badmojo wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:49:

Socket3 wrote on 2024-03-05, 08:37:

The roland card appears to be an SCC-1. I don't know much about it, apart from it's supposed to be sort of an internal version of the SC-55.

Internal SC-55 + intelligent mode MPU401... and it's worth a lot of money these days.

Yup ...I have wanted one myself but not at the prices they go for now, the Yamaha ones are also as expensive, hell most Midi stuff is overly expensive.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:51:

badmojo wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:49:

Socket3 wrote on 2024-03-05, 08:37:

The roland card appears to be an SCC-1. I don't know much about it, apart from it's supposed to be sort of an internal version of the SC-55.

Internal SC-55 + intelligent mode MPU401... and it's worth a lot of money these days.

Yup ...I have wanted one myself but not at the prices they go for now, the Yamaha ones are also as expensive, hell most Midi stuff is overly expensive.

So, what is the consensus on expensive these days ?
Not exactly cheap those in the picture, but at least significantly less than that lone SCC-1 currently being flogged for a hefty £400 as 'parts' 🤣

badmojo wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:49:

Socket3 wrote on 2024-03-05, 08:37:

The roland card appears to be an SCC-1. I don't know much about it, apart from it's supposed to be sort of an internal version of the SC-55.

Internal SC-55 + intelligent mode MPU401... and it's worth a lot of money these days.

This has mostly been ameliorated due to the existence of the X2GS daughterboard. Using a wavetable header in this way also saves you an expansion slot and the sound card's mixer software to adjust the volume.

Found @ a local ad site a lot of 8 motherboards for the low price of 5€. All untested. I assumed they would be dead, and it would be ok if one could be salvaged.

The firsts motherboard is an DataExpert EXP8551 Ver 1.1:

Not booting, beeping weirdly and the post code E1 (AMI Bios). In the manual of my post card had no such code for AMI. Luckily the theretroweb.com had a alternative Bios. Picked the Award bios, and the post code C1 came up.
C1 points to "Memory presence test; OEM specific-test to size on- board memory. Bad SIMM.". After tracing all probable culprits, found network resistors in opened circuit, namely RN1, RN2 and RN3. After replacing them the motherboard booted normally.

Next, a Epox P55-VX:

Dead, no post, no signs of life and no shorts. Having an EEprom and considering the "time frame" of the probable use, I suspected a Chernobyl "type of a thing". Hunted down a version on the far corners of the web (no available bios @ theretroweb.com). Found 2 different versions, courtesy of "The wayback machine" and www.bios-mods.com . One from the old site of Epox, the other a patched version for the support of large HDD. The mobo booted normally with both Bios.

Next, a Shuttle HOT-681:

Dead, no post, no signs of life and no shorts. Suspected Bios, and after re-flashing, it booted normally.

Next, 2x Biostar P4M900-M4 :

Unusual combo, socket 478 + Pcie +DDR2 in a "gaming colored theme" motherboard. Both booting normally. Also noteworthy is the metal backplate for the cpu cooler.

Finlay a pair, P4S800-MX and a P4V8X-Mx, both from Asus:

Unremarkable motherboards, but fully working.

There was also a 775 Dell motherboard, but due to bent pins on the socket and proprietary design, I had to scrap it.
All in all a very good haul.

Nice, it's been a long time since I last heard of CIH.

Xicor wrote on 2024-03-06, 17:45:

The firsts motherboard is an DataExpert EXP8551 Ver 1.1: […]
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The firsts motherboard is an DataExpert EXP8551 Ver 1.1:

EXP8551.jpg

Not booting, beeping weirdly and the post code E1 (AMI Bios). In the manual of my post card had no such code for AMI. Luckily the theretroweb.com had a alternative Bios. Picked the Award bios, and the post code C1 came up.
C1 points to "Memory presence test; OEM specific-test to size on- board memory. Bad SIMM.". After tracing all probable culprits, found network resistors in opened circuit, namely RN1, RN2 and RN3. After replacing them the motherboard booted normally.

Great work for bringing this board back to life. I’d love to see a close up view of RN1, RN2 and RN3. Would also like to know the process you took to do the tracing. What tools were used and what values you were looking for. This sort of information really helps us noons 😉

Got a 32MB Stealth 3 AGP on the radar, cost is negligible, but the amount of trouble I might have to go to to get it might turn out high, or it might not. Anyway, questioning my sanity for wanting one, DOS gaming = good, 3D = meh, I've got TNT coming out my ears, and V3 so it's not going to get in a best for 1999 build. Am I wrong in expecting it to give good quality and frame rates in pre 1999 Dx6, Dx5 stuff?? I was kind of eyeing a PII-266 plus Riva128 as a superDOS early 3D box, but wondering if the Savage would be worse.

edit: hmm, or could it go with a PII 450 with a PVR2 and V2 card propping it up.

badmojo wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:49:

Socket3 wrote on 2024-03-05, 08:37:

The roland card appears to be an SCC-1. I don't know much about it, apart from it's supposed to be sort of an internal version of the SC-55.

Internal SC-55 + intelligent mode MPU401... and it's worth a lot of money these days.

I'm actually excited to see what it sounds like. It might replace the SC-55 MKII I use with my slot 1 build, as it has an empty ISA slot at the moment, and move the SC-55 with my Compaq Deskpro 2000

bestemor wrote on 2024-03-06, 16:42:

So, what is the consensus on expensive these days ? Not exactly cheap those in the picture, but at least significantly less tha […]
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Trashbytes wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:51:

badmojo wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:49:

Internal SC-55 + intelligent mode MPU401... and it's worth a lot of money these days.

Yup ...I have wanted one myself but not at the prices they go for now, the Yamaha ones are also as expensive, hell most Midi stuff is overly expensive.

So, what is the consensus on expensive these days ?
Not exactly cheap those in the picture, but at least significantly less than that lone SCC-1 currently being flogged for a hefty £400 as 'parts' 🤣
Roland expensive.jpg

Now convert that to AUD, add GST, add Import tax, add international postage and then add the cost of converting it to Australian voltage and the price does add up. I might possibly find one locally but they are pretty uncommon on local markets and usually they are imports from Japan here and still require a voltage adapter.

So the concensus is that yes its quite expensive and the cost its listed for is just a small part of the total cost and that initial cost quickly snowballs for parts like a SC55.

two e-mu sound engines popped up on reverb. I already had one, so I snagged a second one so I can chain them in overflow mode and get 64 voices (eg: the SC55 has 24 voices, the SC88 has 64.. the emu has 32, so I can double it to 64 voices for those beefier songs and puts it on par with an sc88!).

I also got the manual which is rare.. shame the seller stuck tape on it 🙁

interestingly this one has an AMI rev b, IC376, my first one has an OKI IC404.

hopefully whoever bought the other one off reverb knows it needs a psu that outputs 9VAC/15 watts and doesnt jam a 9v dc psu into it.

the overflow command also survives a gm reset command which is very nice. whats sad is these have a display, its just not there (like the CM32)... you can query it and dump it from a sysex. shame one is not hooked up.

These are the 5 boards I bought:

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/gigabyte-ga-586ate-p
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-p … 55t2p4-rev.-3.x
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-p … tp4xeg-ver.-2.4
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/qdi-p5 … -explorer-ii-sp
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/edom-wintech-mp064

So far they don't look too bad, except for the ASUS TP4X that has a missing keyb controller and the other ASUS that got the keyb controller socketed and the controller inserted. My guess is that someone tried to repair it before swapping stuff between the 2 boards, and he was a pro as the desoldering is 100% good with no damage at all.

After a thorugh wash I'll start little by little to do something with 'em.

I'm aslo waiting for another 2 boards to arrive.

BloodyCactus wrote on 2024-03-06, 22:42:

two e-mu sound engines popped up on reverb. I already had one, so I snagged a second one so I can chain them in overflow mode and get 64 voices (eg: the SC55 has 24 voices, the SC88 has 64.. the emu has 32, so I can double it to 64 voices for those beefier songs and puts it on par with an sc88!).

Dang, wish I'd seen they had one for sale. I've had that sound module on my wish list for years now.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-03-07, 01:06:

BloodyCactus wrote on 2024-03-06, 22:42:

two e-mu sound engines popped up on reverb. I already had one, so I snagged a second one so I can chain them in overflow mode and get 64 voices (eg: the SC55 has 24 voices, the SC88 has 64.. the emu has 32, so I can double it to 64 voices for those beefier songs and puts it on par with an sc88!).

Dang, wish I'd seen they had one for sale. I've had that sound module on my wish list for years now.

Are SC-88's (non-pro) rare? Or are 2x e-mu's cheaper than a SC-88?

Nexxen wrote on 2024-03-07, 01:06:

These are the 5 boards I bought: […]
Show full quote

These are the 5 boards I bought:

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/gigabyte-ga-586ate-p
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-p … 55t2p4-rev.-3.x
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-p … tp4xeg-ver.-2.4
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/qdi-p5 … -explorer-ii-sp
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/edom-wintech-mp064

So far they don't look too bad, except for the ASUS TP4X that has a missing keyb controller and the other ASUS that got the keyb controller socketed and the controller inserted. My guess is that someone tried to repair it before swapping stuff between the 2 boards, and he was a pro as the desoldering is 100% good with no damage at all.

After a thorugh wash I'll start little by little to do something with 'em.

I'm aslo waiting for another 2 boards to arrive.

Some solid boards there. You probably know of course that you can get a relative large amount of cached RAM and a K6-2/3/+ going at 500 on the Rev 3.x T2P4s ...

I have one of those Gigabyte's also, gotta look into those VRM projects popping up, see what can be done. The idea of putting something "stupid fast" in an FX board appeals to me, but it's probably gonna be slower than the T2P4, TX boards, Ali super7 boards, etc.

Just purchased my first own dedicated sound card for my win 98 voodoo 3 rig. Got a Sound Blaster PCI Audigy 2 SB0240

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-03-07, 03:09:

Some solid boards there. You probably know of course that you can get a relative large amount of cached RAM and a K6-2/3/+ going at 500 on the Rev 3.x T2P4s ...

I have one of those Gigabyte's also, gotta look into those VRM projects popping up, see what can be done. The idea of putting something "stupid fast" in an FX board appeals to me, but it's probably gonna be slower than the T2P4, TX boards, Ali super7 boards, etc.

As it has dual voltage I wondered. No need to ask then... 😀
One board misses the second VRM mosfet, thus no dual voltage. If it works I can put one.

I'll do some work this w/e, soldering stuff + washing these boards thoroughly.

badmojo wrote on 2024-03-06, 10:49:

Socket3 wrote on 2024-03-05, 08:37:

The roland card appears to be an SCC-1. I don't know much about it, apart from it's supposed to be sort of an internal version of the SC-55.

Internal SC-55 + intelligent mode MPU401... and it's worth a lot of money these days.

Same thought when I saw it, that, the PAS16 and the ESS with wavetable already worth whatever you have paid for the lot, imho.

zuldan wrote on 2024-03-07, 02:38:

Are SC-88's (non-pro) rare? Or are 2x e-mu's cheaper than a SC-88?

Roland SC-88's are not rare. There are usually some available from Japan, for example.

Having never seen an E-Mu Sound Engine for sale, I have no idea how much they would sell for.

I like the emu's because I like to have non-roland GM, as I play all my GM modules at the same time, you get a nice full sound space and when its not the same roland rom in every machine you get a lot more nuance in the instruments.

I found a K6-2-533 for sale, for a MB Camaro, but if you want you can use it in other boards, as long as it has FSB 97, otherwise you have to use it at 95 or 100.
With this example, I would have all the K6-2s from 233 to 550, there are also other examples with strange frequencies, for example the 337, I'm missing that one.
The second purchase, not very old, is an ASROCK Micro MB with FM2 socket, I currently don't have any suitable CPUs, I think I'll have to get at least one in the near future.
But I have several CPUs arriving, today a Core2 Duo E4700 @2.60GHz arrived, I think I'll try raising the FSB from 800 to 1066, just to see how it goes.