Commander X16 Serial / MIDI Wavetable Board Demo

I've been working on a project for the Commander X16. Ok, several projects, but this one is nearing completion. I still have some more testing to do, but I think I have all of the HW bugs worked out. Still need to test the serial port further and MIDI in.
Please note, I messed up the MG-1 audio. I accidentally exported it as 8-bit PCM from Audacity. Whoops. Honestly, it's hard to notice until there is some dead space. My Moog is not this noisy IRL. :-)

[@derekluciani]

Sweet! The sound capabilities you’ve chosen are the reason I bought the x16

[@slithymatt]

Great work, Kevin! And congrats on remembering to power off the motherboard before installing the expansion card. 😉

[@railsrust]

I think it's wonderful you're making Midi an optional card for the X16. Another computer that had a YM2151 was the Sharp X68000, and it also supported Midi. In fact, a lot of games had both FM/PCM audio and Midi as options.

[@thorpejsf]

This is awesome, Kevin. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.gif

[@BrandonBlume]

Can't wait to get me one of these.

[@GianmarioScotti]

I, too, love midi. And those old, CV-controlled analog synths.

[@drdiesel1]

Wow great work, and speaking of BBSs, really looking forward to that and a network card.

[@retrig202]

Wow, both the S2 and X1 sound fantastic. I think I may prefer the S2 slightly. I won't judge the Yamaha on its General MIDI. Nice work. I'm excited and will grab whatever you come up with.

[@Jody_VE5SAR]

I agree - both are great, but I like the S2 better myself.

[@RetroAnachronist]

Can’t wait to be able to buy one of these expansion boards. When will they be available for purchase?

[@MurrayDagostino]

Amazing work, I bet LGR approves 😂

[@TexElec]

I'm using his X1 Dreamblaster in this vid. :-) I asked if he had an extra awhile back.

[@LambdaHalbe]

Thank you for your efforts. Both serial and MIDI are on my wishlist too for the X16. Hope this makes it into some product or diy kit. One thing I would like to have as X16 addon card is a GPIB/HPIB/IEEE488 interface - guess I'm the only one ;) ?.

[@TexElec]

We have serial IEC of-course, but I do plan to make a dual 65C22 card. I just haven't figured out the exact form, but that plus a few 75150/151 driver ICs and you will have an IEC parallel port.

[@LambdaHalbe]

@@TexElec Thank you, sounds great. On the old PET those drivers where missing badly. I orderd a port prototype card just to be prepared.

[@f15sim]

Any ETA on when the card will be available? :)

[@MegamanEXEv2]

The Yamaha is actually closer to how I am used to hearing Canyon.mid lol

[@kargaroc386]

I know this is supposed to be late 80s/early 90s-like so yeah there's wavetables, but once the sheen wears off, its "just" a souped up ROMpler which is almost the most boring synthesizer type you could possibly make. The YM2151 on the other hand, actually generates every sound sample itself, which I find to be more impressive.

[@TexElec]

One of my main goals with this video is to show the audio output on the X16 when piping sources via the bus. With two cards plugged in, the impedance will change a bit, so I was testing to see if the noise levels were sill acceptable. There is somewhat of a comprimise on the board since the volume levels of any source are not controllable. I was constrained to through hole parts, so I did what I could. There are tons of wavetable modules out there, these are just the two I happen to have in my possession. Not every sound is for everyone, I get it. But this will allow many more options for those who want it.