Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
By JVC Sat May 08, 2010 9:28 pm
Adding CF card reader (and internal SCSI port) in AKAI MPC-2000 classic. a little manual.

(See viewtopic.php?f=1&t=67154&start=75 for the background history.)

So, I finally finished the internal CF card mod for MPC-2000 Classic. (Those who has MPC-2000XL, this mod is not necessary, as XL model has an internal IDE port already.)

I bought a internal SCSI mod kit from djjonnyjams;
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=125262&start=0
(the kit had been sold out)

When I received the kits and seeing SCSI 25pin to 50pin converter/adapter, I realized that it could be used as a internal SCSI port. I saw some of MPC forum members succeeded to install internal CF reader by soldering 50pin ribbon cable to 25 pin SCSI port.
The way I did is less likely to make mistake, since there is no need to map 50pin to 25pin. I believe that this mod is easier than MPC forum member "destruktiv" did.
However, please note that this mod requires a lot of soldering. If you are not familiar with soldering and electronics, do not try this! Try at your own risk.

Parts list: (most of them can be found on ebay)
* Internal to external 50pin to 25pin SCSI adapter
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* 50pin SCSI to IDE converter
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* IDE/ATAPI CF reader
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* 6-inch long IDE ribbon cable (connecting IDE CF reader to SCSI to IDE converter)
* SCSI 50 pin ribbon cable (should be long enough to reach to SCSI to IDE converter)
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* Teflon 26 gauge stranded hook up wire (more on this later)
* extra MOLEX connecter cable for SCSI to IDE converter and CF reader (I salvaged it from old PC power supply.)
* something to mount CF card reader (I used a broken floppy drive)
* cable ties (to secure 6-inch long IDE ribbon cable and SCSI to IDE converter)

I highly recommend using the teflon hook up wire (in fact, I would not use PVC hook up wire for this mod.) Teflon hook up wire does not melt with soldering iron. You won't have to worry about wire's outer jacket melting during soldering. (I ran out of teflon wire, and I used wire taken from Ethernet cable. see the photo.) Teflon 26 gauge stranded hook up wire was perfect for this mod. I recommend ordering the wire in a few different color, about 20 feet total. (I ordered 10 feet wire and ran out a few feet short.) I ordered mine at allelectronics.com.

I think gathering all the parts would cost around 100 dollars, since you will have to order the items from various venders.

As you can see, the SCSI to IDE converter is very wide. I used a few cable ties to prevent the 50pin SCSI to IDE converter to move around in the unit.

I put PVC insulating tape inside the unit near SCSI port and where the 50pin to 25pin SCSI adapter will be located. Make sure the soldering points will not touch the metal case. By the way, I tried to relocate the green wire from primary, but it is glued! So I decided not to bother with it, I covered it with tape.

(I want to get case for 3.5" drive bay for the CF reader. I considered buying Addonics' 3.5" Bay Bracket for IDE - CF Adapter ( http://www.addonics.com/products/flash_ ... didecf.asp ), but it does not have screw holes on the bottom, so it cannot be used with MPC-2000. Please let me, and the forum members, know if you found 3.5" bay bracket for CF reader that has holes on the bottom, like floppy drive.)

The hardest part of this mod is soldering wires that connect to the SCSI port on the motherboard to 50pin to 25pin SCSI adapter. make sure each wire is connected to the correct pin. It should be easy, (just connecting pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, and so on) but toward end, it will become a bit confusing as there are a lot of wires soldered on the board.

This is where the internal SCSI port would be located:
before:
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After (photoshopped image):
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As you can see, the 25 pin SCSI port would face left. place the adapter like that in the photo, when tape the adapter and motherboard together before taking out the motherboard from the case.

After the soldering:
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This is how the mod look:
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8 output board is not installed on this unit, but I think there is still enough room for it. Th SCSI ribbon cable is a bit too long, but it works.

Put back the console board:
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Turn on the unit before putting the uppercase:
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It boots from the CF reader!

This is how it boot up:

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By JVC Mon May 17, 2010 5:31 pm
An external Zip drive works with this mod. I tested it.
Sadly, operation system cannot be copied to zip disk with this setting, since it can be copied from only floppy drive.
Compact Flash card can be hot-swapped (in disk mode, choose 8MB Flash board even it is not installed, swap the CF card, then choose the SCSI port again.)
Only first partition in CF card is visible from PCs / Macs, and largest partition is about 1GB, (I think it is a bit smaller), so I would use 1GB or smaller capacity CF cards, since MPC-2000 classic does not support folders.

Thank you,

JVC
By JVC Tue May 18, 2010 1:30 pm
jazzbee wrote:Good project :)
It looks quite complicated.
The soldering of the mainboard will probably put many people off from trying this mod.


It is complicated, but not electronically. I don't think I would've succeeded if I were to solder 50-pin SCSI ribbon cable directly to the mainboard. Fitting everything in the unit was the most challenging part. Gutting out the floppy drive was also harder than I thought. Using Addonics CF reader instead would've been nice though.
No mod on the metal case (MPC-2000) was required; I used a lot of plastic cable ties!

Again, if you are not familiar with soldering, don't try it!
By JVC Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:39 pm
Post note:
I tried to use a few different Compact Flash cards with the MPC.

Compact Flash card compatibility:

  • Canon 64MB (came with my old Canon digital camera) - not compatible, produced "disk error!" message.
  • SanDisk 128MB CF Memory Card - not compatible, produced "disk error!" message.
  • SanDisk 256MB Ultra II CF Memory Card - Compatible!
  • Kingston 4GB CF Memory Card (I don't know which version this is, the label on the card was customized) - Compatible!
    (It must be partitioned on MPC, and only the first partition is accessible from PCs.)

Since MPC-2000 Classic does not support folders :( , I'd prefer using 1GB or even smaller capacity CF cards (kind of like using a CF card as a folder.)
I think the first two CF cards are too slow to read and write.
I was a bit surprised by the fact that the 4GB Kingston CF card worked flawless (Kingston cards don't have very good reputation...), but I think newer CF cards have faster reading /writing rates, so I'd think many of new cheap CF cards would work fine.
I think the result would be the same for MPC-2000 classic with an external CF reader.
By mkc1976 Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:45 pm
Hi Im a bit new to this. To get o.s v 1.72 onto cf card do you simply just format the card in your pc and drop the o.s onto it? Power up the mpc with the card in and thats it?
Or is there more to it than that.
Thanks for sharing your mod
By scsiforsamplers.com Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:00 pm
mkc1976 wrote:Hi Im a bit new to this. To get o.s v 1.72 onto cf card do you simply just format the card in your pc and drop the o.s onto it? Power up the mpc with the card in and thats it?
Or is there more to it than that.
Thanks for sharing your mod


No, that won't work. You must first format the CF card on the MPC2000, then you can put it into a USB card reader and copy the MPC2000.EXE and MPC2000.SYS files to the card. Unless you have an external drive like a Zip or something you can boot from, then you won't be able to format the blank CF card.

This is why we make free bootable CF cards for anyone who needs it. You can buy a CF card from us and we will send it ready for booting or if you already own one or more CF cards, you can send them to us and we will format them, make them bootable and return them to you. This is a free service but we do ask that you include $5.00 with the CF cards for return Priority Mail shipping.

You will need the correct 40-pin cable in order to connect the bridge to the card reader and it can be tough to find those, as a male IDE connector is required on one end.
By mkc1976 Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:00 pm
with a scsi ide bridge you wouldn't need a male ide cable as the socket is male and the socket on the cfide card reader is male. standard ide cable required.
ok formatting your cf card is easy
boot the mpc with floppy drive connected and card reader connected (obviously need the lid off the mpc to do this)
format the card. disconnect the floppy drive and bolt back together. take your akai formatted card to you pc
and voila.

Just out of interest how much is shipping to germany for one of your kits with a bootable cf card?

Thanks
:)
By JVC Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:04 pm
Lord Toranaga wrote:seems easier and more effective to just buy the device from scsi


Yes, it IS easier and safer to just buy from the SCSI guy. I never said it is easy :) and I don't recommend this mod unless you are fairly familiar with electronics and soldering!
But, one major advantage with my mod is that you can still use the external SCSI port on the back of MPC-2000 classic.
By JVC Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:17 pm
mkc1976 wrote:ok formatting your cf card is easy
boot the mpc with floppy drive connected and card reader connected (obviously need the lid off the mpc to do this)
format the card. disconnect the floppy drive and bolt back together. take your akai formatted card to you pc
and voila.

You can also format a CF card with MPC-2000 classic by booting from ZIP disk with OS image, then select CF card in Disk mode, then format the CF card.
After that, copy MPC2000.EXE and MPC2000.SYS to the CF card USING your PC / Mac. if you made more than one partitions on the CF card, only the first partition is accessible from PC / Mac. Just copy the two files to the CF card and unmount. You are done.
By scsiforsamplers.com Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:48 pm
JVC wrote:
Lord Toranaga wrote:seems easier and more effective to just buy the device from scsiforsamplers


Yes, it IS easier and safer to just buy from the SCSI guy. I never said it is easy :) and I don't recommend this mod unless you are fairly familiar with electronics and soldering!
But, one major advantage with my mod is that you can still use the external SCSI port on the back of MPC-2000 classic.


Our install kits also keep the rear SCSI port functional and require no soldering at all. You can remove one of our installation kits at any time and your MPC will be completely back to original factory status.
User avatar
By JUKE 179r Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:58 pm
By impeezie2k Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:29 am
Yo i know this is an old thread but im going to try this mod on the weekend. Anyone know if i can just split a 50pin scsi ribbon cable into pairs of two and solder them onto the back of the 25pin internal port to avoid using the 25 to 50pin converter?

peace