Akai S950

[andyfox]

Hello, finally I was able to find a solution for the AKAI S950 and that error. Problem was indeed the voltage of the HxC floppy. But it was very difficult to find it. Infact, at first, when booting, voltage was 5v. Then, when loading from SD Card a sound, the voltage was getting lower. So that was why I got "OOPPPS!!!! ... " message in the middle of the loading.
The power supply was recapped with new capacitors from the technician, however the problem was not solved. Maybe my power supply is indeed that old, and should be replaced, or rebuilt from scratch.
So we basically added a dedicated power supply providing 5v.. just for the HxC floppy.
I know this maybe is not the clean and best solution wanted, but I have been using the S950 since some weeks and it appears to work.
I must say I also replaced the display with a color LCD display, a new one. That's maybe why the Power Supply was working too hard to give power to all machine components is getting harder for it.
Thanks for helping me ! I will keep you posted if there are future evolutions and the problems come back.
I personally hope no!

Andy

[littlejackal]

I have a similar issue but I don't see any unnatural voltages so unfortunately I don't have that option to me.

I have a GoTek with the new chip-shortage substituted Artery and implemented HxCFEUSB_V4_0_53a.UPD. When I throw this onto the GoTek everything seems to work in the end, but I see the following behaviour:

- Boot S950 with USB or without, doesn't seem to matter. If a USB is in the S950 doesn't seem to autoload programs at startup so presumably the USB is not being read properly at this time
- Hit Disk button
- Mounted floppy shows UNFM% so clearly image has not been read properly
- Hit Play button, then Disk button again and UNFM% now properly shows the proper used percentage.

After this it seems to load and save as expected. If I change floppy images the problem manifests itself all over again. At first it shows UNFM% but then after hitting play and disk again the newly mounted disk is now properly readable.

I haven't encountered an OOPS error yet after the "second disk push" and after this is done the disk access seems to be fairly reliable, though I have only been running this for a few hours.

I'm using the provided S950 floppy images and the Gotek is in indexed mode.

I'm happy to just say "ok this is how it works" since it's not a huge issue (unless there are OOPS errors that are going to pop up eventually, I guess) but I'm not sure now whether troubleshooting would reveal this is a beta firmware update given there is a new chip in play, whether the HFE files are somehow bad (unlikely, seems to work after that the first initial hiccup), or whether there's other problems at play.

[Jeff]

This appears to be an interface mode setting issue. Which HFE files are you using exactly ?
Can you try to clear/reset all the settings and set the S950 interface mode in the embedded menu ?
https://hxc2001.com/docs/gotek-floppy-e ... tings.html

And which Artery Gotek are you using exactly ?

[littlejackal]

I think that worked. At first I loaded the 4053a firmware in the "new sfrkc30 firmware" folder but that was causing some issues with the firmware corrupting (3 LCDs go blank, no activity until I re-flash) when I changed any settings from the config menu, but then I flashed 4201a from the WIP folder and it seems to be much happier letting me set these settings. Set 1->0c, 2->0f, 5->01 to appeal to my preferences and interface and it seems to be much more reliable from the get-go. Haven't had an issue yet, crossing my fingers.

I've got one of the new shortage-replacement chips, KBU7-4 I think, similar or identical to what's in the sfrkc30 folder. I think that's my board but I'd have to disassemble the 950 to check and it seems to be working great right now

Thanks for the advice!

[Harry Hemi]

Hey all,
After two days of struggle Its now working like a charm!

Pls follow these instructions:

1-If you have the possibility to do so, load and save a few prg and sample on the original floppy drive to be sure that all capacitors are working fine and there is no dry joints.
2-Open the beast and replace the original floppy drive by a GOTEK Hxc USB Floppy emulator (black version looks great!). Do not power the s950 before step 5
3-Take you USB stick and format it FAT32
4-Drag and Drop the latest firmware of HXC USB into the stick(https://hxc2001.com/download/floppy_dri ... rmware.zip)
5-Put the stick into the s950 and power it up while holding the two buttons on the GOTEK EMULATOR.
6-Power Off the s950 and put the usb stick into your computer
7-Keep the firmware on it and just drop the INDEXED version of the .CFG file (HXCSDFE.CFG) and some proper floppy img named DSKA0000.HFE , DSKA0001.HFE, DSKA0002.HFE etc, you have to name them that way to scroll from 000 to 001 etcs.. I took the .HFE models from the Quick Install Disk Images (SDHxCFE_Akai_S950), and the .CFE In the indexed subfolder there: https://hxc2001.com/floppy_drive_emulat ... l#download.
8-Put the stick in the S950 and enjoy life!

Since I just figured out how to get my S-950 to load files, I might as well add what Mr. Luke doesnt have in his list. After going through this, its alot less complicated than I made it out to me. Kudos to Jeff and Jean and them. This is only for the S950.

1. Make sure to look at your emulator to see if the chip is actually Artery or STM. I just got mine new a few days ago, and its Artery.
2. Install Artery program on the PC according to instructions. I did USB-A to USB-A from my desktop to flash the Gotek. (The PC will power the Gotek through USB)
3. Once the Gotek is done being flashed, Take you USB stick and format it FAT32

4. Make sure to drop the correct .upd files to the root menu USB stick.I screwed that up pretty good:
EXCHANGE.BIN
ff_gotek_hxc_fw_installer.upd
flashfloppy-gotek_hxc_fw_installer.upd
HxCFEUSB_V5_2_2_2a.UPD (or whatever the latest one is thats sent to you)

5. ****Make sure to move the jumper on the Gotek to S0. That is the S-950 drive 1 setting. If you dont do this, the S950 wont load anything. Ask me
how I know. This picture is close enough:
https://hxc2001.com/docs/gotek-floppy-e ... tings.html

6. Install the Gotek in place of the S-950s floppy drive. No need to hook up the SCSI cable just yet. Just the power
7. Follow instructions to load the files into the emulator, once you see "001" pull out the USB but dont turn off the S950 or Gotek.
8. Make sure when you get the updated EXCHANGE.BIN and overwrite the old .bin file on the same USB, You Eject the USB, dont just yank it
out this will corrupt the files. Gotek is a sensitive sort. If loading gets stuck on 002 or 883, you have to delete the files from the USB
and copy them again for transfer.

9. Once you put the USB back into the Gotek it should load according to instructions and the Gotek should be ready to plug its SCSI cable in.
Heres the Rub, The 1 pin on the S950s SCSI cable socket is not the same as the 1 pin on the Gotek. Its weird.
You can install the cable both ways on the Gotek, but not the S950.
So whatever you think the 1 pin is on the S950, its actually the 34 pin on the Gotek.
But fret not, if you hook it up wrong, the S950 will tell you "Disk not mounted". If you do it right, the Gotek might tell you the cable is reversed.
It stopped telling me this after I moved the jumper to S0.

10. If the screen is upside down on the Gotek, no worries...erase the load files on the USB, copy only this specific file to it:
HxCFEUSB_V5_2_3_1a_U100LQD.
It will fix itself within a couple seconds.

11. Now you have to do settings on the Gotek so the S950 can load sample files. To access settings, remove the USB Stick and press both buttons.
These are the only ones I did for results so far.:
System family selection = Akai
Interface mode = S900/S950 (Density Auto)
User interface mode = Indexed mode

12. Now you can copy some sample files to try out loading sounds on the S-950.
Any .HFE files
HXCSDFE.CFG-indexed
HxCFEUSB_V5_2_2_2a.UPD

The last two are needed in the root drive of the USB Stick for the Gotek, so I imagine they should always be there. At this point you should
easily be able to load the files from the S950s controls.

Took me two evenings to get here.

This is what worked for me. If anyone sees any errors in my steps, feel free correct me. If Im totally off base, I wont mind if the mods delete my post.