Installing Card Reader in MPC2000

thank you, I couldn't remember the name of it to search for the thread.

People are really sleeping on that thing...it's hardly a replacement for a card reader, but it is definitely an improvement over floppies.
Plus it's compatible with almost anything you throw at it...unlike a lot of card readers.

nogginj wrote:People are really sleeping on that thing...it's hardly a replacement for a card reader, but it is definitely an improvement over floppies.
Plus it's compatible with almost anything you throw at it...unlike a lot of card readers.

no, that is what was saying earlier... it aint a card reader, it just uses cards (basically). It actually might be a great idea and very beneficial to the 2000 classic with the boot disk etc.

I found this MPC 2000 on the internet: http://page16.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u35524678

It has an internal SCSI CF card reader There are no external cables..and it doesn't appear to use the external SCSI port. Anyone have any insight?

My guess is that the MPC has the same mod that Forat does in the US, which consists of soldering 25 wires to the MPC motherboard, right where the DB25 plug connects to the board. That is certainly the best way to get an internal SCSI drive but Forat charges $300 (plus shipping) for the mod. I believe that having a short ribbon cable on the back is a fair trade off to save $300 and shipping your MPC to Los Angeles and back.

Askia Shaheed wrote:I found this MPC 2000 on the internet: http://page16.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u35524678

It has an internal SCSI CF card reader There are no external cables..and it doesn't appear to use the external SCSI port. Anyone have any insight?

GhostinMPC always make some sick mods... those custom MPCs are awesome... the inverted LCD is dope!

I did add 50 SCSI port (for ribbon cable) inside MPC-2000 Classic:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=130248

I did successfully modded the 2000, but I don't think it was really worth it (at least to me), first of all, it is very hard to solder 25 wires to directly to the motherboard, and you'll still need internal SCSI device, whch is very expensive in today's used market. Plus, 2000 classic does not have folder support (!) your samples and data files will be on root directory. For those reasons, it makes more sense to use lower capacity removable media on 2000 classic (think of each disk as folder.) Zip is very suitable media for Classic (100 or 250MB), except that Zip disks and drives are so unreliable. I don't know how much data has been lost because of Zip...

I'd recommend SCSI for Sampler guy's 2000 classic internal SCSI port kit (if he still have them) if you really need internal CF reader on your MPC-2000 classic.

My recommendation is using SCSI MO drive (Magneto Optic drive). while it is hard to get to hold of it in the U.S. (it was very popular media in Japan though) it is very reliable media. All of MO drives and disks I've seen are made in Japan. I noticed that MO disks are traded cheaper than Zip disks in eBay.

To me, 2000 Classic's weak data management feature was the main reason that I got rid of it, and bought 2000XL.

JVC wrote:I did add 50 SCSI port (for ribbon cable) inside MPC-2000 Classic:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=130248

Very impressed with this mod... but I think it is very difficult to most of the people in here to solder all those cables in that small space... but definitively I think that you did a great job... even better because it works and do not have that horrible cable outside the case... but yeah, to me doesn't worth spending all that money and you are not going to be able to organize your samples... I can imagine how many samples can you fit in a 1GB card... so then how the hell you can find a specific snare sound?

locotesmjr wrote:

JVC wrote:I did add 50 SCSI port (for ribbon cable) inside MPC-2000 Classic:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=130248

Very impressed with this mod... but I think it is very difficult to most of the people in here to solder all those cables in that small space... but definitively I think that you did a great job... even better because it works and do not have that horrible cable outside the case... but yeah, to me doesn't worth spending all that money and you are not going to be able to organize your samples... I can imagine how many samples can you fit in a 1GB card... so then how the hell you can find a specific snare sound?

That was exactly my point. With floppy disks, Zip or MO, you can organize your data. MO is the beat choice out of those 3 removable media.

honestly, that SD floppy emulator that was talked about often (was it HXD emulator or some acronym like that) seems to be cool if that would work well... it would almost give you folder support sort of... well separate floppy images on one card anyways.

mr_debauch wrote:honestly, that SD floppy emulator that was talked about often (was it HXD emulator or some acronym like that) seems to be cool if that would work well... it would almost give you folder support sort of... well separate floppy images on one card anyways.

I am pretty sure that HxC emulator would work with 2000 classic. However, I think using HxC makes sense to use with the devices which floppy drive is the only option for data storage (like Akai S900, SP-1200, Yamaha rm-1x etc.) HxC floppy emulator is amazing, but it works exactly like floppy; read/write speed is same as real floppies.
Since SCSI device can be connected to 2000 classic, I think it is more useful to use SCSI MO drive than HxC.

JVC wrote:

mr_debauch wrote:honestly, that SD floppy emulator that was talked about often (was it HXD emulator or some acronym like that) seems to be cool if that would work well... it would almost give you folder support sort of... well separate floppy images on one card anyways.

I am pretty sure that HxC emulator would work with 2000 classic. However, I think using HxC makes sense to use with the devices which floppy drive is the only option for data storage (like Akai S900, SP-1200, Yamaha rm-1x etc.) HxC floppy emulator is amazing, but it works exactly like floppy; read/write speed is same as real floppies.
Since SCSI device can be connected to 2000 classic, I think it is more useful to use SCSI MO drive than HxC.

sure, except MO drives are impossible to find in north america as they were never really used here for almost anything... and then you run into the no folder support issue yet again. Okay sure, a scsi hard drive is a great idea but as mentioned... things may get cluttered. MO was a great technology, but more expensive if you aren't already set up VS 60 or so bucks for the HxC drive and a buck per sd card...

The problem that I can see with HxC emulator is that needs to be outside the MPC (since you need to see the display and press buttons to operate it), being a circuit board could be easily damaged (?)... somebody is using this already with a 2K classic? I would like to see pictures of this... if somebody can post in here could be very helpful for the rest of us.
Thanks in advance

mr_debauch wrote:sure, except MO drives are impossible to find in north america as they were never really used here for almost anything... and then you run into the no folder support issue yet again. Okay sure, a scsi hard drive is a great idea but as mentioned... things may get cluttered. MO was a great technology, but more expensive if you aren't already set up VS 60 or so bucks for the HxC drive and a buck per sd card...

MO disks are hot-swappable, so you can use it like Zip, or floppy. Yes, SCSI MO drive (128MB version is even sufficient) is to get hold of, but it is always available on ebay. Plus, MO disks are cheaper than Zip disks.

JVC wrote:

mr_debauch wrote:sure, except MO drives are impossible to find in north america as they were never really used here for almost anything... and then you run into the no folder support issue yet again. Okay sure, a scsi hard drive is a great idea but as mentioned... things may get cluttered. MO was a great technology, but more expensive if you aren't already set up VS 60 or so bucks for the HxC drive and a buck per sd card...

MO disks are hot-swappable, so you can use it like Zip, or floppy. Yes, SCSI MO drive (128MB version is even sufficient) is to get hold of, but it is always available on ebay. Plus, MO disks are cheaper than Zip disks.

on ebay I checked and it seems like they are around 20 bucks each... zip disks though I didn't check ebay... but in general as they are quite common here are way cheaper. I wish it were the other way around... but I have never even seen anyone with an MO drive in person and I have been involved with computers for quite a few years.

you know what though? I may actually scoop one up if I can find an external one for cheap just for the experience of using them. for the most part the local listings in canada for them are around 150-180 bucks plus shipping but a few chinese sellers list them at 20 bucks with no shipping mentioned. that seems not too bad... except those are for internal scsi drives from what I've seen and I would prefer external personally.