https://youtu.be/pnHB3RqvHls

Thanks for doing all of those videos!

If there is any possible way to get a copy of the 2.01 firmware from your MT-200, I'd love to get my hands on that.

Ozzuneoj wrote:

Thanks for doing all of those videos!

If there is any possible way to get a copy of the 2.01 firmware from your MT-200, I'd love to get my hands on that.

I wish I could but I've not access to a rom programmer to read it from. I have a second MT-200 that has a rev 2.00 firmware on it and is older than the one featured in my videos. It doesn't seem to exhibit any audio issues either so I'm not really sure what the difference between 2.00 and 2.01 much less version 1.00 is at this point. Possible changes in the menus for sure but the two I have appear to be the same on their menus and functions.

Thanks for making these videos CrossBow777, I've been after one of these quirky devices for a while and have potentially got an MT-90 on the way with a broken floppy drive - your videos have helped a lot with understanding what's involved in using & fixing it.

I just picked up two more of these online. I'll probably get them next week. The seller checked the firmware on both and they both say 1.12 92/09/17, so they're newer than the 1.0 version on my current one. The coolest part is that one of them has its original box and as far as I can tell they both come with AC adapters, audio cables and MIDI cables. 😀

I really really wish I could get my hands on a newer firmware (2.01 or later) like the one CrossBow777's modules have. Hopefully the 1.12 devices don't have the hanging notes. I don't know when I'll get time to test this out, but I certainly plan to do so.

I've got two of these MT-200s. My first one that I first spoke of does have the 2.01 FW. The second one...is a few months older I believe and is version 2.0 FW 🤣. They both appear to work essentially the same as I couldn't tell a difference between them. I've also installed GoTEKs into both of them and done battery holder mods on them so they can more easily be replaced out in the future. I'm going to be putting one of them up on the 'bay soon as I haven't a need to for two of these. I don't have extra midi cables or anything, but it would have a CD I put together with my videos on it, plus digital pdfs of both manuals and copies of the software I found online to use with the GoTEK I put in them. Plus a brand spanking new PSB-120 power supply.

Unless there is interest here for it?

And I did ask around, but so far the only person to offer to dump the rom off my mt-200s is in the UK and that would be quite expensive shipping wise.

CrossBow777 wrote:

And I did ask around, but so far the only person to offer to dump the rom off my mt-200s is in the UK and that would be quite expensive shipping wise.

Once I learn how to dump (and successfully program) a ROM on one of mine, I'll do it for you. That 2.01 firmware needs to get online, and I'd love to try it out. It'd probably cost like $5 to ship it via USPS First Class in a small priority flat rate box, inside a generic bubble mailer... best protection and cheapest price.

I actually know how to dump roms I just haven't a programmer to read them any longer. I had access to one in the late 90s and missed on the chance to own some very high end ones in the early 2000's when the company I worked from was in the middle of a large move and literally dumped about a half dozen eprom programmer kits to a local recycler. I wasn't happy about it but there wasn't anything I could about it either.

I also asked an acrcade pcb repair guy I know who live in the next state over if he could do it and he never got back with me about it.

But I tell you what, I do have another person I can ask about this and see what they have to say. As you said if I can find someone in the states to do it, it would just be a matter of pulling the chip, putting into some foam, put that into a small zip baggy, into a small box with lots of padding around it.

*UPDATE* Looks like this can happen after all. I've got a good contact in the next state over that shouldn't have a problem with dumping the eprom off it. So...I will see about extracting that 2.01 firmware chip from my MT-200 this weekend and get it ready. I've got the other MT-200 I can keep and use on hand in case there are any issues.

Would there even be a need or interest in the 2.0 version if I get the 2.01 dumped?

CrossBow777 wrote:

I actually know how to dump roms I just haven't a programmer to read them any longer. I had access to one in the late 90s and mi […]
Show full quote

I actually know how to dump roms I just haven't a programmer to read them any longer. I had access to one in the late 90s and missed on the chance to own some very high end ones in the early 2000's when the company I worked from was in the middle of a large move and literally dumped about a half dozen eprom programmer kits to a local recycler. I wasn't happy about it but there wasn't anything I could about it either.

I also asked an acrcade pcb repair guy I know who live in the next state over if he could do it and he never got back with me about it.

But I tell you what, I do have another person I can ask about this and see what they have to say. As you said if I can find someone in the states to do it, it would just be a matter of pulling the chip, putting into some foam, put that into a small zip baggy, into a small box with lots of padding around it.

*UPDATE* Looks like this can happen after all. I've got a good contact in the next state over that shouldn't have a problem with dumping the eprom off it. So...I will see about extracting that 2.01 firmware chip from my MT-200 this weekend and get it ready. I've got the other MT-200 I can keep and use on hand in case there are any issues.

Would there even be a need or interest in the 2.0 version if I get the 2.01 dumped?

That would be fantastic if you could get that ROM dumped. Version 2.01 for sure would be useful. Getting 2.0 dumped probably wouldn't be necessary, unless it turned out there was some kind of compatibility issue or bug with 2.01. I still plan on trying to dump the ones I have, to have the older versions available.

Could you tell from the pics I posted (in this Google Photos gallery) of the internals whether there were any other differences between my original unit (with 1.00 firmware) and your newer ones? I'm hoping they didn't use different firmwares for slightly different internals.

Nope the pics on the internals of yours pretty much mirror mine near as I could tell.

Only thing I do wish I existed...is an OLED replacement screen for these similar to other synths and hell even the MC-500 module sequencer has an OLED replacement. But I don't know the exact type used in the MT-200 so know if the LCDs in them are pretty standard and were used in lots of other stuff. Same for the MT-32, it amazes me there isn't an OLED replacement for those yet. My MT-32 is starting to show some LCD pixel issues when it is actively on and working. Oh well, I can't complain when I picked it up in working condition for $60 shipped.

I got my MT-200s in the mail yesterday and had a chance to look them over.

One worked perfectly and came with an original Roland power brick. The other came in the original box with a Roland power brick and Roland midi cables (no paperwork but the serials on the box and unit match), but it would give "IMPROPER DISK" errors. I took it apart to clean the disk drive (a Chinon FZ-357) and after much scrubbing at the heads with a q-tip soaked in alcohol (there was visible gunk on them), it was still giving the error. I found an image of the drives jumper setup online (this floppy is apparently used in Amigas and other systems as well, but with varying jumper setups... rather uncommon for a 1.44MB floppy) and set it up to work on my test PC (a 440BX).

It booted a DOS 6.22 disk, but would only read disks some times, other times it would have a general failure. Eventually I realized that when inserting a disk (with the lid off the drive) I could still press the disk carriage down a tiny bit and it would always read reliably after I did this. It seemed that the mechanism for locking the disk in place was just gummed up because after doing this a dozen or so times, it freed up and I noticed that disks would snap into place much more tightly when inserted. Even the eject button felt tighter and less mushy after this, and now it was reading perfectly every time. I switched the drive's jumpers back to how they were before, put it back into the MT-200 and to my astonishment it works perfectly now! So I just got two fully working units for a very decent price, including original AC adapters, MIDI cables and one original box. Not bad. 😀

Hopefully some time soon I'll get a chance to run some tests to see if these units (both with 1.12 firmware) suffer from the same odd hanging note issues I experienced in certain situations with my older v1.00 MT-200.

Also, I'll attach the image I found for the Chinon FZ-357 jumpers. Presumably, everything marked in green (A) is for an Amiga setup, and everything marked in blue (I) is for an IBM compatible setup. I have one other Chinon FX-357 Rev. B that is a dark gray color and it doesn't seem to power up at all no matter what settings I use (in the MT-200 or a PC), but using the IBM jumper settings on the black drive from the MT-200 worked as expected.

I forgot to write it down, but I'm about 90% sure of the jumper settings for the drive in the MT-200 so I marked that in red (there were only two jumpers used).

You could have just asked..hehe. When I did my video on the GoTEK floppy installation, I had a comment from someone asking what the original jumpers on the Chinon were supposed to be...

Only two jumpers are used on the Chinon in the MT-200 to make it work. I've confirmed this with both of the MT-200s I have and they both have the same jumpers and drive in them. So you only need DSO and MM jumpered.

Odd to see jumpers on a diskette drive, but, for a Roland MT-200, that's not bad at all. I've seen people install GoTEK floppy emulators in those devices since the diskette drives can be problematic sometimes, don't have any blank diskettes, and they don't like the noise (could be wrong). These diskette drives can read and write on 1.44MB and 720KB diskettes, correct?

Yes the Chinon drive in the MT-200 can read both 720k and 1.44mb IBM formatted disks. I actually installed a GoTEK into mine. Not because the drive was at fault, because in fact my drive works great! But because the floppy disks themselves that I have on hand were all starting to give bad reads all the time and I didn't feel like messing with it anymore. That is how I found out which jumpers in my pic above along with the right jumpers to set on the GoTEK to get it working in the MT-200.

Ozzuneoj wrote:

CrossBow777 wrote:

I actually know how to dump roms I just haven't a programmer to read them any longer. I had access to one in the late 90s and mi […]
Show full quote

I actually know how to dump roms I just haven't a programmer to read them any longer. I had access to one in the late 90s and missed on the chance to own some very high end ones in the early 2000's when the company I worked from was in the middle of a large move and literally dumped about a half dozen eprom programmer kits to a local recycler. I wasn't happy about it but there wasn't anything I could about it either.

I also asked an acrcade pcb repair guy I know who live in the next state over if he could do it and he never got back with me about it.

But I tell you what, I do have another person I can ask about this and see what they have to say. As you said if I can find someone in the states to do it, it would just be a matter of pulling the chip, putting into some foam, put that into a small zip baggy, into a small box with lots of padding around it.

*UPDATE* Looks like this can happen after all. I've got a good contact in the next state over that shouldn't have a problem with dumping the eprom off it. So...I will see about extracting that 2.01 firmware chip from my MT-200 this weekend and get it ready. I've got the other MT-200 I can keep and use on hand in case there are any issues.

Would there even be a need or interest in the 2.0 version if I get the 2.01 dumped?

That would be fantastic if you could get that ROM dumped. Version 2.01 for sure would be useful. Getting 2.0 dumped probably wouldn't be necessary, unless it turned out there was some kind of compatibility issue or bug with 2.01. I still plan on trying to dump the ones I have, to have the older versions available.

Could you tell from the pics I posted (in this Google Photos gallery) of the internals whether there were any other differences between my original unit (with 1.00 firmware) and your newer ones? I'm hoping they didn't use different firmwares for slightly different internals.

Wanted to let you know that I shipped my 2.01 firmware chip to TX this afternoon. Should be in my contacts hands by Saturday. Once they've dumped it, I'm sure they will email me the raw BIN file and I will be more than happy to include it here.

BTW...that is a pretty large eprom they used in the MT-200. It is a 2meg eprom! Going price on the bay for such chips is about $20 + shipping and you would still have to erase them. And they would be slower than the original as the original eprom is a 120ns chip and the ones I've seen on the bay are 150ns.

Will keep you updated...

I've seen 2Mb 256KB x 8 70ns FLASH on Digikey