Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By nyarlathotep Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:00 am
The power cable for Mpc4k main board hdd power output > HDD power input is missing. Replacement required.

There's one on mpcstuff for $18! I mean, $18 for what exactly, vintage cables! Anyway, as I'm based in the uk it'll be way more than that by the time it arrives.

So, does anyone know an exact cable that will work?

And just in case, I've searched the forum but only found a thread that I started 10+ years ago about the same issue but in a different unit! :shock:
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By Lampdog Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:48 pm
You can find these old connectors in thrifts shops, pawn shops, electronics stores. Some people have even laying around from old computers they have put together.

By nyarlathotep Mon Mar 29, 2021 5:44 pm
Good shout man but everything's still shut here. Literal clowns in office so...

I've seen that vid but can't work out much from it as the cables are already in place and there isn't any mention of the actual stock cables connected to the main board (just something about the ones attached to those).

Also, unless I'm mistaken the HDD limit for the mpc4k is 120gb and it is best to format the drive in the mpc4k not on a pc. Another can of worms right there...

Back on topic, I think the cable that connects to the MPC main board hdd power source has a different socket to standard ide type power cables. Does anyone have some pictures of the HDD cable that shipped with the unit?
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By freezerman Tue Jan 02, 2024 3:39 pm
Just chipping in (two years later) that I am going through the same pain of finding a suitable power cable to connect an IDE compatible device to the main board of the 4000. The actual specification of the power outlet (P7/P8 connection) on the motherboard seems unknown to all, while typical IDE/SATA devices use a generic Molex 4 pin connection. Why did the Akai engineers decide use such a seemingly rare system to power the HD and the CDRW drive is a mystery to me. The same power connectors apparently were also used in the S5000/S6000 samplers.
Considering I am in Europe, I am not very keen on buying an overpriced cable from ebay or MPC stuff (yet) since with customs and shipping and all it will cost me north of 50-60 Euro. With the risk that it does not work either.
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By Telefunky Tue Jan 02, 2024 9:34 pm
freezerman wrote:... Why did the Akai engineers decide use such a seemingly rare system to power the HD and the CDRW drive is a mystery to me. The same power connectors apparently were also used in the S5000/S6000 samplers.

Well, remember the machine‘s release date... 2002, estimate at least 2 years of design and it‘s almost a quarter of a century back from today.
The Z4/8 samplers and the MPC4K are the most sophisticated devices (in technical terms) that I‘ve ever met and of course only the best parts were used.
At that time no one would have expected any „end user action“ inside the case.
But finally history didn‘t went the way Akai expected, as we know today :Sigh:

Don‘t forget that the machine was delivered including the proper drive power cable, you just had bad luck on a 2nd hand purchase, sorry for that.

I could give you the catalog number of the connector and it‘s contacts (they are separate items), but it wouldn‘t help because the crimp tool required costs more than a cable by MPCstuff.
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By freezerman Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:51 am
Thanks a bunch, the catalogue number and part specification would be super helpful, since I could then source the item and make it 'crimped' to the standard Molex cable that is provided with the IDE/SATA CF card reader. There are at least two shops in Paris that will build any cable wiring provided they are given proper specification. The cost for the service is between 10-20€ max, depending on whether soldering is required or not.
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By Sense-A Sat Feb 03, 2024 12:15 pm
These IDE power cables were very common in every consumer grade PC in the 90's and early 2000's.

You can go to a local PC repair shop and they can probably make you a cable with the boxes of cables they have. Might have to cut off an end to one and solder the end to another.

The size power cable you need is the one that used to plug into old floppy disk drives. The black wires are ground. The red wires are 5volts. The yellow wire is 12 volts. Knowing this, all you need is wire and connectors and you can make your own cable.

You can always use arduino cables in a pinch. Arduino cables are used to move around and use on bread boards or jump distant pins together. https://store-usa.arduino.cc/collections/cables-wires

I think you would have the most luck going to a local computer repair shop. Preferably one where some guy has boxes of parts junked up everywhere.

Or pull an old computer with an old PSU which would have plugs to power floppy disk drives and cd rom drives. Then cut off the plugs you need and wire it together. Offer $20 cash for him to dig out a cable that will work for you or to put together a solution in about 30 minutes or less.