Looking for a Casio GZ-50M, GZ-30M or GZ-70SP that I can buy.

Posted on 2022-06-02, 11:18

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Hi everyone, I have been looking for a Casio GZ-50M, GZ-30M or GZ-70Sp ever since I got into MIDI. I instantly fell in love with the device since I first heard some recordings of it on YouTube. Logically I have been checking FromJapan, eBay, eBay Kleinanzeigen, Vinted, Etsy, 2dehands and Marktplaats …

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Re: Compaq SLT/286 hard drive replacement

Posted on 2022-06-02, 11:01

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That does help a lot, thank you very much! 😀

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Compaq SLT/286 hard drive replacement

Posted on 2022-06-01, 22:48

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi everyone, I started working on a Compaq SLT/286 today. I already successfully did the Dallas clock battery mod so I can use a normal CMOS battery. I ran a cable to a place easily accessible from the outside and I put some RCA connectors in between, so the battery will be easy to disconnect and …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2022-06-01, 22:35

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yesterday I received my Yamaha QY-8, imported from Japan. It was a steal for only €13,-. It is in great condition and it still had the factory screen protector on it. I cleaned it up nicely and I desoldered the backup battery. I'm not gonna compose any songs on it in the near future that need to be …

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Re: Olivetti Philos 20 | Information and repair story

Posted on 2022-05-28, 19:27

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

This should be my final update on this project, since I finished the hardware side of things now. Since my last post I haven't seen the sync error even once, so I guess the new capacitor fixed the problem. After the presence of the new capacitor it has only shown the sync error when the CMOS battery …

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Re: Compaq ProLinea 4/25s - Seems to be dead, ideas?

Posted on 2022-05-28, 19:08

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Ah that's very nice! I should've known that, since most of my Compaqs don't have electrolytics either. I don't have an oscilloscope, so I can't tell you how to do that. I have sadly always been limited to just replacing the oscillators and see what happens.

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Re: compaq 7792dmt !

Posted on 2022-05-26, 22:13

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

On a quick search already found this one for you: Looking for Drivers: S3 Aurora64V+ video card on Compaq Presario 3020 All in One

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Re: compaq 7792dmt !

Posted on 2022-05-26, 22:07

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If I can't find the drivers for the laptop itself, I will usually just look up a specifications sheet and search for all the hardware drivers individually. Usually drivers will turn up then. Have you tried this approach yet? I added the specification sheet for your laptop in the attachments. Good …

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Re: Compaq ProLinea 4/25s - Seems to be dead, ideas?

Posted on 2022-05-26, 22:00

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That no life + pop in the PC speaker sounds like a similar issue I have had on an Olivetti before, although I can't confirm since I didn't have a POST card to work with at the time. Have you tried checking the oscillators and the capacitors yet?

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Re: Need help with adding a smd capacitor on Voodoo 5 card

Posted on 2022-05-26, 21:55

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That's a good soldering job, probably wasn't easy. Well done! Let's hope the card will live on for long. 😀

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Re: Olivetti Philos 20 | Information and repair story

Posted on 2022-05-26, 21:41

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

It's time for another update. I replaced the floppy disk cable connector with the one from my Olivetti Philos 48. It appears to be compatible: the laptop reads floppy's perfectly again. I replaced the PC speaker with a new 8Ω speaker. The sound is louder than ever before, so now I can listen to some …

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Re: Be careful how you store your stuff!

Posted on 2022-05-24, 21:46

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That's a close call, but great you saved the old electronics! I use a combination of plastic containers and plastic bags. If it is too big to fit in a container, a plastic bag will have to do. Since the internals aren't exposed I rarely bother to use anti-static bags on anything. Additionally I …

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Re: Post your Packard Bell computers here!

Posted on 2022-05-24, 21:39

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Oh I have this light blue Packard Bell iMedia set complete with monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse. I will make some pictures of it later this week. It's stored in my old room at my dad's place. 😀

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Re: Olivetti Philos 20 | Information and repair story

Posted on 2022-05-24, 21:31

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I have another update on this project. The Olivetti Philos had a leaking capacitor near an oscillator after all, which has been replaced now. It still seems to spit out the sync error once in a while, but a bit less often, so I am not sure what else to do about it. It seems to be a small improvement …

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Re: SoftMPU on a Compaq Contura

Posted on 2022-05-23, 21:30

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by Strahssis

in SoftMPU

in SoftMPU

Hi there, thanks again for helping out! It's much appreciated. If you're into MT-32, the MT-32Pi project supports SoftMPU, too. I have heard of the project and I heard that it emulates the MT-32 pretty well. I might use this at some point, but I am kind of a purist when it comes to sound cards and …

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Re: Mysterious MS-50 MIDI module identification

Posted on 2022-05-23, 21:13

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

For anyone interested in the sound of the MIDI module I made a recording of the factory demo through using the line-in on my PC. Enjoy! 😀

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Re: Mysterious MS-50 MIDI module identification

Posted on 2022-05-20, 22:28

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thank you for the information. That unit looks almost identical yeah, it is missing a few chips that mine has, but otherwise it is the same. That topic was an interesting read, thanks! 😀

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Mysterious MS-50 MIDI module identification

Posted on 2022-05-19, 22:01

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi everyone, I recently acquired a mysterious unbranded MS-50 MIDI module for €40,-. I couldn't find anything about it online, so mystery tempted me to buy it. Today the package arrived and I tested the module. From my personal experience it was the worst General MIDI synthesis I have ever heard …

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Re: Compaq Contura 420CX original hard disk backup

Posted on 2022-05-17, 12:20

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

It could, but sadly I don't have one of those and the 9x-compatible ones are pretty rare. The PCMCIA sound cards you usually see for sale are for Windows 2000 or XP and up. I bet a sound card like that would make it the perfect portable retro gaming device.

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Re: Compaq Contura 420CX original hard disk backup

Posted on 2022-05-16, 21:05

by

by Strahssis

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Is it a good retro gaming laptop? Good screen? Any sound card? It has a 10.4 inch 640x480 active matrix screen, so basically de creme de la creme for retro gaming. Sadly it doesn't have a sound card, so I use an external MIDI device or a Covox Speech Thing clone to get sound out of it. It is very …

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