Share your knowledge on these two classic MPCs
By HillBrothers5 Sat Feb 23, 2019 6:03 pm
I recently picked up a vintage AKAI MPC3000 and am attempting to bring it back to life.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT:

1. System begins to boot up at POWER ON
2. System Version 3.11
3. Screen Displays "Loading Files" and progresses for about 15 seconds then ..
4. Screen Displays "Searching SCSI for Hard Disk" and HANGS UP
5. System does not respond to SOFT KEY 4 <CANCEL> input

RESEARCH
1. Symptoms indicate fuse F901 on the SCSI PCB may be blown

NEXT STEPS
1. Checking for continuity across fuse F901 on SCSI PCB

I'm brand new to the AKAI MPC3000 but have a background in electronics service and repair.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks
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By richie Sat Feb 23, 2019 6:51 pm
Everything you're doing so far is correct and more than what most people do that post here with the same questions.

Do you own any scsi devices that you can connect to the DB25 on the back?

Reason why I'm asking is that for the sake of troubleshooting, I connect a SCSI ZIP drive or any SCSI device that I can provide my own termination to, so I would not be relying on the onboard SCSI card and termination fuse for that. I've found that it is an interim way to resolve the issue so I can get back to making beats.

Ultimately, swapping out the scsi fuse is the first and most common thing that resolves this issue.
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By Telefunky Sat Nov 19, 2022 9:12 pm
Of course it‘s only a fix if the fuse is blown... and as you can see in the post above this was NOT the case. The fuse was ok, but the problem still existed.

SCSI is not the most easy type of digital bus and today (with most such gear vintage or used in unknown condition) the unit itself may be faulty, either by mistreating or simply aging. It‘s a gamble if you can‘t rely on the seller.

Unfortunately accessing a damaged drive (almost certainly) will stall the OS because it happens at a very low level, where no application control exists.
(a blown fuse may be considered the mildest form of damage)

Always check termination specs of the drive (auto termination or which switch/jumper settings) and it‘s SCSI ID (how it‘s set) and that no other item on the bus uses the same ID.
(some IDs may be reserved)