emusonacid!

I'm planning to replace the Power Supply of the Ultra.
If the specs fit, I'd like to use a standard computer power
supply.

The original (43 Watt) power supply delivers the connections

-12V / +12V / GROUND and VCC

Here goes my question: What does the abbreviation VCC mean?

Thanks in advance, TSR

check this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_power_supply_pin

VCC is positive supply voltage. in most ICs VCC is +5V.

edit:: i'm going to replace the power supply as well, i'll probably go for a fanless one. i'm currently looking at silent mini-itx power supplies, which seem to be the perfect solution:

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=10#dcdc

Thanks for that.

I'd be very careful to use a non-fan type of power supply. It's
not only about the power supply itself, but also about some
general cooling of the whole unit.

Actually, I am thinking of installing an extra 60mm fan at the
back of the Ultra, since the RFX-32 produces a lot of heat.

To my surprise, the change of the original fan to a silenx model
didn't make the unit that quiet.

TSR

TSR wrote:To my surprise, the change of the original fan to a silenx model
didn't make the unit that quiet.

i was also surprised to find out that the "silent" fan i installed with a noise rating of 14.00dBA is still annoying (it is a Scythe Mini Kaze).

Hi guys,

I always experienced that lots of so-called "silent" fans could only provide satisfying results when under-voltaged. The easiest way in my opinion is to solder a simple pot between power and the fan and you set the position (RMP) you want.

delete : this fanless quest seems great to me !
Let us know !

Cheers & happy new year guys,

i got a picoPSU-90 and a 60W AC-DC adapter from ebay (~40 pounds). here's the PSU manual:

www.short-circuit.com/manuals/dcdc/picoPSU-90.pdf

and here's the spec sheet for the original Powdec PSU:

http://www.powdec.com/pdf/pte43.pdf

as you can see the specs for the 2 PSUs are similar, except for the -12V rail. i'm hoping that won't be a problem but if anyone knows more on this let me know what can go wrong.

my main consideration is the molex connector. does anyone know how the molex connector of the original PSU is called? you can see the male connector on the first page in the above Powdec PSU spec sheet.

edit:: in the spec sheet it says that it's a Molex 09-65-2068 connector.

i have succesfully booted my e5000 ultra with a 90W picoPSU + a home made ATX connector to *whatever the PSU connector on the e-mu is called* adapter. it seems to be working just fine. it is _absolutely_ silent. the only side effect is that i had to change the contrast to -8 in order to see what's going on. since it is very early to tell if this is actually a good idea, i'll do some more testing before i post pics / instructions.

I would recommend caution here.

The -12V rail on the Emu Powerdec supply is nominally rated for minimum 100ma and max of 500mA per the spec sheet.

The Supply you've installed has a max output current of 100 mA. The manual also mentions (mostly for the heavy current 5V line):

"At max load, forced air ventilation is required. For fanless operation de-rate the output of the
3.3V and 5V rails by -20%. Peak load should not exceed 60 seconds"

So, you are using a supply that has a factor of 5 difference in rating from the Emu supply.

What this means:

* any device using -12V rail will *may* not be sourcing enough current.
* any device will be running at a lower voltage as it drawing the max current
* the power supply regulators for -12 V will be overloaded and likely not survive a long period of time.

This might explain why your LCD is not working right - it may need more current to work effectively, and is now under supplied. Its possible that this could get damaged in the process - especially if the -12V rail suddenly craps it and starts sending overvoltages and fluctuating power to the LCD or other dependent circuits.

Try and find out what the -12V is really used for in the Emu - and if 100mA is going to be just enough, or too little....the LCD situation strikes me as a warning signal that this may only work for a short period..

The idea is great - the -12V line is worry.

M

that was exactly what i was thinking kalide. the -12V is only used for the display, so i had to lower the contrast to get more current flowing from the -12V rail. i'm now thinking about using another power supply just for the -12V. i also tried using a regular computer power supply and was able to get a little better contrast, but still it seemed like the PSU couldn't deliver.

apart from the -12V rail, all the other rails can deliver the amperage required and the PSU is working very far from max load (remember: this is used to power computers with graphics cards, hard drives, GBs of ram etc, so it is probably supposed to work around max load). so actually the picoPSU exceeds the Powdec in specs in every other rail.

i haven't noticed any other issues apart from the LCD, drives are working normally and audio sounds the same.

i managed to find another silent computer PSU for cheap (a CoolMax Fanless 480W). this one can deliver up to 1A on the -12V rail. now both the PSU and my Ultra seem to be happy! this means that my 0db Ultra is almost ready. i'll grab a thermistor next week and do some tests with the original psu / fan vs external computer psu w/o fan to make 100% sure that the temperature doesn't rise dangerously.

Do you have any pics of the install - hows the unit physically ? Did you need to reform any of the emu fittings to make it fit ?

I've a spare Zalman silent PS I could put in - its silent 99% of the time except for temperature driven fans - that would be an idea compromise if the thermal impact of a fanless unit is too much esp. w/RFX etc.

M

the appearance is like putting an ATX PSU next to an Ultra i will take some pictures though as soon as i go home. still haven't been able to get a thermistor in order to measure temperatures inside my ultra while it's working, i hope i'll be able to do so soon.

ok, so here are some images:

this is how my sampler looks lately

not so pretty, but it spends most of the time in a compartment under my desk. notice the huge ATX PSU next to the sampler.

here's the ATX switch i modded:


you can get a switch like that from here:
http://store.fundamentallogic.com/ecom/ ... x&cPath=21
or you can do a custom job.