Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

Hi Poly fans,

I've been completely swamped with work, family canoe trips, golf and
using up the last good days of warm weather in 2007. But I haven't
forgotten my favorite pet project either. Here's another little update.

I've been looking at our progress so far, what with new sysex
functions, the new wide playing feature, the odd, even note cascade,
the global parameters, full sysex single patch dump send and receive
etc. It's all been good but I know that many other potential mod's
could be implemented with digital potentiometers etc. But I had a hard
think about what the first mod kit should look like and I've decided
that the first kit will be a memory and software upgrade only and will
NOT have any digital potentiometers on board. However, I have designed
the board such that adding a second board for real performance control
through the digital potentiometers will be just a daisy chain of one
header cable.

The long and short of it is that I've done about 90 percent of the PCB
design so that I'll be looking to do a prototype run of the mod kit
board within the next 30 days or so. The new board will also have a
third EEPROM so that the space available for new software functions
will grow past my prototype board by another 8K. So the production mod
kit will contain a "massive" 24 kilobytes of space plus the original
boot ROM of 8K.

I am now going to be contacting board manufacturers to find out how
much it's going to cost per board with an initial run of 100 boards.
The question in the back of my mind right now is just how many people
are  totally and completely serious about buying the mod kit. It will
require removing the ROM socket (IC22) and chip select chip (IC29).
Both need to be replaced with normal profile IC sockets (supplied in
the kit). But the removal of the EPROM socket and the chip select
chips can be tricky to do. 

I would very much appreciate it if I got a definite show of hands from
as many of you as possible as to whether you are quite serious about
obtaining the mod kit. I suspect the kit will cost somewhere between
75 and 100 dollars. Add shipping of not more than say - 10 bucks. I
think it safe to say the kit will be close to 100 bucks.

Just how many of you are willing to say - "Count me in" ?

Any and all feedback will be very much appreciated.

Mike.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "korgpolyex800" <korgpolyex800@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Poly fans,
> 
> I've been completely swamped with work, family canoe trips, golf and
> using up the last good days of warm weather in 2007. But I haven't
> forgotten my favorite pet project either. Here's another little update.
> 
> I've been looking at our progress so far, what with new sysex
> functions, the new wide playing feature, the odd, even note cascade,
> the global parameters, full sysex single patch dump send and receive
> etc. It's all been good but I know that many other potential mod's
> could be implemented with digital potentiometers etc. But I had a hard
> think about what the first mod kit should look like and I've decided
> that the first kit will be a memory and software upgrade only and will
> NOT have any digital potentiometers on board. However, I have designed
> the board such that adding a second board for real performance control
> through the digital potentiometers will be just a daisy chain of one
> header cable.
> 
> The long and short of it is that I've done about 90 percent of the PCB
> design so that I'll be looking to do a prototype run of the mod kit
> board within the next 30 days or so. The new board will also have a
> third EEPROM so that the space available for new software functions
> will grow past my prototype board by another 8K. So the production mod
> kit will contain a "massive" 24 kilobytes of space plus the original
> boot ROM of 8K.
> 
> I am now going to be contacting board manufacturers to find out how
> much it's going to cost per board with an initial run of 100 boards.
> The question in the back of my mind right now is just how many people
> are  totally and completely serious about buying the mod kit. It will
> require removing the ROM socket (IC22) and chip select chip (IC29).
> Both need to be replaced with normal profile IC sockets (supplied in
> the kit). But the removal of the EPROM socket and the chip select
> chips can be tricky to do. 
> 
> I would very much appreciate it if I got a definite show of hands from
> as many of you as possible as to whether you are quite serious about
> obtaining the mod kit. I suspect the kit will cost somewhere between
> 75 and 100 dollars. Add shipping of not more than say - 10 bucks. I
> think it safe to say the kit will be close to 100 bucks.
> 
> Just how many of you are willing to say - "Count me in" ?
> 
> Any and all feedback will be very much appreciated.
> 
> Mike.
>

Great
Count me in:)

    Hawo

On Tue, 9 Oct 2007, korgpolyex800 wrote:

> It will require removing the ROM socket (IC22) and chip select chip 
> (IC29). Both need to be replaced with normal profile IC sockets 
> (supplied in the kit). But the removal of the EPROM socket and the chip 
> select chips can be tricky to do.
=========================

after removal, will those parts be needed? or will they be superseded by 
new parts that will come with the kit?

after many years of electronic work, i can say that removing soldered DIP 
chips without damaging the chips or the board SUCKS. of course, they're 
easy to remove if they can be destroyed in the process... just cut all of 
the legs off with a small electronic snips and then remove the legs from 
the board, one at a time.


-- 
         ...atom

  ________________________
  http://atom.smasher.org/
  762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
  -------------------------------------------------

 	"America may be the best country in the world, but that's
 	 kind of like being the valedictorian of summer school."
 		-- Dennis Miller

I definitely want one!

Phoebe aka october71

Sounds good to me.
Question: Does the new code affect (or control) the other mods
mentioned on this board? (Filter mod, FM mod, etc.)

No, I am limiting the initial kit to the memory and software upgrade.

The second kit will have the necessary hardware to allow adding a
second board that WILL allow control of the filter and FM mod's along
with the 12/24 db filter switch etc. 

And the second kit may be simple enough that we won't actually need a
prefabricated board.

But for now, it will just be the memory and software upgrade.

Keep in mind that the software becomes flashable so we will be able to
add new features and functions after you've bought the kit. It is just
a matter of writing the new functions into the firmware. You then
would do a flash update of the EEPROM's.

So I expect to have MANY new functions, including portamento, soon
after the hardware kit becomes available. 

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "honod3k" <cbluff@...> wrote:

>
> Sounds good to me.
> Question: Does the new code affect (or control) the other mods
> mentioned on this board? (Filter mod, FM mod, etc.)
>

Check out the hottest 2008 models today at Yahoo! Autos.

Cool. I would hope it would be closer to $50-75 as the synth is only
worth $100 on a good day. :) I'm mostly interested in the pot board
add-on. Will the mod work in the Poly-800 MK II? If so put me down for
a couple...

Doug
--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "korgpolyex800" <korgpolyex800@...>
wrote:

>
> Hi Poly fans,
> 
> I've been completely swamped with work, family canoe trips, golf and
> using up the last good days of warm weather in 2007. But I haven't
> forgotten my favorite pet project either. Here's another little update.
> 
> I've been looking at our progress so far, what with new sysex
> functions, the new wide playing feature, the odd, even note cascade,
> the global parameters, full sysex single patch dump send and receive
> etc. It's all been good but I know that many other potential mod's
> could be implemented with digital potentiometers etc. But I had a hard
> think about what the first mod kit should look like and I've decided
> that the first kit will be a memory and software upgrade only and will
> NOT have any digital potentiometers on board. However, I have designed
> the board such that adding a second board for real performance control
> through the digital potentiometers will be just a daisy chain of one
> header cable.
> 
> The long and short of it is that I've done about 90 percent of the PCB
> design so that I'll be looking to do a prototype run of the mod kit
> board within the next 30 days or so. The new board will also have a
> third EEPROM so that the space available for new software functions
> will grow past my prototype board by another 8K. So the production mod
> kit will contain a "massive" 24 kilobytes of space plus the original
> boot ROM of 8K.
> 
> I am now going to be contacting board manufacturers to find out how
> much it's going to cost per board with an initial run of 100 boards.
> The question in the back of my mind right now is just how many people
> are  totally and completely serious about buying the mod kit. It will
> require removing the ROM socket (IC22) and chip select chip (IC29).
> Both need to be replaced with normal profile IC sockets (supplied in
> the kit). But the removal of the EPROM socket and the chip select
> chips can be tricky to do. 
> 
> I would very much appreciate it if I got a definite show of hands from
> as many of you as possible as to whether you are quite serious about
> obtaining the mod kit. I suspect the kit will cost somewhere between
> 75 and 100 dollars. Add shipping of not more than say - 10 bucks. I
> think it safe to say the kit will be close to 100 bucks.
> 
> Just how many of you are willing to say - "Count me in" ?
> 
> Any and all feedback will be very much appreciated.
> 
> Mike.
>

> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "korgpolyex800" <korgpolyex800@...>

>> Just how many of you are willing to say - "Count me in" ?

count me in!

--darkcube [ detroit techno militia / uberhax0r ]
--email : darkcube@... / AOL IM : el8haqr
--web : http://www.detroittechnomilitia.com/main

On Tue, 9 Oct 2007, Michael Hawkins wrote:

> But the EPROM socket is a whole different ball of fun (not) because it 
> is one of those large types where you can't get to the pins to snip them 
> off.
>
> So to remove the EPROM socket requires a lot of patience and care.
================

or a DREMEL tool...? less patience required ;)

i don't have a poly nearby, so i can't see what a cut-off wheel would 
likely bump into. i will say that this method, if feasible *really* should 
be done with safety-glasses in a well ventilated (forced air-flow!) area.


-- 
         ...atom

  ________________________
  http://atom.smasher.org/
  762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
  -------------------------------------------------

 	"About all you can do in life is be who you are.
 	 Some people will love you for you. Most will
 	 love you for what you can do for them, and some
 	 won't like you at all."
 		-- Rita Mae Brown

i m in. one thought: you d be far better off selling the memory kits if you already had some interesting new functionalities. yes, i mean the mono mode with 

The dremel method is great except that the kit would cost $500 bucks
to remove one socket.

I have not tried the melting iron yet. But I will let you know how it
goes.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 9 Oct 2007, Michael Hawkins wrote:
> 
> > But the EPROM socket is a whole different ball of fun (not)
because it 
> > is one of those large types where you can't get to the pins to
snip them 
> > off.
> >
> > So to remove the EPROM socket requires a lot of patience and care.
> ================
> 
> or a DREMEL tool...? less patience required ;)
> 
> i don't have a poly nearby, so i can't see what a cut-off wheel would 
> likely bump into. i will say that this method, if feasible *really*
should 
> be done with safety-glasses in a well ventilated (forced air-flow!)
area.

> 
> 
> -- 
>          ...atom
> 
>   ________________________
>   http://atom.smasher.org/
>   762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
>   -------------------------------------------------
> 
>  	"About all you can do in life is be who you are.
>  	 Some people will love you for you. Most will
>  	 love you for what you can do for them, and some
>  	 won't like you at all."
>  		-- Rita Mae Brown
>

----- Original Message ----- > 
> Just how many of you are willing to say - "Count me in" ?
> 

Count me in!!!

/ Lasse T.

Hey Mike,
Count me in...
Jobiwan
 
Joseph C. Smith
Product Manager
Powerhouse Mechanical Repair, Inc.
T (704) 523-5265
F (704) 523-6583
M (704) 651-9952
visit us at www.powerhousemechanical.com 

 Subject: [korgpolyex] Poly 800 Super Mod Kit - getting closer

Hi Poly fans,

I've been completely swamped with work, family canoe trips, golf and
using up the last good days of warm weather in 2007. But I haven't
forgotten my favorite pet project either. Here's another little update.

I've been looking at our progress so far, what with new sysex
functions, the new wide playing feature, the odd, even note cascade,
the global parameters, full sysex single patch dump send and receive
etc. It's all been good but I know that many other potential mod's
could be implemented with digital potentiometers etc. But I had a hard
think about what the first mod kit should look like and I've decided
that the first kit will be a memory and software upgrade only and will
NOT have any digital potentiometers on board. However, I have designed
the board such that adding a second board for real performance control
through the digital potentiometers will be just a daisy chain of one
header cable.

The long and short of it is that I've done about 90 percent of the PCB
design so that I'll be looking to do a prototype run of the mod kit
board within the next 30 days or so. The new board will also have a
third EEPROM so that the space available for new software functions
will grow past my prototype board by another 8K. So the production mod
kit will contain a "massive" 24 kilobytes of space plus the original
boot ROM of 8K.

I am now going to be contacting board manufacturers to find out how
much it's going to cost per board with an initial run of 100 boards.
The question in the back of my mind right now is just how many people
are totally and completely serious about buying the mod kit. It will
require removing the ROM socket (IC22) and chip select chip (IC29).
Both need to be replaced with normal profile IC sockets (supplied in
the kit). But the removal of the EPROM socket and the chip select
chips can be tricky to do. 

I would very much appreciate it if I got a definite show of hands from
as many of you as possible as to whether you are quite serious about
obtaining the mod kit. I suspect the kit will cost somewhere between
75 and 100 dollars. Add shipping of not more than say - 10 bucks. I
think it safe to say the kit will be close to 100 bucks.

Just how many of you are willing to say - "Count me in" ?

Any and all feedback will be very much appreciated.

Mike.





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On Wed, 10 Oct 2007, korgpolyex800 wrote:

> The dremel method is great except that the kit would cost $500 bucks to 
> remove one socket.
================

but if one already has a dremel....


-- 
         ...atom

  ________________________
  http://atom.smasher.org/
  762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
  -------------------------------------------------

 	"If you step back and look at the data, the optimum amount of
 	 red meat you eat should be zero."
 		-- Walter Willett, M.D., of Brigham and Women's
 		Hospital, director of a study that found a close
 		correlation between red meat consumption and
 		colon cancer.

> but if one already has a dremel....

I agree...I don't think you need to supply the tools required for the kit. If the buyer can't do it 
themselves, then they'll just have to pay someone else to do it for them. That's pretty much 
the way all kits are.

phoebe

I have my Dremel tool collecting dust, eagerly awaiting the new mod!!

Erik

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "Phoebe" <october71@...> wrote:
>
> 
> > but if one already has a dremel....
> 
> I agree...I don't think you need to supply the tools required for the 
kit. If the buyer can't do it 
> themselves, then they'll just have to pay someone else to do it for 
them. That's pretty much 

> the way all kits are.
> 
> phoebe
>