MOONSOUND
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Moonsound
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Some general info about Moonsound can be seen in the textfile [OPL4.TXT]. It
was written by Remco Schrijvers of Moonsoft.
What is a Moonsound?
Moonsound is a high-quality 16-bit WAVE-table and
FM soundcard for MSX computers, based on the Yamaha OPL4 standard.
What are the specs of the Moonsound card?
- Yamaha OPL4 sound processor (YMF-278B-F)
- 100% OPL1/OPL2/OPL3 compatible
- MSX-Audio compatible (except the `Sample Download Ready' bit which is not implemented in the OPL4)
- OPL4 is an independent CPU with it's own memory so even a `slow' 3,5
MHz MSX computer is able to replay high quality samples with minimum of CPU power
- WAVE table part: 24 PCM channels (stereo (adjustable in 16 steps for each
channel), replay frequency upto 44.1kHz)
- Replay of 8-bit, 12-bit or 16-bit data
- 128kB SRAM (for own samples, upgradable upto 2MB of SRAM)
- Moonsound V1.0 has 128KB SRAM and no socket for 2nd SRAM IC
- Moonsound V1.1 & V1.2 has 128kB SRAM and a socket for 2nd SRAM IC
- 128KB SRAM (Part number: SONY CXK581000AP, Memory Capacity: 1M-bit, Function: (128K x 8-bit) LL, Access: 70 ns, Pins: 32, Package: DIP
- 512KB SRAM (Part number: HITACHI HM628512LP-7, Memory Capacity: 4M-bit, Access: 70 ns, Pins: 32, Package: DIP
- FM part: (Several choices can be made, stereo: left, right or both)
- 18 2-operator FM channels
- 15 2-operator FM channels + 5 FM drums
- 6 4-operator FM channels + 6 2-operator FM channels
- 6 4-operator FM channels + 3 2-operator FM channels + 5 FM drums
- 2MB WAVE-table ROM (YRW-801) with (approx. 330 samples, mostly 22kHz 12-bit)
- Compatibility with the GENERAL MIDI standard (128 melody sounds and 47 percussion sounds)
- Socket (stereo mini jack) for stereo output
- Moonsound V1.0 (Mounted on the top of the cartridge)
- Moonsound V1.1 & V1.2 (Mounted on the right side of the cartridge)
- Almost no noise (from hardware) = top quality sound output
- Cartridge box (same size as Philips NMS-1250 modem), grey colour, nice
label with printed "Moonsound" in gold colour
- 1 cable (Mini jack to 2 * DIN (banana)) (Stereo). For connecting to amplifier
- 1 manual in B/W
Is there any software supplied with it?
Yes, there are 2 editors (delivered on two 720KB floppy disks):
Where can I find the newest MBWAVE and MBFM editors?
- MBWAVE
1.12: MoonBlaster for MoonsSound WAVE V1.12 (Update by NWO 1998)
Is Moonsound able to replay Amiga [.MOD] files?
Yes it is, till now there are the following programs which are able to replay [.MOD] files:
Is Moonsound able to replay [.MID] files?
Ofcourse, and you can also just capture MIDI data from a MIDI-in port and send it to the
OPL4 which replays it! Programs that can do this:
- Midi2Opl4 -
Version 0.6 - Date 01/22/97, made by Erik Maas. It uses the
MIDI-interface of the Philips NMS-1205 Music Module. Requirements: MSX2
computer with 64KB RAM, 16KB VRAM, SS disk drive, Moonsound cartridge, Philips
NMS-1205 (MSX-Audio cartridge) and a MIDI cable. Plays data from MIDI-in port
directly on Moonsound.
- MIDPLAY
Ver0.6 - By JunSoft.
This is a replayer. Requirements: DOS2, 176kB MapperRAM, Moonsound. It is still
in development. Check out the JunSoft
Softwares Page for updates or info.
Are there any [.MWM] or [.MFM] replayers?
The only replayers on the web are for MBWave files as far as I know:
But on the FutureDisk for example, is always an other replayer present.
Where can I find technical (programming) info about it?
Some technical info can be found here.
Everything about the registers etc., is in it. This file has been downloaded
from Maurizio's
hardware page where more info can be found on several stuff.
Where can I buy it?
Price: Approx 200USD (Contact your dealer for exact price and p&p)
If you live in Holland you can contact:
Stichting Sunrise (Rob Hiep)
P.O. Box 61054
2506 AB Den Haag
The Netherlands
If you live in Spain you can contact:
MSX club Hnostar (Jesus Tarela) [http://www.ctv.es/USERS/hnostar/]
Apartado de Correos 168
15780 Santiego de Compostela
Spain
If you live in another country then contact:
Sunrise Swiss (Peter Burkhard) [http://www.msx.ch/]
Moosmatten 1
9244 Niederuzwil
Switzerland
In any case: hurry up, because it seems that the production of the OPL4
chip is being stopped! There will be produced new Moonsounds, but only when the
demand is big enough... So order now! For more info about that contact Rob Hiep.
Back to the FAQ's index!