Vintage Keys, need upgrade (plus) sysex restore (answered)

[mazi25]

So I've been poking around this sucker some more and I've learned some stuff..

first of all.. here is one resource http://www.tonescience.net/vintagekeys.html

also thanks to Virgule this one.. http://en.audiofanzine.com/digital-synt ... ias/other/ (note you need to add .syx to the end for it to work)

Using MIDI Quest I managed to push these over to it and I did get rid of the weird characters that riddled many of the patches. that was another weird thing about it but now they all work right..

Hi Caleb,

I know it was a few years ago, but maybe you can still remember what you did back then...?
Because I have exactly the same problem with my E-MU Vintage Keys.

Could you please describe in detail all the steps until it is working properly again?

For example, how do I remove the 72 pin rom chip?
Do I have to adjust anything on the Vintage Keys before I can transfer the SysEx data? (In my case the transmission with MIDI-OX did not cause any changes).

I would very appreciate step-by-step instructions!

Thanks a lot for your help!
Annett

[part12studios]

i sold it awhile back but yea you just open it up and remove the chip like any old PC/Mac..

nothing too special was needed IIRC.. turn it on.. load up the sysex file.. see if there are any settings in the vintage keys to prepare it to receive but i don't think it really required a lot of preparation.. just "push" the data to the unit.

have you not opened it up yet? to see how the chip is inserted/removed?

it could be that the issue is the same but more severe in your case?

make sure you have a new / fresh backup battery. if the battery is dead then yea your dumps will do nothing because next time you turn it off / on it will forget everything again. although usually while the unit is on the dump should show changes, they just don't "stick" once you turn it off and back on again.

you may do well to make a video of the steps you take and the results.. as well as showing how it looks inside to help folks assist you.

[mazi25]

Thank you very much for your quick answer!

The problem was actually the battery. I replaced it, transferred the SysEX data again with MIDI-OX and now they are permanently stored on the RAMs 000-255.

Only on the ROMs 256 and higher the "wrong" ones are still stored, so not the ones from the manual.

But now I can work with my Vintage Keys.

[part12studios]

fantastic. yea batteries for anything that old is a safe bet to replace.. even if it still works (it can happen) these systems slip power from these batteries. i've seen batteries hold a memory system with 0.2v rating on a 2032.. and be thankful they made it user replaceable unlike some that require soldering.. enjoy it!