I just got a package from the Ukraine. It comes with the HDM device and a one page manual in Russian. The device consists of a circuit board that has a slot for a flash drive, a couple of cables, and that device that changes channels. I was given the impression that you don't need to have the flash drive partitioned, and that the channel changer thing is to switch between the onboard floppy drive and the new HDM device.

I'll see if I can glean from the English manual at the website what to do. Otherwise, my friend's son is a computer whiz and knows Russian.

I'll keep you updated when it is loaded in my machine.

Beakybird

Good for you Beakybird!!

Looking forward to your report on it.

Scott Langholff

Good luck with it. I had read the other instructions on the web and then had a friend of mine (from Russia) translate it for me. There are a couple of sites that will translate from Russian to English if you pass it the URL for the web page. Sounds like your friend is better to have around.

Keep us posted!

- Brian

I will be picking up my keyboard at my teenage friend's father's work - one mile from my house. He charged me $20 to install the HDM, tighten a speaker that was buzzing and to fix the modulation wheel that got dislodged. I'll give him a $5 tip.

Here is a preliminary analysis of the HDM according to my phone conversation. It works!

When you turn on the keyboard, my 128mb flash chip (which is not removeable because it is stuck inside the keyboard) is partitioned into 88 partitions. There is a channel changer device that you can use to scroll from partition 1 to partition 88. I imagine that each partition is the size of a floppy because 128mb divided by 88 is a little over 1.5.

When you access a partition for the first time, the keyboard asks if you want to format the floppy. Now the strange thing is that the first 10 partitions give the message that the floppy is write protected when you try to format it. It suddenly occurs to me that the flash card might be set on lock. The other two possibilities are that it is an idiosyncracy of the HDM (probably not) or that I can format the partition when I access these partitions via my computer. I probably won't get inside to check the flash card until I switch the HDM to the PSR2100 sometime in July. No matter. There are still 70 partitions to work with.

Now the good stuff. My friend was able to copy all of the pop/rock internal styles and paste them onto one of the partitions. He turned off the keyboard and scrolled to that partiton (If you hold the up or down button down it scrolls quickly) and the styles are automatically recalled.

I have been spending the evening categorizing all my styles into Pop/Rock, Country/Blues, Jazz/Swing, Ballroom, Waltzes, Latin, Piano Styles, World/Misc. and Dance. I will put all of these styles onto different partitions. It will be easy to remember which partition which style is on because I'll only have to know what type of music it is. No more floppy shuffle during my gigs.

My friend didn't mess around or try to get styles to load via the computer. I imagine this works, but it might require some deciphering of the Russian instructions.

I am curious to see if the styles load up faster than the 2 seconds required for regular floppy styles.

The HDM is still inferior to say a hard drive that the Tyros has - you have to deal with partitions and you probably can't access floppy styles and multipads via registration (I'll experiment with this).

I'll keep you posted as I play around with this thing. I can't wait!

Beakybird

HDM doesn't work completely. This is the deal. You install this circuit board with a flash card slot into your keyboard. You get a switch to change between the floppy drive and the partitions on the flash card. The flash card gets divided in 1.5mb partitions. My 128mb flash card gives me 81 partitions to play with.

Then you get a cable (Parallel to mini din 6) to attach the device to your computer. Unfortunately, the software doesn't work. There are good instructions in English. The problem is when you press the CONNECT button, instead of accessing the drives on the keyboard, you get a message: NO cable or port LPT1. That means that no connection is being made. Either there is a problem with the cable, my XP computer software is too advanced, or there is a problem with the device itself.

So I figured, there are more than one ways to skin a cat. While I wait for technical support from the Ukraine, I can copy styles from floppies into USER memory and then copy those onto the partitions. Here is the problem: Whenever you scroll to a new partition, you get a message asking if you want to format the drive. With 80% of the drives, the keyboard gives a message: WRITE PROTECTED. 20% of the drives do work. Another problem is that these working partitions are randomly scattered throughout the flash disk. Partitions 7, 11, 14, 20, 23, 27 work while the other partitions don't. I tried another flash card and I had the same exact problem.

Now I have a gut feeling that if I can get the software to work that the computer can format these partitions, but I'm not positive. If I cannot get the software to work, I might send a flash card to the Ukraine and ask the seller to format the partitions that won't work.

Very frustrating indeed.

So outside of the many problems, how does the item perform? It is very fast scrolling between partitions with the switcher. Once you get to a partition where you have some styles stored, it is just like a floppy drive. It takes a few seconds to access and it takes the same amount of time to load a style: 2-4 seconds (I timed it). It is a lot easier to scroll to a different number while playing the keyboard than it is to change floppies while performing.

We'll see. The problem might be very simple. I'm waiting for a reply from the seller. The contraption might work fine on an older computer (like the one the Ukrainian probably has). It is doubtful that the cable is at fault.

Maybe the device is a dog. Even as it is, it is slightly superior to floppies, but not superior enough to justify $217 including money transfer. I have feeling that we'll be able to get this to work somehow.

Beakybird

Your PC bios allows the Parallel port to have a number of configurations - standard port (LPT) which is supposed to be output only, enhanced parallel port (EPP) about which I know nothing (!) and enhanced communication port (ECP) which is sort of bi-directional. Could this be a factor? I cannot comment on XP; I'm on Win2000!

I just got an email from the Ukraine. He asked me about configuration of my computer and stuff. I am going to go to a friend's computer PC Windows 98 and try it there.

He also told me that you can manually remove write protection from banks by pressing something on the circuit board. I'll have to see if I can make sense out of that.

Beakybird

I got it to work - not the software - but the device. I read the seller's email better, and actually with those two buttons to change banks, if you hold them down at a certain bank you can scroll to a certain code that signifies that write protection is off. So I have been able to format the first ten partitions. Wonderful!

I think that I'll need to try the software on a computer that is Intel or has Windows 98. I am betting that that is the problem. I can do that at my parent's house.

In the meantime, I can go from floppy to USER drive and from USER drive to the partition to write styles. When I am done writing, I now know how to protect the bank from accidental erasure. Very cool.

Beakybird

Hello Beakybird!!
If you want to conect your Keyboard with computer -you must have one floppy in floppy drive,and your HDM cotroller can work(can make conection to HDM to Host Programm
This Program works now with WINXP (v.3.03b)
P.S Sorry for bad english!!
max
HDM2
Germany

Thank you for your reply Max! I downloaded the newest version from www.2av.com.ua. I will try it tomorrow making sure that there is a floppy in the floppy drive.

Overall, I am very happy with this product. If I want to change banks and I do it before the end of the current song I'm playing, I can call up the files on the new bank immediately. This decreases the pause between songs - which is ideal for dances.

Indeed, I used the HDM2 when I performed for a senior dance, and I was able to keep the music going, not having to depend solely on internal styles.

Highly recommended for those who make a living with the PSR2000.

Beakybird

I almost have forgotten ...If you haven't switched "auto play song"on your keyboard
you must load something of diskette (Song,style..etc.)
very important: switching first computers on, then keyboard ! not rename folder with
program (3.03b) don`t start program with shortcut.
sorry, now has much to do -I have started with sale and representation of HDM2 for Europa.
P.S. I don't know as is live with PSR2000, I am playing PSR2100 with HDM2 now .
best regards
max

[This message has been edited by HDM2-FLASH (edited 07-10-2003).]

Hello

I think it's great we actually have somebody now that represents the HDM2 and can explain things to us.

Thanks Beakybird for being the one that kept going with this so that we all have a chance to make our own educated decisions on it.

Scott Langholff

One question that comes to mind was when Gary Diamond contacted Yamaha they thought that this gaget might overload the power supply (or whatever). I noticed Beakybird in one of your posts that when you used the HDM the disk drive is actually shut off. I would love to know the power consumption of the disk drive and also of the HDM. This appears to be the only safety factor that needs to be addressed unless there is something I haven't thought of.

Scott Langholff

Yes, the floppy drive is off when the HDM2 is in use. There are two power cables now inside my keyboard.

I don't know the exact power specs on the HDM2. My keyboard has been very stable with it inside. When you think of it, this device is merely a circuit board with a slot for a flash memory card and a very rudimentary switch attached to a cable. I cannot see how this could draw as much energy as a floppy drive that has something that spins around. I might be concerned with the hard drive based HDM but not with this flash card based system.

I'll be checking very soon to see if the system works with the new software, etc.

Beakybird

I was able to get the HDM2 software to work. I don't know if it's the software or if it's that my computer is very unstable, but the software froze on me several times. Also, sometimes my keyboard couldn't access the floppy drive with the mini din input attached to the computer.

Even if the software did work consistently, I wouldn't use it. Here is why. The software doesn't recognize file names larger than eight characters. When you load a file from your computer onto your HDM2 drive and you call up the drive when you are actually using the keyboard to play, what comes up on the keyboard display is this: All styles are named in caps with only 8 characters maximum. If you have two dixieland styles, it comes up as DIXIEL~1 and DIXIEL~2. Also, all of the fancy icons that come with many styles are reduced to the default drum icon. That's no good.

So I would rather for now transfer files from my floppy drive to the user drive, and from the user drive to the HDM2 bank. This takes a while, but it is the only way to do it. Maybe when the PSR2100 comes to the USA(I'm going to get it when it does), perhaps it is possible to transfer from the USB to the floppy drive. In this case, the software would not unnecessary.

So, I am happy with the device, but the software is useless for me. Hopefully, an update will be issued to the software so that the file name will appear as it is originally written, and icons will remain the same. Otherwise, we hope that the PSR2100 will be able to write from the USB to the floppy drive.

Beakybird

Hi Beaky

You never did mention - do styles load faster from HDM than they do from floppy?

Is Max from Germany selling these to U.S. customers?

Tom G.

Tom,

I thought I did mention. Styles load at the same speed as a floppy style. This unit doesn't have the advantages of a hard drive or extra user memory. It does enable one to change "floppies" at the flick of a button.

With real floppies, if you know what song you want to do next, and it's on another floppy, you either have to change floppies while performing (extremely difficult) or change after the song (time consuming). With the HDM2, you can change banks before the song ends, and you can then call up the styles on that bank immediately. The time it takes to change banks, however, is only slightly faster than manually taking out the floppy and putting another in. It's not a perfect system, but it is a definite improvement over the current system.

Beakybird

Larry,

You didn't answer the second part of Tom's Question--Does the distributor in Germany sell directly to U.S. consumers?

Gary

Yes, both Max of Germany and Valeriy of the Ukraine sell to the USA. But it's not easy. I recommend that Max set up an account with paypal.com. I happened to purchase my product from Valeriy of the Ukraine. I had to do a complex money transfer through my bank. This cost $20. So in total, I paid $217 + plus the price of my flash card, about $40. I'm still glad I bought the unit.

Both Max and Valeriy are honest people. Max sent me references of happy customers in Europe. I ended up working with Valeriy, because he was the first person to contact me when the new product came out.

Beakybird

Hi Beakybird and all

I talked to my organ tech about the power consumption for the HDM vs the floppy disk drive. He said the floppy drive would use 12 volts and the memory card reader (which I guess is what the HDM really is) takes 5 volts. So, if you are using one or the other at a time, then it appears the HDM would require less power. Also, even though they use 220 current in the Ukraine, they use an ac adaptor just like we do. Which means what's going on inside is the same whatever the current. So it draws the same juice in the US as in Russia. So if the inventor knows it works and is safe "over there" it'll be the same wherever.

This is obviously paraphrased lay language. My tech seemed pretty confident with his answer, but he did end his answer with "I think",and I suppose that would be the way to answere it unless it was right in his hands with the schematics.

Best

Scott Langholff