emusonacid!

Hey all,

I just got a really nice E-Synth Ultra off eBay, and found that the display is generally too dark to view contrast-wise (backlight nice and bright) unless the contrast is set all the way up to +7. Fiddling with the two CONTRAST jumpers on the motherboard only makes the LCD even darker.

Anyone has an idea what's going on? I guess I could just leave the contrast setting on +7, but it doesn't seem to be normal to me, it should be more or less readable at 0, but instead it's almost completely dark. Anyone had experience with this?

EDIT: I noticed this problem is power-related. If I unplug the internal hard drive, the display becomes a little brighter. I have a 40GB Seagate Barracuda IV in there, it draws 0.75A of 5VDC and 0.85A of 12VDC. Does this mean my PSU is dying?

Okay, I ordered a new, stronger (RFX-approved) PSU from EPR Electronics, Emu's official parts and service center. I'll have it Friday so I will report back with results.

Yup, like I suspected, the PSU was faulty. Replaced it and the problem is gone. I also noticed my Emu had the original 43W PSU whereas the new one is 65W. I'm happy again, my bird lives! :)

Nice 1

I decided to install a separate power supply for the hard drive. I used a Sunfone dual voltage PSU which gives me 2.0A at 5VDC and 2.2A at 12VDC (basically the PSU supplied with LaCie external drives, $17 directly from LaCie). It is also universal and takes 90-264VAC input at 50~60Hz. I attached it to the outside of the main PSU cover and ran a wire around the back panel all the way to the hard drive. I wired the AC input in parallel to the main PSU and after the power switch. Works like a charm, I can put in any hard drive I want and I'm not risking straining/blowing up the Emu PSU. I put another one in my Kurzweil K2vx and now I have a nice 2GB Seagate drive in it without having to worry about burning out the audio/power board.