All about the Roland Jupiter-series

From: Brent A. Busby [mailto:brent@...] 
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 12:43 PM
To: analogue@...
Subject: [AH] Like Superman, We Cut Holes Through Solid Steel...


I have a JP-8 that I've been using for some time now with the MD-8
DCB/MIDI convertor.  I also have Encore's JP8MK MIDI upgrade board.
Getting the two to become one is going to involve some problems.

The electronic part doesn't bother me much.  The real problem is that
Roland built the darn thing TOO well.  I swear, if you shot a gun at a
Jupiter-8, the bullet would probably bounce off.  It might not even
scratch the paint.

How does one make holes for the MIDI ports in such a solid instrument
without using enough force to create a bomb crater in one's general
vicinity?  I've emailed Encore before about it, and they said the best way
was to use what they called a "hole punch," which I've checked around on
and found that it's an expensive machine I'm not likely to get my hands
on.  Also, it would probably involve taking every single circuit board out
of the JP-8 first in order to use one safely, an idea I'm not very fond of
either.  Encore and Analogics will both do the upgrade for you of course,
but it's somewhat expensive, and the worst part is it would involve
shipping it to them and back.  My JP-8 already survived a trip through UPS
once from Georgia with no side-effects.  I'm not feeling lucky enough to
go to Las Vegas, so I'd really rather not try that twice.

Then again, you could use an electric drill, which would involve terrible,
chip-loosening amounts of vibration, and metallic shavings flying
everywhere and potentially shorting things out if every single one isn't
recovered from the area.  Not good.  Or maybe you could use a hand-augur
of the kind used for drilling into wood.  It would take forever, and you
might wear through several bits trying to get through the thing, but maybe
it would work.

Or maybe I'll just ask Mr. Chekov if I can check a phaser out of the
ship's armoury and cut through cleanly.  I'm about out of ideas.  Anybody
ever put MIDI ports onto a board with a thick skin like this before?

 --Brent

From: Sevo Stille [mailto:sevo@...] 
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 1:47 PM
To: Brent A. Busby
Cc: analogue@...
Subject: Re: [AH] Like Superman, We Cut Holes Through Solid Steel...


"Brent A. Busby" wrote:

> How does one make holes for the MIDI ports in such a solid instrument
> without using enough force to create a bomb crater in one's general
> vicinity?  I've emailed Encore before about it, and they said the best way
> was to use what they called a "hole punch," which I've checked around on
> and found that it's an expensive machine

No, it isn't. A hole punch is a tool consisting of two hardened steeel
circular punches plus a gadget to press them together - you drill a
small hole, put the bolt (with the bottom part on it) though, put on the
top punch and lever, and fasten it until the punches have cut through.
About $60 hereabouts with a set of pro quality punches, and a wise
investion.

> I'm not likely to get my hands
> on.  Also, it would probably involve taking every single circuit board out
> of the JP-8 first in order to use one safely, an idea I'm not very fond of
> either.  Encore and Analogics will both do the upgrade for you of course,
> but it's somewhat expensive, 

Of course it is. They'd have to take out all the boards to do it safely.

> Then again, you could use an electric drill, which would involve terrible,
> chip-loosening amounts of vibration, and metallic shavings flying
> everywhere and potentially shorting things out if every single one isn't
> recovered from the area. 

You need to drill a hole for the punch as well. The advantage of the
hole punch is that it leaves a clean-cut centered hole with minimal
effort, for which you'd otherwise need a stand, have to build some
contraption to fix the JP-8 to the stand, and spill a generous amount of
drilling lubricant across the case.

Sevo


-- 
Sevo Stille
sevo@...

From: analogdiehard@... [mailto:analogdiehard@...] 
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 4:40 PM
To: analogue@...
Subject: Re: [AH] Like Superman, We Cut Holes Through Solid Steel...


> "Brent A. Busby" wrote:
> 
> > How does one make holes for the MIDI ports in such a
> > solid instrument without using enough force to create
> > a bomb crater in one's general vicinity?  I've
> > emailed Encore before about it, and they said the
> > best way was to use what they called a "hole punch,"
> > which I've checked around on and found that it's an
> > expensive machine
> 
> No, it isn't. A hole punch is a tool consisting of two
> hardened steeel circular punches plus a gadget to press
> them together - you drill a small hole, put the bolt
> (with the bottom part on it) though, put on the
> top punch and lever, and fasten it until the punches
> have cut through.
> About $60 hereabouts with a set of pro quality punches,
> and a wise investion.

Proper name is "chassis punch".  Greenlee is an excellent 
maker of these hand tools.  A 5/8" chassis punch for MIDI 
jacks will run around ten dollars, you won't need a whole 
set.  You'll need a good wrench and strong muscles to 
tighten the bolt which forces the two halves of the punch 
to cut through the chassis.

They are much better for large holes than drill bits.

MC

From: Bryan Carrigan [mailto:duper@...] 
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 5:04 PM
To: analogdiehard@...; analogue@...
Subject: Re: [AH] Like Superman, We Cut Holes Through Solid Steel...




analogdiehard@... wrote:


> 
> Proper name is "chassis punch".  Greenlee is an excellent 
> maker of these hand tools.  A 5/8" chassis punch for MIDI 
> jacks will run around ten dollars, you won't need a whole 
> set.

> 
> MC

Really, where?  The only place I could find one,
and it was a special order, cost me around $80
plus shipping.  Was I just completely ripped off?

I sure felt completely ripped off at the time.
After looking for one for what seems like forever
and already dumping so much into a decent condition
JP8 and an encore midi kit, I had to go with it to
finish the install.  It seemed like alot of money
for one and I think I even asked Tony K. at the
time and got a guesstimate of about $50 to $100
for a punch.

I'm extremely happy with the midi kit and use the
Jup on almost every track so I'm not too disappointed.
Just curious if I could have bought one for $10?  Who
knows, maybe I'll have to buy another one in the future
for a banana jack or XLR and it would be good to
know where to buy the punch.

thanks,

Bryan

From: "Brent A. Busby" <brent@...>
To: <analogue@...>
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 3:42 AM
Subject: [AH] Like Superman, We Cut Holes Through Solid Steel...


> I have a JP-8 that I've been using for some time now with the MD-8
> DCB/MIDI convertor.  I also have Encore's JP8MK MIDI upgrade board.
> Getting the two to become one is going to involve some problems.
>
> The electronic part doesn't bother me much.  The real problem is that
> Roland built the darn thing TOO well.  I swear, if you shot a gun at a
> Jupiter-8, the bullet would probably bounce off.  It might not even
> scratch the paint.
>
> How does one make holes for the MIDI ports in such a solid instrument
> without using enough force to create a bomb crater in one's general
> vicinity?  I've emailed Encore before about it, and they said the best way
> was to use what they called a "hole punch," which I've checked around on
> and found that it's an expensive machine I'm not likely to get my hands
> on.  Also, it would probably involve taking every single circuit board out
> of the JP-8 first in order to use one safely, an idea I'm not very fond of
> either.  Encore and Analogics will both do the upgrade for you of course,
> but it's somewhat expensive, and the worst part is it would involve
> shipping it to them and back.  My JP-8 already survived a trip through UPS
> once from Georgia with no side-effects.  I'm not feeling lucky enough to
> go to Las Vegas, so I'd really rather not try that twice.
>
> Then again, you could use an electric drill, which would involve terrible,
> chip-loosening amounts of vibration, and metallic shavings flying
> everywhere and potentially shorting things out if every single one isn't
> recovered from the area.  Not good.  Or maybe you could use a hand-augur
> of the kind used for drilling into wood.  It would take forever, and you
> might wear through several bits trying to get through the thing, but maybe
> it would work.
>
> Or maybe I'll just ask Mr. Chekov if I can check a phaser out of the
> ship's armoury and cut through cleanly.  I'm about out of ideas.  Anybody
> ever put MIDI ports onto a board with a thick skin like this before?
>
>  --Brent
>
>
>

> 
> 
> analogdiehard@... wrote:
> 
> 
> > 
> > Proper name is "chassis punch".  Greenlee is an excellent 
> > maker of these hand tools.  A 5/8" chassis punch for MIDI 
> > jacks will run around ten dollars, you won't need a whole 
> > set.
> 
> > 
> > MC
> 
> Really, where?  The only place I could find one,
> and it was a special order, cost me around $80
> plus shipping.  Was I just completely ripped off?
> 
> I sure felt completely ripped off at the time.
> After looking for one for what seems like forever
> and already dumping so much into a decent condition
> JP8 and an encore midi kit, I had to go with it to
> finish the install.  It seemed like alot of money
> for one and I think I even asked Tony K. at the
> time and got a guesstimate of about $50 to $100
> for a punch.
> 
> I'm extremely happy with the midi kit and use the
> Jup on almost every track so I'm not too disappointed.
> Just curious if I could have bought one for $10?  Who
> knows, maybe I'll have to buy another one in the future
> for a banana jack or XLR and it would be good to
> know where to buy the punch.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> Bryan
>

From: Cary Roberts [mailto:cary.roberts@...] 
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 9:19 PM
To: Brent A. Busby; Analogue Heaven
Subject: Re: [AH] Like Superman, We Cut Holes Through Solid Steel...


On my OBX, memorymoog, and P5 I used a drill bit to make a pilot
hole, then used a uni-bit.  There's no electronics in the bottom
of the P5 so that wasn't a problem, but the OBX was a bit tricky.
I ended up using plastic and masking off around the area to be
drilled.  That worked fairly well.  If you're paranoid use an
air compressor or canned air to blow off any metal filings or
dust before powering up the unit.

Here's a unibit:

http://www.grainger.com/cgi-bin/item_detail?5118632Y4A948

Here's an example of the work:

http://www.retrosynth.com/docs/p5/p5midi/p5_7.jpg

-Cary