Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

Hello and Happy Tuesday :)

It's me again, the guy with 4 Ensoniq boards (2-VFX-SD and SQ1+ and 
SQ2).  I use the SQ2 at church as the controller for all other synths 
(Roland E-09, Alesis QS6 and Yamaha TG-33). The Roland E-09 is an 
arranger and I have a sequence template set up on the SQ2 where I 
control the sounds on their respective MIDI channels as well as 
channel 14, which controls the chord changes on the Roland.  Tonight 
while practicing, I got a number of unexpected events, and the unit 
reset itself.  Now, since the error codes on the VFX and SQ are the 
same, does anyone have a listing of the error codes that I can 
download or copy for reference?  The codes I got tonight were, 129, 
131, and 137.  It happened not only in the preset that controls the E-
09 and other synths, but in another preset I made that essentially 
does the same thing, but without the arranger chord controls (so I 
can get full keyboard playing range).  I deleted the sequence 
templates themselves and recreated them, but to no avail.
  I had to do a hard reset 3 times on the unit.  The errors did not 
occur when I was on program mode on the SQ; only in sequence/preset 
mode.  It has to be a MIDI loop type thing, but I am not sure how, 
since the SQ is not receiving anything on the MIDI-IN port (no cable 
physically plugged in).  All MIDI settings are standard, MIDI Loop is 
on (tried turning it off as well), Controllers are enabled (so I can 
use the foot pedal), program changes are off, I am in Multi-Mode and 
all other settings are default.  I am using the Merlin/Mystic patch 
on the SQ locally and sending out of 4 MIDI channels, one of which is 
the aforementioned channel 14 for arranger chord control.
  I am going out of the SQ, into the Alesis, thru the Alesis to the 
Yamaha, thru the Yamaha to the E-09.
 Any ideas, suggestions of magical cures?
  Thank you, 
  Harry Ebbeson III

Harry
129 odd address error
131 illegal instruction
137 line 1111 emulator
Service manual says that some of these codes are to help software 
developers. All 3 are software error messages. All they say is to 
reinitialize. Maybe do that without any units connected & delete the 
presets ??? Not a programmer but all my units that have done wacky 
stuff had to be reinitialized a couple of times before chronic 
problems disappeared.
Hope that helps
Mark

--- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com, "surfermarketing"
<surfermarketing@...> wrote:
>
> Harry
> 129 odd address error
> 131 illegal instruction
> 137 line 1111 emulator
> Service manual says that some of these codes are to help software 
> developers. 

I happen to be a programmer / software developer -- not for Ensoniq,
but experienced in 68000 programming, which ensoniq used in the VFX
family and others.

Those 3 error messages map directly on to 68000 error / trap codes;
they are errors the processor itself detects while running software.

Indeed, these are all errors that one can get when developing
software.  But in a very mature system like the synths you have, we're
probably talking about a memory corruption of some kind, like maybe
the memory got scrambled with something like a static zap, or maybe
(if a complete memory wipe / OS reload doesn't make the problem go
away) some piece of memory (RAM or ROM) or the bus that connects it to
the processor has deteriorated somehow and is starting to get errors.

If a reload doesn't fix it, you'll need to work with a technician to
fix it (or become one yourself).

--> Steve

Agreed.
I have had oddball gremlins pop up and a full-whack reload solved them.
 
L.

________________________________

From: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of _steve_31
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 9:53 AM
To: Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Ensoniq-VFX-SD] Re: Error Codes...



--- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:Ensoniq-VFX-SD%40yahoogroups.com> , "surfermarketing"
<surfermarketing@...> wrote:
>
> Harry
> 129 odd address error
> 131 illegal instruction
> 137 line 1111 emulator
> Service manual says that some of these codes are to help software 
> developers. 

I happen to be a programmer / software developer -- not for Ensoniq,
but experienced in 68000 programming, which ensoniq used in the VFX
family and others.

Those 3 error messages map directly on to 68000 error / trap codes;
they are errors the processor itself detects while running software.

Indeed, these are all errors that one can get when developing
software. But in a very mature system like the synths you have, we're
probably talking about a memory corruption of some kind, like maybe
the memory got scrambled with something like a static zap, or maybe
(if a complete memory wipe / OS reload doesn't make the problem go
away) some piece of memory (RAM or ROM) or the bus that connects it to
the processor has deteriorated somehow and is starting to get errors.

If a reload doesn't fix it, you'll need to work with a technician to
fix it (or become one yourself).

--> Steve