Ultrasound Daily Digest Fri, 19 Mar 93 Volume 2 : Issue 74 Today's Topics: [GUS] Making the MIDI interface (fwd) Calliope patch problems General Midi Driver GUS (fwd) GUS 3D Gus and X-Wing GUS in DOS Box GUS MIDI patches keyboard lockup upon boot (2 msgs) Misc topics More FAQ fodder (fwd) multiple midi devices MUSIX141.ZIP on archive.epas.utoronto.ca New Set of disks - BIG problems. new software installation Noise in Line in Recording & Editor for stereo recordings? Opti 8-it DMA Problem #2 problems and praise Question... SBOS 2.02 SBOS 2.02 gotcha -- read for easy fix Simple Question, Simple Solution? To Install or Not To Install 17-21? Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #73 X-wing & SBOS 2.02 Zone 66 Zone 66 (for GUS) Information about the UltraSound Daily Digest (such as mail addresses, request servers, ftp sites, etc., etc.) can be found at the end of the Digest. *** HEY!!! *** Before you ask a question, *** READ THE FAQ ***. It's available on the request server and the ftp sites, or check the newsgroup archives. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 13:16:48 MST From: ddebry@itchy (Dave DeBry) Message-Id: <9303182016.AA09904@itchy> Subject: [GUS] Making the MIDI interface (fwd) To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I'm trying to get this MIDI adapter problem resolved. I've had a lot email sent directly to me saying that the FAQ was wrong, that the FAQ was right, that the FAQ really could use some salt, etc., etc. So, I'm forwarding a few of them on to the list. Please respond to these if you have any info on the subject. Forwarded message: > From: pcunnell@micrognosis.co.uk (Paul Cunnell) > In article <1nliklINN4u7@menudo.uh.edu>, st1qb@Rosie.UH.EDU writes: > |> Has anyone made the midi interface for the GUS that is in the FAQ? > |> If so, were did you find the part# 6N138? I cant seem to locate > |> this anywhere. Also, (excuse my ingorance i'm not an EE) but > |> what exactly is that part and its purpose? Thanks... > |> > |> Dave- > |> st1qb@jetson.uh.edu > > The 6N138 is a high sensitivity opto-isolator, manufactured by > Hewlett Packard (and I believe, a company called Quality Technology) > The main point in using this part as opposed to other more common > opto-isolators is the low LED ON current spec. (1.6mA) > > A midi out circuit is basically a LED in series with 600 ohms, and a > 5V supply. Taking into account the 1.7V forward drop across the LED, > you get about 5mA in the on state. Other optos generally need more > current to turn them on (say 15-60mA, but this varies a lot). A > 'high speed' 6N137 opto will also work, I believe, but that would > be a bit marginal on the input current (spec. is min 5mA). > > Since a number of people have been asking, I'll add below the > midi circuit that I'm using, plus a bit of general explanation > I've culled from other peoples' postings on the subject. > > > Attention Dave DeBry - this should probably replace the current > entry in the FAQ. I don't want to take all the credit for other > peoples' work. > > Happy midi-ing ! > > Generic Midi Out/In/Through Circuit > =================================== > > The following shows a typical OUT, cable, and IN circuit > > MIDI OUT port ---->|<- cable ->|<---- MIDI IN port +5V > 270 | > +5V DIN DIN +--\/\/\/-+ > | 220 +-+ +-------+ +-+ 220 +--------+ | > |\ +-\/\/\/--|4|-|-------|-|4|--\/\/\/--| OPTO |-+-+- UART RXD > UART | \ | | | | | | |ISOLATOR| | > TXD ---| \---\/\/\/--|5|-|-------|-|5|----------| |-+ | > | / 220 | | +-------+ | | +--------+ | | > | / +--|2|-+ +-|2| 6N138 GND| > |/ 7407 | +-+ +-+ | > GND | > | > +-------------------------------------------+ > | > | +5V DIN > | | 220 +-+ > | |\ +-\/\/\/--|4| > | | \ | | > +--| \---\/\/\/--|5| MIDI THRU > | / 220 | | > | / +--|2| > |/ 7407 | +-+ > GND > > Note that when the UART TXD is high, no current flows through the resistors > and optoisolator's LED, causing the optoisolator's phototransistor to remain > off, allowing the UART RXD to be pulled high by the 270 ohm resistor. When > the UART TXD is low, current flows through the resistors and optoisolator's > LED, turning on optoisolator's phototransistor, grounding the UART RXD. The > voltage drop across the optoisolator's LED is typically 1.5 volts, leaving > 3.5 volts to be dropped across (3 times 220) 660 ohms, which allows about > 5 ma to flow. > > The reason a current loop is used is that it allows an ground isolated > interconnection. Note that the ground from the MIDI OUT port's device is > not connected to the ground of the MIDI IN port's device. This prevents > ground loops in systems where appropriate attention has not been paid to > grounding issues, such as the case of typical musicians in a typical club! > > Acknowledgements: > Michael R. Kesti (mrk@gvgspd.gvg.tek.com) - general description > Mr. D Ingles (davei@comp.lancs.ac.uk) - midi thru bit > > Gravis Ultrasound Circuit > ========================= > > 15 pin D connector > 220R > pin-1 +5v ----+--------------------------/\/\/\---------------\ > | \ 4 > | Gnd--2 MIDI OUT > | |\ |\ 220R / 5 > pin-12 tr >---|------| o-----| o----------/\/\/\--------------/ > | 13|/ 12 11|/ 10 > | 220R > +---------------------------/\/\/\-------------\ > | \ 4 > pin-15 rx <---|--------------------+ Gnd--2 MIDI THRU > | |\ |\ | 220R / 5 > | +--| o-----| o---+-------/\/\/\------------/ > | | 1|/ 2 3|/ 4 > | | > | +------+ > | 270R | 220R > +--/\/\/\--+ +------+----------/\/\/\--------\ > |B |C |A | \ 4 > +-|----------|----|-+ | MIDI IN > | 8 6 2 | ----- / 5 > | | / \ IN914 or IN4148 +-/ > | 6N138 | --- | > | | | | > | 5 3 | | | > +------------|----|-+ | | > | |K | | > pin-5 Gnd --------------+ +------+----------------------+ > > > Inverters are 74LS04. (This is a 14-pin IC containing 6 inverters. > Connect pin 14 to +5V, pin 7 to GND) > > Leave pin 2 of the MIDI IN unconnected (Don't connect to ground) > > Acknowledgements: > Remek Lipinski (remek@mamura.ee.mu.oz.au) - schematic (updated) > David Morning (dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk) - schematic (original) > Dave Perry (dp@hydra.carleton.ca) - research & pin corrections > > Some hints for testing your circuit > =================================== > > 1. Check *all* connections (use a continuity tester, and tick them > off on a printout of the circuit) > > 2. Check them again ;-) > > 3. Make sure you have the latest (GUS0012.zip) windows midi driver, > and make sure it is installed properly. > > 4. Make sure your midi sequencer package is set up to use the > Ultrasound Midi In/Out ports. (As opposed to the Ultrasound Synth) > > 5. If you still have no joy: > > - just connect the +5V and GND to your midi circuit, > (leave the d-connector pins 12 and 15 unconnected), and > then connect pin 13 of the 7404 to +5V check you have > (about) +5V appearing on pin 10. This checks midi out. > > - connect pin 4 of the midi-in DIN socket via 2 extra > 220R resistors to +5V. Check pin 4 of the 7404. It > should be low (about 0V). Then connect pin 4 of the > midi-in DIN socket to 0V. Pin 4 of the 7404 should > go high. This checks midi in. > > - reconnect the d-type pins 12 and 15, and connect a midi > cable between midi-out on the circuit and and midi-in > on your synth. Set up your sequencer to use the Ultrasound > MIDI port as an output, and ensure that one of the > tracks is set to use this port. Check your synth > is expecting MIDI data on the same channel as sequencer > is transmitting. Start sequencer playing. Check that > midi data is being transmitted at pin 12 of the d-type > (look at it with an oscilloscope, if possible). > > Acknowledgements: > Paul Cunnell (pcunnell@micrognosis.co.uk) > > Note > ==== > > Standard disclaimers apply - use this information at your own risk, > and if your fry your card/PC/synth/toaster, then you have my > sympathy, but not much else ;-) > > If you're not happy about messing with circuits and soldering irons > and wires and stuff, then you may wish to wait for the midi connector > box from Gravis to become available. > > -- > Paul Cunnell (pcunnell@micrognosis.co.uk) > Micrognosis, 63 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4N 4UD, UK +44 71 815 5294 > -- Dave ddebry@ debry@ \ DeBry dsd. peruvian. | "I saw a sign that said 'Live Nudes'. es. cs.utah. | 'Good choice,' I thought." com edu / ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 23:36:37 -0500 From: aa344@yfn.ysu.edu (Joseph Maruschek) Message-Id: <199303190436.AA10216@yfn.ysu.edu> Subject: Calliope patch problems To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Like the rest of you who are trying out the new patches from Advanced Gravis, I found that the calliope lead patch was out of tune. I used my trusty Patinfo program and got this info: File: CALLIOPE.PAT This file contains 1 sample(s). Sample # 1 Sample length: 45968 Loop start: 446 Loop end: 45942 Sample rate: 22321 Hz Low freq: 27.499 (A0) High freq: 4186.073 (C8) Base freq: 195.997 (G3) Detune: 0 Octave: 2 Balance: 7 Mode: 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Envelope/tremolo/vibrato data: 63 8 132 72 131 63 246 246 246 180 8 8 0 0 0 0 200 0 Flags: 16-bit looped forward melodic Using playfile to listen to the sample, I found that the base frequency is wrong. It should be 261.625 (C4). To fix it, go in with your favorite disk editor (I used Norton Utilities) and change the bytes at offset 269 (decimal) to: F9 FD 03. Now we're in tune! Umm, shouldn't this have been fixed before the patches were released? Also, I *hate* the new installation, mostly because I like to do things manually and the new installation won't let you. And it doesn't even clean up after itself! Plus, I chose not to install the Windows drivers thinking that I could add them later and the program would be smart enought not to un-pack all the files it had already installed. No such luck. Some of the new patches sound quite good. The addition of vibrato to a lot of the patches makes them a lot less sterile than the first set. However, a lot of the sounds are exactly the same. I'm sorry, but the solo violin and flute sounds are not realistic. I like the string ensemble sounds, but a lot of them don't sound good at all in the lower register. We do have pizzicato strings now, decent slapped bass, and distortion guitar. I hope that the information above can help you put that patch back in tune. It should have been done before. -- aa344 is Joseph Maruschek 3 3 3 3 3 IBM PC SIGop, Youngstown Free-Net D D D D D motto: Strive for the simplest and the best. | | | | | : : : : : ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 20:05:03 EST From: hellfire@acs.bu.edu (Peter ng) Message-Id: <9303190105.AA102826@acs2.bu.edu> Subject: General Midi Driver To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Does anybody have any info about a Genereal Midi driver for the Ultrasound. Particularly one that will allow games like X Wing to support the ultrasound through the general midi specs. Any info is greatly appreciated. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 16:44:40 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Go Message-Id: Subject: GUS (fwd) To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I think this is as polite an answer as anyone's going to get... Brian.... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 17 Mar 93 18:11:52 EST From: osi@aol.com To: bgo@sciborg Subject: GUS Thank you for your interest in products from ORIGIN Systems. I heard the GUS at CES and thought that it was A-OK. Actually, it was terrific, especially with the Q-Sound. At this point, however, we have no plans to specifically support that board other than in its Soundblaster compatible mode. We are constantly elaluating sound boards and their specific features and will make some determinations for future support so GUS support may be a possibility in the near future. Best, Wayne Baker ORIGIN Systems Marketing ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 93 11:32:53 EST From: "Joseph R. Granto" Message-Id: Subject: GUS 3D To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Is the GUS 3D still scheduled for a early April release? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Granto GLOCK@chip.cba.ufl.edu "When the going gets tough, the tough get a GLOCK!" --Guns & Ammo "Don't clock'em, GLOCK'em!" --Miami Dade police officer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 08:48:02 EST From: Hard On The Beaver Message-Id: <00969AF2.7FF627C0.16199@ualr.edu> Subject: Gus and X-Wing To: Ultrasound Daily Digest | From: IN%"ultrasound@dsd.es.com" "Ultrasound Daily Digest" 18-MAR-1993 01:52:18.22 | Subj: Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #73 | Date: 17 Mar 1993 12:14:19 -0500 (EST) | From: STU_JABIRCHE@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU | Message-Id: <01GVWXD4T0EQ985J55@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU> | Subject: X-Wing | To: Ultrasound Daily Digest | | Phew! I thought it was just me. I sat down last night and tried every | option I could think of, booted in several different configurations, tried | several different autoexec and config.sys setups, and got not a peep from x-wing. | Before I downloaded the new disks, I was happily playing x-wing with full sound | and only a little slowdown when the tie-fighters screamed by. Now I get no | slowdown at all because the thing sounds like a crypt! I guess I'll have to | download sbos 1.4whateverthehellitwas again. :( | | Also had to change my configuration to run the install. Something i had in | memory was not liking gravis, so i just did it in flat mode. | -=Marc=- After installation of the new disks, my SBOS now loads at reboot. If I run X-wing without trying to load SBOS again or without trying to remove and re load it, X-wing works as before. Some of the sounds change but it does work. Jacque Bussey jabussey@ualr.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 12:24:14 -0600 (CST) From: "Neil D. Danylczuk" Message-Id: Subject: GUS in DOS Box To: Ultrasound Daily Digest To "It's your hand, Buckaroo" and anyone else interested in using the GUS through a Windows 3.1 DOS box: I have experimented with this a little bit. I have had NO success using SBOS through Windows whatsoever. Early version would load, but not work, and sometimes my video would become corrupted. Lots of system lock ups too. BUT early version of GUSMOD played very nicely in a DOS box. I think version (approx.) 1.x, the first one with a graphical interface played the best. No slowdowns or anything. GTSR was not so kind, however. It MAY have been my imagination, but running GUSMOD in a disk box "SEEMED" to cause random lockups in Windows. Following this I would have lost chains or cross-linked files on my drive. I am not sure if this was caused by GUSMOD directly, or by the Windows lock-ups. Needless to say, I stopped fiddling! The version 2.x's of GUSMOD don't load into a DOS box for me, just freeze the system. I asked John Smith at Gravis about using SBOS through a DOS Window and he said they have NO plans to ever support this. He said they don't know how, or even if they want to. I believe PAS-16 supports that feature, but I don't blame Gravis for not wanting to do it. After all, it's dumb to play games and other packages that require SBOS under Windows anyway. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 16:32:56 -0800 From: Eric N. Liao Message-Id: <199303190032.AA12443@aerospace.aero.org> Subject: GUS MIDI patches To: Ultrasound Daily Digest One thing that would be nice... (for the MIDI patches) How about making the MIDI patches stereo? I don't mean directing them to the left/right/middle(or somewhere in between)...I mean genuine stereo where two channels are dedicated to each midi "instrument." I know that would cut down the number of MIDI channels by a factor of 2, but since most MIDI files don't need all 32 voices, I think it would be a great way to improve sound quality a step further. The stereo "spatial" imaging would be much improved. As for the amount of memory required to use these patches, I guess 8-bit resolution will have to suffice. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 08:39:41 EST From: nemo@vnet.IBM.COM Message-Id: <9303181342.AA17602@orca.es.com> Subject: keyboard lockup upon boot To: Ultrasound Daily Digest ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 08:40:12 EST From: nemo@vnet.IBM.COM Message-Id: <9303181347.AA17669@orca.es.com> Subject: keyboard lockup upon boot To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Hiya, I've had a really annoying problem lately. A lot of times, when I boot my computer, the keyboard is dead - I can't even cntrl-alt-del it, I have to reset it. Sometimes it takes a few resets to get the keyboard working again. I believe this has to have something to do with the GUS, as I never experienced it before. And this happens almost 40% of the time! It almost always occurs after I have to cntrl-alt-del after a crash of the system. And sometimes when I reset, I have the memory-parity error - I've heard this error mentioned here a few times. I'm using SBOS 1.22. Anyone experience similar problems and know how to remedy the situation? Thanks in advance, Nemo De Furia. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 10:50:02 CST From: Michael J Stumpf Message-Id: <9303181650.AA15392@tamsun.tamu.edu> Subject: Misc topics To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I thought I saw what I believed to be the death of Ultrasound in the store yesterday. LUCKILY, I was wrong. It was a card boasting the advantages of wave table synthesis AND FM sound.. Too bad for ViVa (manufacturer of this card) that the card has no memory... John Smith: The problem of recording time is solved, in "PLAYFILE" I found an unlimited length of time recording function. Just what I needed. I suggest we make the OS/2 reflector into a digest. It may be slow for a while, but I believe that one mail message a day is a lot better than 4-5. I suspect that odd directory found after running playmidi is a work directory for playmidi.. Upon examination of the file I found a number of patch names. Thanks to whoever uploaded the digests. Mike ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 13:18:05 MST From: ddebry@itchy (Dave DeBry) Message-Id: <9303182018.AA10086@itchy> Subject: More FAQ fodder (fwd) To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Forwarded message: > From: pcunnell@micrognosis.co.uk > > Dave, > > I notice that in the current FAQ, there is a description (from Dustin > Caldwell ) of the solder side pinout for a > 15-pin D-type connector. This looks wrong to me. I have a 15-pin > male d-type in from of me, and it looks like this from the > solder side (i.e. the side you attach the wires to, rather than > the side with the pins that plugs into the card): > > Gnd +5V > 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 > +-----/-------------------------------\-----+ > | \ o o o o o o o o / | > | ( ) \ / ( ) | > | \ o o o o o o o / | > +--------\-------------------------/--------+ > 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 > Rx Tx > > It is easy to get the pins confused on these connectors - the female > version seen from the solder side of course has everything the other > way around (pin 1 is on the left hand side). > > Hope this helps (or at least doesn't add to the confusion :-). > All reasonable quality D-type connectors have pin numbers marked > against the pins anyway. -- Dave ddebry@ debry@ \ "You wouldn't know a subtle plan if it DeBry dsd. peruvian. | painted itself purple and danced naked es. cs.utah. | on a harpsichord singing "Subtle Plans com edu / Are Here Again." ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1993 11:21:40 -0400 (EDT) From: "KEVIN HOLLY....SSC BURKE SCIENCE LAB" Message-Id: <01GVY9VIUZ3C9GW0UX@SSCVAX.CIS.MCMASTER.CA> Subject: multiple midi devices To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Quick question for you midi GUS users...... Can I have more than one midi device in my computer at one time? And if so, can the machine handle accesses to both at the same time? I have a 486-33 w/ 128k cache and I want to run my GUS and a Music Maker card at the same time (Music Maker is a Yamaha FB-01 on a card). Both would be accesses simultaneously by sequencing software. Please tell me that this will work! :-) Kevin Holly hollyk@sscvax.cis.mcmaster.ca ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1993 06:40:13 GMT From: twong@civil.ubc.ca (Thomas Wong) Message-Id: <1o95gdINNpkq@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca> Subject: MUSIX141.ZIP on archive.epas.utoronto.ca To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I was just validating files on archive.epas.utoronto.ca and I came across a file that's worth noting, musix141.zip. This program is called Music Server and what it does is serves as a GUI for any sound player with editable command line parameters, and file scroll list for selecting the file to play. It's a simple idea, but is a useful utility regardless of what soundcard you own for we all have DOS sound players that needs a GUI for if nothing else than the ability to scroll through a list of files to select a file to play, instead of having to DIR and typing in the filename everytime. The ftp site is: archive.epas.utoronto.ca The directory is: pub/pc/ultrasound/sound/misc Thomas. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 93 05:43:13 +0100 From: chief@lysator.liu.se Message-Id: <9303190443.AA25875@ruben.lysator.liu.se> Subject: New Set of disks - BIG problems. To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I got the new set of disks from epas the other day, eased them onto the five 1.44 disks they now claim, and started to install. Everything went smoothly, untill it was time for SETGUS.EXE. When the installation tried to run it, the computer just locked. Tight. I had to do a cold boot to get it to work again. Then I tried to do it manually (?), by running SETGUS.EXE from the ULTRASND dir. Once again the computer just went dead. Cold boot. Trying to run ULTRINIT.EXE - the computer locks up. Cold boot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A friend of mine borrowed the disks, and installed the whole set without a problem. So, here's my question: Why me? I have a 386DX-33 (no Opti), 4MB, GUS Card v1.22 w/1MB 70ns. Everything worked fine with the 1.22 disks, and has worked just fine with All earlier versions of SBOS. 1.20,22,23,4B2 and 4B3 (some trouble with B3 though with Alone In The Dark). Also: I didn't erase my installation of the 1.22 disks, I just renamed the directory and removed everything from my Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files that had to do with the GUS. (my friend did the same, and it worked for him). I also tried with and without QEMM v6.02 (stealth mode). But to no avail. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh, when running the GRAVUTIL.EXE, I get the message (when it locates the card) that it detects a 'Could be' collision, and that I should check the manual on what to do, although the manual doesn't say anything about this, I tried to change the IRQ-setting, but it didn't help at all. And there has never been a collision before! Last, I tried all the .EXE's in the ULTRASND directory. Here's a list of which ones that DIDN'T work (they locked up the computer): SETGUS.EXE ULTRAMOD.EXE ULTRINIT.EXE all the other ones works fine with the 1.22 installed GUS (I can't use the 2.03 to insta|Kn+=v|ll the GUS so, I used 1.22 just to test the .EXE files). Now, if anyone could help me with this, I'd be the happiest person alive. I want to use the new set of disks, and the new SBOS! Help! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 18:42:00 PST From: GUIA@bldghsc.lan1.umanitoba.ca Message-Id: <2BA9354A@adminbldg.lan1.umanitoba.ca> Subject: new software installation To: Ultrasound Daily Digest i've just installed the new drivers disks available at the toronto ftp site gus0017 to 21.... the following are the questions that I have: why did the windows part of the installation give me a share violation as it was finishing? I expected to see a patch manager which would allow me to deffine the patch numbers and patch files i read in the installation that software can use two different dma channels to simultaneously record and play-back, what exactly does this mean, can I play my keyboard and record the music, while someone else is playing a game which uses the GUS? i have set up dma6 for record, and dma7 for playback, i have not tested it yet since i tried to upgrade the sb midi cable's opticoupler chip and messed it up instead, but when i get the cable going again, will i still be able to record through the midi port without any trouble while listening to the sound through the gus-synth simultaneously? i still do not have any utilities which give me control over the wav or snd files... i'd like any suggestions, i am particularly interested in some kind of offset feature since a few files which i have do not cross the zero voltage and when i start playing those there is a "pop" at the start and at the end of the sequence... i would like to offset the file to have it start quietly and end quietly and only speak when spoken to... guia@bldghsc.lan1.umanitoba.ca c:\dos;c:\dos\run;run\dos\run ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 11:53:52 -0500 From: "Robinhood -- Marshall Lai" Message-Id: <9303181653.AA28234@crux2.cit.cornell.edu> Subject: Noise in Line in Recording & Editor for stereo recordings? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Two questions: Why am I getting noise when I record? I've tried all the combinations of frequency, mono and stereo and still got noise when I record from a CD connected to line in using PlayFile. I know it is not my cabling's fault because when I enable the Line IN, the CD plays thru the GUS just fine! No noticeable noise whatsoever. It is when I RECORD from it and plays back, there are a lot of noise in the recording! I don't think it is from the play back mechanism also because I can play back other commercial sound files with little or no noise at all. Where is the problem? How can I fix it? 2) Also, while you are at it, can somebody recomend an editor that will edit stereo sound files? Thanks for your attention. Marshall A somewhat satisfied GUS user. PS. I've got all the new files and everything works out perfectly. I think I should mention that I have an OPTi 486-33 with EISA bus. 8M RAM. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 09:27:28 PST From: biggles@berlioz.nsc.com (Winston Worrell) Message-Id: <9303181727.AA06766@berlioz.nsc.com> Subject: Opti 8-it DMA To: Ultrasound Daily Digest How do I set my Opti 496/33 into 8-bit DMA instead of 16-bit? Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1993 15:57:16 -0500 (EST) From: STU_JABIRCHE@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU Message-Id: <01GVYJFHWW42985XVW@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU> Subject: Problem #2 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I made a midi file in Cakewalk's 'staff edit' which works with all of my windows stuff, including Cakewalk, Winjammer, two soundblaster jukeboxes, and the media player. It also works with aaplay and a .fli. The problem is, when i use playmidi from dos, the first two channels play perfectly all the way thru and the third channel sustains the first note thru the entire song. I have tried changing the instrument, but it still hangs and can't get past the first note. It's the only midi file I have had problems with. I know it's not just Cakewalk, because all of my other compositions work fine. I will upload the file to epas if anyone is interested in investigating it. The file will be 'marcii.zip'. -=Marc=- p.s.-I am talking about the new playmidi in gus0017-gus0021.zips. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 23:14:06 +0700 (MST) From: Adam Cowen Message-Id: Subject: problems and praise To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Praise: Zone 66 is GREAT! I urge everyone to get it! Thanks Renaissance! I will definitely be buying the other 7 missions from you guys to support you. PS: Don't forget to get the gus music package part. It makes it even better. Problems: I d/l gus0017 -> gus0021.zip from epas, and I encountered no errors. Then I tried the demos: moddemo : ok flidemo : ok mididemo : aack For some reason my flute.pat bit it. I don't know why but it is a staticy sound instead of an instrument. If I ignore channel 1 or ignore channel information all is cool. Now I am wondering if there was just a problem during the install, or what? I am the only person with this problem??? Could someone possibly uuencode their flute.pat and mail it to me, as I don't really want to re-install all of the software again. Otherwise a much needed improvement allround. Although lets hope that the manuals are a bit better done this time around. ie a LOT more descriptive than the one I recieved initially. Thanks again for Zone 66, I look forward to more great games! Adam Cowen cowen@ee.ualberta.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 22:47:01 PST From: brian@ccnext.ucsf.edu (Brian Huddleston) Message-Id: <9303190647.AA16344@ ccnext.ucsf.edu > Subject: Question... To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Greetings and Salutations all... I just wanted to ask if there was a utility out there that could Take a look at a MID file, then display what patch numbers it wants to play on what channels: Channel 5: 0 (which is our equivilent of ACPIANO) etc. I want to be able to take a look at what is being called so I can set up a CFG file for certain instruments. What would be nice, is if the utility could create the CFG file for you, sortof like The SBOS batch file maker. (It lets you choose the options and then formats it right and then creates the .BAT file... Oh well.... brian@ccnext.ucsf.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 05:18:45 -0400 From: Sheldon Whynott Message-Id: <93Mar18.051852ast.67@ug.cs.dal.ca> Subject: SBOS 2.02 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I, as well could not get the new SBOS 2.02 Driver to work with X-Wing. No soundwas produced from the card, unless X-Wing was configured for Adlib mode. S. Whynott ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 09:19:57 EST From: Marc Rouleau Message-Id: <9303181420.AA18029@orca.es.com> Subject: SBOS 2.02 gotcha -- read for easy fix To: Ultrasound Daily Digest The sbos.bat file which is distributed with the release two disks loads one of the drivers high with lh. This is clearly an oversight, since that presumes that we're all running emm386. On my 386max system I got partial functionality -- I would hear "SBOS Installed", and some games would play music, but I would never hear digital sounds. When I took out the lh, they all started working again. Note that this did *not* fix the horrible Windows problems I described in yesterday's digest. -- Marc Rouleau ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 03:06:42 -0500 From: chris@judy.indstate.edu (Chris Hanna) Message-Id: <9303180806.AA11522@judy.indstate.edu> Subject: Simple Question, Simple Solution? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I got my GUS yesterday, sounds terrific. Just joined the list. Strangly enough Gravis decided they would ship disk 6 on disk 6 AND disk 3. ouch. But I got ahold of the zip from the epas ftp site and all is ok. My question is: is there any kind of volume control on the Native GUS mode? I know there is a volume control on the SBOS emulator, but can't seem to locate how to control the volume of, say, PLAYMIDI. I run from stereo output jack, through y-converter, directly to speakers. Other than buying a cable to route the whole thing thru my stereo is there any option or shareware program that controls the GUS's Native mode volume? Again, if this is a question answered many times before, or in the FAQ, forgive my ignorance. All bugs aside it's a damn fine card for the price (anyone else think the card seems.. a bit big?) Later, Chris chris@judy.indstate.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 8:04:06 CST From: ibmpa!hartmann.austin.ibm.com!lance@ibminet.awdpa.ibm.com (Lance Hartmann) Message-Id: <9303181404.AA16278@hartmann.austin.ibm.com> Subject: To Install or Not To Install 17-21? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Well, the subject about says it. I've gotten the 17-21 disks via ftp from epas and I'm left still trying to decide whether or not I should run the install. While I've read that "most" people seem to speak highly of the quality of the new patches, I do have concerns regarding some of the system crashes (under Windows) about which I read. I'm curious if perhaps maybe the problems have something to do with removing old software. I cannot remember the EXACT file, but I do recall seeing a comment about removing ALL your old software before installing the new. Of course this is a snap with the \ULTRASND directory, but what about the "stuff" that gets installed for Windows? Are there files in the \WINDOWS directory (and sub-dirs) which need to be purged? What about modifications to *.INI files? To address SBOS, it seems from my reading thus far (though I have lost a couple of digests) that people are still split on the issue of 1.4b3 (or some even at 1.20) versus the new v2.x. One can fairly easily experiment with these as this involves little more than renaming directories and such to switch between various versions. So, I guess my main concern is Windows. Comments -- PLEASE!!! Lance Hartmann (lance%hartmann.austin.ibm.com@ibmpa.awdpa.ibm.com) Yes, that IS a '%' (percent sign) in my network address. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All statements, comments, opinions, etc. herein reflect those of the author and shall NOT be misconstrued as those of IBM or anyone else for that matter. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 13:42:04 MST From: ddebry@itchy (Dave DeBry) Message-Id: <9303182042.AA12988@itchy> Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #73 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest So speaks Richard Wyckoff: > OK - I'm going to have to get pedantic for a second here - > ceasing to e-mail these companies is an OVERREACTION - and is also > symptomatic of the refusal to take e-mail seriously. Why are these > companies pissed off? The e-mail addresses I have sent messages to > have been *customer service*, be it on Compuserve or Genie - NOT tech, > but the approved e-mail addresses. It's a step in the right direction to mail customer service instead of tech support, you're right. The problem is that you're dealing with a corporation. Business have one goal: make money. The weird part is that the only people in the company who care if the company makes money or not are the management folk. (This is an over-simplification, granted, but it has a lot of truth in it.) Management, as a result, makes the decisions about where their products should go in the market. Customer service is a lot like tech support: in either case, the company already has your money for the product. Management wants to sell more of their product, so they are more likely to adapt the product to fit the needs of the people who haven't bought it yet (provided the market is big enough). > These are people who are being > paid to DEAL WITH CUSTOMERS - and they are pissed off? If you get asked the same question over and over and over by several different sources, you're going to get annoyed no matter how innocuous the question, especially if you have no control over the outcome. (A good example: An annoying two or three-year-old asking "Why?" repeatedly.) It's even worse when customer support has to answer questions concerning topics that they don't know about. Customer support can't write the code, customer support doesn't have the slightest idea about the bookkeeping of the company. They help people understand the cryptic manuals. I'm sorry if this sounds like a flame; it's not, honestly. But if the GUS is to get widened support, it's important that we don't step on anyone's toes. -- Dave ddebry@ debry@ \ "Time to get me out of the test because his DeBry dsd. peruvian. | response was: 'Hi, yes, I need a pound of es. cs.utah. | potatoes, please.'" com edu / ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 12:44:06 -0600 (CST) From: "Neil D. Danylczuk" Message-Id: Subject: X-wing & SBOS 2.02 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest My experience with X-wing and SBOS 2.02 was identical to both of yours. I tried every possible configuration to no avail. X-wing takes a few extra seconds to start, then plays with no sound driver. You can confirm this by pressing ALT-V, which gives you the memory, sound, and version # info. Switching back to SBOS 1.4B3 made it work again. So for me the solution is to do the following: Make copies of the 3 unique SBOS files, with the version number as the extension. Example: SBOSLIB.SYS ----> call it SBOSLIB.143 LOADSBOS.EXE ---> call it LOADSBOS.143 SBOSDRV.EXE ----> call it SBOSDRV.143 Then, make a batch file called 143.BAT. It should contain the lines to copy version 1.4B3 to the ultrasnd and ultrasnd\sbos directories. The batch file (143.BAT) just copies the .143 files to the 2 directories. Here is my 143.BAT: copy d:\ultrasnd\sbos\loadsbos.143 d:\ultrasnd\sbos\loadsbos.exe copy d:\ultrasnd\sbos\loadsbos.143 d:\ultrasnd\loadsbos.exe copy d:\ultrasnd\sbos\sboslib.143 d:\ultrasnd\sbos\sboslib.sbs copy d:\ultrasnd\sbos\sbosdrv.143 d:\ultrasnd\sbos\sbosdrv.exe copy d:\ultrasnd\sbos\sbosdrv.143 d:\ultrasnd\sbosdrv.exe NOTE: The sound library only needs to go in one directory, but the executables go in both directories. I have the identical setup for SBOS 202.BAT, etc. Now, when I want a certain version of SBOS, I can get it with a few keystrokes. PROBLEMS with this idea: It wastes disk space having 3 copies of SBOS at once. (1 copy of v2.02 files, 1 copy of v1.4B3 files, plus 1 copy of SBOS that you are currently using) A better batch file could be made to simply rename the files, and to check to see which SBOS you have currently installed, so as not to rename files when it's not necessary. This could be done with an IF EXIST and using a file to flag which version is currently setup. I have a feeling most people know how to do this already, but I decided to spell it out very simply in case any novices read this message. --------------- The bottom line: --------------- MANY people are confirming that SBOS 2.02 is not working with X-wing on their system. I have seen it work fine for some people however. When it first happened to me I thought, "Oh great, my system doesn't work with the final release drivers! It will be impossible to get help, since I'll be a lonely voice in the wilderness." So, although I wish your system was working properly, I guess I'm glad I'm not alone on this one. Misery loves company! PS: Same story with "The Incredible Machine", so this is not just a problem with Lucas programs! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 93 1:22:28 EST From: fcass@trashbin.MV.COM (Fred Cass) Message-Id: <9303180122.AA11488@trashbin.mv.com> Subject: Zone 66 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest This message is to Tran of Rennisance if you happen to be reading the newsletter Zone 66 is an inredibly awesome game! I've been playing games for a very long time, and Zone 66 is by far the best arcade style game I have ever played! The Gravis Ultrasound music and effects are incredible! I'm sure that if someone didn't own a GUS and played your game, they would be convinced, and run to the nearest store to find one! Keep up the good work! Also, I was wondering if anyone has Borland Turbo Pascal source code for programming the GUS. I've seen the GUSUNIT.ZIP file, and that really doesn't help me too much. I basically just need to know how to read a .snd file into GUS Dram and be able to play it (for game sound effects!). If anyone can help me out, I would be grateful! Thanks, and happy GUSSING! -=Fred Cass=- fcass@trashbin.mv.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1993 16:35:51 -0800 From: Eric N. Liao Message-Id: <199303190035.AA12500@aerospace.aero.org> Subject: Zone 66 (for GUS) To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Well, I tried Zone 66, and the GUS support is great! Explosions on the left of the screen come from the left speaker! Sounds in the middle come out from the middle! Better than SC2 in this respect. However, I'd like to be able to control the time scale of the game. The game on its default speed setting is rather "jerky." I put Z66 on its maximum speed, so its screen-refresh rate is much smoother, but then the action goes too fast! How about a way to maintain this high refresh rate...while keeping the pace of the game "regular speed"? Josh? Anyone? I'm not a programmer, but I'm sure that it couldn't be hard to do. Just decrease the amount of "movement" between each screen refresh. ------------------------------ End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #74 ******************************