emusonacid! legacy

Okay - here's the lowdown on my situation.

A few months ago I got an Emu6400 for £86. I like the sound (cleaner than my s2000) and the umber of outputs (primary consideration).

I've had no success in connecting it to either my mac, or my zip drive.

On the Mac (G4 1.5GB ram 1GHz sonnet processor)I'm running OS X Tiger 10.4.11 and it seems that the scsi card from my old pc wasn't recognised in it so bought a new one that is mac compatable. I couldn't fnd any drivers for it though the mac seems to recognise its presence. When connected, the Emu can't see the Mac, and the Mac can't see the Emu, despite trying a few different scsi id's and varying whether termination on the Emu is switched on or off. Though the mac knows the card is there, there is no way to look at it (is more like acknowledgement of a presence than acceptance and integration into the system). I had heard that my version of tiger doesn't support scsi, and wondered if this was a) true b) the problem

Also, the Emu can't see the zip drive. I looked around and found another post whic fitted in with my problem:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=969&p=5099&hilit=+e6400+won%27t+see+zip#p5099

but I have a few more questions.
The cable I have is the centronics type which fits perfectly to the back of the sampler but is a male DB25.
As you face the front of the zip drive (Iomega scsi zip 100) the s2000 is plugged in on the right hand, rear socket which is male and receives a 25db female cable.
I can't find anywhere selling these with a centronics connector on the other end and have really looked hard.

Am I correct in thinking that the cable coming from the Emu (centronics to 25db male) is meant to fit in the other socket (the left hand side female and you face the front of the zip drive)?

Its the obvious place for it to go and have tried using the different scsi id numbers ( 5 & 6) have used termination in the Emu set on and termination in the Emu set to off, and it has been connected without the s2000 on the other socket.

Should I be putting a terminator on the side that the akai uses, or should i find a cable to link the Emu to that side instead?

the only thing that seems to mount is a floppy.

I have no instructions other than the eos details online (haven't printed off this as a 400 age manual yet) and really need to know what i'm doing rong before shelling out more money on cables that may not work. It wouldn't be an issue but i'm unemployed at the moment and looking at spending a fortune to get my bargain working isn't an option and makes it seem less of a bargain.

I really hope I given enough information here, as i've tried every combination I can think of and still have no joy.

Looking forward to some enlightenment.

Hey Robokid

I've never had any luck with Emu's + SCSI + OS X since OS 10.3 (Panther)

Supposedly it is possible but, 10.3 was the last time I had any success and that was mainly thanks to the help of another user on this forum.

A few things to check with the Zip drive might be:

-I assume you've tested with just the Emu and the Zip Drive? (SCSI is fast but, a very flaky bus at best. Try only 1 device at a time)
-is the Zip drive's termination turned on (it should be if it is the last device in the SCSI chain)
-is SCSI termination turned on in the Emu (I think it should be off if it's only talking to the zip drive)
-if it you try these things and it is still not seeing the drive, then perhaps the ZIP drive is toast?
-Have you connected the zip drive directly to you Mac to see if the Mac recognizes it?

Hope that helps,

Termination needs to be ON on both ends of the physical SCSI chain. If there is a device in the middle, it needs to be off. Termination is like the ends of a pipe - stops signals leaking/reflecting which messes up everything. Terminating in the middle or inappropriately will result in nothing working or errors.

Also check the cables - SCSI cables are notorious for being unreliable if they have been overly twisted - so many tiny wires inside to break.

M

Tried plugging in and having another go at it......

- I'm testing just the Emu and the Zip Drive but the zip won't mount.
- The Zip drive's has no termination switch but i was told it is auto terminating unless I need to plug in a physical terminator on the other port of the zip. termination turned on (it should be if it is the last device in the SCSI chain)
-Have tried with SCSI termination turned on and also off in the Emu
-The zip drive is working fine with my s2000 so don't think thats the fault.
-Mac won't see it on a direct connection, but thats not a biggy as my g4 has one built in.

The cable is one i bought specifically for the job and is brand new and in great looking condition (and i've only been able to look at it seeing as nothing functions).

I've tried running the simplest system - emu - scsi cable - zip and still no luck. The only thing it sees is the built in floppy.

If this is the blue zip drive, it has a passive termination that can be switched on or off at the back, and device selection 5 or 6 - make sure the Emu ID is not conflicting.

Also check that the Emu is not set to wait for a computer also on the SCSI bus - option in the SCSI menu settings.

If its an internal zip drive, termination is set via a jumper as is ID.

If the zip is being used internally to the emu - note that emu's power connections are a bit different - refer to other postings here for info.
M

There is no option switch other than the scsi id number.
there is a picture here:

http://www.humyo.com/F/3381061-1362694559

It works fine with my s2000, should i just get another zip drive?

okay, I got a new zip drive that has two female input ports AND scsi id selection options 5 & 6, as well as a termination on / off button.

i've tried numerous configurations and am still having no luck - any suggestions

Well, despite buying a brand new scsi lead when i got the sampler - it seems that the lead was the problem all along.

Cheers to Lee for helping me out with that, and everyone else for their suggestions.