there is no denying the learning and configuration curve is steep but once you understand it everything makes sense in the end
ultrasound pnp does not differ much from ultrasound classic: both need initialization and both need correct directory setup and pointers for things like wavetable samples, ultramid (and for PnP also PREPGAME).
The IRQ/DMA/ADDRESS struggles are the same as putting a bunch of cards in the system 🤣

I thought I knew how to setup sounds cards. Having to pre-load patches into memory was a new one for me. I thought I had it all figured out!

Everything is working great now. Thank you for your help and for being so patient with me.

Hello Vogons people. This is my first post.

I would like to ask if you (creators of Orpheus II card) are considering comeback to green PCB for Orpheus II card? I think I'm interested but it is important to me to buy a green pcb card.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

zet0x wrote on 2024-09-13, 05:28:

Hello Vogons people. This is my first post.

I would like to ask if you (creators of Orpheus II card) are considering comeback to green PCB for Orpheus II card? I think I'm interested but it is important to me to buy a green pcb card.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

welcome!
there are currently no plans to make more green cards

Thank you for your reply. What about Orpheus II LT? Is it possible to get one from you with green pcb? BTW. Love all your work guys!

zet0x wrote on 2024-09-14, 23:44:

Thank you for your reply. What about Orpheus II LT? Is it possible to get one from you with green pcb? BTW. Love all your work guys!

atm there are no plans to do any LT boards - after the orpheus2 preorder we will focus on MK1869 for a while

since there is currently some downtime (while waiting for smd assembly of modern parts to complete on factory 😐 ) we spent some time to troubleshoot the "PCMIDI PLUS" design and after some code change and a couple modifications I can now properly show it here :

so besides PCMIDI functionality this board also has:
- pcb upgraded to 4 layers
- an OPL3 with the output filtering stage from the AdLib Gold
- dual LPT DACs configured to respond to any combo of LPT1/LPT2 in single or dual-dac modes
- Rainbow Arts SoundMan mode ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjVs7IppnPk , basically FM + simple DAC )
- extra functions can be turned on/off individually with the dip switch - all are actual hardware and not software that can be controlled in some other way

As-is the pcb is packed to the max 😁 but it's still a protoype/test board. Not sure if all stuff make sense - perhaps the most useful feature is the OPL3 as it can be used alongside other cards that do not have a real yamaha one.

Trying to run old music software called Delta Music on Orpheus 2 LT. The program reads the BLASTER env var but can't initialize 16-bit DMA. It expects it to be at 5, 7, or 9.

I'm unable to find SB DMA settings in orpheus.ini. I can only find WSS DMA.

zb10948 wrote on 2024-10-05, 14:57:

Trying to run old music software called Delta Music on Orpheus 2 LT. The program reads the BLASTER env var but can't initialize 16-bit DMA. It expects it to be at 5, 7, or 9.

I'm unable to find SB DMA settings in orpheus.ini. I can only find WSS DMA.

There is no 16bit DMA on CS4237 chips - they are up to SBPRO compatible and 16bit DMA is a SB16 thing. I do not know about this program but if it has WSS option that is how you can get 16bit audio.

keropi wrote on 2024-10-04, 17:09:

Not sure if all stuff make sense - perhaps the most useful feature is the OPL3 as it can be used alongside other cards that do not have a real yamaha one.

How it will work with cards that have "FM" support? Won't it result in hearing FM music on both cards?

GL1zdA wrote on 2024-10-05, 16:23:

How it will work with cards that have "FM" support? Won't it result in hearing FM music on both cards?

Depending on the card, it may be possible to reassign the FM port.

Yep exactly like Shponglefan says - some cards allow to relocate their opl - using unisound most likely. Just like awe64 legacy does with unisound AFAIK.
I have tested with the MK1869, with unisound you can move ESFM to another address and you actually get pcmidi opl3 instead of ESFM when selecting adlib/sb/sbpro *but* if the game wants to access opl at sb 22x address range then sadly ESFM kicks back in , ignoring the fact that it was moved to another address.
So it's not a universal solution - at least with ES1869

Pairing this card with an AWE64 probably makes the most sense. This card would offer the genuine OPL3, MPU-401 interface, and wavetable header, while the AWE64 would do the rest (SB/SB16/AWE32).

keropi wrote on 2024-10-05, 16:02:

zb10948 wrote on 2024-10-05, 14:57:

Trying to run old music software called Delta Music on Orpheus 2 LT. The program reads the BLASTER env var but can't initialize 16-bit DMA. It expects it to be at 5, 7, or 9.

I'm unable to find SB DMA settings in orpheus.ini. I can only find WSS DMA.

There is no 16bit DMA on CS4237 chips - they are up to SBPRO compatible and 16bit DMA is a SB16 thing. I do not know about this program but if it has WSS option that is how you can get 16bit audio.

Yeah should've put more thought into it.
Unfortunately the program wants SB, no WSS.

Can Orpheus route line-in automatically, so second cards' line out can be played through it? I guess option is to add AWE64 or PCI128 in for SB16 compatibility.

zb10948 wrote on 2024-10-05, 19:17:

Can Orpheus route line-in automatically, so second cards' line out can be played through it? I guess option is to add AWE64 or PCI128 in for SB16 compatibility.

you will have to run orphinit to setup the mixer , then things can pass through it

Great, thx.

keropi wrote on 2024-10-04, 17:09:

atm there are no plans to do any LT boards - after the orpheus2 preorder we will focus on MK1869 for a while

Hype intensifies..

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-10-05, 17:42:

Pairing this card with an AWE64 probably makes the most sense. This card would offer the genuine OPL3, MPU-401 interface, and wavetable header, while the AWE64 would do the rest (SB/SB16/AWE32).

This card should be called "The SB16 Crutches" 😉 It really shows how sloppy the late SB16s and AWE64s were implemented.

keropi wrote on 2024-10-05, 17:28:

I have tested with the MK1869, with unisound you can move ESFM to another address and you actually get pcmidi opl3 instead of ESFM when selecting adlib/sb/sbpro *but* if the game wants to access opl at sb 22x address range then sadly ESFM kicks back in , ignoring the fact that it was moved to another address.

If you do more testing, please add your findings about whether a particular chip or card let move its FM address elsewhere to the future PCMIDI Plus page. Such information will be helpful also for other cards, I still haven't decided what card to add to my GoldLib build, so that it doesn't get in the way of GoldLib FM.

GL1zdA wrote on 2024-10-08, 08:30:

[...]
If you do more testing, please add your findings about whether a particular chip or card let move its FM address elsewhere to the future PCMIDI Plus page. Such information will be helpful also for other cards, I still haven't decided what card to add to my GoldLib build, so that it doesn't get in the way of GoldLib FM.

unisound allows to move the $388 address of ESFM to someplace else - but not 22x/24x access to OPL3
but in the case of goldlib since it does not use 22x/24x range I assume it will be all that is needed - you can verify with a random ES1868/1869 card

we will attempt to experiment with hardware "address trapping/redirection" at some point
but outside the coolness factor of having ESFM/OPL3 selectable will this even worth the effort?
ESS is fine on it's own (well except a handful of games were ESFM sounds little weird like Dynablaster) but if you start adding other stuff is it even an ESS card anymore? 🤣

keropi wrote on 2024-10-08, 09:58:

but in the case of goldlib since it does not use 22x/24x range I assume it will be all that is needed - you can verify with a random ES1868/1869 card

Good to know, that should make things easier. No, I wouldn't replace ESFM with a GoldLib, what I want is to add Sound Blaster compatibility to my GoldLib rig.

GL1zdA wrote on 2024-10-08, 10:46:

Good to know, that should make things easier. No, I wouldn't replace ESFM with a GoldLib, what I want is to add Sound Blaster compatibility to my GoldLib rig.

in the case of SB-OPL access at 22x range the goldlib would be silent but ESFM will receive data
but when classic adlib $388 access is happening then goldlib will work, ESFM will be waiting at another port and ESS will play PCM sounds
you are not actually missing anything with this scheme 😀