Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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By SMC Mon May 18, 2009 6:32 pm
Yup. That's all discussed here.

I changed the brackets for better look and fit, am including cables, and shipping has gone crazy since I was last selling these. All of this has played a roll. That and with all the Ebay/Paypal fees, I was getting slaughtered. Over $20 in costs just to sell/ship, let alone the cost of cables, packaging, and the readers themselves.

One Example, two years ago I was shipping these cross country for under $5, now it's $10..... pretty much sucks.
By namotu Tue May 19, 2009 2:53 am
well im installing it now, i got stuck though, cas the new power cable end is bigger then the old one, so i dunno where it goes in on the MP...those guide pics would help right about now
By namotu Tue May 19, 2009 3:17 am
i don't see how to screw it down either...i feel stupid, hah seems like it should be obvious. you have any instructions on how to install it?
By namotu Tue May 19, 2009 5:07 am
hah alright sorry about all of that, i found out how to screw it down and all that, but im using the original power cable from the floppy...and it didnt seem to work. im gonna install 1.2 now, but is the power cable you sent me useless if im installing it on an XL?
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By SMC Tue May 19, 2009 1:53 pm
mr_debauch wrote:keep in mind that the shipping is payed by the buyer though.

correct, but people are haggling the entire cost..... In order to keep costs from going up a couple more bucks I removed the free shipping, so instead of $60 with free shipping, I went to 50 + 10.....

Seriously..... EVERYTHING involved adds up a lot. I have to cover my costs, as well as have this be worth while.
Trust me, I'm not getting rich on these.

The profits are far less than the gas I use, or any one of my bills, etc.

Depending on where it's getting shipped, and a couple other factors like daily shipping rate variations,
and minor fluctuations in costs.... keep in mind I have to order 5 things to get these together, and I've got shipping on that as well.

If people think $60 is too much they are more than welcome to make their own or buy something elsewhere.
I think it's a very good price for the product. Everyone who has one has only said good things.
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By SMC Tue May 19, 2009 2:01 pm
namotu wrote:hah alright sorry about all of that, i found out how to screw it down and all that, but im using the original power cable from the floppy...and it didnt seem to work. im gonna install 1.2 now, but is the power cable you sent me useless if im installing it on an XL?


The original power cable is fine. Not all units need that cable.
The one I send is a courtesy, as some people have Zip drives, and the power cable is different.
I didn't want people to have to cut, modify or make their own cables,
so that one is provided so you can just plug it into the original Zip power cable without modification.

I'd install 1.2, but if it's not reading the drive you're gonna have to reinstall your floppy to do so.

Also, grab/borrow as many CF Cards as you can before you pull too much hair out.
Many many times people have gone thru so much other stuff and it's just an incompatible card.

The other thing too is that the latest batch of ribbon cables were not tabbed, discussion of this is up probably on the previous page.

Eibou and DJ. F. Harb both had issues with this, but got the configuration correct and are now happy campers.
If one of you is lurking can you please photo the ribbon config to help other users?

Again, my guy has had my 2KXL so I couldn't photo anything. He just dropped it off at my studio downtown but I wasn't able to get there yesterday, and probably not today.... tomorrow I should be able to. I will photo for instructions, as well as label the ribbons and pre-insert it into the card reader to simplify things. Sorry for this confusion, I will have it all cleared up very very soon :) You gotta remember I made these 2 years ago for myself and some friends, for the MPC and some other applications, and they just sat around.... I never needed instructions. I will have them soon soon
User avatar
By SMC Tue May 19, 2009 5:53 pm
Yo, power cables just got here.

Current Ebay listing revised to include EVERYTHING.

Complete Kit. $50 + $10 Shipping :)
User avatar
By Daneja Wed May 20, 2009 1:52 am
SMC wrote:MPC2000XL Compact Flash Card Reader. NON-HOT SWAP

Requirements:
OS Version 1.2 http://www.akaipro.com/company/media2.p ... 2FVDsCaVQw
Basic Mechanical Skills, enough to remove the existing floppy or zip, and install the new drive.
Phillips head screw driver.

Kit includes:
Compact Flash Card Reader
Power Cable Adapter (For units with Floppy, Zip drive units will not require this)
Ultra IDE Cable
4 Mounting Screws (These screws are pre-installed in the mounting holes of the drive)

THIS DRIVE WILL NOT HOT-SWAP!!!!!! THE MPC MUST BE OFF WHEN INSERTING OR REMOVING THE COMPACT FLASH CARD!!!!

Inserting or removing a card while the MPC is on will cause the machine to freeze with random alpha-numeric characters on the screen,
and will require turning the unit off and back on again for it to resume function. This may damage your Compact Flash Card (And maybe MPC?).

Cost: $60
Continental USA Shipping: included

INTERNATIONAL Shipping: $15-$25
JUST GOT A QUOTE FOR SHIPPING TO FINLAND AT $15, OTHER PLACES MIGHT BE MORE OR LESS I DON'T KNOW
THESE ARE ROUGH NUMBERS TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS 2-3 WEEK DELIVERY, EXPRESS RATES START AT $45 TO FINLAND


UNFORTUNATELY I just had a situation with a shipment to Canada that was subject to international import fees imposed by Canada.

International shipping may be subject to Taxes, Fees, and Brokerage fees imposed by customs in your country.

I cannot be responsible for these fees as I have no way of finding out what they are, if there will be any, and how much.

I strongly recommend that any international buyers research any potential customs fees prior to purchase.

************************************************************************************************************

EBAY PURCHASE LINKS & INFO - I will edit this first post as needed so that this thread can be kept simple!

Jaunuary 28, 2009

$60.00, FREE SHIPPING TO CONTINENTAL US

Compact Flash Card Reader
Power Cable Adapter
Ribbon Cable
Mounting Screws

Thanks guys!

NOTE:
LOTS OF CHANGES HAVE TAKEN PLACE WITH THIS DRIVE, MAINLY THE REDESIGNED BRACKET,
NOT PHOTO'D HERE, BUT HAS A LIP SO IT'S A BETTER LOOK AND FIT,
AND PRICING HAS GONE UP DUE TO COSTS OF MANUFACTURING, CABLES, SHIPPING, AND EBAY/PAYPAL FEES.
I've got over $20 just in shipping/ebay/paypal fees alone. Keep that in mind while haggling over the cost.

Image




I wanna do the CF card on my 2000xl but i was on mpcstuff.com and i read this.....

PLEASE NOTE: Must install new MPC 2000 XL OS before installing the drive (we can email this to you upon request). Drive pictured is slightly different and is not the Akai Factory Drive (the Akai one is not available at this time - this one is slightly less expensive) - the drives now only have a slot for a compact flash card and come in black or white (see above picture). One thing you may want to realize when purchasing is you must have a card in the drive when you switch the unit on, otherwise the card will not be recognized by the drive. You also should not change cards while the MPC is on - STILL 10000% better than using a zip drive or floppy drive.


now this will not work for me because i have a zip disk that has all my drum sounds on it. so when i make a beat using my 250 zip drive im always using different disk loading different sounds and stuff. My big beef with this cf card reader is that if im making a beat i would like to take out the flash card that im using and load up another flash card with different sounds and load them up into the mpc and then take that CF card out and put another one in and load up more sounds. But mpc stuff.com says i cant do that.... is this true????
User avatar
By jonestown massacre Wed May 20, 2009 1:25 pm
With a 1 gb cf card, you wont really need to swap cards around, especially if you are really organized. I have 5 64mb cf cards, and I cant hot swap, but it works for me.
User avatar
By SMC Wed May 20, 2009 1:53 pm
That is the big downfall.

However, as Jamestown said, if you have a 1GB card in there, that's gonna be a rare occurance :)

Keep in mind, you can hook up an external Zip on the rear SCSI port, or a CD Drive, or a Hard Drive, so, there are other options for alternative storage and hotswap, aside from the front panel.
By namotu Wed May 20, 2009 9:56 pm
i had some trouble installing it, but i figure i have to many questions, so im just gonna hold out until you post some instructions or pics or somethin...let me know when the how-to is up, thanks man
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By mr_debauch Thu May 21, 2009 3:29 am
I installed a generic CF reader i got from china on ebay (I wont post the buyer link in here) ..


anyways the important thing is:

INSTALL version 1.20 on the 2000xl if your reader is IDE/ATAPI before putting in the cf reader.

I forgot to do that and it wouldn't even show the drive. all I had showing in the load screen was floppy, all the scsi ports, and f-rom. as soon as I loaded the os 1.20 from my zip drive (after reconnecting it) I put back in the card reader and it worked properly and it then showed ATAPI as a possible option.

SO, yes... it seems that for IDE/ATAPI card readers... you need OS v.1.20 on the 2000xl.