Capacitors can be replaced. Also, try vinegar to dissolve some of the corrosion and oil to lubricate the battery door. You can always dunk it on isopropyl alcohol to clean it later.

shan2752 wrote on 2025-07-11, 23:56:

Getting new components, where possible, increases the odds of that happening. I would get the PCMidi Add on just in case the LAPC fails. I have an SCC-1 in my P3, so I am preparing for that to eventually die. It is approaching 30 years old now, and capacitors degrade over time even without use.

Fair enough, but Intelligent Mode MPU is one thing: I could get an Ensoniq SoundScape-based card to cover that end pretty well. Emulation-based options aside, is there anything out there that would effectively serve as a 1-to-1 replacement of a Roland LA device enabling proper instruments for music AND SOUND EFFECTS on supporting DOS games that pre-date General MIDI? The list of such titles from MicroProse & LucasArts is not that small; for fans of Origin and/or Sierra things get even more complicated because of the different Roland LA generations and how games varied in their support for each.

The PicoGus with McCake or the TM32 both come to mind. However, they both serve a different purpose than the MK1869.

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-07-14, 19:21:

The PicoGus with McCake or the TM32 both come to mind. However, they both serve a different purpose than the MK1869.

Both are Munt-based: emulated, requiring the Roland ROMs.

keropi wrote on 2024-09-02, 11:22:

- ISA 16bit passthrough for expansion boards with midi/audio/usb i/o connector for integration

So tech specs (pcb schematics) are not available for public. However can you confirm that it's 1:1 parallel ISA bus implementation? Going over with ohmmeter seems to be confirming it.
There are many late ISA era MBs with only one ISA slot. It could be possible to marry MK1869 and Picogus v1.x hw fork since it's open hardware

vutt wrote on 2025-07-18, 13:21:

So tech specs (pcb schematics) are not available for public. However can you confirm that it's 1:1 parallel ISA bus implementation? Going over with ohmmeter seems to be confirming it.

the headers are 1:1 and on the backside the silkscreen has the pinout of both headers and the expansion connector behind the jacks

Concerning the MK1869 Extreme, the pre-order ended earlier this week (15th). Did you get a viable number for getting into production?

Just a question.. I signed up for the pre-sale and wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything..

You will email us and then we send the 50% deposit.. or was there somewhere we were supposed to send it upon filling out the form?

Thanks!

Angus.Young wrote on 2025-07-19, 01:03:

Just a question.. I signed up for the pre-sale and wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything..

You will email us and then we send the 50% deposit.. or was there somewhere we were supposed to send it upon filling out the form?

Thanks!

You should have received an email (check your spam filters and whatnot) with details about how to send the 50% upfront. Search your email account for "Leo Dallas" - I won't share the email address itself here, to help prevent bots from finding it when crawling vogons. Every little bit of obscurity helps with spam 😉

June 27th was when I received my email.

Aladim wrote on 2025-07-18, 23:41:

Concerning the MK1869 Extreme, the pre-order ended earlier this week (15th). Did you get a viable number for getting into production?

yes the production is moving forward - interest was more than expected too!

Angus.Young wrote on 2025-07-19, 01:03:

Just a question.. I signed up for the pre-sale and wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything..

You will email us and then we send the 50% deposit.. or was there somewhere we were supposed to send it upon filling out the form?

Thanks!

all emails with payment details have already gone out, usually a few hrs afrer the form was filled.
if you did not get anything please use the contact form on the site and I will re-send the info

keropi wrote on 2025-07-19, 06:27:

yes the production is moving forward - interest was more than expected too! […]
Show full quote

Aladim wrote on 2025-07-18, 23:41:

Concerning the MK1869 Extreme, the pre-order ended earlier this week (15th). Did you get a viable number for getting into production?

yes the production is moving forward - interest was more than expected too!

Angus.Young wrote on 2025-07-19, 01:03:

Just a question.. I signed up for the pre-sale and wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything..

You will email us and then we send the 50% deposit.. or was there somewhere we were supposed to send it upon filling out the form?

Thanks!

all emails with payment details have already gone out, usually a few hrs afrer the form was filled.
if you did not get anything please use the contact form on the site and I will re-send the info

I checked and nothing.. possibly I mistyped something not sure.. but I have filled the contact form.

Thank You!

Angus.Young wrote on 2025-07-19, 14:56:

I checked and nothing.. possibly I mistyped something not sure.. but I have filled the contact form.

Thank You!

saw the message and sent the email again , hope this time it goes through!

keropi wrote on 2025-07-19, 15:13:

Angus.Young wrote on 2025-07-19, 14:56:

I checked and nothing.. possibly I mistyped something not sure.. but I have filled the contact form.

Thank You!

saw the message and sent the email again , hope this time it goes through!

Got it and sent paypal.. not sure as I still couldn't find first message but second was no issue.

Much appreciated!

vutt wrote on 2025-07-18, 13:21:

keropi wrote on 2024-09-02, 11:22:

- ISA 16bit passthrough for expansion boards with midi/audio/usb i/o connector for integration

So tech specs (pcb schematics) are not available for public. However can you confirm that it's 1:1 parallel ISA bus implementation? Going over with ohmmeter seems to be confirming it.
There are many late ISA era MBs with only one ISA slot. It could be possible to marry MK1869 and Picogus v1.x hw fork since it's open hardware

Looking forward to emulating a GUS on my GUS. 😁

I got my replacement card yesterday (a kind friend received last month in Portugal and brought me, after helping returning the original card), and I had the chance to test today.
Everything alright Marmes/Keropi.

Besides the different jumper color, I noticed a different capacitor color. It is a nice blue Nichicon Audio series. My original card was from batch 1. No issues here, just noticed the difference.

Thanks again for the support, now I have to choose where the card will be installed, and enjoy some retro games.

PS: I tested on a Intel made Slot 1 motherboard (SE440BX-3), and it was hard to fit into the ISA slot. I went back and got my MK8330, and noticed the same issue. I narrowed the problem to the notch between the 8 and 16 bit portions of the ISA slot: the MK8330/1869 gap is to narrow and interfere with the motherboard counterpart (orange triangle pointing on picture attached). Other ISA cards I have do not have this issue. Just a feedback, perhaps you guys can trim a "hair" on the board design to facilitate the insertion. The outer bondaries of the ISA slot are ok and ensure it properly aligned. Has anyone ever experienced this?

My motherboard looks like new, and there is no wear on the slot.
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/dell-s … 0bx-3-seattle-3

I had a similar issue with my Orpheus II notch being a bit too small. I was able to remedy this with a small file.

we added more tolerance in these areas on the ISA pins so every card from the xtreme and onwards will not need any micro-filling again 😀

Hello, I don't have an email in my inbox, I have placed a preorder about a week+ ago. Email is this username; I've talked to you guys before about Orpheus cards via email.

So I wanted to check is everything allright.

zb10948 wrote on 2025-08-18, 23:00:

Hello, I don't have an email in my inbox, I have placed a preorder about a week+ ago. Email is this username; I've talked to you guys before about Orpheus cards via email.

So I wanted to check is everything allright.

Your entry has been recorded in the queue for the 2nd batch of cards, we are currently working on the 1st batch
It will be a month or so before the 2nd batch starts processing so no emails yet

Great, thanks! I was just trying to verify the mail got through 😀