First post, by zwrr
- Rank
- Member
My idea for converting a Roland DTM MIDI Box into a WaveBlaster board:
Out of curiosity, I bought a MIDI synthesizer, supposedly a device used in Japanese karaoke in the 1990s, called a DTM MIDI Box. It's a simple black metal box containing a Roland MIDI board. According to my research, this synthesizer seems to have some connection to the SC-88. However, I didn't use it because the box was too ugly. Yesterday, I suddenly remembered it and had an idea: could I modify the synthesizer into a WaveBlaster board and install it on my sound card?
After measurement, I discovered some problems. The reset signal for this MIDI board comes from a TL7705 chip on another I/O board. Also, the MIDI board outputs a digital signal, which needs to be converted to an analog signal by a PCM69AU chip on the I/O board and then output via an RC4558. Furthermore, this digital signal is a TRLR right-aligned format, common in the 1990s but rarely used now.
My initial idea is to create an intermediate layer board to connect the MIDI board and the WaveBlaster interface, and to build the reset circuit and DAC circuit on this intermediate layer board. After consulting numerous resources, I chose to use the MAX810L and PT8211-S chips for the reset and DAC circuits, and have drawn the design diagram.
Since I haven't systematically studied analog and digital circuits, I would like to hear everyone's opinions on whether this method is feasible. Any feedback on my design diagram would be greatly appreciated.
SBC1: Cyrix 5x86-120, HS-5x86HVGA, 16MB EDO, GD54M30, SB Pro II, HardMPU-wt
SBC2: VIA C3-800, PCISA-C800, 128MB SDRAM, Savage4 Pro, SB AWE64 Gold
SBC3: Tualatin-S 1.4G, PCI-6872, 256MB SDRAM, FX5200 PCI, Voodoo2 SLI, SB Live