Wavetable Daughterboards - The lost Wavebooster 4fx dos control panel \ VOGONS

Wavetable Daughterboards - The lost Wavebooster 4fx dos control panel

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First post, by Silent Loon

Posted on 2008-12-10, 11:04

Silent Loon Offline

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Some time ago I acquired an Orchid Waverbooster 4fx wavetable daughterboard. It sounds good, maybe it is rare, but nothing really special, as it uses a DREAM SAM9203 chipset (it's labled as a Chrystal CS9203 - don't know why), that was rather common in those days:

http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bil … =20070325202046

Well - I added it to my collection and forgot about it, but recently I stumbled over the manual in some internet archive:

http://www.elhvb.com/mobokive/Archive/Microni … ls/wbooster.pdf

What is really interesting about it is that the manual mentions a dos control panel called BSTDOS (page 18 ) where you can configure midi channels and effects, and also set the synth's operating mode (GM or MT32 i.e.). I think this works by using midi sysex and/or controller commands and thereby should also function with other cards.
Has anyone this daughterboard , the configuration utility and/ or any experience with it?

Reply 1 of 7, by gerwin

Posted on 2008-12-10, 23:18

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cannot help you on that software...
The windows software seems similar to cancun-programmer/xggold etc. I tried such midi control panels once, but first you get nags about 'midi device already in use'. I guess it is not intented to adjust a file you are playing, but to adjust midi input from a keyboard. You can get around it with midi-yoke and this alternate windows mpu driver I found... but these gave me errors when using midi in a windows dosbox... All in all, for windows it seems better to go for a good overall midi player instead of using an additional control panel.

The Dos panel seems odd indeed, if a game does a midi GM-reset message at startup all settings should be lost. And after that I would expect the settings to be overwritten by commands in the game's midi music stream itself...

Reply 2 of 7, by Silent Loon

Posted on 2008-12-12, 08:37

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Well, I don't know if it is usefull or not. But it is interesting - as far as I know this is the only wavetable daughterboard that came with a "control panel" in dos. (BSTDOS.EXE)
Has nobody else this card (and the file)?

Reply 3 of 7, by CHiLL72

Posted on 2013-08-20, 11:42

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Sorry to revive this old thread, but I've just bought an Orchid Wave Booster 4FX on eBay and I asked the seller whether he still had the original software that came with the card. The answer was an expected but unfortunate 'no'.
Perhaps someone else has been able to find this software in the meantime. My searches have been unsuccessful so far. So if anyone can help, please post here!

Waveblaster MIDI boards: https://waveblaster.nl - online now!

Reply 4 of 7, by elianda

Posted on 2013-08-20, 12:16

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I don't think the program is so special, if it just configures the Dreams settings. I would just try the SYSEX from the reference Dream firmware.
You can use gsplay for this f.e.

This is from the german Maxi Sound 64 Home Studio manual (I just did a few quick photos). The Maxi Sound 64 Home Studio uses the reference firmware for the Dream SAM9407.
ftp://78.46.141.148/pictures/Dream9407_Midi/page1.jpg
ftp://78.46.141.148/pictures/Dream9407_Midi/page2.jpg
ftp://78.46.141.148/pictures/Dream9407_Midi/s … l_functions.jpg

The company Dream offered a Firmware Description for the 9233 but I couldn't find that yet in the net. But maybe some functions as the Chorus/Reverb type select f.e. are implemented similar.

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Reply 5 of 7, by CHiLL72

Posted on 2014-03-17, 17:46

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Today I received a complete boxed Orchid Wave Booster 4FX. And guess what? The disks are still perfectly readable! I'll post the software on my webpage soon for anyone that would like to have it.

Waveblaster MIDI boards: https://waveblaster.nl - online now!

Reply 6 of 7, by gerwin

Posted on 2014-03-19, 23:37

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CHiLL72 wrote:
Today I received a complete boxed Orchid Wave Booster 4FX. And guess what? The disks are still perfectly readable! I'll post the software on my webpage soon for anyone that would like to have it.

That would be great.

I noticed the news on your website, regarding two newly available pieces of midi daughterboard hardware.
Very intersting stuff! Quite similar to what I did and still planned to do, but this is much more professional then I could ever manage.

Don't like the timing though. As I just intended to stop with the hardware acquisition for a while. 😀

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