Emulator I

Overview

The Emulator Dawn The original Emulator was developed as a complete change in direction by the analog modular synthesizer company, E-mu Systems. The initial idea came about after the E-mu team saw the first Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI) at the AES show in 1980. Development of a cheaper competitor version to the famous Fairlight started in May 1980, and the Emulator was released into full production in January 1981.

Slow Sales By the end of 1981 sales had really slowed down, mainly due to the lack of any kind of VCA/ADSR to handle different envelopes. Fortunately there was enough spare space on the circuit boards to rapidly sort the problem, and the upgrade was made to all Emulators. A revised "mark 2 " Emulator with a lower price, VCA's, and a cool software sequencer was launched at NAMM 1982 in Chicago. It went on to sell 25 units per month for the next two years. The production run was closed down in the Fall of 1983, rather too early, because the Emulator II was late, and did not arrive for another six months. Marketing had got it wrong again . . .and E-mu Systems nearly went bust as a result. That's a different story though !!

What's in a Name The code name for this new musical instrument was the sampler. However it was Ed Rudnick that came up with a better name - Emulator , after searching the Thesaurus. The name was a perfect match with E-mu Systems, and it has remained as the name for high quality sampling to this very day.

Voices The 2 voice model was quickly discontinued due to the lack of customer demand. The 4 and 8 voice remained in production, although the 8 voice was the most practical.

What no VCF? The Emulator has just a simple low pass filter on each voice with just one control - cutoff ! There is no traditional filter envelope or Q control. So JLCooper designed a retro fit for a 24dB filter and dual ADSR envelope's. This was known as the Generator Modulator or Gen Mod. It was fitted on to the top surface of the casing, on the right hand side of the disk tray.

Success or Failure The Emulator was a ground breaking instrument at a new lower price point. However, whilst it signalled a new and productive direction for E-mu Systems, it did not sell in sufficient volumes to guarantee E-mu's future. This was left to the Drumulator and Emulator II, which were both based on the original Emulator, but sold in much higher numbers. The Emulator II became the professional musicians chosen sampler for the mid - late 1980's. Whilst the Emulator I rapidly became outdated, and it is now a collectors item, rather than a practical instrument. However it still cooks!

1981 Sampling To quote Dave Rossum and Marco Alpert from the Emulator Operations Manual - " Most of all, use your imagination and don't be afraid to experiment. The Emulator can be very powerful tool for the creative artist. If enough people take advantage of its capability we are going to make one hell of a lot of money."

Famous Samples The Emulator sample library was used on many famous tracks in 1981 - 83, perhaps the most unusual is the Mexican radio sample which was used in both the bar scene of BladeRunner the film, and forms the basis of the OMD track "Junk Culture"

Adverts

Breaking the Sound Barrier

The Emulator. Finally there's nothing standing between you and the sound you want. Any sound you want. Instruments. Voices. Sound effects. Animals. Machines. Anything. Sounds that sounded real because they are real. Not synthesized simulations but the actual digitally recorded sounds.

You can start with a selection of pre-recorded sounds from the extensive Emulator sound library. Or exercise your creativity. Plug a microphone or line level source into your Emulator and sample a sound of your choice. Instantly it is digitized, stored in memory, and available to be played polyphonically on the keyboard. You can record the sound of any existing instrument exactly as you want it. Or create entirely new instruments from everyday sounds around you.

But recording your sound is only the beginning. Use the Emulator's controls to edit, filter, and tune it. Store it on diskette as part of your personal sound library. Experiment with it. Add vibrato or pitchbend. Use the Emulator's doubling mode to combine it with other sounds. Or activate backwards mode and play it in reverse. Overdub parts on the built in polyphonic sequencer. Create complex multitrack compositions and effects tracks without the need for a multitrack tape recorder.

If you need still more power, use our new multi-sample recording technique to split the keyboard into up to twelve sections with a separate sample in each section. Or install an optiuonal interface nand connect your Emulator to your personal computer, external sequencer, or a tape recorder for multiple synchronized sequences. And since the Emulator is a software based instrument, adding new functions is simply a matter of loading a new diskette.

If you are a bit skeptical, let us convince you. Send $1.00 for the Emulator demonstration record. Listen to what we've done with it. Imagine what you can do with it.

The Emulator. Approaching the future at the speed of sound.

Keyboard Magazine January 1982 The upgraded Emulator I was announced at NAMM 82, but it was the original model that was advertised in Keyboard magazine the same month - as "magic" !

Keyboard Magazine October 1982 Breaking the Sound Barrier Later in 1982 the Emulator adverts were a bit more explicit about what the Emulator could actually do!

Reviews

Keyboard Magazine reviewed the Emulator in March 1982. We have obtained permission from Keyboard Magazine to reprint the complete review article.

March 1982 Keyboard Magazine Review (34KB)

Analog Voltage Interface

Overview The Emulator I was released before the advent of MIDI in 1983. The MIDI specification was created by Sequential Circuits and Yamaha, and E-mu Systems were not able to add their influence. They were after a RS422 serial protocol - which is much faster than MIDI. This is why early Emulators and Emax's had the RS422 serial interface - which allowed connection to Mac computers. Dave Rossum (quite rightly) thought this was a better and faster interface than MIDI. However MIDI won the day, and the faster RS422 standard never took hold.

So although the Emulator I eventually gained a JLCooper MIDI external interface, for the first few years owners were after a CV/Gate interface to enable the Emulator to be driven from other keyboards and most importantly from the new microprocessor digital sequencers - such as the Roland MC4 and MC8. Thus was born the Analog Voltage Interface, model number 6040.

Tomita The original Analog Voltage Interface was probably commissioned by Tomita for use in his 1981 Album of Orchestral music, with the Emulator playing Timpani from a MC4B or MC8. The Steve Miller Band used an E1 and this interface on their early 1980's albums. Vince Clarke used one in 1983, probably with his famous MC4B.

Blue Box The Analog Voltage Interface is a large metal blue box with a sloping front. There are 8 sets of CV and Gate jack inputs, located right on the front panel, one for each of the eight voice channels of the Emulator I. Below these inputs are eight toggle switches which control the mode of each channel. The three modes are:

• Test - manually switches the channel CV into the E1
• Internal - switches the test CV off
• External - external gates control the E1

The Blue box links up to the Emulator I via a standard RS232 serial cable. The socket is round the back of the AVI. The voltage per octave can be trimmed via a trimmer which can be accessed through a small hole in the AVI front panel. The AVI must be used with the correct Emulator OS software, or samples can be damaged.

AVI Software The special Emulator OS version for the AVI box has some additional functionality.

• Mono Mode - monophonic mode on channel 1
• Disable/Enable - turns AVI control on and off
• Gate Test LED - GET SEQ LED shows key on/off
• Scan Rate Control - speeds up the response time to CV's

Technical The AVI has a Z80 micro-processor running at 5MHz with a 2716 EPROM for the simple operating system. The control voltages are read by an ADC0809 8-bit analog to digital converter. The AVI software behaves as if it were the internal sequencer, so this functionality is disabled in the Emulator. The keyboard is still active, but its best to switch it off using the Scan Rate Control, as the response to CV/gates improves by 10ms to 3 - 4ms.

Success? Well this box is pretty rare, probably around 50 or so were produced in 1981/83. We know of only three in existence today. When we spoke with Dave Rossum in July 2000, he commented that it was one of the more unusual and less successful items that E-mu Systems made in the 1980's. However low demand for a CV/Gate interface, is understandable, especially once MIDI took off.

Connections

The AVI is connected to the Emulator via a RS232 serial interface and cable. The Emulator acts as the DCE and has a DB25 female socket. The AVI acts as the DTE and has a male socket. The communication protocol is very basic with only TX, RX and GND signals being used by the AVI, although the Emulator has a more complete RS232 implementation. The RS232 socket is wired to the Emulator digital board via a ribon cable, and it enters the board via a DIL header called IC41. Therefore a standard serial cable wired as follows is required. Only the lower 3 connections need to be made.

Diagnostics

Overview The Emulator I has such a small amount of RAM (128 kbytes) that the diagnostics have to be loaded separately to the main program. The following diagnostic programs and PROM's were available from E-mu Systems.

• Calibration Diskette $10
• Disk Exerciser $10
• Disk Compatibility Tester $10
• GALPAT Diskette $10
• Memory Check PROM $25

All the diskettes were included with the $100 Service Manual.

Calibration Diskette The Emulator has 4 trimmers to be calibrated. The pitch wheel centre can be done with a DVM. The other three need the Calibration diskette to be booted up first. These trimmers control input offset, lower and upper frequencies. The panel LED's are used to display the trim.

Disk Exerciser This diskette tests the read and write capability of the Emulator floppy subsystem. It was designed to be used in burn-in, to locate all hard and soft errors. The program is once again booted from a special diskette, and then the drive is exercised 100 times a minute and the panel LED's display numbers of errors.

Disk Compatibility This is a factory written diskette which is used at burn-in to check the drive will read stock diskettes. The program is booted from the diskette, it then reads the diskette and reports errors on the front panel LED's.

GALPAT Test This is a RAM exerciser, called a galloping pattern (hence GALPAT). Once again boot from this diskette, the program will then test out the complete memory. The OVERLOAD LED comes on if it finds an error. The address is displayed on the other LED's. The exact chip that has failed can be identified.

Memory Check PROM If the RAM fails to a large degree then it may not be able to run a GALPAT test. In this case insert this handy test PROM into the Boot PROM location and power on. A memory test will take place, and the panel LED's will show where the failure is.

Channel Disable In OS 3.5 and above E-mu Systems implemented a disable channel feature. This should be used if a voice fails or distorts. It only works between power on and off. To disable a channel:

• Press and hold SAMPLE and press GET UPPER
• Now press a key on the keyboard
• Low "C" disables channel 0, "C#" channel 1, etc.
• Press the same key to re-enable the voice

Operating Guide

Overview The Emulator I has a basic and very small operating system which is loaded from disk when power is first switched on. There is no LCD, and all operations are made via the 19 front panel controls. The transformers give an audible buzz !

Sound Storage There are four buttons. Get Upper, Get Lower (each taking 7 seconds to load a sample), and Save (both Lower and Upper samples are saved in 20 seconds) and Swap (switch samples between Lower and Upper zones).

Output A single control knob for Mix output volume, the zone volumes are always at maximum.

Dynamic Allocation Switch this on and the Emulator forgets the 5/3 voice split between Lower and Upper, and allocates voices freely to the keys that are depressed.

Vibrato There is a single Rate knob, and buttons for selecting the Upper or Lower zones.

Sustain/Filter The Upper and Lower zones can be separately selected via two dedicated buttons. Another button switches this module between looping and filter truncation.

There are two dual purpose sliders for both Start Point/Truncate and Loop Length/Filter Cutoff. These controls enable sample looping (by audio not visual means!), sample truncation and the cutoff point of the simple low pass voice filters.

Master Tune Each zone (Upper and Lower) has its own rotary tuning control.

Input There is a sample input level (attenuation), a gain switch (0, -20, -40dB), a start sampling button, and an overload LED.

Filters & Envelopes To put it simply - there aren't any ! Well there is low pass filter cutoff (no envelope) and there is a two mode release function. The two release modes are:

1. short release stops the moment the key is released
2. natural release continues playing to the end of the sample - no matter when the key is released.

The Release footpedal switches between these 2 modes

Doubling Step on the Accessory pedal and all the notes played on the Lower zone are also played on the Upper zone. This gives some useful chorus effects, especially when combined with the tuning control.

Multisampling Implemented as a software upgrade this enables between 2 and 12 samples to be recorded over the full 4 octaves, with pitch stretching reduced to 2 - 3 semitones per sample. This makes for much smoother sounds, as the transition between samples is not so radical. But remember with 12 multi-samples, you have only 0.33 seconds for each sample - on average !

Sequencer The EI originally had no sequencer, but most Emulators were upgraded with an eight voice, 900-note, 2 channel sequencer. The sequencer is controlled by a set of eight dedicated buttons next to the control wheels. Real time recording was possible, as well as note insertion at the end and start of a sequence, overdubbing and truncation of the sequence. Sequences could be stored to diskette. Impressive for 1981, but soon surpassed later in the 1980's.

Repairs

Overview The Emulator I is on the whole a reliable sampler but age is catching up with many of its components. However the rolled steel casing and some high quality components have kept it alive. The main problem areas are the PSU, the floppy drive, the keyboard, sliders and buttons.

Warning Please only attempt a repair yourself if you are competent at servicing electronics, use a service centre if in doubt. The Emulator is easily damaged or melted by amateur attempts at repair.

Keyboard The Emulator uses a 4 octave Pratt & Read assembly which was very popular in the 1970's for synthesizers without touch sensitivity or the new fangled "after touch" of the 1980's. These keyboards are robust and the contacts are reliable, however you will tend to get a keyboard wave as the individual keys settle down to slightly different heights. You will also find that the keyboard feel is clunky as the bushings age and become hard, and the keys will no longer centre properly.

Luckily these problems can still be sorted even though replacement keyboards are long since gone. The rubber bushings that are under each key can be replaced with new ones. This improves the feel and provides a straight line of centred keys. Here are the details. more »

Floppy Disk Drive The Emulator uses a full height Shugart SA400L 5.25" SS/DD floppy diskette, with 40 tracks and 180kb/250kb formatted/unformatted capacity. This is a very early floppy drive with a life span of just 5 years !

The drive can usually be repaired at a cost of $175+. We have limited stocks of new drives, contact us for details. The original SA400 (from which the L model is based) was the first 5.25" floppy drive in the world, when it was launched in 1976 (it was in production by mid 1977).

Digital to Analog Converters The Emulator uses 8-bit linear DAC88's which are kinda hard to locate but are still out there.

Filter Chips The Emulator uses SSM2044 analog filter chips, which occasionally fail and take a voice down. These are hard to locate but try DB Musical Electronics.

Slider Knobs Looking for replacement Slider Knobs for your EI? They are available from Farnell at www.farnell.com part number 766756.

Push Buttons The Emulator makes use of small momentary push buttons which are the same as used on the Prophet 5.

Fuseholder The Emulator uses a square black external fuse holder, with an internal red lid and fuse. These were made by Littelfuse and are: Low Profile Snap Mount 15A 250V Part Number 348871

Rotary Pots The Emulator uses high quality rotary and slider potentiometers which should never need replacing.

Power Supply The power supply is getting old by now and failure is not uncommon. One of the rails may go out of specification. Replacement PSU's are not available, so the best option is a service centre repair. It is very easy to service as it is made of discrete parts and its not a linear power supply.

Sample Diskette Library

Overview The initial factory sound library for the Emulator I was rather limited, and you had to buy blank formatted diskettes from E-mu Systems to create your own samples. It was quickly realised that a sample library was vital to achieving Emulator sales, and Kevin Monahan at E-mu developed a b factory library during 1982/83.

Sample Library The Emulator came with a Production Set of 10 diskettes, including Brass, Violin, Piano and FX. The diskettes came in a bright "E-mu" blue box. The factory library expanded throughout 1982, and there were 99 diskettes available in mid 1983 and 129 in the Fall of 1983. The majority of the samples were of acoustic instruments and FX, however the Synclavier and Prophet 5 did make an appearance!

The sample library continued to be available from E-mu for another five years, but eventually all the copies and even the masters were sold to customers. The Emulator Archive has built up a collection of over 200 sample diskettes and we have around 80% of the factory library.

Ordering Factory Samples E-mu initially allowed customers to request which two sample banks they wanted on each diskette that they ordered . A 10 character code identified each sample bank in the factory library and E-mu customised sample diskettes for every customer order. This approach proved unworkable once there were 100's of customers, and at the end of June 1983 they switched to a numbered set of factory sample diskettes with a pre -determined pair of sample banks. Customers could then order a diskette number from the Master Sound Library Index.

The Sample Bank Numbers The 10 character code for sample bank identification was as follow: XX-YYY-ZZZS or XX-YYY-ZZZMn

• XX = two digit number that identifies the Sound Family
• YYY = three digit number to identify the Instrument
• ZZZ = three digit number representing differences in playing style

There then followed a code which determined how many samples where in the sample bank. The letter S denotes a single sample and Mn is a mult-sample with n samples within it.

Early sample diskettes were made up of two single samples. Once multi-sampling software became available in mid 1982, E-mu added around 20 multi-sampled instruments and FX. However most factory diskettes contained just two samples, as the sample time was so limited at 2 seconds for each bank.

Production SetThe Emulator came with 10 factory sample diskettes called the Production Set. Here is a typical list of the samples that were in the set, although this did vary over time.

• Trombone/Trumpet
• Pipe Organ
• Korg Organ
• Elec Bass/Long Power Crd
• Pentatonic Harp
• Tympani/Orch Hit
• Steel Drum
• Vibes/Glockenspiel
• Simmonds Set #2
• Motor Cycle

Sound Families

• 00 Brass
• 01 Woodwinds
• 02 Voice
• 03 Strings
• 04 Acoustic Keyboards
• 05 Electric Keyboards
• 06 Guitar
• 07 Percussion
• 08 Special Effects
• 09 Miscellaneous
• 10 Demo Aids

Technical Architecture

Architecture The Emulator I is either a 2, 4 or 8 voice polyphonic digital sampling keyboard, which uses one Z80 microcomputer to reproduce 8-bit digital samples of any musical sound or instrument. The EI is entirely controlled by computer software which is loaded from diskette when it is powered on. The Z80 processor runs at a clock speed of 5MHz. The Boot PROM is 1kbyte.

The Z80 is utilised as a scanner CPU (descended from the Prophet 5 and Oberheim designs created by E-mu Systems in the 1970's), to regularly check the status of the keyboard, the control panel buttons, the control wheels and the footpedal and switch.The Z80 also runs the operating system, which is always loaded from disk. This program is 8k bytes, leaving 120k bytes of memory for samples.

Sample Memory The 128 Kbytes of sample memory on the Emulator consists of 64 x 16k bit DRAM's (4116's) fitted on the left hand side of the CPU board. The memory can not be upgraded. There are five Direct Memory Access (DMA) chips (the AMD9517A), that read the samples straight out of memory and deal with pitch shifting.

Voice Cards There are up to two 4 channel voice cards for converting the digital signals to analog. These cards are fitted to the base of the instrument on the left hand side. The samples go via a COMDAC digital to analog converter chip and then the SSM2044 filter chip and 5534 Op Amps.

Digital Sampling The Emulator I samples at 27.777kHz and at 12 bit resolution, but stores samples into memory (and disk) as 8 bits - by using hardware compression and expansion. This ups the dynamic range from 42dB, to a more respectable 72dB.

A tracking filter further reduces high frequency noise at the outputs, by closing down a low pass filter (SSM2044) as the pitch played descends down the keyboard. The SSM2044 is more familar as the VCF in the Korg Poly Six and PPG 2.2.

Hum that Again Our Emulator I has a rather noisy output, well around -50dB of mains hum on the output to be precise. It's worse on the jacks, than the XLR's.

Diskette Drive The EI uses a full height Shugart SA400L 5.25" Emulator I Floppy Drivefloppy diskette. This drive can store up to 180k bytes on a Single Sided/Double Density diskette. The Emulator I makes use of 128kbytes on the diskette. The format of the diskette is unique to the Emulator I, and requires the Emulator I formatting program. We have brand new Shugart SA400L drives in stock, email us for details.

Diskettes The EI uses SD/DD soft sectored 5.25" diskettes, Imation DS/DD Diskettesalthough DS/DD soft sectored 5.25" diskettes can also be used. High quality diskettes are recommended. Do not try and use HD diskettes, or DD diskettes that are hard sectored or IBM formatted. They will not work. We recommend Imation DS/DD.

There is essentially no difference between single and double density media, however high density media is very different, and should not be interchanged with single/double/quad density media. It has different magnetic properties (higher coercivity, requiring a higher write current from the disk drive).

Formatting HD media as DD is not a good idea; the media will be too weakly magnetized, and your data may be completely unreadable or may fade away after a while. These problems are worse on 5.25" disks than on 3.5" disks because the difference in coercivity is greater for 5.25" media, but they exist for both types of disk.

You cannot reliably distinguish between 5.25" HD and DD media if they are not labelled. There are a couple of ways of guessing: DD media usually has a hub reinforcing ring (but not always), while HD media generally does not. The color of the media also tends to be different; HD media is darker.

Revisions The Emulator CPU and Output boards went through a number of revisions. The last known revision was Rev 4, which is used in serial number 440. Most Emulators will have Rev 3 or Rev 4 circuit boards. If you have one of the first 20 Emulators manufactured, you almost certainly will have the Rossum kludge retro fit - which adds the envelope release (Rev 1 ?).

Schematics The Emulator I schematics, service and operation manuals have been kindly denoted to The Emulator Archive. These are available for service problems, contact us via email. The Audities Foundation is a non-profit organisation that also has copies of these manuals. You can visit them at www.audities.org

Upgrades & Add Ons

Factory Upgrades The Emu factory have long since stopped providing upgrades or spares for the Emulator I. Users are on their own, and there are no third party suppliers either.

GenMod The Emulator has just a simple low pass filter on each voice with just one control - cutoff ! There is no traditional filter envelope or Q control. So JL Copper designed a retro fit for a 24dB filter and dual ADSR envelope's. This was known as the Generator Modulator or Gen Mod . It was fitted onto the top surface of the casing, on the right hand side of the disk tray.

RS232 Early Emulators may not have an RS232 socket at all, or they have the socket but no internal wiring (as in the case of our Rev 3 Emulator I). A Rev 4 CPU board is needed for the RS232 to work.

Computer Upgrade If you had RS232 Serial interface upgrade then you could buy the Personal Computer software for the Emultaor I and use an Apple computer to control the sampler.

Analog Voltage Interface The Emulator I could be upgraded with an external hardware box to receive and transmit CV and Gate inputs. It connects via the RS232 socket.

MIDI The Emulator I launch predated MIDI. However later on in its life the Emulator I could be updated with a MIDI interface. This is an external box made by JLCooper, that plugs into the RS232 port. It comes with some software for the Emulator too!

Multi Sampling Initially the Emulator I had just 2 samples, upper and lower. However a Multi Sampling software facility was soon available, so that more than 2 samples could be used. Up to 12 samples can be recorded over the 4 octaves. Each sample can be a different length and can have different filter and loop settings. Samples can be different too.

The VCA Kludge The Emulator I was originally manufactured with no VCA. This meant sounds continued until the sample ended, even if a key was released. In late 1981 Scott Wedge designed a 50 wire kludge that was retrofitted by Dave Rossum onto all the early Emulators (around 20 in number). Fortunately there was enough space on the edge of the circuit board to do this. At the January 1982 NAMM E-mu Systems announced the revised Emulator I with a VCA as standard, and a software sequencer.

Memory The 128 Kbytes of memory can not be upgraded.

Engineering Change Orders The Emulator went through a number of minor revisions during its life, some to fix bugs, others to improve on features.

August 1981 Seven small fixes to the output and panel boards were made to fix PC board errors or reduce noise crosstalk. All Emulator I's have had this update.

September 1981 ECO's 21 - 24 provide the VCA Kludge and new foot pedal jacks. All Emulator I's have had this update, as it was a free factory upgrade.

December 1981 ECO 26 provides the sequencer upgrade, which was factory fitted on the Mark2 Emulators in 1982. The upgrade for 1981 Emulator owners was a $150 retrofit, or $50 to service centres.

April 1982 First an improvement to the AC harness to reduce hum, this was built in from serial number 70 onwards. Then minor changes to the digital board to enable the RS422 connection to be hooked up to the Analog Voltage Interface, new OS software was needed for this to work. It was a factory fit from serial number 70 onwards. The Rev 3 power supply was improved to reduce hum (this is needed on serial numbers 30 - 71)

May 1982 Rev 4 power supply gets an upgrade (s/n 100+).

June 1982 Trimmers changed and AC harness again improved.

July 1982 Some trace cuts around IC141.

August 1982 EPROM changed to being a 2716 rather than the old 2708 which was becoming hard to locate new. The EPROM was also updated to improve diskette drive operation, as well as some schematic corrections being made in the service manual.

Dating Your Emulator I You may want to know when your Emulator I was built, particularly if it is an early model.

• Serial Numbers below 30 (sometimes there is no serial number) are Mark 1 1981 models built before December 1981. They may have the sequencer update, and they almost certainly will have the VCA kludge too.
• Serial Numbers between 31 and 70 are Mark 2 models with the sequencer and were built from December 1981 to April 1982.
• Serial Numbers between 70 and 100 are Mark2 models and were built in April - May 1982.
• Serial Numbers between 100 and 500 ish are Mark2 models and were built between May 1982 and the Fall of 1983. Serial numbers above around 250 are 1983 models.

Sequencer In 1981 a software sequencer was added with eight voice polyphony, up to 900 notes and 2 channels. The sequencer has real-time record, basic editing and overdubbing facilities. The sequencer is controlled by eight buttons to the right of the pitch and modulation wheels.

On The Record A vinyl record of the Emulator I was produced to market the new sampler. We hope to locate one soon.

Manuals The Emulator initially came with a 30 page preliminary manual, however this seems to be the only user manual through out the models life. Our September 1982 Rev4 Emulator still came with the "preliminary" manual!

OS Disks The Emulator is dead without its Operating System, and Emulator I Diskettehard to use without the User Formatting and Multi Sampling software. We can provide copies of these vital disk for users, as E-mu Systems can provide no support at all. Visit the EmuArc shop to buy them.

The latest known OS version is 3.11. The OS naming convention is EP8S.nnxx. Where nn is the version number and xx is the release number. The Emulator I can not display the OS version (as there is no LCD!) but the diskettes are labelled from the factory.

Service PROM's To enable the Emulator I to be serviced E-mu Systems created a number of programs on 1 Kbyte EPROM's, so that the microprocessor could run a different program than the usual boot OS. To make these work you have to replace the boot EPROM with the appropriate service EPROM, and then switch on.

The Emulator Disk Alignment EPROM enables the diskette drive to be calibrated.

The Emulator Memory Check EPROM enables the RAM to be checked out without needing the RAM to run the OS.

Copy Protection System diskettes are frequently paired to the machine they came with, as originally the software was copy protected with a hardware resistor configuration. This meant diskettes could only be used with the Emulator that created them. Later versions of the OS were changed to remove this software protection, after complaints from users with multiple Emulator I's (lucky people!).

You may still find an Emulator I refuses to read a new or a different system diskette. In this case, take the write protect tab off the diskette, so the EI can write its unique serial number signature to the diskette. Sample diskettes do not have this issue.

Safety Always make at least 2 copies of each of your OS diskettes, and make new copies every 5 years (as the magnetic surface does deteriorate over time).