- Joined
- Oct 12, 2021
- Messages
- 25
- Karma
- 22
- Gear owned
- DM4800 / MBP (OS 10.15.5)
Hello All,
I have successfully converted a DM3200 Mainboard to a DM4800 Mainboard, and wanted to share my findings here. I hope that this information will be helpful to the community and aid in keeping these boards running for years to come! This solution can also be used to convert a DM4800 mainboard to a DM3200 mainboard.
A few weeks ago I booted up my DM4800, and to my dismay an error message popped up that I couldn't get past:
"Mixer Device Boot Failed - (DSP-A SRAM)"
I originally tried taking it to an audio repair shop here in NJ, but after hearing that it would take them 45 weeks to even take a look at it because they were too backed up on orders, I decided to take the DIY route. I downloaded every piece of documentation I could find about the board, and researched as much as I could about the internals. I eventually learned that the unit's DSP chips (which I believe are used for the onboard effects) were located on the DM's Mainboard. So I thought to myself, "Okay, maybe if I buy a new Mainboard, and swap it out, it should work just fine, right?"
I decided to buy a DM3200 in meh condition for around $400. I thought instead of getting just a mainboard (which noramlly sells for $300 on eBay) I would get another console for another hundred bucks, then part it out so I would have parts for the DM4800 if I needed them.
The DM3200 came in, I swapped the mainboard, and it worked! ...Sort of. Not really. Because I was putting a DM3200 Mainboard into a DM4800, it tried to act as if it was a DM3200, which meant it didn't recognize the extra 8 channels, and got confused with some of the other differences between the two boards. After about 5 minutes an error message would pop up and it would stop working until I restarted it
Now the weird thing is, the DM4800 and DM3200 share the same mainboard. Same part number, same layout, same everything. Except for ONE thing. There was a single chip that was labeled "DM4800 S00616010" on the DM4800, and one in the same place labeled "DM-3200 S00616000" on the DM3200. Using my ultimate caveman logic I thought to myself, "hm maybe this is the chip that controls wether the mainboard operates as a DM3200 or DM4800, and maybe if you swap them I could turn a working DM3200 mainboard into a DM4800 mainboard."
So I took it to a local phone repair shop that also did microsoldering. I told the guy that I needed the two chips swapped, he charged me $70 and got the job done. I got home, put the mainboard in, ...aaaaaand it didn't work. the board turned on but it was just a blank screen. However, on the board there are 4 LEDs that will light up in a certain pattern if there is a problem with the board. These patterns can be referenced to a list of errors in the board's service manual (not the owner's manual, there is a separate service manual). In this case, all 4 lit up, which meant that there could be faulty soldering on the board.
I brought it back to the shop, he took another look and cleaned up his work for free. (some of the pins on the chip were shifted over a bit) I took it back home, popped it back in, and it worked! I was like a kid on Christmas, so happy the board had new life in it again. By swapping that chip, the board successfully started operating like a DM4800 instead of a DM3200.
TLDR: There is a single chip on the mainboard that controls wether it functions as a DM3200 or DM4800. if you swap this chip from a DM4800 to DM3200 mainboard, it will function as a DM4800, and vice versa.
Note: I believe there are different versions of the mainboard with different part numbers, i'm not entirely sure if this procedure will work for those. I had TEAC E902855-00B boards, but i've seen some variation on the part number and the name of it on the mainboard itself
I have successfully converted a DM3200 Mainboard to a DM4800 Mainboard, and wanted to share my findings here. I hope that this information will be helpful to the community and aid in keeping these boards running for years to come! This solution can also be used to convert a DM4800 mainboard to a DM3200 mainboard.
A few weeks ago I booted up my DM4800, and to my dismay an error message popped up that I couldn't get past:
"Mixer Device Boot Failed - (DSP-A SRAM)"
I originally tried taking it to an audio repair shop here in NJ, but after hearing that it would take them 45 weeks to even take a look at it because they were too backed up on orders, I decided to take the DIY route. I downloaded every piece of documentation I could find about the board, and researched as much as I could about the internals. I eventually learned that the unit's DSP chips (which I believe are used for the onboard effects) were located on the DM's Mainboard. So I thought to myself, "Okay, maybe if I buy a new Mainboard, and swap it out, it should work just fine, right?"
I decided to buy a DM3200 in meh condition for around $400. I thought instead of getting just a mainboard (which noramlly sells for $300 on eBay) I would get another console for another hundred bucks, then part it out so I would have parts for the DM4800 if I needed them.
The DM3200 came in, I swapped the mainboard, and it worked! ...Sort of. Not really. Because I was putting a DM3200 Mainboard into a DM4800, it tried to act as if it was a DM3200, which meant it didn't recognize the extra 8 channels, and got confused with some of the other differences between the two boards. After about 5 minutes an error message would pop up and it would stop working until I restarted it
Now the weird thing is, the DM4800 and DM3200 share the same mainboard. Same part number, same layout, same everything. Except for ONE thing. There was a single chip that was labeled "DM4800 S00616010" on the DM4800, and one in the same place labeled "DM-3200 S00616000" on the DM3200. Using my ultimate caveman logic I thought to myself, "hm maybe this is the chip that controls wether the mainboard operates as a DM3200 or DM4800, and maybe if you swap them I could turn a working DM3200 mainboard into a DM4800 mainboard."
So I took it to a local phone repair shop that also did microsoldering. I told the guy that I needed the two chips swapped, he charged me $70 and got the job done. I got home, put the mainboard in, ...aaaaaand it didn't work. the board turned on but it was just a blank screen. However, on the board there are 4 LEDs that will light up in a certain pattern if there is a problem with the board. These patterns can be referenced to a list of errors in the board's service manual (not the owner's manual, there is a separate service manual). In this case, all 4 lit up, which meant that there could be faulty soldering on the board.
I brought it back to the shop, he took another look and cleaned up his work for free. (some of the pins on the chip were shifted over a bit) I took it back home, popped it back in, and it worked! I was like a kid on Christmas, so happy the board had new life in it again. By swapping that chip, the board successfully started operating like a DM4800 instead of a DM3200.
TLDR: There is a single chip on the mainboard that controls wether it functions as a DM3200 or DM4800. if you swap this chip from a DM4800 to DM3200 mainboard, it will function as a DM4800, and vice versa.
Note: I believe there are different versions of the mainboard with different part numbers, i'm not entirely sure if this procedure will work for those. I had TEAC E902855-00B boards, but i've seen some variation on the part number and the name of it on the mainboard itself
