Share your knowledge on these two classic MPCs
By riley Thu Feb 13, 2020 6:40 pm
Hey all
I'm trying to get an MPC3000 format a card and it's not recognized, problem is similar to this:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=168702

No card is recognized. The MPC3000 was purchased with Valixi 3.5 and the CF reader installed.
I've tried 3 different 1gb CF cards including a second hand Lexar model which someone on a Gearslutz thread specifically said had worked for them. All cards were inserted when unit was off.

The card reader has a green light on it which turns on if a card is inserted, but have not seen any indication of the card being read from. Always get "No SCSI device was found" when selecting FORMAT A SCSI HARD DISK option.

I opened the MPC up and checked the card connections.... everything "seems" in order and I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the molex connectors. But no luck.

I saw on the other post someone recommended replacing a fuse, not sure which on that is.

Anyone have any recommendations for next steps?
I've noticed pretty much everyone is using SD card readers now for the MPC3000, and I'd be willing to upgrade, but I don't really want to buy one of those if it could be another issue.

Thanks!
User avatar
By JUKE 179r Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:16 am
Welcome to the forum.

Has it worked before or is this a new 3000 you recently bought?
What brand of card reader do you have in the 3000? Take a pic and post it if you don't know.
Could be bent pins in the card reader.
Could be an issue farther up on the SCSI cable and the connections to the circuit boards.
Could be the SCSI fuse F901 is blown.
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By riley Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:12 pm
Got completely side tracked from this, but actually have time to repair this now.

To answer your questions:
- Saving has never worked since it was purchased.

- Card is a "RaizinMonster" pic linked here, was already installed when purchased.

- The pins all seem ok in the card reader.

- I tried following the SCSI cables and they seem to be all plugged in correctly down the line.

- The F901 component on my board looks very different from the one in your photo.... I suppose this is the original and not the resettable fuse you have linked. Here is a photo of F901 on my unit.

- It does appear to have oxidization/grime around it and does not pass a continuity test with a multimeter.


I suppose the fuse would indeed be the culprit?
If there is any other considerations anyone can think of let me know.
Otherwise I'll order the funkdewbie resettable SCSI fuse part off Ebay.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
User avatar
By richie Wed Mar 17, 2021 3:30 pm
From the looks of your picture, someone already replaced the existing fuse with a new one. They could've done a cleaner job but it seems the never bothered to remove the card and to it nicer.

The orange/brown stuff you're looking at appears to be solder flux. So when you decide to swap the fuse out to a resettable one, simply clean the area off with a qtip and some isopropyl alcohol before soldering in the new fuse.

Also, from your picture to the one Juke linked, it is in fact the same board, Akai never issued a different revision of that SCSI board for the 3000. The pic he linked is a picture of the board removed, hence why it looks clearer.
By riley Wed Mar 17, 2021 8:09 pm
Ok good to know thanks!
In terms of the difference between the look of them, I was just talking about the look of the component.
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By richie Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:11 pm
riley wrote:Ok good to know thanks!
In terms of the difference between the look of them, I was just talking about the look of the component.


Right. The one in yours was a burn once fuse which is what Akai originally supplied with those units.

The one that was linked by Juke, was the resettable fuse.
By riley Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:39 pm
I replaced the fuse with a resettable one and am still getting the:
"no SCSI device was found" error
have tried several 1gb flash cards including an old Lexar gold 133x card which I've seen others have success with. My test each time has been:
1. Plug the cards in when the unit is off.
2. Power on
3. Attempt to format disk

There is a green light which comes on on the card reader when a card is inserted. So it must be getting some power at least, but OS doesn't seem to recognize it.

Anyone have any other things I should try?
User avatar
By richie Sat Apr 17, 2021 6:13 pm
If you're still getting the FF48 error after replacing the fuse, then it could be several different things in the chain.

The green light is independent of the operating system itself. It simply an indication that the card readers controller is reading the card inserted. If you unplugged the SCSI ribbon going to the drive, the light would likely still be green.

Also, are you running the stock Akai OS or Vailixi? If not, it is strongly suggested that you get Vailixi if you want to use a card reader.