Emax

Are you serious? I don't see how this drive issue is a major ordeal or am I missing something.
I pick up  used TEAC drives FD235HF all day long for 2$ Each at Weird Stuff Warehouse in Sunnyvale here in Northern California. Hell,  Emu was up the road in Scott's Valley when in business. If we don't have the old drives used floating around here cheap in some used parts warehouse then I venture to say no one will;  or the type of drive used/needed by Emu just ain't out there anymore and the ones that are are simply jacked up due to simple supply and demand.No supply /Big demand and if the demand is BIG then who else is/was using these drives in there systems that everyone felt they suddenly needed them and the supply dried up?
I mean, how many of us are out there in the world right now, needing FDD's for Emax samplers?
Maybe 250 of us worldwide max? It's not like the Emax is in every major studio in the world these days, right?
Now let's get down to courtesy and attitude young man.
 Actually, as far as my own disposition it is something "personally" as you implied in your diatribe or you wouldn't be laying your disclaimer that it's not "personally"
I don't know you at all but you are getting pretty damned disrespectful and this forum is not a place to start flaming others, it's a place to help. Your age is showing.  I suggest you do your humble best to  keep your comments supportive on how to solve problems of a technical nature rather than go off half cocked  turn it into a personal opinion session on who you think does or does not do enough homework and research. You are not one to surmise and make that call. You don't know me . You need to remain productive positive helpful and If you can't do so then we will take the issue up with the moderator.
As for me and my lack of motivation to which you elude well....
I have gotten my hands dirty so I don't know where you can surmise that I'm lazy or just want the 'easy work around' and have everything just "handed to me on a platter."
I am an 47 YO HVAC tech for the US Federal Government -I get my hands dirty on HVAC contRols systems (Alerton Bactalk and IBEX) as well as variable frequency drives, everyday. Yet I don't jump on HVAC  forums and start flaming others as lazy or unwilling because they have a question and don't understand some thing. That would make me a useless and arrogant ass now wouldn't it? No instead I try to offer solutions or if I don't have the answer refer the inquiry to those that will have answers as  I'm an adult and don't 'talk down' to people when they have a question or a complaint about  understanding how a system or component works
Enough said.
If you claim to know so much about the EMAX FDD protocols then just lay it out and stop with the posturing and chest beating concerning what you think   those of us 'beneath' you should know about the Emax FDD
I've busted my ass on this Emax. Tore the shit out of it cutting holes in the case to install DB-25 connectors and install a PCD 50B. Had to learn how to use EMXP after building an XP PC just to use EMXP. 
The issues are not with how I have had to figure out workarounds with my two emax units the issues surround the bullshit around the FDD system and how inconsistent it is and why it's a complete waste of money to buy a new old stock FDD for an Emax ( that may not even work) after eSynthesist himself said (and Omniflop software manual states also) there is NO guarantee that every FDD will write a Floppy that will load into your Emax..that it is trial and error. It isn't perfect as every FDD is a little different. This is coming from the guys that wrote the code and tested it out numerous times!
Yet you blame it on user headspace and timing and lack of ones ability to do research 
Come on jack. That's a cop out and easy to pass off in user forum but not realty

Maybe Ted got his to work, but I've yet to get any FDD installed in my PC (and I've swapped out three of them)  to write a disk that can be read by my Emax SE 1000
It's why I ditched the damned floppy and don't use it any more.
My other unit, the Emax HD, will only make disks that it can read and write but will not load any other disks made on my PC in EMXP cause the FDD heads are jacked up on the Emax. My Emax HD wouldn't load disks that Ted sent me either and he supposedly has a 'flawless' and perfect system that "works everytime"
It's fact that the Emax FDD situation is a hit and miss waste of money unless you go with the Jammie Ted slim floppy but what's the point when there are other viable works arounds?

And yeah, I'll throw a slim floppy in there, I don't care. Give me the part number for the drive, the DS jumper setting  and I'll do it but quite frankly, I don't need to...I made SCSI zips work as well as the PCD so screw the floppy it's a useless unless you just have to run diagnostic disks
And
 I'm never gonna troubleshot past what I've already done and if I have to load a diagnostic disk 
I'll pull the damned PC333 board out and ship it to someone like Ted and ask him if he can repair my issue because it's beyond my wishes and time for that matter, to  troubleshoot ROM chips, IC 's or test diodes and resisters let alone hook the machine up to a frequency analyzer or oscilloscope. I just don't care about that. I do it all day on HVAC equipment I don't want to do it on my musical instruments unless absolutely necessary to make them work.
Most of us  want to make music with our Emax, not be forced to become Emu technicians. No one ever said that The 'synth Gods' required us to be EMU technicians simply to use a 25 year old synth. Sure we can try to fix certain things but if we get stuck this forum is so we can help, not arrogantly berate one another like children.
 And quite frankly Jay Leno owns many many classic automobiles yet he's not a mechanic and knows very little about restoring cars, he just loves driving them. Some of us are like that with old synths. No one said we had to know how to work on them to enjoy using them and it's unfair tO assume that they must and doubly unfair to assume that they must pay lots of money simply because someone says that their FDD is NLA or rare so therefore has to be expensive. If it must be then do what I did and find a cheaper workaround that is more reliable 
Just my two cents worth

> On Feb 5, 2014, at 11:42 PM, <geektech207@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> You seem to be under the impression that all everything should just fall into your lap with all this old stuff that you're picking up for pennies on the dollar.  The company that manufactures it no longer supports it.  Why makes you think you can get it for $20 at a flea market or take it out of a dumpster and then turn it on and not only have it work as beautifully as it did in 1985, but also have it compete with a modern sampler or synth like the Blofeld as far as usability, reliability, and features?
> 
> Nothing personally really, I'm just trying to paint a more realistic picture for you and reset your expectations of what this old machine can do, and how much other people can do for you, especially if you're not willing to either A) do some research / invest your own time or B) invest some $$ in having someone else do it or C) pay even more $$$$ in getting a perfectly model some 25-35 years later and have someone maintain it.
> 
> I assure you that no one is out to get you.  There isn't some grand conspiracy to make old samplers as arcane and hush-hush as possible.  It's just old gear, man.  Automotive technology and electrical technology are simply different beasts.  Apples to oranges.  And replacement parts and help ARE still available for this gear.  It just happens to cost some $, same as repairing an old auto.
> 
> If you want an easy list of drives, I can tell you a couple models, but realize that they will cost you money as supplies are dwindling.  They don't make them anymore.  That's the thing.  That's why there's no easy answer.  The best answers have already been provided for you (slim floppy, HxC) out in the open.  The other options are paying a lot of money for an OEM drive, paying a fair sum for an already modded new drive, paying a fair sum for a reliable semi-modern drive that can be easily adapted for use, or doing a whole lot of research on how to mod other drives on the cheap and boning up on surface mount soldering.
> 
> Like most things, you can't have it cheap, fast, AND high quality.
> 
> Decide on an approach that fits your willingness to invest either time, money, or both, and decide on how much it's worth to you to sound like Depeche Mode (or whatever your reasons for owning an Emax is), then pursue that option.  People here can help you with any way you decide to go, but reality is reality, and whatever you do to get something this old to function properly is going to cost you in one way or another.
> 
> Would you expect to pick up an "AS IS" Nord Lead 3 for $110 and expect a $5 / five-minute fix to restore it to its $2500 glory?  Why do you expect that with gear that most people have abandoned to time?
> 
>