From: eric@tvnews.tv.tek.com (Eric F. Dorondo)
Subject: Re: Problem with SBPRO
Organization: Tektronix TV Measurement Systems, Beaverton, OR
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 07:44:37 GMT

In article <qmLcwB5w165w@precipice.chi.il.us> vikki@precipice.chi.il.us (Victoria Welch) writes:
>dweldy@digirolamo.ecn.purdue.edu (Dennis E Weldy) writes:
>seto@ll.mit.edu (Seton Seto) writes:
>
>>	Can someone help me please?  Whenever I booted up my computer,
>> I would get feed back and as soon as the computer set the volume
>> and everything, the feedback is amplified and is unbearable.  The
>> one way I did fix it was to go and use the TEST-SBP.EXE and after
>> going through all the tests, the feedback would disappear.  I
>> called tech support and they said exchange the card.  I did and
>> the problem persists.  Anybody experience this before?  Thanks.
>
>This message was semi-grunged here, sorta looked like a
>fight-o-net style message, but I think I managed to recover it
>?!?
>
>We have already gone through one card as you described above the
>new one doesn't do it quite so badly, but it still does it.  The
>drivers, etc., that came with the replacement card are the same
>as the stuff that came with the original.
>
>My husband is an engineer and is quite unimpressed with the SBP
>from a hardware point of view.  I still haven't decided as to
>keep the thing and may well return it.  The software is crude and
>docs are pathetic.  Unfortunately, at about $120 from egghead it
>is in my affordable price range, which, it looks like about all
>that can be said for it 8-).
>
>My husband gave me a long disertation on inherent problems in the
>ibm pc design that would directly affect what is going on here,
>unless it is dealt with for each speed range of processor.  From
>what I can gather from all this, a solution for a 6 Mhz AT would
>be useless on a 486/50 and a solution for the 486/50 would make a
>6 Mhz at too slow to use.  From what I have seen of the software
>for the SBP, I doubt that CL has anyone there who has any
>expertise in this class of hardware.
>
>I am about to the point of forgetting sound for the pc and
>getting a mac or just playing around with the MPU401 and the
>synth.  It seems that the options here are affordable and very
>poor quality or totally "non-standard" and bloody expensive.
>
>If anyone has any comments to me on this, you might want to do it
>via email as I think my news feed is going away at the first of
>the year.
>
>Take care, Vikki.
>==============================================================================
>* Vikki Welch, Sysadmin, Welch Research (vikki@precipice.chi.il.us) WV9K     *
>* Disclaimer standard,  You mean someone actually *cares* about my opinions? *
>*                    Feel lucky????  Update your software!                   *
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


It sounds like the SBPro needs a hardware reset, and soon as you access the 
test-sbp, it sets itself to defaults and becomes quiet.  I too had this problem
but after a couple of boards I found one that was quiet in my system, (a 
386dx/25) upon bootup.  I've tried a few boards since (that I was trying to
install for friends) and they too had feedback and noise until I ran the test
program.  I talked with a friend just last night that downloaded a bunch of
junk from CL BBS and he said he got a little patch program that CL says to
install in your autoexec.bat right after the set volume command that will re-
set the SBPro hardware that will supposedly do what the test program will do
to quiet it.  I guess I am quite lucky that I stumbled into a board that just
happens to consistently be quiet.  The only thing that it does now thats odd
is after I run the 4 operator test, the stupid thing feedbacks with a high
pitch squeal for about 20 seconds, fading as it goes until its quiet, it also
does it after I use jukebox in Windows.  (By the way, the units egghead sells
has all the software on the disk except one little file  in the win31 
directory that allows one to install the sbpro in windows, otherwise you got to
do it manually.  I discovered that when I ran across a board bought from a
different store, the s/n of the board was in the 5xxx,xxx range, I can't find
one from egghead any higher than in the xxxx4xxx,xxx range.  Other than that,
all other files are the same, I did a compare in all directories.)

As a side note, it seems that alot of Packard Bell owners that bought SBPros
have had a high incedents of hardware incompatabilities, from odd occurances
to not getting them to work at all.  To be more specific, I have installed
sbpros into 2 packard bells, one a Legend or Force (can't remember) but it
wouldn't work at all, well actually it worked only in 2 operator mode but soon
as one tried 4 operator, the system got clobbered somehow so that 2 operator
nor 4 operator would ever work again until you reset the whole computer.  I
finally got it to work by using the sb-basic mono unit that only has 2 operator.This way I was assured of never seeing 4 oper.  The people are happy cause
they think thats all there is (not knowing about the pro), and all the games
work ok, and the fm organ works ok so they are none the wiser.  Other than
that I would have to tell them to sell the PB computer (if they could) and
go get a more standardized computer with a real motherboard.  God I hate Pack
Bell, they have created so many headaches for people that will try to go
multimedia soon, I hope it bites that wretched corporation so they will go
out of business.  The other Pack Bell machine I put a sbpro into was the 
Packmate series and it exibited no problems.  The only thing I didn't like
was they put LPT1 at IRQ7 with no motherboard jumpers to set it to the normal
place of IRQ5, so I had to put the SBPro at IRQ5, but all games play and
windows 3.1 work fine, no problems.  I know the Force series has problems and
I got a sneaken' hunch its in the DMA end of it, I know that is crucial but
its only a guess why they don't work, and of course PB knows they can save
a penny by leaving out some critical piece of the DMA or something in their
asic.  
We need more PB owners to write in and share good/bad experiences with the
sbpro.  If enough dissatisfied owners write in, I wonder if a class action
suit wouldn't be in order, not that it would help, PB would just say they
never said it was mmedia ready.  What a joke.
Well, I guess you can tell I'n not all fired up.  I take it personal when
I have to tell people, sorry, you bought junk and your going to have to trade
it in, you might get 350 bucks for what you paid 1500 for, even though its
386sx or whatever, but other than that you can forget stereo sound.

I know PB uses the riser board for its periferal slots, and so does Leading
Technology, Epson (I think), and a whole load of others, I just wonder if
these other brands are having problems with sound boards.  If not then its
got to be some proprietary asic from PB that is the problem here.

We need to hear from other people on this one.  Share your experience.
									-eric