ENSONIQ Mirage DSK-1 User Manual download pdf

This article is reproduced on the Mirage

Net web site

http://www.webcom.com/jawknee/Mirage

with

permission of the author (Arthur N. Entlich) and the publisher (Transoniq Hacker). The text and

illustrations are

If this article is downloaded or printed, it must remain intact with copyright notice and disclaimers,

and it may not be reproduced for other than personal use without prior permission from the author.

You may also want to review Ensoniq's reply from the November, 1989 Transoniq Hacker.

MIRAGE DOUBLE-SIDED DRIVE CONVERSION

1997 Update:

Floppy drive technology has continued to march on since this article was written in

1989. Unfortunately, to the author's knowledge, the basic disk operating system for

the Mirage remains "stuck" in it's original incarnation, using a single-sided 360K

(formatted) 3.5" disk drive system. The following article explains how to replace the

single-sided drive that came with most Mirage models with a more standard double-

sided 720K (formatted) 3.5" drive. This conversion allows you to use standard

double density double-sided disks as two single-sided storage media, with side "A"

and side "B". The article explains this in more detail.

In recent years, most computers systems have moved away from the 720K

(formatted) double-density double-sided disk drive to a 1.44 megabyte (formatted)

High Density (HD) double-sided type of floppy drive. These drives will NOT work in

your Mirage with this conversion.

There are, however, many 720K double-density double-sided 3.5" disk drives sitting

around in basements, garages, and probably, landfills, so they should be available

inexpensively. Also, the HD disks used in the newer 1.44 megabyte HD disks offer no

advantage (and perhaps some disadvantages) to the 720K formatted double-density

disk. Although most stores no longer carry the 720K 3.5" disks, they too are

available in the surplus and used marketplace for next to nothing.

Be forewarned, the following conversion involves opening your Mirage, some minor understanding of

electronics, and some soldering. If you, or someone you know well, does not feel comfortable with

these concepts, this article is NOT for you. Opening your Mirage, and this conversion (although

reversible) will likely void any warranty you have on your instrument. Although every effort has been

made to supply accurate, exacting information, due to the fact that there are several models of

Mirage available, the possibility of typographical error, or errors in comprehension by the reader,

neither this web site nor the author can take any responsibility for damages or injury as the result of

attempting the project outlined in this article.

Back in the early days of disk drives most of us had computers which used single sided 5.25" floppy

disk drives. It didn't take long for people with these drives to figure out that if they punched an extra

write-protect notch opposite the one the manufacturers put in the diskette jacket, that they could flip

the diskette over and use the other side to store double the information on the diskette. This not only

cut the cost of diskettes in half, but also made it possible to use half the space storing your diskettes,

and halve the weight when sending diskettes in the mail.

Well, technology marched on, and soon the 3.5" floppy diskette format was developed. There were

plenty of advantages to this format. The disk drive was considerably smaller and lighter, the diskettes

Page

sur

MIRAGE DOUBLE

SIDED DRIVE CONVERSION

11/01/2011

http://www.synthzone.com/midi/ensoniq/mirage/DriveConversion.html

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Summary of Contents

Page 1

This article is reproduced on the Mirage-Net web site http://www.webcom.com/jawknee/Mirage with permission of the author (Arthur N. Entlich) and the p

Page 2 - Opening your Mirage

were smaller, stored much more data, and were much less prone to damage due to their rigid plastic jacket and metal shutter. When the Mirage was first

Page 3

FIGURE 1 shows the Mirage from the top, as if it was transparent. The screws and legs on the underside of the Mirage are marked. Take out the two scre

Page 4

protecting the disk drive. There are also four more screws slightly inset from these. Remove the four outermost screws first, being careful not to los

Page 5 - How to find the right drive

currently have, since you will not be able to fit it in the space available. A shorter drive will fit with a small gap, which may work out well since

Page 6

fit in the space from your old drive. Also, check those connections on the back of the drive once more to make sure you have a 34 pin and 4 pin plug,

Page 7

31 and 32, which are the ones next to the last pins in the group. Solder one wire to the PC board at pin 31, and the other wire to the PC board at pin

Page 8

Installing the Double-Sided Drive Look over your new drive for a set of jumpers or bridges which connect pairs of pins. Look specifically for ones lab

Page 9 - Jumping to a Conclusion

Once you believe the cables are correctly connected, you may wish to test your Mirage before putting it completely back together. Mount the disk drive

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ENSONIQ Mirage DSK-1 User Manual

Browse online or download User Manual for Digital pianos ENSONIQ Mirage DSK-1. MIRAGE DOUBLE-SIDED DRIVE CONVERSION

Summary of Contents

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