The IB-S56USB card, hardware name PC-S56USB, is available. For now, the bracket is provided as a PCB version and fits correctly at the back of the S5000/S6000.
Please note that you will need to change the screw type and use two 3mm diameter screws with nuts, which must be positioned by hand from inside the machine. There is plenty of room, so it is very easy to do.
For the time being, I have been able to test communication using the S56sys software. It works perfectly.
Note, however, that communication or the S5/6 itself can sometimes freeze. Unfortunately, this is 'normal'. The limited power of the 386 processor in the S5/6 series and the USB encapsulation implemented by AKAI cause this type of problem, though fortunately only on rare occasions.
I still have two recent software solutions to test for these samplers. First of all, James Tubbritt's solution: S56K-Editor. :
But that's not all, I have also discovered another tool, which is also recent, and has the unique feature of being available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is s5000-tools.
I have no idea how this software works. I think I will look into it last, when I have more time available.
And finally, the availability of a driver allowing the connection of an S5000 / S6000 to a Windows 11 PC running Akai's original AKsys software:
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| https://github.com/connectivezone/Aksys-Win11-Shim-S56-Z48-MPC4000 |
Finally, I am going to set up a static webpage on a website, which will allow anyone to check the progress of this project, as well as the procedure to follow to order one or more cards, depending on availability.
Apart from testing a few software programs, I have reached the end of the development phase for this S5000 / S6000 USB communication board.
I tried to look into what could be done to improve the USB transfer speed, which is currently running at USB 1.1 speeds. Although I found some information, it won't be possible to use existing hardware, typically to rewrite a system. Unfortunately, the resources available on the web are not very open to sharing.
I need to finish a few other ongoing projects first, and then I will revisit the S5000 project using entirely new, more powerful hardware, which will most likely come in a different form factor.
