Hello MMD'ers,  I just read Craig Brougher's treatise on e-roll systems
and need to add a few comments.

First off, I have installed the first generation Gerety-Chase system
on my Ampico.  I also (by my request) was one of the first customers
for Spencer's Mark II E-Roll system.  Both systems have performed
remarkably well.  The main reason for this is the suburb valve system
that Spencer designed.

The Gerety version worked very well, but suffered from software bloat
-- more esoteric stuff than anyone other than a geek could deal with.
If Spencer hadn't preprogrammed it to Ampico A it would have been a
pain, but I would have figured it out eventually; it required an
obsolete RS 232 interface.

Spencer's new Mark II system (I have no idea if he calls it this) has
worked flawlessly!  I received one of the first six produced (in April
2007) and, other than some minor corrections I pointed out to Spencer
in the manual (mainly typos), there were zero problems.  Spencer's
support has always been great, and the new system installation was no
exception.

My installation is into a 1912 Wurlitzer orchestrion.  As usual,
the instrument is unmodified except for interceptions to the tracker
bar tubes.  Spencer has adopted a KISS ("Keep It Simple, Stupid!")
philosophy for his Mark II E-valve system.  I was able to figure out
and map the appropriate MIDI valves to a map suitable for the Wurlitzer
in a short time, a very simple task!  When I had one minor problem,
Spencer was there to help!

As an EE with 30-plus years in consumer electronics I can highly
recommend the Spencer Chase E-valve system as being the leading edge
in this recent adaptation of technology.  But until there is sufficient
demand to invest several hundred thousand dollars into tooling, the
price won't go down -- period.  I just hope Spencer is finally making
a dollar or two on this.  My guess is that he has earned much less than
U.S. minimum wage on this project if he added it all up.

Regards, Larry Emmons