AKAI PC-S56USB card.

To properly finalize the development of this board—which is a modern clone of the original AKAI card—I need to create the metal mounting bracket for the rear panel of the S5000 rack.

In theory, the card can sit securely in the machine without this metal cover. For now, that’s the case for me. Indeed, the card retention system inside these AKAI units (S5000/S6000) is so well designed that expansion boards simply can't move around. Still, for the sake of proper finishing and EMC compliance, it's better to carry things through to the end.

So, I had to dive into 3D modeling. Since I didn't want to spend a fortune on professional software solutions, I naturally had to fall back on open-source options. That's how I (didn't really) choose FreeCAD. I'm using version 1.1.4.

Well, there’s certainly a lot to be said about using this software. While it isn't overly complicated, nothing about it is straightforward either. Overall, it feels like an archaic solution, inherited from 3D engines and design philosophies from the early 2000s. You’ll find plenty of criticisms about it online, and in my opinion, they are quite justified.

However, its saving grace is that it exists and gets the job done—especially for small projects like this one—without wasting too much time. Assuming, of course, that spending three days to design a simple plate with a few holes can be considered 'not too much time'. Keeping in mind as well that I'm not an engineer and have no background or training in any of this.

So, after a few days of learning, here's what the card should ultimately look like:

 

and the back of the card :

I still have to double-check a few dimensions, because the assembly is pretty precise. Then I'll have a few prototypes made. To do that, I'll need to find the right material and make sure the part's design works well with the supplier's cutting capabilities. It's going to be another learning curve, but it helps me build my skills and will open up new possibilities—especially for 3D-printed plastic parts, now that I can model 3D objects fairly well.

And now for something completely different!

While waiting to receive the printed circuit board for the MSX cartridge, I started working on making a compatible USB card for the AKAI S5000/S6000 samplers.

The reason is that I know someone who is developing a new version of AKSYS that works perfectly under Windows 10 & 11. It turns out that not all Akai S5/6000 machines were shipped with this card. That's a shame.

So I studied the card I own and looked into whether it might be possible to create a new version.

It turns out that it is.

On the one hand, a USB component compatible with the one on the original USB card still exists today. And on the other hand, I was able to retrieve the logic equations of the PAL chip that is on this card.

For now, these equations seem to be correct, since I was able to repair another original but faulty USB card using a GAL programmed with my equations. So I am hopeful that this will work, even though the decoding performed by the original PAL is quite unusual.

The card's schematic is also unusual. Without going into too much detail, some functions are implemented by first latching a kind of register — registers made out of resistors and capacitors.

In short, the read and write functions are not direct but require going through other operations first.

In any case, I have completed the schematic and then the PCB for this card :

So, I have no idea whether this new card will work or not. The only way is to test it and compare the signals with the original card if it doesn't work.

Next steps after the first tests....