Table Of ContentSoundMeister
Stereo Amplifier &DigitizerfortheApplelics!
: “S is for Sound...’9
Il Infinitum!
nstallation & Operation Manua
Includes: DigitalSession
©1994 Alltech Electronics Co.
Alltech Electronics Co.
SoundMeisterStereo/DigitizerCard 3
Introduction
Welcometo theworldofdigitalaudio! YournewSoundMeister™card
opens up yourAppleIIgstowholenew worldinmultimediaeducation,
entertainmentandexcitement! Youwillsoonbeabletoplayrich,
vibrant,colorful soundsandmusicas wellasrecordyourownaudible
creations. Youcan add soundstoyourHyperStudioorHyperCardIlgs
stacksandplaythembackwithhighfidelity. You canliven upyour
computing experienceby creatingfunsystemsoundsandplaying them
backduring specificeventssuchasdiskinserts/ejects. Additionally, any
application thatgeneratessoundsusing theAppleIIgs’ builtinDigital
OscillatorChip(DOC)willnowbeabletodosoin stereo. The Apple
IIgshasbetterbuiltinsoundgenerationcapabilitythananyother
personalcomputerandyouwillsoonhearwhy!
Whatis the SoundMeister?
TheSoundMeisteris anexpansioncardthatplugs intooneoftheseven
expansionslotslocatedinsideyourAppleIIgscase. Ittakes theaudio
signalproducedby theIIgsDOCandsplitsitupintotwodistinct
channelsproviding astereooutput. TheSoundMeisterthenamplifies
these signalssoyou canhearthesoundonapairofregularspeakers. For
loudervolumelevels, theSoundMeisteralsoprovidesastandardaudio
signal soyoucan plug itintothebackofyourhomestereoequipment.
Lastly, the SoundMeisterprovidestheability torecordanaudiosource.
Unlikeothercardsproducedin thepast,thissourcecanbeeithera
regularmicrophoneortheoutputfrom yourhomestereoequipment!
WhatYou Should Have Received
Beforewegetstarted, makesurethatyoureceivedeverything youwere
supposedto. TheSoundMeisterpackageshouldinclude: SoundMeister
interfacecard, amulticoloredribboncabletheback-plateassembly, a
disklabeled “DigitalSession’ andthismanual.Theremayalsobe
additionalsheetsincludedinyourpackagewithanynewinformation
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afterthismanualwas printed.
Installation
Installationofthe SoundMeisteris fairly simpleandstraightforward.It
requiresnotoolsotherthanaPhilipsheadscrewdriver, andcanbe
performedinlessthanhalfanhour. Itdoes, however, requireopening
yourcomputer’scaseandpossiblyremovingandreplacing otherexpan-
sioncardsthatmayalreadybeinstalled. Ifyou areatall uneasyor
unsureaboutperforming thisoperation thenwe suggesttakingyour
SoundMeisterandAppleIIgsCPUtoyournearestcomputerdealerand
havethemperformtheinstallationforyou. Betteryet, contactyourlocal
AppleII usergroupforassistance. Youwillbemostlikely to findan
enthusiasticmemberwhowouldlovetohelpyouinstall your
SoundMeistercard. ForthenameandaddressofyournearestAppleII
usergroupCalltheAppleUserGroupConnectionat 1-800-538-9696ext.
500. Besuretoindicatethatyouarelooking foranAPPLEIIuser
group!
Prepare Your WorkArea
ToaccessyourAppleIIgsexpansion slots youwillhavetoremoveyour
monitorandany otherexternalperipherals thatmaybeinthe way. We
suggestdisconnectingallcablesfromthebackofyourCPUandmoving
ittoaworkbenchortableawayfrom yourcomputerdesk. Thisgives
youcomplete accessto allanglesofyourAppleIIgsCPU.
Open The CPUCase
Depress thetwoplastictabs at
therearoftheCPUcasewhile
liftinguponthelid. Thisis
bestdonebyreachingaround
thebackofthecase,depress-
ingeach tabsimultaneously
withyourindexfingerswhile
pushing upon thelidwiththe
palmsofyourhands.
Removing The CPU Lid
SoundMeisterStereo/DigitizerCard 5
Discharge YourselfOfAnyStatic Charge
With theAppleIIgs caseopen, locatethepowersupply. Thisisthelarge
rectangular,metallicboxattheleftsideofthecomputer. Touchyour
handtothepowersupply(Notethatwhilethismethodisconsideredsafe,
itisactuallybettertotouchametallicobjectthatcomesincontactwith
Insidethe Iigs
Panel Holes
n S
: Slots
%
> eoys
be Power Supply
ar)S.tes %FE24 Memory Expan-
s e4e
?biarhB sion Connector
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Sound Expan-
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thefloorsuch asatableorchairleg...).
Locate TheExpansion Slots
Theexpansion slotsarearrangedinarow ofseven, towards therearof
yourcomputer’slogicboard. Chancesare, ifyouhaveaharddriveor
othersuchperipheral, you alreadyhaveacardinoneoftheseslots. The
slotsarenumberedfromlefttoright, onethroughseven. Thusslotoneis
Closestto yourpowersupply whileslotsevenisfurthestaway. Youmay
alsonoticeasingle ‘slot’ byitselftowardthefrontrightofthelogic
board. Youmayormaynothaveacardalreadypluggedinto thisslot.
Thisis yourmemoryexpansionconnectorandisn’treallyconsidereda
Slot.
TheSoundMeister willbeinstalledinoneofthesevenexpansionslots.
Exactlywhichslotisentirelyuptoyou... youcanplaceitinanyone
Alltech Electronics Co. 6
exceptslotnumberthree. Somegoodchoicesareslot2 &6. Ifyouusea
modemandProTERM3.x, youcanstillusethemodemportwhilethe
slotis settoyourcard.Mostpeopledon'tusetheir5.25" drives that
often,ifatallandthismakesslot6anothergoodchoice. Additionally,
ROM3userscanalsoinstallthe
cardin Slot4andstillhaveuseof
theMousewhilethe Slotissetto
"YourCard’. Selectingtheslotis
onlyneededwhen youintendto
recordwith the SoundMeister. osoae 2s
Anyotheractivity,playbackor *.a
editing doesnotrequiresetting %.¢%0:@
32%2
theslotto‘YourCard’. =@8
i
Install The SoundExpansion Ro PaStEenaTsAPenWn.;ANGBS a 3:
i SaPrLadSeanabsbntaeeatinaed 3
Cable
Sound Expansion Cable
Thesoundexpansioncableplugs
intoyourAppleIIgslogicboardatthesoundexpansionconnector. The
soundexpansionconnectorislocatedjustinfrontofthememory
expansionslot. Ifyouhaveamemoryexpansioncard, you willwantto
removeittoallow easyaccesstothesoundexpansion connector.
Takethesoundexpansioncableprovidedwith yourSoundMeisterand
locatetheendwhichhasaconnectorwithadoublerowofseven holes.
Thisconnectorplugsintothesoundexpansionconnectoron thelogic
board. Theconnectoronyourmotherboardwillonlycontain 1 rowof7
pins.Thereisonlyonewaytocomfortablyplug theconnectorstogether.
Takeextracaretomakesurethatallsevenpinsonthesoundexpansion
connectoralignwiththesevenholeson thesoundexpansioncable.
Whenpluggedin, thesoundexpansioncableshouldnaturallyfall
towardsthepowersupply withtheextra7pinshoveringoverthe
motherboardtowards thepowersupply. Youwantthiscabletorun
underneath thefrontofanyothercardsyoumayhaveinstalledinyour
computer.
Atthispoint, ifyouremovedthememoryexpansioncard,plugitback
intothememoryexpansionslot.
RemoveA PanelCover
AtthebackoftheCPUcase,nearthe slots, you'llnotice severalpanel
SoundMeisterStereo/DigitizerCard 7
holesthatarecoveredbyplasticplates. Theseplatesaredesignedtobe
removedbytwisting themetalclipson theinsideofyourcasecounter-
clockwise. Therearethreedifferentsizepanelholes/plates. The
SoundMeisterinput/outputplatewillbemountinginoneofthelargest
panelholes. Counting from thepowerswitch,itcanfitinposition 1, 3,
4,or5.ThesearenormallywhereaSCSIcard'scablewouldnomnallybe
installed.
Whenyoudecidewhichpanelholetouse,removeitscoverbyrotating
themetalclipcounterclockwise.
Install The SoundInput/OutputPlate
TheInput/Outputconnectorsaremountedonametalplatewhichis
attachedtoyourSoundMeistercardby threeshieldedwires.Thetopof
theplatehastwo3.5mmmini-phonejacks groupedtogether, whilethe
bottomhasone 3.5mmmini-jackbyitself. TherearealsotwoPhilips-
headscrewsonthemetalplate. Removethe ‘top’ screwcompletely
whileunscrewing thebottomoneapproximatelyhalfway. Position the
metalplateinsidethepanelholeyoujustuncovered. Noticethatthere
aretwonotchesatthetopandbottomofthepanelholetoaccommodate
themounting screws. Slidethehalf-removedscrewintothebottom
notch. Followthisbyreplacing thescrewyouremovedthrough theback
ofthepanelhole. Tightenuponbothofthesescrewsso thatthemetal
plateissolidlymounted.
Install The SoundMeister Card
InserttheSoundMeistercardintotheslotyouhavechosenbyholdingit
onthetwouppercornersandrockingfromfronttobackuntilitstops
goingin. Youmaywanttoconsiderremovinganyothercardsthatarein
thewayuntilyou’veinstalledtheSoundMeistercard. Routeanyexcess
input/outputcabledown thesideofthecardandthenfolditbacktowards
thebackofthecomputer.
Wheninserting thecard, anglethebackoftheSoundMeister’sedge
connectortowardstherearoftheslotthenpushdowntowardsthefront
ofthecard. Seatingthecardcompletelyin theslotmayrequireabitof
force. Becarefulnottobendanyofthecomponentsmountedon the
SoundMeistercarditself. Whenseatedcompletely, youshouldjust
barelybeabletoseethetopoftheSoundMeister’sgoldplatededge
connector.
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Connect The SoundExpansion Cable
Fastentheendofthesoundexpansioncablewith thedoublerowconnec-
”es 5S{S*Mebyi A RoArrSyt.3PS w‘e
SoundMeister Card - Completely Installed
tortothe 14-Pinheaderon thetopfrontoftheSoundMeistercard. When
mating theconnectormakesurethatallofthepinsarealignedcorrectly
withtheholesonthecable’sconnector. Wheninstalled,thereshouldbe
nokinksortwistsinthesoundexpansioncable. Ifthecabletwists, then
itispluggedinwrong!
ReplaceAllExpansion Cards
Ifyouremovedanyothercardsduringtheinstallationprocess, replace
themin theircorrectslotsatthistime. Makesureallcardsare firmly
seated,evenifyoudidnotremovethem. Wheninstalling anewcardin
yourAppleIIgsitisquiteeasytoaccidentallyloosenapreviously
installedcard.
Replace The Lid
SoundMeisterStereo/DigitizerCard 9
Replacing theApple IIgslidisthereverseofremovingit. The lidpivots
on theplastic ‘fingers’ atthefrontofthecase. Lowerthebackofthelid
untilitmeets frictionwith thetwoplastictabsattherear, thenpress
firmlybutgentlyuntilitsnapsclosed.
YourSoundMeisterCardIs NowInstalled!
Whew!Thatwasn’tsobadwasit? Itisnowtimetoreassembleyour
computer, pluggingallofthoseexternalperipheralsbackintoit. But
wait, weforgotonething! Whatarewegoing toconnectthe
SoundMeisterto? Withoutspeakers oramicrophonetheSoundMeister
isprettyuseless. Thefollowing sectionexplorestheseveral options
availableto you.
Understanding The Input/Output Connector
Beforewegoon,ithelpstoknowwhatthosethreenewmini-phone
plugson thebackofyourcomputerareallabout. Butfirst, letusdefine
the threetypesofaudiosignalsthattheSoundMeisterdealswith:
HighLevel- Thisreferstoanamplified,highpowersignal, usually used
todriveapairofspeakers. Those ‘zip’ cords thatyourun fromyour
homestereoequipmenttoyourspeakercabinetsarecarryingahigh-level
signal.This is thebestoptionforastandalonesystem.
LineLevel- Refers toanintermediate,relativelyweaksignal that
happenstobethestandardmethodforcarryinganaudiosignalbetween
audioequipment. WhenyouconnectaCDplayerto yourhomestereo
receiver, youareconnectingalinelevel signalbetweenthetwodevices.
MicLevel- Refers toavery weaksignal, typicallygeneratedbymicro-
phones. This signal is veryweekbecauseamicrophoneinducesan
electriccurrentbasedon thevibrationofsoundwavesandthereisonly
somuchelectriccurrentthatasoundwavecangenerate.
Ifyouhaven’tguessedalready, thethreenewplugson thebackofyour
computereachdeal withhigh, lineandmiclevelsignals. Theplugs
themselvesarereferredtoasmini-phonejacks andmeasure 1/8"
(3.5mm)in diameter. Theyarestereophonejackswhichmeanseach
