Emax

If the Emax ll works properly it isn't necessary to open Emax II units to know if there is a mono to stereo sampling pal upgrade added. In short if you have a MONO sampling or Stereo sampling unit. All E-mu Emax II's are in stereo but had the lack of stereo sampling in the early productions (1989). They had mono sampling. If you want to know:
- STEREO or MONO SAMPLING press SAMPLE. When you see stereo than you have a STEREO version that is working.
- the memory size: with a clean startup of the Emax II press MASTER and press 2: and there you will see the amount of memory. Multiply by 2 and you know how much memory you got. If you have instrument(s) loaded you need to erase data (make sure it is already saved to disk). Press MASTER and press 4 for erase memory and than press MASTER and press 2.
Follow Ted's advice if you want to be absolutely sure to know which kind of Emax II you have and fitted with extra installed options. Sometimes people swapped the main boards and even the output boards.

Regards,Frank

 


     On Tuesday, June 30, 2015 6:48 PM, "Ted Summers djtbs1@... [emax]" <emax@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
   

     The model # in of itself isn't the "end all" determination of whether a unit is MONO, STEREO, or the amount of memory, as it is possible upgrades are done after the sale of the unit.
Also, an updated unit can "lose" it's upgrades if the EEPROM became corrupt.The only way to really know is opening the unit to confirm the following:1) Check for the PAL which is upgraded for STEREO and confirm the IP# listed on the chip, and / or the sound chip.Details on the PAL and the sound chip locations is detailed in the Emax 2 Stereo Upgrade PDF, in the group files section.

2) Check for any memory expansion boards, and what PALs are at the locations which determine the physically accessible memory.Details on the PALs for memory in the Emax Memory Expansion guide PDF, also in the group files section.
You can also verify the currently accessible memory by using the menu (See Emax 2 manual PDFs in files section).
You had indicated that you booted without a disk before (meaning Hard Disk Boot), but now you say you booted with a sample disk, so you are giving conflicting information.
If you copy samples from a disk with one OS on it, and put in a disk with different OS, it will attempt to access the OS code during the procedure (which will then be different), and result in an error.

Note that anytime you format a sample disk, the OS is written to the disk.
All your disks should have the same OS on them, and the OS itself can be updated / written to all the disks without losing the samples already on the disk.This can be done using the menu options per the manual instructions.
Boot with the newer OS, then write it to the older disks to get them all on the same revision.
I would suggest before writing any disks, verify the disks OS version using the Emax menus.
The PDFs are also available on the FAQ which I am keeping here, currently:https://djtbs1.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/e-mu-systems-emax-frequently-asked-questions-faq/

Regards,TedCo-Moderator




On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 9:23 AM, Spencer Clark clarksr99@... [emax] <emax@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

     Hey, it boots with a emax sound sample disk ...  i erase the disk and add my own samples...the OS system is not written on the disk... but it reads: 
| Model 2203 | 1Mb Keyboard (w/HD) |

  thats how i found out it was Mono..
thanks again,spencer.      From: "Ted Summers djtbs1@... [emax]" <emax@yahoogroups.com>
 To: "emax@yahoogroups.com [emax]" <emax@yahoogroups.com> 
 Sent: Wednesday, July 1, 2015 2:11 AM
 Subject: Re: [emax] EMAX 2 MONO OPERATING SYSTEM DISK
   
    So it's booting from the Hard Disk, which has an OS on it.What version is on the Hard Disk itself?
All I can tell you is I had an Emax 2 that was MONO and 1MB, and I was able to boot with 2.14 if I recall correctly.
-T




On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 8:59 AM, Spencer Clark clarksr99@... [emax] <emax@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

     Thanks Ted, but the system just boots on its own, not from a disk... the disks that came with it work, i have been erasing the samples on them and adding my own. i tired to format one of the disks with the 2.14 and now it wont work and read:  "Difficult REv Error" or something to that effect... I thought i read somewhere that 2.0 OS systems dont work with Mono Emax 2?
Any more help is welcoem...
Spencer
      From: "Ted Summers djtbs1@... [emax]" <emax@yahoogroups.com>
 To: emax@yahoogroups.com 
 Sent: Wednesday, July 1, 2015 12:15 AM
 Subject: Re: [emax] EMAX 2 MONO OPERATING SYSTEM DISK
   
    No- OS 2.14 is the latest, and if your Emax 2 boots from it, you should be able to use it to format new disks.It doesn't matter whether Emax 2 is Mono or Stereo, 1M up to 8M- the OS 2.14 should work with it.

However- you MUST use DSDD disks.If you are going to the store and buying HD disks, they won't work.You will get errors when you try and format.

-T


On Jun 29, 2015, at 10:44 PM, "Spencer Clark clarksr99@... [emax]" <emax@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
   
Hello Emax forum... I have an Emax 2 Mono... I dont have an operating system disk...  and I am running out of disks to sample on... In order to format disks i need a source disk.. this is the Operating System Disk , Correct?  I got an Operating System disk 2.14, but it seems to be the wrong one.  Do I need a 1.0 OS Disk in order to format disks for sampling?
Thanks so much,
Spencer, clarksr99@...