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Author Topic: amstrad ckx100  (Read 11632 times)

Dj Task Manager

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amstrad ckx100
« on: April 19, 2009, 11:29:41 AM »
Hi all.

Im going to mod my amstrad ckx100 which also utilises fm synth i think like the pss'.  I want to do the data hack thing, anybody done this?
Any tips? 

Anyone know which chips do the fm synth stuff?

http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/picts/Amstrad_CKX100_pcb.jpeg

cheers!

DJ TASK MANAGER
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Gordonjcp

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2009, 06:53:18 PM »
Can you get a less-blurry pic of the board?
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Dj Task Manager

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2009, 09:24:22 PM »
Hi Gordon,

Theres a couple of clearer photos here ---> 

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhotos&albumID=84184

Cheers!
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Gordonjcp

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2009, 09:51:07 PM »
That links wants me to create a myspazz account...
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Dj Task Manager

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2009, 10:40:58 PM »
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pneaveill

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2009, 01:19:20 AM »
Quote from: Dj Task Manager on April 19, 2009, 10:40:58 PM
sorry about that...

try this ---> http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=76683#/album.php?aid=76683&id=507237544

thanks again!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but still wants me to open an account with them :(
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Gordonjcp

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2009, 10:20:08 AM »
Okay, I *do* have a facebook account...

The big chip with the closely-spaced pins is the CPU.  The two chips with stickers are probably EPROMs, but you'd need to peel the sticker at one end to see what the numbers were on them.  The TC5565 is an 8k RAM chip, and the big M114S chip is a special DAC designed for wavetable synths (but I have no real data on it).  However - it *is* wired to the EPROM in the bottom left of the pic.  I'd concentrate on that area, and if you can pull the EPROM and read its contents I'd love a copy ;-)
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pneaveill

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2009, 02:36:40 PM »
Quote from: Gordonjcp on April 20, 2009, 10:20:08 AM
Okay, I *do* have a facebook account...

The big chip with the closely-spaced pins is the CPU.  The two chips with stickers are probably EPROMs, but you'd need to peel the sticker at one end to see what the numbers were on them.  The TC5565 is an 8k RAM chip, and the big M114S chip is a special DAC designed for wavetable synths (but I have no real data on it).  However - it *is* wired to the EPROM in the bottom left of the pic.  I'd concentrate on that area, and if you can pull the EPROM and read its contents I'd love a copy ;-)

Appreciate the assist.  Maybe between a bunch of us, we can get this thing figured out.  According to this website here, the M114s seems to be some sort of multipurpose chip having a lot of potential.  ;D  This site shows the chip (two of them, by the way) as being used as DCO's (Digitally controlled oscillators) by means of wave table to analog conversion. Am on my way to work, so will leave this for now in hopes that it helps someone carry the torch just a bit further.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2009, 02:40:51 PM by pneaveill »
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Dj Task Manager

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2009, 07:13:34 PM »
wow, yous guys know a thing or two!  I pealed off the stickers from the covered chips... the one in the bottom left is (in very small writing)

'tms 27C128 25JL LDQ 8826' (catchy name, in the fullness of time i might use it for my first born)

the other covered one, below the toshiba chip, says '27c256 258836 11kb  pgm 12.5v'

Thanks for your helps, I dont know alot about all this, but i gather from what you say it is unlikely i will be able to do the data stream mod to this keyboard. Right?

So poke around in bottom left you recon is the best bet?

Cheers!

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Gordonjcp

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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2009, 08:26:29 PM »
It's nothing like (most) Yamaha PSSes, at all ;-)

There's no FM synthesis, it's all wavetable.  You could probably get some nice glitchy sounds by shorting pins on the 27C128 EPROM, that'll be the one with all the samples in it.
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amstrad ckx100
« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2009, 12:09:56 AM »
well thanks for clearing that up, i got confused by misreading the write up on tablehooters. 

cheers now!
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Re: amstrad ckx100
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2009, 02:01:24 PM »
Hello again.  Ive had a poke around inside the ckx100 and its got some good useable subtle distortions, a nice point which makes everything go all wonky and out of tune (a bit like some of ceephax's stuff) and a couple of points which scramble everything and give some good harsh noises.

I was wondering if anyone knows where the crystal thingy might be or might look like.  I'd like to fit a precision oscillator jobbie for the old pitch bending.

Cheers!
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Gordonjcp

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Re: amstrad ckx100
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2009, 03:48:50 PM »
It's the little silver thing marked "X1".
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