Awesome! So lucky to live this time and relive even better 486 era. Just ordered the highend Orpheus card (PCMIDI + Dreamblaster). So finally some card, where you can use intelligent hardware MPU-401. For that: can I use Roland SC-88? I am about to purchase SC-88. But if it does not work with hardware MPU-401, then I would go for Roland MT-32. Mostly I play Apogee games and some adventure (Kyrandia, Myst, Dungeon Master)

EDIT: I got back to 486 after 20 years. Dreamblaster is like cheaper replacement for Roland, based on PCM or wavetable samples, right? (I'm music producer, this is my daily bread & butter...I know Roland is famous for its PCM romplers...I have real synthesizer Roland JP-8080 on my table...too bad it does not have general midi)

Is it still possible to get just a PCMidi card? I filled out the order sheet sometime last year and haven't heard anything about it. Not sure if I should try the form again or if they're just no longer being made.

cyberluke wrote on 2021-05-17, 00:39:

Awesome! So lucky to live this time and relive even better 486 era. Just ordered the highend Orpheus card (PCMIDI + Dreamblaster). So finally some card, where you can use intelligent hardware MPU-401. For that: can I use Roland SC-88? I am about to purchase SC-88. But if it does not work with hardware MPU-401, then I would go for Roland MT-32. Mostly I play Apogee games and some adventure (Kyrandia, Myst, Dungeon Master)

EDIT: I got back to 486 after 20 years. Dreamblaster is like cheaper replacement for Roland, based on PCM or wavetable samples, right? (I'm music producer, this is my daily bread & butter...I know Roland is famous for its PCM romplers...I have real synthesizer Roland JP-8080 on my table...too bad it does not have general midi)

the PCMIDI portion of the card will take care of all SC-88/MT-32 needs and UART or Roland modes will be used by the games as needed
Dreamblasters are modern wavetable cards , have a look at X2GS that offers both a GS bank and the user-made "Buran GM" one

rojovision wrote on 2021-05-18, 02:32:

Is it still possible to get just a PCMidi card? I filled out the order sheet sometime last year and haven't heard anything about it. Not sure if I should try the form again or if they're just no longer being made.

yes it is but our main focus is Orpheus soundcards atm and they take all our time currently, sorry about that...
we actually received a bunch of PCMIDI PCBs yesterday but sadly they are not on par with the specs we paid for - so it's another delay for pcmidi I'm afraid... we will order new boards again this week though

all that work and logistics is very time consuming, once queues zero out expect a long break from new cards - it is much needed!

As long as you return with even more awesome projects keropi 😁

keropi wrote on 2021-05-18, 06:33:

all that work and logistics is very time consuming, once queues zero out expect a long break from new cards - it is much needed!

Yeah that new Lamborghini is not gonna buy itself right? 😁

Congratulations for all you work and the great support, you guys are awesome and hopefully you can soon take a well deserved break!

I have been sitting quite some time undecided between this and AWE64 remake. Finally pulled the trigger on this one moments ago.
I guess recent talks here about possible "long deserved break" helped a bit 😀

Also last but not least pc-sound-legacy YT channel recent clips made this call easier

vutt wrote on 2021-05-18, 16:01:

I have been sitting quite some time undecided between this and AWE64 remake. Finally pulled the trigger on this one moments ago.
I guess recent talks here about possible "long deserved break" helped a bit 😀

You won't be disappointed 😁. The AWE 64 Legacy is a really interesting project. I love my Orpheus though.

keropi wrote on 2021-05-18, 06:33:

yes it is but our main focus is Orpheus soundcards atm and they take all our time currently, sorry about that... we actually rec […]
Show full quote

rojovision wrote on 2021-05-18, 02:32:

Is it still possible to get just a PCMidi card? I filled out the order sheet sometime last year and haven't heard anything about it. Not sure if I should try the form again or if they're just no longer being made.

yes it is but our main focus is Orpheus soundcards atm and they take all our time currently, sorry about that...
we actually received a bunch of PCMIDI PCBs yesterday but sadly they are not on par with the specs we paid for - so it's another delay for pcmidi I'm afraid... we will order new boards again this week though

all that work and logistics is very time consuming, once queues zero out expect a long break from new cards - it is much needed!

Cool, thanks for the update. Bummer about the bad boards, though.

rojovision wrote on 2021-05-19, 00:02:

keropi wrote on 2021-05-18, 06:33:

yes it is but our main focus is Orpheus soundcards atm and they take all our time currently, sorry about that... we actually rec […]
Show full quote

rojovision wrote on 2021-05-18, 02:32:

Is it still possible to get just a PCMidi card? I filled out the order sheet sometime last year and haven't heard anything about it. Not sure if I should try the form again or if they're just no longer being made.

yes it is but our main focus is Orpheus soundcards atm and they take all our time currently, sorry about that...
we actually received a bunch of PCMIDI PCBs yesterday but sadly they are not on par with the specs we paid for - so it's another delay for pcmidi I'm afraid... we will order new boards again this week though

all that work and logistics is very time consuming, once queues zero out expect a long break from new cards - it is much needed!

Cool, thanks for the update. Bummer about the bad boards, though.

Boards are not bad, just not up to some people's standards. So it was decided for a new batch with the good standards we are used to

Cheers!

Marmes wrote on 2021-05-19, 15:10:

Boards are not bad, just not up to some people's standards. So it was decided for a new batch with the good standards we are used to

Cheers!

If you won't use them would you consider doing a sale on just the boards for people who want to DIY their cards?

appiah4 wrote on 2021-05-19, 17:19:

Marmes wrote on 2021-05-19, 15:10:

Boards are not bad, just not up to some people's standards. So it was decided for a new batch with the good standards we are used to

Cheers!

If you won't use them would you consider doing a sale on just the boards for people who want to DIY their cards?

we will see if/how to handle this since by the time you get to program the cpld the card is pretty much done...

guys I remember seeing an Orpheus video where someone explained the jumpers in a very good and easy to follow way, I cannot for the life of me remember which video it was
can anyone help locating this assuming it was not a dream I had? 🤣
it would be nice to link said video to the temporary site under the jumper settings
thanks!

keropi wrote on 2021-05-20, 13:34:

guys I remember seeing an Orpheus video where someone explained the jumpers in a very good and easy to follow way, I cannot for […]
Show full quote

guys I remember seeing an Orpheus video where someone explained the jumpers in a very good and easy to follow way, I cannot for the life of me remember which video it was
can anyone help locating this assuming it was not a dream I had? 🤣
it would be nice to link said video to the temporary site under the jumper settings
thanks!

RMC talked a bit about jumpers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9swHDYrB7Cc

Starting at 12:55

keropi wrote on 2019-12-07, 15:12:

https://i.imgur.com/2G5gA7bl.jpg […]
Show full quote

I assume this is the final version of the cheapest board without PCMIDI MPU stuff. I wonder why some of the smd elements meant for MIDI section are still populated? Is it because of production convince? Or you are just generous by throwing in some free stuff for us 😉

vutt wrote on 2021-05-23, 13:48:

I assume this is the final version of the cheapest board without PCMIDI MPU stuff. I wonder why some of the smd elements meant for MIDI section are still populated? Is it because of production convince? Or you are just generous by throwing in some free stuff for us 😉

indeed this is done to have a single board that can be made to be both versions
those passives that are left there have no function and no effect if the pcmidi chips are not installed

Hi Keropi, I have ordered two Orpheus Soundcards with X2 and am very happy with them. I own 3 Mt-32's , one MT-100 and one SC-88 Pro but I have a crazy idea:

As Orpheus is a rare real MPU-401 compatible soundcard with wavetable, considering the cheap and effective MT32-PI performance, I'm thinking it will be the real "ultimate" soundcard to merge these two together and have a board to accept Raspberry Pi on headers and do the rest inside the soundcard. In this case we will have a soundcard doing everything on its own, with zero messy cabling and external mixing. Of course still have the option to send the midi notes to the external devices like before for the ones who desire to experience the real hardware.

We can also add headers to route the LCD and control buttons to have them on the 5.25" front bays.

What do you think?

a_h_adl wrote on 2021-05-25, 10:02:

Hi Keropi, I have ordered two Orpheus Soundcards with X2 and am very happy with them. I own 3 Mt-32's , one MT-100 and one SC-88 […]
Show full quote

Hi Keropi, I have ordered two Orpheus Soundcards with X2 and am very happy with them. I own 3 Mt-32's , one MT-100 and one SC-88 Pro but I have a crazy idea:

As Orpheus is a rare real MPU-401 compatible soundcard with wavetable, considering the cheap and effective MT32-PI performance, I'm thinking it will be the real "ultimate" soundcard to merge these two together and have a board to accept Raspberry Pi on headers and do the rest inside the soundcard. In this case we will have a soundcard doing everything on its own, with zero messy cabling and external mixing. Of course still have the option to send the midi notes to the external devices like before for the ones who desire to experience the real hardware.

We can also add headers to route the LCD and control buttons to have them on the 5.25" front bays.

What do you think?

hey a_h_adl !
what you describe can be done already with a pcmidi+McCake the only drawback is that you need put such combo in a slot where the next card is not a full-height one
there will also be a remote display for the McCake 😉 maybe I spoil the surprise but Serdaco has it in the works 😀
it is also my opinion that a floppy power connector is unavoidable in order to safely power a Pi inside a pc
we certainly live in great times for old computers, those Pi boards are really getting used since they became quite powerful (for what they are and cost) - mt32pi is a great project and now there is PiStorm to replace 68000 cpus.... quite amazing!

Yes, surely It must have been thought and initiated way before than me. Thanks for pointing McCake project to me. Things happen so quickly in recent years and I'm happy that Serdaco has it under development.

Just got my card yesterday and have the day off today so it is time for some retro goodness. Unfortunately when I install the card my system will not boot from any device (hard drive, floppy). System posts but will not go any further than initial boot screen and memory scan. I am thinking it is a conflict of some kind but I cannot figure it out. I have adjusted all of the jumpers on the card to no avail. Any suggestions? Anyone have any trouble getting their cards recognized in their systems? Dell Optiplex GL5100 Socket 5