#824627 - 02/10/09 07:36 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Philph
Planeteer
Registered: 02/10/09
Posts: 46
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Hi I am a complete Newbie and have just recently purchased a VS 840, I have struggled with the way it sets up, but I am gradualy getting the hang of it. I think!?!? In trying to find out how to work it I found this site, where I read about updating away from Zip memory. These instructions assume your VS-840 has been updated to EX OS v2.05. ?????. I am unsure if mine has been updated but think probably not. So in very simple terms how do you do it, I know this has probably been asked countless times but I have trawled through quite a few posts and still find it all a bit confusing. I have a PC but it doesn't have a zip drive.
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#824634 - 02/10/09 08:00 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Philph]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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There's a 2-button push you can do when starting your VS-840 to display what the software version is - before pressing the power button, press and hold MONITOR and SOLO then press power and the display will tell you what version you have.
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#824696 - 02/10/09 11:01 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Philph
Planeteer
Registered: 02/10/09
Posts: 46
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Hi thanks for quick reply, version 1.02 comes up. I suppose this is bad news. I am based in England so parts and stuff is going to be a bit of a pain. I have been getting on quite well with the machine (sometimes?!?!) but run out of space very quick. It seems like it could be a good all round recorder if it had more memory. I am not fully up on all the technical jargon, which seems to be the main component of Digital recording. I hope you can point me in the right direction, thank you for your help so far, if it,s not worth doing please let me know soon, I am enjoying learning to use the recorder at the moment but if it is a task too far I will just use it as a notebook of sorts.
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#824705 - 02/10/09 11:29 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Philph]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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IF you were to do the flash ROM upgrade, since you are at v1.02, you should flash to 1.05 first. When I tried going direct from v1.02 to 2.05, it failed and I got the BAD FLASH message, which for some users, means their machine is DEAD.
Fortunately, my machine responded to the MIDI SYSEX command and I was able to restore from MIDI files in about a half hour.
So the flash ROM upgrade path should be: v1.02 to v1.05 to v2.05. At least, that seems to work better than trying to go direct from v1.02 to 2.05.
Just be aware, that flash updating your VS-840 might fail and your machine be unusable.
Further, IF you were to ask Roland, they maintain that upgrading the original VS-840 to an EX machine involves software (flash update to 2.0x) AND hardware modification. Don't ask me what the hardware mod is, unless it's just a ZIP 250 drive. Most of us have just loaded the v2.05 flash ROM on our old VS-840's to open up the possibilities of laptop hard drives and flash drives (CF and SD).
To update the flash ROM, you will need either a PC with ZIP 100 drive, OR, a PC with MIDI out port.
If you have either of those and you want to do the update, we can point you to the flash update files.
Where you at in the UK? There are a few users who frequent this forum who are in the UK.
Jack
Granville, Illinois
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#824718 - 02/11/09 12:09 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Philph
Planeteer
Registered: 02/10/09
Posts: 46
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Hi, thank you again, I am in Bournemouth, Dorset. Not sure on the Midi capabilities of my computer, will read up and get back to you. It is likely but will need investigation. I will let you know tomorrow and will be so happy if it is possible. It will be a great bit of kit with extra memory. Nice not to have to worry about song length.
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#825071 - 02/11/09 09:47 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Philph]
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Philph
Planeteer
Registered: 02/10/09
Posts: 46
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Looked at the port details which are 1 IEEE 1394(firewire), 4 USB, 1 VGA, 1 S-Video, 1 MIC, 1 Headphone. I do know what some of these are and they are probably of no use but thought I would mention the lot, just in case it helps. Sorry I am not sure if any of these are new style Midi outports, if not I may be able to find a zip 100 drive somewhere???? My computer does have a 4 in Memory card reader, if that helps, probably not, I wish I could be more help. I will try and find someone with midi or zip and be back. Thanks for your interest.
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#825254 - 02/12/09 02:39 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Philph]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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Asking about a MIDI port on your PC, has to do with a backup to flash the update to your 840 IF a ZIP based flash fails ... while there aren't any statistics, it does seem like I've read about more flash failures from users who tried to update from v1.02 to v1.05 via ZIP 100 disk. The fix for a bad flash, is using a PC with MIDI out to transmit the update via SYSEX files to the VS-840 - just know flash failures aren't always user recoverable - a few guys have had to take their 840 in for service. Another UK user spent about $150 to have his 840 re-flashed ...
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#825255 - 02/12/09 02:41 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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You might want to wait a few weeks on the update, Phil - long enough to see what kind of response we get from Roland US about the 'bad flash' recovery disk ... see the post at the top of the forum for status ...
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#825408 - 02/12/09 08:47 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Philph
Planeteer
Registered: 02/10/09
Posts: 46
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Thanks for your help, i will wait and see and meanwhile find out more about the record and play functioning of this neat little machine. I have some experience on reel to reel machines which are pretty easy to use, but this 840 has got me hooked on digital, amazing what functions it has. I nearly gave up trying to suss it until I found this site, well done for all your hard work explaining it over the years. I have just realised how old some of the posts are, amazed i got an answer to my questions so quickly. All the best will be back soon.
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#838875 - 03/15/09 12:18 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Philph]
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ajbcc2
Space Cadet
Registered: 03/14/09
Posts: 7
Loc: massachusetts
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i have just purchased a vs880 on ebay, I know nothing about digital recording,but it was cheap(87 dollars) from what i have read here the hard drives eventually cause problems...so my question is this...will all this 840 mods work on the 880?(there is very little info about this mod on the 880 in the 880 section it seems..
Edited by ajbcc2 (03/15/09 12:20 AM)
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#838914 - 03/15/09 01:56 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: ajbcc2]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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I had an 880 briefly and installed a CF reader in it - though it was more difficult because the 880 uses an 44 pin laptop connector - seems like the 880 runs the cables through an adapter or 2 on the way to the drive, intended for easy removal and replacement of the drive ...
My installation was just loose, but it formatted a CF card and recorded - then I must have got the wires crossed because I managed to short out my CF card ...
The IDE CF flash adapter I used was the 44 pin version from ACS controls in Sarasota, FL. Same company that produced the 40 pin CF adapter in my 840.
I'd suggest just sticking with hard drives on the 880. You can get 'em on eBay ...
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#839501 - 03/16/09 04:48 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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ajbcc2
Space Cadet
Registered: 03/14/09
Posts: 7
Loc: massachusetts
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thanks for the info..
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#839699 - 03/16/09 10:49 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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coniferus
Space Cadet
Registered: 03/16/09
Posts: 5
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Just installed a CF ide adapter to the VS 840. Tried GDCF1GB and it initialized. 2Gb Sandisk ultra II did not work.
I m here in Sweden. Took a chance on what was available and to my surprise it worked. Unbelievable to have such a quite sounding station.
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#849320 - 04/11/09 12:16 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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1johnnylynn1
Space Cadet
Registered: 03/22/09
Posts: 6
Loc: Michigan, USA
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Is there one medium that is more recomended between the two SD/MMC/MS, and CF? The ZIP in my vs840 died and I have been reading about guys swaping these card readers in. I want to do this, but I don't know which format would be the best way to go. Any advice would be appreciated.
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#849368 - 04/11/09 03:16 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: 1johnnylynn1]
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jimmyrock
Department Head of Redundancy Department Head
Planeteer
Registered: 12/18/05
Posts: 9683
Loc: America's File Cabinet
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Is there one medium that is more recomended between the two SD/MMC/MS, and CF? The ZIP in my vs840 died and I have been reading about guys swaping these card readers in. I want to do this, but I don't know which format would be the best way to go. Any advice would be appreciated.
I went the cf route, the multi card reader option came about right after I had doen the upgrade but no regrets. The cf works great. I was lucky also to find a 1 gig card that works. Not sure what the end of life is for cf cards versus the other types, that might be a consideration. Good luck
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#849700 - 04/12/09 07:45 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: jimmyrock]
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Philph
Planeteer
Registered: 02/10/09
Posts: 46
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Depends on where you are and what is available but i have noticed when bidding on Ebay in UK that secondhand CFs are more expensive and rarer but do come up, SDs, miniSD and micro SDs which all work fine are plentiful and very cheap, secondhand and brand new. I have a few of both(could only get or win 512mb CFs) and all the adaptors. Personally I like the SD option not too big not too small (for identification). My Computer naturally takes CF until i got the adaptor after which I have mainly gone for the cheap microSD for fun recording, not that quality is any different but if you sneeze you might lose it. I keep the larger CF or SD for important projects. Don't forget that you can only use 1 gig or under.
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#849715 - 04/12/09 08:58 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Philph]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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In the colonies, the CF adapters have one advantage and that is most come with a 3.5" adapter plate that fits the 840 drive bay perfectly.
Functionally, I like the SD adapter better because it seems more robust - accepting every SD card I put in it - the downside is, no mounting plate for installing it in the 840, so when I use the SD adapter, it just hangs on the end of the IDE cable.
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#858750 - 05/09/09 11:13 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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jim y
Planeteer
Registered: 01/06/01
Posts: 2579
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For UK owners, this may be an option...
http://www.theslot.spirythm.com/
Something that works in the Akai samplers "ought" to work in the 840, but no 100% guarantee until someone has tried it!
Jim
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#878736 - 07/17/09 08:28 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: jim y]
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ssp
Space Cadet
Registered: 07/14/09
Posts: 4
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i found this, im hoping that it will work in my 840
Addonics ADIDESDB IDE to SD Adapter Black Frame
Edited by ssp (07/17/09 08:28 AM)
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#878767 - 07/17/09 12:55 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: ssp]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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Please report back on whether or not it works and I'll add it to the document at the top of this post.
Also, make sure you can get some 512Mb or 1Gb SD cards for it.
Jack
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#881751 - 07/27/09 06:38 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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ssp
Space Cadet
Registered: 07/14/09
Posts: 4
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well the upgrade worked fine its now labeled as an 840 ex so now i just have to install the card reader and tst everything
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#898265 - 09/11/09 12:00 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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koreanwarbaby
Planeteer
Registered: 09/30/03
Posts: 103
Loc: NW Minnesota
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My Gateway Model 7310 has both SD/MMC/SM/MS/MS-PRO and CF/MICRODRIVE slots. Which way should I go? My 840 is an EX.
Edited by koreanwarbaby (09/11/09 12:01 PM)
_________________________
"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song." The Carpenters
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#898339 - 09/11/09 03:27 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: koreanwarbaby]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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Check your PMs, Carl.
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#898410 - 09/11/09 05:55 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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koreanwarbaby
Planeteer
Registered: 09/30/03
Posts: 103
Loc: NW Minnesota
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This one seems to have a cover too. Is it what you're talking about?
http://www.shopaddonics.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=ADIDESDW
_________________________
"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song." The Carpenters
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#898453 - 09/11/09 07:25 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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koreanwarbaby
Planeteer
Registered: 09/30/03
Posts: 103
Loc: NW Minnesota
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They have a 30-day return policy, so I'll give it a try. I think I have the other items from my laptop conversion, so I'll order the adapter & card(s) and give 'er a try. I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for the .wav converter coz my five-year-old Gateway didn't recognize the signal from the 840. Thanks, Jack!
_________________________
"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song." The Carpenters
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#898454 - 09/11/09 07:30 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: koreanwarbaby]
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koreanwarbaby
Planeteer
Registered: 09/30/03
Posts: 103
Loc: NW Minnesota
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One more thing: what's the difference between the regular and the micro card? I want to make sure that the regular card fits into the slot on my PC which says, "SD/MMC/SM/MS/MS-PRO." I found measurements on this site, so I'll measure the slot on my PC when I get home:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card.
Edited by koreanwarbaby (09/11/09 08:28 PM)
_________________________
"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song." The Carpenters
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#898578 - 09/12/09 12:27 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: koreanwarbaby]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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Micro SD cards typically come with a sleeve/adapter to make it full size to fit your PC. I guess some pocket sized devices require the micro size, but the sleeve/adapter is provided to fit your PC's SD card reader.
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#906405 - 10/04/09 05:00 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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koreanwarbaby
Planeteer
Registered: 09/30/03
Posts: 103
Loc: NW Minnesota
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Thsnk you Cornjerker for getting my IDE to SD card adapter working in my VS-840EX. I couldn't have done it without you! We discovered that it won't work unless you attach the bottom cover for grounding purposes. And, if you're ordering an adapter, make sure it has the feature to change the jumper settings to MASTER. Some automatically detect this but don't seem to work with the VS, or at least the one I bought didn't.
_________________________
"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing, sing a song." The Carpenters
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#930824 - 12/17/09 10:05 AM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: koreanwarbaby]
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jockrocker
Space Cadet
Registered: 12/17/09
Posts: 1
Loc: Newcastle, Australia
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Hi guys,
Have installed Addonics ADIDESDW but keep getting the Medium Error message whenever I try to initialise the SD cards. Any suggestions or should I keep trying more cards?
Looking for anyone who has had similar issue in case it isn't the SD cards but something else.
Cheers
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#930916 - 12/17/09 04:39 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: jockrocker]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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Did you set the jumper to MASTER?
Are you using 1Gb or smaller SD cards?
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#939617 - 01/11/10 11:45 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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#951132 - 02/14/10 07:53 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Rainer
Space Cadet
Registered: 02/14/10
Posts: 6
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Thanks for all the tips on this forum! I'd like to share my results after looking for a solution for my recently acquired VS-840 EX (firmware 2.00).
CF to IDE
I just succesfully installed and tested the CF to IDE adapter available here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.711 - an amazing $2.04 including shipping! completely insane  It does need a power plug converter, because the card has a floppy drive connector whilst the VS has a 'harddisk' connector. The description on the board says "CF-IDE40 ADAPTER V.A1" "DMA mode/VCC from IDE pin20". It has a Master/Slave jumper set to "Master". The activity LED is red.
The CF card I tested it with was a "SanDisk 256MB CompactFlash". I'll be testing other cards too when I get my hands on them.
SD to IDE
I also ordered an SD card to IDE adapter that was 'horribly expensive' (haha) in comparison: $14.02 including shipping ( http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1698 ). This solution also works! It requires a power plug converter too, from HD to floppy. The desciption on this board says "MM-ADIDE2SD-D1". It has no Master/Slave jumper. The activity LED is bright blue.
I'm using a 1GB SD card of a brand probably not available anywhere but in the Netherlands (HEMA, €5). When I test more types, I'll let you know!
I chose to get both CF and SD in the hopes that either of them would work. My preference goes to the SD solution because the SD cards of 1GB or less are widely available and at lower prices than the equivalent CF cards.
At the DealExtreme site, you can pay with PayPal, which I did, and all kinds of other payment methods. It took about two weeks from ordering to deliverance. The $2 card was without a box, by plain mail (3 pins were a bit bent, but no problems getting them straight), the $14 card was in a (generic) box which the mail man actually had to bring personally, so I had to pick it up at the post office 'cause I wasn't home.
I'm very happy with the results! also that it's sooo incredibly cheap is unbelievable. In The Netherlands the $2 card (+-€1.50) would be about €7.50 *without* delivery, and the $14 card (+-€10.33) is about €25!
I hope my post will help some more VS users. Happy recording!
Edited by Rainer (02/14/10 11:33 PM)
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#951160 - 02/14/10 09:21 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Rainer]
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Cornjerker
Planeteer
Registered: 11/16/04
Posts: 5597
Loc: CornvILLe
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Thanks for the post, Rainer. The SD to IDE card looks a lot like my Syba SD to IDE card. I wonder if perhaps the design for the card is being produced by several card makers or if Syba is producing them with and without their model number on it?
Outstanding prices, BTW. Wish that there was a good 3.5" chassis solution to mount them.
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#951634 - 02/15/10 11:49 PM
Re: Installing an IDE to Flash Media Adapter in a Roland VS-840
[Re: Cornjerker]
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Rainer
Space Cadet
Registered: 02/14/10
Posts: 6
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I mounted it at the back of the unit, so the reader can be accessed through what normally would be the SCSI connector. Only one thin screw and two bolts needed! I can post a pic later.
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