Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversions

HxC Floppy emulator support for all others Keyboards/Samplers...
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waynich
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:15 pm

Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversions

Post by waynich »

Owner of an original Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer. I think i might be the only guy left using this little beast!!
A great unit i have had for many years. This unit comes with a
3.5 inch floppy drive, like the pc units. Well , as i have had many disk failures with this drive (including bad disks ) ) , i decided to investigate and see if i could easily swap the drive. So first mission, pull unit apart . Oh wow !! a 34 pin connector inside ! Great , so out with old and
in with new (pc version floppy). Fit perfectly!!
load or save time . Nothing !!
Mmmmmm. I decided to pay more attention to floppy cable used , checking pins 12-16 swapping , drives a & b swapping etc..
no read. I am positive Yamaha have used slightly different coding for the floppy header information or something along those lines.
Or some special acknowledge pin for the unit to work purely with
the yamaha drives. Now, left me wondering.....

Geez, got all excited when i found this site. A usb solution for this
is just what i need , but i still think its a long way off from happening.

waynich

elpekos
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2010 5:33 pm

QX3 DD floppy

Post by elpekos »

It does not work because the actual floppy connector is not the same as the old one. You have to invert some pins on the cable. I did it on my SY77, I found the file with pinout exchange on fm-alive.com FAQ. Let me know if it works for you. I'm actually waiting for the new SD card adpater to fit it in my SY77.

Mink99
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

Today I also failed on the qx3.

The floppy inside is a toshiba msx no-352s-a fdd4268g0k floppy, identical (!) to the one in the Kawai q80. And, as the q80 is known to work, I just gave it a try. And used a normal floppy cable, as from the docs on the toshiba floppy the 34 pin plug was simply mounted upside down. Both units do not have a 26 pin connector...


The behaviour on the emulator is strange. When the qx is started, each hfe virtual disk has a capacity of 0 bytes, with zero bytes free. The you can format the vfd, and it shows 713 k capacity. All free.

You can store, load files, everything works. Until you switch the qx off. On next restart the vfd is back to 0 byte capacity, 0 byte free.

Now I am lost in between jumper settings on the emulator, cable issues and configuration.


Btw. Some weeks ago I tested a cheap Chinese floppy emulator on the qx3 and the q80. Both had shown the same (!) behaviour as the hxc in the qx3 now : work until restart.

Jeff
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Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Jeff »

Please send me back/share the written hfe file.

Mink99
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Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

Thank You.

enclose will be two hfes

00_dsk , converted from a floppy Image
fmt , created by the qx3

and the config
Attachments
fmt.zip
(87.72 KiB) Downloaded 618 times

Jeff
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Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Jeff »

Mink99 wrote:Thank You.

enclose will be two hfes

00_dsk , converted from a floppy Image
fmt , created by the qx3

and the config
The images seems to be correctly formated.
So this is probably a jumper setting/drive setting issue. WHat is the old floppy disk drive model and brand ?

Mink99
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

The Floppy is : toshiba nd-352s-a fdd4268g0k

From the service Manual of the QX3:
Image1.png
Image1.png (99.52 KiB) Viewed 13153 times

Jeff
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Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Jeff »

1- Update your firmware :

https://hxc2001.com/download/floppy_driv ... rmware.zip

2- Set the switches setting to : ID0A (1) + ID3B (8).

2- Copy the attached CFG file to the sdcard.

let me know if this help.
Attachments
HXCSDFE.zip
(220 Bytes) Downloaded 706 times

wnky_thom
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Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 11:53 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by wnky_thom »

I know this is an oldish thread but I just picked up a QX3 & wondered how folks got on with the hxc in this sequencer?

Not been able to find much info with regards to the QX3, it seems like a great machine but maybe tricky to get a floppy emulator working due to the odd pin out?

At least that is how I'm reading;

http://www.yamahaforums.co.uk/forum/vie ... php?t=7742

in relation to the QX5. I'm hoping the hxc would be a more robust / sophisticated option, without the need for adapter cables & an SD would surely fit a LOT of song data :D

wnky_thom
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Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by wnky_thom »

A more specific question for Jeff.

Would a hxc flashed gotek work with the files / suggested settings you posted?

Mink99
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

After a long long time...

No, does not work (my emulator got lost at lotharek lair, I just removed this one now from another device)

Same behaviour, will not read floppy after restart.

Mink99
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

Did some additional test. It looks as if the qx3 does not read the disks at all.

When a file is saved, you can see and hear that it accesses the disk. So I put 3 images on the disk. Saved a file to disk 1, read the disk status , changed to disk two, read the disk status. The status was the one from the previous disk.

Jeff
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Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Jeff »

Mink99 wrote:Did some additional test. It looks as if the qx3 does not read the disks at all.

When a file is saved, you can see and hear that it accesses the disk. So I put 3 images on the disk. Saved a file to disk 1, read the disk status , changed to disk two, read the disk status. The status was the one from the previous disk.
Disk change detection not working -> Bad interface mode, or floppy ribbon wire n°2 broken.

Mink99
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Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

So I should go to custom mode, and set pin2 to some "disk change mode" , but which one ?
Same for pin34 on some ready mode?

Try out all permutations or is there already some experience ?

The cable and the pins work fine as the fdd works fine as well ....

Mink99
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:52 am

Re: Yamaha QX-3 midi hardware sequencer floppy disk conversi

Post by Mink99 »

A dos floppy cable has two plugs, one twisted and one not. As shugart drives are in reverse order, pin1=34 etc do. I have to use the twisted plug on the straight one ? This might be something that is not documented.

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