In the 100620 MMDigest Glenn Thomas inquired after a replacement for
the Octet UM-2.  Over the last seven years I have worked out a number
of comparable MIDI solutions.   These include an Octet compatible driver
board primarily developed for perforator control.

My current system design consists of two circuit boards.  The board
that I currently have extra stock of converts the MIDI wireline signals
to 5-volt logic signals.  This is comparable to the boards offered for
sale in England under the j-Omega name.  I have 48- and 128-note
versions of this converter board, which have been offered from time to
time on eBay.

The second board of the system is a magnet driver circuit used to
control the valves used in Spencer Chase's e-valve block.  This driver
could be adapted to work with magnets already installed into a pipe
chest.

I was also successful in restoring an Octet UM-1 board, which had every
damaged chip replaced.  Some of the issues with the Octet designs
(which date from the 1980 time frame) are that some of the integrated
circuits are no longer viable.  The driver chip (which is also compatible
with my system) is usually out of stock with a 13-week lead time.  At
the moment the chip is still being made, mostly to satisfy repair and
replacement needs.

It could be that the folk behind Midiator have not been able to get
parts.  I did hear last fall that the owner of Midiator had some health
problems and might be unable to continue the business.

I am able to offer repair service on the Octet product line.  I also
have circuit boards that can read MIDI files from floppy drive, Compact
Flash cards or SD cards.

I have also been busy over last few months working on pure non-MIDI
pneumatic stack and roll frame rebuilds.  I had hoped to make the AMICA
meeting in Buffalo, however my repair work has left me without the time
to sign up for the convention.

Julie Porter