Ensoniq TS12 as a rack version / QuattroTS Project

[readymedia]

Hello there!

I plan to get rid of the keyboard unit of TS-12 and put the all the boards in a huge 19" rack case. Also I'll try to put the front panel in a kind of tabletop format. I already started a thread in a fb group "Synthesizer Spares or Repair" https://www.facebook.com/groups/synthre ... 248726753/ and get some helpful responses.

However I think, it is better to put my questions here, so it is more common and more open place for that sort of discussion.

At first I realized that the TS12 work properly whitout its heavy and after all that years semi broken keyboard. But you have to let the keyboard PCB in place. Even keyboard naming feature works properly via external MIDI controller.



Well I have several TS12 and in a best case I'll put all four of them in that huge 19" rack case. As long as the groud connection is good, there are no electrical problems to appear... I hope. Anyway I plan is to put one synth in the rack case first. Then if it possible just stuck the second (and so on) on the top of first one...



Any help is appreciated!

I'll keep you updated. Cheers, Andreas

[Rasputin]

Ambitious, but I believe it is definitely possible with enough persistence.

I didn't read the other thread you mentioned, but I think the best way to approach putting four in one rack is to have a push button toggle that cycles through a shared display/keypad with an LED to indicate which of the four is selected. That's going to require some custom circuitry, of course. I guess you'd want to tie that into the floppy as well.

[readymedia]

To share the tabletop unit was also my first idea. I realized that TS12 can also boot without the display board. So I first tought, it would work with a simple "mechanical" switch... But I'm afraid that the "additional circuity"have to be. Never tought about sharing drives! Interesting idea! May also a way simplier as to share the tabletop unit.

[readymedia]

It is possible to put four Ensoniqs and one CD-Rom on one bus? Otherwise I have just one SCSI interface for my four Ensoniqs. So it would be cool to boot each one with the same interface one after another... so the switch is between synths and the one interface+cd-rom...

[Ashe37]

Technically, you can have two at opposite ends of a SCSI bus but i doubt that Ensoniqs know how to do the bus arbitration... most PCs can't even...

[readymedia]

Some additional thoughts so far:

- Realised that power supply inside TS uses the whole aluminium body of the synths as a passive cooling. So I need some kind of additional cooling inside the rack case. Simple screwing the small cooler of the PCB to the rack case wall could be not enough... ;(

- Cutting the front of the synth is a kind of blaspheme and a great technical problem - jigsaw isn't an option...

- Updated all my four synths (motherboards.. just one synth isn't token apart) to latest OS 3.10... Two of the motherboards were at OS 2.02 so I done some modifications on those boards like described in Ensoniqs "Upgrade OS" documents.

[readymedia]

I got the surface cutted. Just had to find someone with pro tools. Because initially I tried cut the whole surface of TS (front panel made of complex age, flat aluminium plate and second complex age at once) the Ensoniq logo was cutted too... ;( The other two I cutet the way Ensoniq logo survived...





Here is also a initial concept of the idea put TS in a rack case:



Cheers, Andreas

[readymedia]

Hey, there!
Just want to report a small progress I've made. I cut the side panels for the tabletop from the original ones of TS12 with a little help of a side cutter. The new panels do not cover the sides completely, like the original ones too. I think to put some wooden panels on the momentary ones, to cover all the gaps.

[Rasputin]

I love the dedication! Thank you for the project updates.

[readymedia]

Nice inspiration:
http://www.matrixsynth.com/2018/03/cust ... board.html

[S9DD]

Very interesting project - what's the state of play?

[readymedia]

Hola there!
Well... after some circumstanses appeared, I sold all of the TS-12. Sh*t happens. But now I own an TS12 again and have three empty desktop cases. Maybe, maybe...
Best!, Ready