Suggestions for buying a Roland Soundcanvas 88 / 8820 \ VOGONS

Suggestions for buying a Roland Soundcanvas 88 / 8820

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First post, by TimeTravelDuck

Posted on 2024-05-04, 14:24

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Hello everyone,
I hope to be in the right subforum, otherwise, feel free to move the thread.

I was looking for a real Sound Canvas 88 / 8820. I have found some of them on eBay but they are all from Japan and their voltage is 100v.
Since I live in Europe and here is 230/240v does exist some converter/power supply I can use to use the Sound Canvas without problems?

Do you have other suggestions?
Main use will be on DOS gaming under 86box/Dosbox and listening to MIDI music.

Thank you!

Reply 1 of 11, by beeper6581

Posted on 2024-05-04, 21:51

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Off the top of my head I think only the 88pro and 8850 use AC power directly. The others use AC to DC power packs which you should be able to get a compatible one locally easily.

Reply 2 of 11, by TimeTravelDuck

Posted on 2024-05-04, 22:20

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Hey Beeper! Yeah I've read behind the SC-8820 just 9V , so getting a 220/230v in and 9v out should be OK ? Found some on ebay...

Reply 3 of 11, by beeper6581

Posted on 2024-05-04, 22:35

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You need to make sure the polarity of the DC connector is correct. Roland typically has negative center pin, most generic ones are positive center pin. I use a power pack which I can swap the polarity around.

Reply 4 of 11, by TimeTravelDuck

Posted on 2024-05-04, 23:07

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In the end, I've found one in Italy with already the Italian power adapter in mint condition. Took it. 😀

Reply 5 of 11, by megatron-uk

Posted on 2024-05-05, 11:52

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For anyone else looking at this, the SC8820 rear panel looks like this:

The attachment IMG_20240505_124854_(1200_x_900_pixel).jpg is no longer available

Power requirements are 9vc DC, centre negative. In fact it is identical to the SC55 MK2, although only draws 400mA compared to the 600mA of the earlier device.

You should be able to use a common type of PSU for both of them.

My collection database and technical wiki:
https://www.target-earth.net

Reply 6 of 11, by zuldan

Posted on 2024-05-05, 12:00

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FYI, a standard SC-88 has a direct AC cord as well.

The mod to change the AC power to your region is pretty simple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jIBWbfu_VQ

Reply 7 of 11, by TimeTravelDuck

Posted on 2024-05-07, 19:30

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So the 8820 arrived and it's perfect. Finally 😀

A question: does the 8820 have an internal battery? I was reading the technical manual and didn't find anything.

Reply 8 of 11, by sanedu

Posted on 2024-10-07, 22:05

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TimeTravelDuck wrote on 2024-05-07, 19:30:

So the 8820 arrived and it's perfect. Finally 😀

A question: does the 8820 have an internal battery? I was reading the technical manual and didn't find anything.

Did you ever found out if the 8820 has an internal battery or not? I'm going to get one soon and I'm also wondering if it has it.

Reply 9 of 11, by Agent of the BSoD

Posted on 2024-10-11, 01:27

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sanedu wrote on 2024-10-07, 22:05:

TimeTravelDuck wrote on 2024-05-07, 19:30:

So the 8820 arrived and it's perfect. Finally 😀

A question: does the 8820 have an internal battery? I was reading the technical manual and didn't find anything.

Did you ever found out if the 8820 has an internal battery or not? I'm going to get one soon and I'm also wondering if it has it.

No, there is no battery in the 8820.

Reply 10 of 11, by sanedu

Posted on 2024-10-11, 16:27

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Agent of the BSoD wrote on 2024-10-11, 01:27:

sanedu wrote on 2024-10-07, 22:05:

TimeTravelDuck wrote on 2024-05-07, 19:30:

So the 8820 arrived and it's perfect. Finally 😀

A question: does the 8820 have an internal battery? I was reading the technical manual and didn't find anything.

Did you ever found out if the 8820 has an internal battery or not? I'm going to get one soon and I'm also wondering if it has it.

No, there is no battery in the 8820.

Thank you! I already got my 8820 and it's working perfectly. Very nice piece of hardware!

Reply 11 of 11, by shofotolavski

Posted on 2024-12-19, 15:10

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https://youtu.be/GL1onh_c3mE?si=PmNPVw9kkRKe0IE7
7:45
sc-88 It seems that the internal power supply only needs to re-solder the contact position to change the operating voltage. The original transformer has reserved interfaces.

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