I pulled this card out of an old 286 Amstrad:
Seems to be an adlib type card but the addition of the DB15 connector and the INT jumpers is interesting as I belive standard adlib cards don't have either of these.
Is that DB15 a MIDI port or just a joystick port? If its a MIDI port I wonder if it supports intelligent mode (I guess that would be a bit of a long shot 😒 )
Can anyone shed some light on it?
wrote:I pulled this card out of an old 286 Amstrad: […]
I pulled this card out of an old 286 Amstrad:
Seems to be an adlib type card but the addition of the DB15 connector and the INT jumpers is interesting as I belive standard adlib cards don't have either of these.
Is that DB15 a MIDI port or just a joystick port? If its a MIDI port I wonder if it supports intelligent mode (I guess that would be a bit of a long shot 😒 )
Can anyone shed some light on it?
That big Yamaha chip is the OPL2, providing midi sound. I believe the card is an Adlib clone... The DB15 port seems tricky... It's probably just for joystick...
I doubt an AdLib clone would use the DB15 for MIDI in any way. Like Sprcorreia said, most likely the DB15 is just a joystick port.
Creator of The Many Sounds of:, a collection of various DOS games played using different sound cards.
I think it might actually be a Sound Blaster clone as the Adlib doesn't require an IRQ and doesn't have a game port.
wrote:I think it might actually be a Sound Blaster clone as the Adlib doesn't require an IRQ and doesn't have a game port.
True, first SB used OPL2, so it could be.
Well... AdLib doesn't need an IRQ... joystick ports do though, I'm fairly sure.
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The shape and size and the volume thingy do scream "Adlib clone".
I don't think there are enough components on that card for Sound Blaster compatibility. E.g. Media Vision Thunder Board has a lot more components.
It's an odd litle card. I agree that's its probably not a sound blaster clone because it does seem a bit too basic for that. I'm confused about the IRQ jumper, I'm not sure if joysticks need an IRQ? I don't remember ever havng to set a joystick IRQ, even if I'm using the gameport on a multi-I/O card, not a sound card. I googled around for info but I couldn't get a definitive answer. That's why I was hoping it would be a MIDI port because MIDI does use an IRQ 😀
I guess the only way I'll know for sure is if I just whack it in a system, hook up a MIDI module and see if I can make it play something...
If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.
since it is made by Amstrad it looks like an adlib + gameport combo card... nothing more - nothing less .... that there is no midi port of any kind
I remember an Amstrad 5286 I think, which was very small in size, and was targeted mainly for games. It had a 16mhz cpu, 1mb ram, 40mb hd, and an adlib clone that looked like this. I remember it came with with 3 games bundled, Prince of persia, a golf game and a flight simulator.
Yup, here are some pics:
Yep, the one I have looks almost exactly like that, except its a 7286 and only has 1 floppy.. Has a 16MHz AMD 286, and 1MB RAM in SIPPs.
It boots up and there are a couple of games like Bio Menace and Crystal Caves on the drive but the floppy drive is rooted and I'm trying to get Loom on there so I can test with an MT32 and sate my curiosity. It definitely works as adlib with a joystick though 😀
If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.
wrote:... I'm trying to get Loom on there so I can test with an MT32 and sate my curiosity.
When I test an MT32 device, I use the freely downloadable dottdemo.zip (Lucas Arts "Day of the tentacle" demo). Loom sounds interesting. I'll see if a demo exists...
I've actually got the full version of Day of the Tentacle on CD. It's a very cool game 😀 unfortunately this box doesn't have a CD drive.
Loom is also an excellent game, a bit different to normal adventure games and quite short but worth playing at least once 😀
If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.
After the confusion with Wing Commander, I use Gateway from Legend Entertainment. It's the ultimate MT-32 test. AFAIK even Ensoniq cars don't work with it...
OK well I've tested it out...
definitely just adlib + game port... not very exciting at all really. No digital sound.
Also its REALLY noisy, not sure whether the card is old and faulty or something else is going on in the PC but there's all sorts of static and 'computer thinking' noises and its so loud it drowns out the music.
If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.
wrote:Also its REALLY noisy, not sure whether the card is old and faulty or something else is going on in the PC but there's all sorts of static and 'computer thinking' noises and its so loud it drowns out the music.
Sounds like my SB 2.0's when I had them in the Slot 1 and SS7 systems.
Stick it in your 386 and see if you get the same thing?
this was in a 286 so I'm hoping its not a speed issue 😜
but yeah maybe I'll try a in a different system to be sure.
If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.
Yea 286 should be fine!
Is yours a PC5286? Because according to this:
http://www.retroisle.com/amstrad/pcs/general.php
http://www.retroisle.com/amstrad/pcs/general.php wrote:The PC5286 was the first PC to be marketed as a games machine, and came with an Adlib- and SoundBlaster-compatible sound card manufactured by Amstrad themselves
it's a Sound Blaster clone.
