LAPC-N

[endre1952]

Not sure it was worth it, but I got an LAPC-N card together with the MCB-2 breakout box, for a fairly cheap price from Japan. There isn't any way to make it work externally, without a PC-88 computer, is there? Well, I may try to obtain a working PC-88 eventually...

One more question, while I don't have an LAPC-I anymore, and may never get one again, could the breakout box for the LAPC-N be used with the LAPC-I, or is the pinout different?

[endre1952]

Yeah, that's the one I bought. Okay, I will make some photos, although I don't have a good quality digital camera.

[Great Hierophant]

I had never seen a MCB-2 before now, so thanks for posting.  The MCB-2 has two Midi-ins and two Midi-outs.  One pair of midi in/out ports is labeled MPU, the other is labeled LA (for transmission on midi channels 1, 10-16 perhaps?)

How you switch between the sets is beyond me and probably anyone else without the reference manual and can read Japanese.  Both MCB-1 & MCB-2 use a DA-15 connector.  The MCB-1 has one midi in, two midi outs, one midi sync, tape in and out and metronome out.  Since there are substantial differences, I would suggest they are not directly compatible. 

[Cloudschatze]

... the other is labeled LA (for transmission on midi channels 1, 10-16 perhaps?)

The "LA" MIDI ports simply bypass the MPU. If you think of the LAPC-N in terms of an external module, these are the two ports you would use. (The CM-32LN has the same MIDI port configuration, due to its internal MPU.) Pretty handy actually, since you can actually receive requested SysEx data, unlike with the LAPC-I...

With proper power applied, I expect that the LAPC-N can be used standalone. Something cheap can probably be rigged up, but there are also a number of external PC-98N I/O expansion units that can likely be used. However, given that the LAPC-N, CM-32LN, and CM-500 all share the same buggy LA synthesis, I'm not sure that it would be the most worthwhile boondoggle...

   

[Great Hierophant]

It is a shame that Roland never made a waveblaster-interface compatible LA daughterboard.  The LAPC-N is proof that it would have been possible, even if it would have been a large daughterboard (the NEC-98xx expansion slots seem wider than PC slots.)

[Cloudschatze]

In case you own these photographs can you upload these to Wikimedia?

They are my photos, but I'd prefer not to widely publicize them. I've been meaning to pick up a lightbox kit for some time, so let me work on that first, and I'll upload a (better-quality) photo to Wikimedia as soon as I can.

[endre1952]

Has anybody ever actually tested an LAPC-N card? I guess, with all the LA modules I own, there isn't much point in using it outside a PC-88 computer, except perhaps (if it does work externally with just power given) installing it inside a PC as a rather cheap alternative to the LAPC-I...

[Cloudschatze]

Has anybody ever actually tested an LAPC-N card?

Unless things have changed in the past few years, your question has a very narrow audience.

I obtained a PCI/C-Bus adapter some time back that I'd hoped to use with the LAPC-N, but never got around to actually doing anything with it.