VOGONS


The Yamaha OPL YMF718-S chipset.

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Reply 20 of 60, by Anonymous Coward

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Can MPU-401 be disabled on this card?

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V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 21 of 60, by gerwin

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Found the users guide, recompiled it and attached it this post.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

Can MPU-401 be disabled on this card?

the MPU can be given a alternate port address, it can possibly be disabled by manualy modifying opl3sa.ini.

edit: updated the user's guide a little

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  • Filename
    opl3sa3 users guide.zip
    File size
    283.61 KiB
    Downloads
    1097 downloads
    File comment
    Opl3Sa3 Users Guide Html format
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

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Reply 22 of 60, by keropi

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I just remembered I have this card:

rset1s.jpg

it is YMF719 based and came with a tiny OPL4 daugterboard (YMF704C-S chip) with those features:

The YMF704C (OPL4-ML) is a wave table synthesizer LSI that integrates OPL3, General Midi processor and Wave table ROM into one c […]
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The YMF704C (OPL4-ML) is a wave table synthesizer LSI that integrates OPL3, General Midi processor and Wave table ROM into one chip and complies with GM system level 1.

* Complies with GM system level 1
* Contains an interface that is compatible with MPU-401 UART mode
* FM synthesis is register compatible with OPL3
* Wave table synthesis is able to generate up to 24 voices simultaneously
* Contains 8-Mbit Wave table ROM

what is interesting is that the datashee that I copied those info from states that OPL3 is inside the OPL4??! this sounds like a feature the 719 chip should have, not the add-on daughterboard...

Anyone here has any interest in me testing this card? 😊

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Reply 23 of 60, by Mau1wurf1977

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Of course!

But you would need some decent OPL4 tunes. I wouldn't know where to look...

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 24 of 60, by keropi

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OPL4 is just a GM device, anything that uses GM suits for testing, from DOOM to whatever game supports GM... 1MB of samples 🤣 I am curious to hear it too, I bet is semi-crap even though it is a YAMAHA chip (targeted for el-cheapo use ofcourse)
I will see what I can do this weekend 🤣

IIRC I also have a Sound Callant 8500 card somewhere... this has on-board wavetable if I am not mistaken...

Last edited by keropi on 2010-12-17, 10:55. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 25 of 60, by Mau1wurf1977

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Just GM? Nothing "custom" or otherwise interesting?

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Reply 27 of 60, by Mau1wurf1977

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Ok now I'm confused. Wikipedia speaks about a YMF278 when it comes to OPL4?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YMF278

And it sound more like what the AWE can do. Wavetable with RAM to load stuff onto...

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Reply 28 of 60, by Mau1wurf1977

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Ok here is more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonsound

Moonblaster's Moonsound. A device for the MSX which uses the OPL4.

Here are some tunes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOzCqRcxIps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfkGPJvXlqU

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Reply 29 of 60, by keropi

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sounds OK , but I have no idea if custom samples can be used with pc soundcards... sure the chip supports external samples but I bet china-based manufacturers didn't bother with it...

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Reply 30 of 60, by gerwin

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This DB contains the second edition of the OPL-4 with 1MB ROM in the same chip.

From my soundcard overview:

YAMAHA ISA RELATED CHIPSETS
---------------------------
OPL2/YM3812 FM chip, 9 channels, mono.
OPL2/YM3812-F FM chip, 9 channels, mono. (smaller package, sized like OPL3)
OPL3/YMF262 or YMF262-M FM chip, 18 channels, simple stereo (hard left, center or hard right).
OPL4/YMF278 FM+Midi chip with a max of 4MB addressing space. 100-pin SQFP.
OPL4/YMF704C as YMF278 with 1MB ROM, MPU-401 interface, GM, 24 Voices.
"contains the same sample set as the stand alone ROM which was certified by Fat Labs" (GM sound compatibility)
OPL3SA /YMF701 Controller+Codec, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, PnP, IDE, Integr. OPL3.
OPL3SA2/YMF711 Controller+Codec, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, PnP, IDE, Integr. OPL3, revised Log.Device support and DMA/IRQ config.
OPL3SA3/YMF715 Controller+Codec, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, PnP, IDE, Integr. OPL3, adds power management and 3D sound.

-YMF719 Chips are told to be rebranded YMF715's, probably the same story with YMF718 Chips.
-OPL3SAx Cards made by Aopen (AW-719), Labway (LWHA151-A00), Addonics, Genius... Chipset also used on Mainboard/Laptops.
-OPL3SAx Cards usually with a misplaced WBH (for OPL4-ML DB).
-Sometimes an OPL3 like chip branded only 'LS262' or 'DSP24S' is found on soundcards...

EDIT: corrected table: SB16 replaced with WSS.

Last edited by gerwin on 2011-07-12, 08:46. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 31 of 60, by retro games 100

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keropi wrote:

IIRC I also have a Sound Callant 8500 card somewhere... this has on-board wavetable if I am not mistaken...

Keropi, is your 8500 sound card the same as this one?

SC8500 sound card - what does it do?

Reply 32 of 60, by keropi

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retro games 100 wrote:
keropi wrote:

IIRC I also have a Sound Callant 8500 card somewhere... this has on-board wavetable if I am not mistaken...

Keropi, is your 8500 sound card the same as this one?

SC8500 sound card - what does it do?

I searched it rg100 and I made a mistake, I have the SC-8000 model... sorry I remembered wrong the model...

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Reply 33 of 60, by retro games 100

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keropi wrote:
retro games 100 wrote:
keropi wrote:

IIRC I also have a Sound Callant 8500 card somewhere... this has on-board wavetable if I am not mistaken...

Keropi, is your 8500 sound card the same as this one?

SC8500 sound card - what does it do?

I searched it rg100 and I made a mistake, I have the SC-8000 model... sorry I remembered wrong the model...

Ah that's OK! 😀

Reply 34 of 60, by MatthewBrian

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I had a nearly same card, Yamaha OPL3 (ISA). It doesn't have any daughtercards, though.

It seems that it was manufactured (or sold) by Addonics, because it has Addonics sticker on top of the card..

Edit: Recording attached. I recorded it using the 'Stereo Mix' in Windows 98FE, without any external MIDI device, using Audacity.

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  • Filename
    YamahaOPL3.mp3
    File size
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    716 downloads
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    Yamaha OPL3 Recording - MI2 Opening
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

Reply 35 of 60, by retro games 100

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MatthewBrian wrote:

Edit: Recording attached. I recorded it using the 'Stereo Mix' in Windows 98FE, without any external MIDI device, using Audacity.

Audacity works in Windows 98? That's great, I'll give that a go!

Reply 36 of 60, by MatthewBrian

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retro games 100 wrote:
MatthewBrian wrote:

Edit: Recording attached. I recorded it using the 'Stereo Mix' in Windows 98FE, without any external MIDI device, using Audacity.

Audacity works in Windows 98? That's great, I'll give that a go!

Works with a little quirks.
Just disable some automatic cursor updating on the preferences so your machine won't be too heavy to handle it. Mine is an Pentium 133 (at 166), 64Mb RAM.

Reply 37 of 60, by Anonymous Coward

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I have this exact card, except instead of the WB header it has two QDSP chips. I've seen tonnes of these cards, but never with the Qdsp chip fitted. Haven't tested it yet as the card does not like my 486.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 38 of 60, by Anonymous Coward

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I now have 4 different Yamaha YMF ISA cards, only one of which will work properly in my VL/EISA 486 board for whatever reason (when others are installed, the system will not turn on. Could be some kind of I/O conflict). It is not made by Labway/Addonics, and looks quite generic:

3706758544_c89e5fcb93.jpg

It's based on the YMF718 chip, which as far as I can tell from what everyone says here is no different than the YMF715 or 719.

I first tested it a couple of months ago, but was discouraged due to the crap configuration software. I had another stab at it yesterday, and I actually got the damn thing working to my satisfaction.

As Gerwin has pointed out, it is best to avoid the SETUPSA program and configure/load the OPL3SA.INI file manually. But, for whatever reason that was not working out for me. I run PC-DOS 2000 and WFW311 on this system, and I installed the Yamaha software for both environments during the initial setup. For whatever reason, I found that SETUPSA /S was completely ignoring any of the changes I made to OPL3SA.INI.

The only way I could actually seem to configure the card was to run SETUPSA (without the /S option). However, it never gave me the DMA options I wanted, and insisted on placing the card at some stupid setting. But I figured it must be writing this information somewhere, because it was writing to the harddrive like crazy as the program exited.

By chance, I remembered that I happened to see some crap SETUPSA dumped into the windows SYSTEM.INI file. So I went into SYSTEM.INI and made the changes in the same way I would to the OPL3SA.INI file. I loaded up SETUPSA /S, and it FINALLY FREAKING WORKED!!!

I have to say so far I am impressed with the compatibility in DOS. I tested out SB Pro mode with Freddy Pharkus, Conquests of the Longbow, Betrayal at Krondor, Raptor, Skyroads and Grand Theft Auto 1. I don't have a lot of stuff that supports WSS, but I was able to get it working by setting it to DMA1. That was the only way Sierra games would recognise it. If there are any games that are known not to work with this card, I would like to know so that I can test them on my system.

Also, as far as I can tell, the MPU401 on this card can not be disabled, which isn't so bad as it uses the same IRQ as the SB.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 39 of 60, by gerwin

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Anonymous Coward wrote:

As Gerwin has pointed out, it is best to avoid the SETUPSA program and configure/load the OPL3SA.INI file manually. But, for whatever reason that was not working out for me. I run PC-DOS 2000 and WFW311 on this system, and I installed the Yamaha software for both environments during the initial setup. For whatever reason, I found that SETUPSA /S was completely ignoring any of the changes I made to OPL3SA.INI.

Today I brought down a PC from the attic that has an OPL3SA card installed: The addonics/labway YMF719 type. I noticed SetupSA v2.11 does actually follow the changes I made to opl3sa.ini in the same folder. For example, when I edit opl3sa.ini and change the base address from 220h to 240h, then run SetupSA /S, It will show the soundblaster configured for 240h.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

By chance, I remembered that I happened to see some crap SETUPSA dumped into the windows SYSTEM.INI file. So I went into SYSTEM.INI and made the changes in the same way I would to the OPL3SA.INI file. I loaded up SETUPSA /S, and it FINALLY FREAKING WORKED!!!

I searched for recently modified .ini files inside my WINNT folder, but only win.ini was modified and it contained no OPL3SA related stuff. This was windows 2000, so maybe it behaves different when a c:\windows folder is present instead.

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