Emax

Hello Dave,

Its good to hear the motherboard from the rack works in the keyboard.

Try running Master -> 9 -> 8 Install disk with the daughter board installed. Many years ago I 
removed the daughter board from my 4MB Emax II keyboard and then reinstalled it only discover 
I only had 2MB. But after running Install disk option (and powering off and on I think) it saw the full 
4MB again. Note, this is just selecting the menu option and pressing enter, I did not have any 
install disk in the floppy drive. I do not suggest doing this action without the daughter board 
installed in case it leaves you permanently with 1MB! 

The LCD contrast paramter was always there on the rack Emax II but did not change the contast 
when adjusted. I see the front panel on the keyboard has a voltage routed to the LCD contrast 
while the rack has a pot generating the voltage. So yes, it seems to be just a physical difference in 
the front panel board.

/Tristan 

Quoting bty54193247 <goodrobot@...>:

> Hello Tristan,
> 
> Well, I tried the motherboard swap, and the Emax II rack motherboard
> does indeed work 
> with the Emax II keyboard, but, for some reason the extra memory
> doesn't appear, which 
> is quite odd.....I can't figure out why?
> As a sub note. You mentioned that I might not be able to adjust the
> contrast after the 
> transplant,  as the contrast on the rack is adjustable via a panel
> button on the rack. The 
> strange thing is, I was able to adjust the contrast via the slider.
> Just a thought, could there be a chip on one of the other two boards
> (output, front 
> button/LCD) that would block the use of the additional memory on the
> transplanted 
> motherboard?
> I was really hopeful when I'd put everything back together again, and
> the keyboard fired 
> up, but after checking the memory, I found that I only had an
> additional 1mb of memory, 
> rather than the 7mb I had hoped for, but hey, at least I now know
> that the boards are 
> interchangeable, which is good to know!!
> Many thanks indeed again for all of your help and advice.
> 
> 
> All the best
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> 
> --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "bty54193247" <goodrobot@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hello Tristan,
> > 
> > Many thanks indeed for your reply. I think the motherboard swap
> sounds like a very 
> good 
> > option.....I'm going to take the two units apart today, and see if
> I can create a working 
> > 8mb keyboard!!
> > I'll let you know how I get on.
> > 
> > All the best
> > 
> > Dave
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, tu@ wrote:
> > >
> > > Hello Dave,
> > > 
> > > While you can physically install the daughter board in your Emax
> II keyboard, the 
> > memory will not 
> > > be recognised until the internal Emax II EEPROM is updated. But
> to do that you need 
> to 
> > run a 
> > > memory install disk which will write some data into the EEPROM.
> These install disks 
> are 
> > > unfortunately rather rare. But its possible someone on the list
> may have one, or a 
> copy 
> > of the disk 
> > > image to enable you to make your own. The only other alternatives
> are to use the 
> adjust 
> > features 
> > > option in the diagnostics menu  to perform a manual install or to
> remove and hack 
> the 
> > EEPROM 
> > > directly. I don't know what the manual install codes are, or what
> bits to hack on the 
> > EEPROM, so 
> > > these are probably not great options :P
> > > 
> > > BTW, the daughter board only has a maximum of 6MB of RAM
> installed. The Emax II 
> > motherboard 
> > > will have either 1MB or 2MB. It is possible to upgrade a 1MB
> motherboard to 2MB by 
> > replacing the 
> > > RAM chips with a higher capacity chip and changing some PALs. But
> I think even this 
> > upgrade 
> > > requires a change to the EEPROM, so you are stuck with the same
> problem... Actually, 
> I 
> > just did 
> > > some checking and it seems the daughter board also requires
> different PALs to be 
> > installed if it is 
> > > used with an Emax II with 1MB base RAM compared compared to one
> with 2MB base 
> > RAM. 
> > > 
> > > Something else you could consider is transplanting the
> motherboard from your Emax 
> II 
> > rack into 
> > > the Emax II keyboard. Because the motherboard comes with the
> EEPROM, the 
> keyboard 
> > would 
> > > then be able to use the daughter board and have 8MB of RAM. I
> believe the 
> > motherboards are 
> > > identical, but I cannot be sure. One small difference between the
> rack and the 
> keyboard 
> > is that the 
> > > keyboard allows you to set the LCD contrast from the master menu
> whereas the rack 
> > has a trim 
> > > pot mounted on the front panel that must be manually adjusted.
> But it is possible this 
> > difference is 
> > > only to do with the front panel board and not the motherboard
> itself.
> > > 
> > > /Tristan  
> > > 
> > > Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 1:31:40 AM, you wrote:
> > > 
> > > >
> > > Hello all,
> > > 
> > > Well, it looks as if my Emax II is beyond repair, (Output board,
> and power supply not 
> > > working), but I'm getting it checked over anyway, just in case it
> can be repaired.
> > > If I can't get it repaired, I have an option to improve my Emax
> II keyboard. My Emax II 
> > rack 
> > > was fitted with a daughter board, with 8MB of RAM, (7MB on
> daughter board, 1MB on 
> > main 
> > > board?). 
> > > It would be great if I could install the daughter board in my
> Emax II keyboard, along 
> > with the 
> > > RAM......how would I go about doing this?
> > > My Emax II keyboard has 1MB RAM, and has the stereo option.
> > > And help with the above would be greatly appreciated.
> > > 
> > > All the best
> > > 
> > > Dave
> > > 
> > >  
> > > Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new
> topic 
> > > Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members |
> Calendar 
> > > Emax and Emax II User's Group Website
> > > 
> > > http://www.silveriafamily.com 
> > > MARKETPLACE
> > > 
> > > From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft
> Foods 
> > >  
> > > Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) 
> > > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest |
> Switch format to 
> Traditional 
> > > Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe 
> > > 
> > > Recent Activity
> > > 
> > >  4
> > > 
> > > New Members
> > > Visit Your Group 
> > > Yahoo! News
> > > Odd News
> > > You won't believe
> > > it, but it's true
> > > Ads on Yahoo!
> > > Learn more now.
> > > Reach customers
> > > searching for you.
> > > Drive Traffic
> > > Sponsored Search
> > > can help increase
> > > your site traffic.
> > > 
> > > .
> > >
> >
> 
> 
> 
>