GUS Daily Digest            Wed, 12 Jan 94  0:07         Volume 10: Issue  12 

Today's Topics:
						   16-bit samples ?
							DMA Failures??
			Doom under OS/2 ( ie. does DOS + DOS = OS/2?)
			   Dumb, dumb, dumb! (wrong patch trouble)
				   GUS & Conflicting motherboards.
				  GUS Daily Digest V10 #11 (2 msgs)
			   GUS Mixer, the GF1, and WaveTable Synth
		   If you don't know what you're talking about....
								 oops
							   PatchDir
					  SB + GUS, BLASTER question
						Sound Blaster Drivers
						  Sound Canvas & GUS
						   To Gregor Brecko

Standard Info:
	- Meta-info about the GUS can be found at the end of the Digest.
	- Before you ask a question, please READ THE FAQ.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 17:34:24 +0100
From: gerd reichinger <greichin@CSlab.tuwien.ac.at>
Subject: 16-bit samples ?

Does anyone know an FTP server with 16-bit samples ?
I would like to use them with the Farandole Composer.

Thank you in advance,
					  Gerd.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 17:57:13 -0500 (EST)
From: Timothy B Martin <tm43+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: DMA Failures??

I'm having sporatic GUS errors as of lately, and i traced it to a DMA
failure.  I think.  Here is my problem, SETGUS(tm) upon testing gives me
a Bad data compare on DMA...but CHECKIT(tm) says my DMA controllers are
just dandy.  What could be wrong on the gus?  Memory errors? welp, i've
made sure that the DMA channel isn't in use, and i've even tryed
channels 1,5, and 7.  (to see if it's a 8bit/16bit dma problem.  But,
it's not that i guess.  I've checked the memory on the GUS and it checks
out ok...i don't understand what is the problems.


 ------------------=============> Tim! <===============---------------------
 | Email?                            "Sleep is good,                       |
 |    tm43+@andrew.cmu.edu                Dreams are better."              |
 |           IRC - Xeltar                             ~A.J.C.              |
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 09:08:11 -0600
From: Don Eller <don.eller@inst.medtronic.com>
Subject: Doom under OS/2 ( ie. does DOS + DOS = OS/2?)

>Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 10:07:47 -0400 (EDT)
>From: "By this time, my lungs were aching for air" <JKS4675@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
>Subject: OS/2+GUS+Doom Is not an option

>OK, After plodding about with the Doom OS/2 conundrum, the problem lays (Brace
>yourself for an unexpected surprise) the GUS. Yet again, a game that directly
>supports the GUS doesn't work. I remember the old 2.1 beta would die hard on
>Star Control II- this one simply locks up. The settings are not the key to
>getting it to work- in fact, Doom's readme is pretty emphatic about the
>settings. But it doesn't matter- in fact, you can get Doom to run with the
>default template settings. Music works fine, no surprise. But the digital FX
>don't work- the game sits and stares at you with music playing and never makes
>it past the intro screen.

>Looks like the GUS has a problem with digital audio.....GUSMOD and Playmidi
>work fine, but playfile generated an illegal instruction. Makes me wonder why
>SBOS plays the .SND file, but doesn't work. Looks like there's a real problem
>here- and given Gravis' BLAZING SPEED concerning OS/2 support, looks like it
>might be time to buy an SB again....


Yet again another staunch believer in OS/2 that seems to believe that
if a program won't run under OS/2's DOS window, than it won't run
under DOS either.

Why don't you try running DOOM under DOS, I think that although this
is not a trivial task to get the environment correct (ie interrupts,
correct DOOM setup file), if you've been following along like I have,
you should be able to get this to work, including digital effects.
Everything seems to work fine under DOS after you duplicate the
environment that Doom was tested in.  (Too bad their testing didn't
include more configurations of the GUS, and it took them so long to
publish their tested environment, but at least they included support
for one configuration of the GUS, and in native mode too!.)

I empathize with you that IBM should not have "guaranteed" full DOS
compatibility with OS/2 since DOS applications and drivers have always
assumed that they are in full control of the PC's hardware.  It should
come as no surprise that when this rule is violated, such as OS/2,
that unexpected problems arise, since this is not the environment that
DOS applications are designed for.

We use OS/2 at work in a few development groups, and some of people
installed it on their home machines.  Most have decided grudgingly to
come back to DOS/ Windows, and all have considered it.  Why?  Because
there have been more than a few cases of expansion cards not working
properly under OS/2 and having to boot DOS for these situations.  They
include other sound cards, such as the PAS etc which supposedly have
native OS/2 driver support.  But it doesn't work the same or as well
as the drivers do under DOS, and configuring the DOS drivers under
OS/2 DOS sessions doesn't seem to work well either.

I also, agree that Gravis should state whether that have any firm
committment to OS/2 and not leave OS/2 users waiting for something
which may never arrive.  But you should understand, that nowhere on
the GUS package, did it state support for OS/2 (or future support).
Traditionally PC hardware has allways been released with DOS and/or
Windows support, with other operating systems left to grass roots
support, such as linux.  OS/2 is still not seen as a mainstream
environment by most people that develop hardware and software for
PC's.  Note Wordperfect dropping development efforts of Wordperfect
for OS/2.  Lotus is the only large software vendor I can think of that
trys to support may OS's and platforms.  Even Microsoft, which it
would seem could afford to offer support for other platforms, has
chosen to only support MAC's (System 7) and PC's (Windows only).

Now where do you think Gravis should draw the line for supporting the
GUS?  Should they be expected to make it work under Solaris for Intel,
Poweropen, etc.  Careful now, the next two years could double the
possible OS's to support for Intel platforms.  Yes, I see that OS/2 is
starting to go beyond the niche market with an installed base of a
couple million, and sure this base will most likely grow more quickly,
due to what was released as Windows NT and forecasted delay's in
Microsoft "Chicago" OS.  But lets be realistic and compare it to the
installed base of over 50 million users of Microsoft Windows.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 15:00:40 +0200
From: Yossi Oren <LIOREN1@WEIZMANN.weizmann.ac.il>
Subject: Dumb, dumb, dumb! (wrong patch trouble)

Hello fellow GUSsers!
I have just installed the 2.06a patches (wow!  mega sound!) and I got
strange sound out of some MIDIs with Orchestra Hits - namely,
passport.mid and freaker.  mid.  I opened orchhit.pat with PMak, and
lo!  The dwoozles put a MAJOR hit, not a MINOR hit!  The whole IDEA of
Orchestra Hits is to make a minor chord!
Does anybody have a 16-bit orchestra hit sample he (she, damn this
language) could turn into a patch?  I have many 8-bit ones ripped from
MODs but I want good sound quality.
MTIA, Yossi.

+---+-----------------------------------------------------------+---+---+
| = |         Signature 1.1f - unregistered evaluation copy     | V | ^ |
+---+-----------------------------------------------------------+---+---+
|Yossi Oren, Al-Daf Engineering Ltd., Rishon Le-Zion, Israel.      Help |
++===============================================++====================++
||Internet EMail:LIOREN1@WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL || GUS - serious sound||
||Bitnet EMail:LIOREN1@WEIZMANN                  || for a funny price. ||
+================================================++=====================+
|| OS/2 Users - total proof that pain doesn't build character.         ||
+=======================================================================+

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 02:38:53 GMT
From: "Robert E. Wyrick" <wyrickre@wyrickre.student.rose-hulman.edu>
Subject: Re: GUS & Conflicting motherboards.

Well... I would definitely say we have a case of conflicting motherboards 
here where I am.  Myself and two other people recently purchased 
computers with GUS cards and identical motherboards.  Everything we've
tried works fine except for SBOS.  On all three of our machines, we all
get the same error message when we try loadsbos:
	Ultrasound port address is in conflict.

Now, I know that everything is configured correctly since I've had no
problems running _any_ other software!  Megaem works great, but
occasionally, it would be nice to use SBOS.  

I'm also running linux on my machine, and have had no problems getting
any of my hardware to co-exist.

We're all running VLB 486-66's with 16 megs of RAM...  The other two guys
have basically the same set up, but my machine is quite different.
(i.e. a different video card, SCSI rather than IDE, etc.)  The only
thing my machine has in common with theirs is the motherboard and the
GUS.  (now doesn't this sound like a conflict?!?!)

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Rob
wyrickre@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 12:30:19 +0100
From: "Thomas Lundquist." <THOMASEZ@dhhalden.no>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #11

> suggestions? I'd also like to find a sound conversion program for DOS that
> works. The convert.exe program on the 2.06a install disks keels over every
> time I try to use it, and although winconvert does do the job, it's a pain
> having to start windoze all the time.

Use Sox. It will convert a lot of formats, including .au, .voc and .wav.
You can find it on most FTP sites. Probably also on Epas.
This program in not a GUS program, you can use it on any machine as it 
only converts, not plays.

-----------------
> 
> Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 10:07:47 -0400 (EDT)
> From: "By this time, my lungs were aching for air" <JKS4675@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
> Subject: OS/2+GUS+Doom Is not an option
> 
> OK, After plodding about with the Doom OS/2 conundrum, the problem lays (Brace
> yourself for an unexpected surprise) the GUS. Yet again, a game that directly
> supports the GUS doesn't work. I remember the old 2.1 beta would die hard on
> Star Control II- this one simply locks up. The settings are not the key to
> getting it to work- in fact, Doom's readme is pretty emphatic about the
> settings. But it doesn't matter- in fact, you can get Doom to run with the
> default template settings. Music works fine, no surprise. But the digital FX
> don't work- the game sits and stares at you with music playing and never makes
> it past the intro screen.

I'm (not) afraid you're wrong here. Doom plays happily under OS/2 on my 
machine. No need to change any dos settings, altho I did change them to 
what ID suggested.

The clue is not to use Joystick (NOT a GUS problem, but id/ibm). That will 
make you pass the opening screen.

To get sound for more than two minutes you need the 1.1 version of Doom.
(again, an IBM problem !)

And of course have the GUS irq under 9 (I use 7 and no problems). Set this 
in the DOS autoexec.bat file.

> Looks like the GUS has a problem with digital audio.....GUSMOD and Playmidi
> work fine, but playfile generated an illegal instruction. Makes me wonder why
> SBOS plays the .SND file, but doesn't work. Looks like there's a real problem
> here- and given Gravis' BLAZING SPEED concerning OS/2 support, looks like it
> might be time to buy an SB again....

This concerns me a lot, I am going to develop a lot of multimediastuff 
under OS/2 and I desperately need OS/2 drivers for my GUS. I would hate 
going back to a SB.

> 
> PS- Anybody that cares to tell me whether or not they got Doom to run with
> Digital sound on a GUS in OS/2 should post their solution, should one exist, on
> ALT.GAMES.DOOM since there's about thirty OS/2 using GUS owners with a similar
> gripe.

Done it on both c.s.i.games.action and a.g.doom. And also the easiest way 
to play netDoom under OS/2.

---------------

>about writing OS/2 drivers:
> 
> Darn, I already have it :( (2.0 version).  I am writing an OS/2 driver for
> the Ultrasound and am using the GUS SDK exclusively to interact with the
> card - it did require some porting though.
> 

Please set me on the betatester list. 
I hope this driver becomes goof enough for IBM to put it on the next OS/2 
release. If we have to wait for Gravis it seems like we may get it on the 
OS/2 4.3 release.... (*heavy sigh*)

> # Robert J. Manley,  rjm@dretor.dciem.dnd.ca      #
> # NTT Systems Inc., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA      #
> # OS/2:OSs :: 92,93 Blue Jays:MLB :: Canada:World #
> 
 -----------------------------
> About OS/2 MM drivers..
> 
>  1. It's not the "writing an OS/2 device driver" that is difficult, it's
>     writing a compatible OS/2 MM driver that is. You could, conceivably,
>     write an OS/2 device driver in just a few lines. You won't find the
>     info needed on writing an OS/2 MM driver for the GUS in a broad-coverage
>     book like the one you cited. And, do you really think that's much of an
>     incentive? Anyway...maybe just a twist in there.

I am sure IBM will give you (or sell cheap) all you need to make a MM 
driver (DD SDK & Documentation, maybe also the MM SDK.) You can find some 
of it on the Developers Connection CD-Rom.

Provided that they can use it later....
> 
> 
> [stuff about how difficult it will be to make a driver]

Maybe if the driver developer got the source for the Windows driver it may 
help. Or if they are making a NT (oooooof) driver.

I heard something about Gravis making a NT driver, and if those drivers
comes before the OS/2 ones. I will give up. Who on earth will put a 
soundcard on a NT box ? not all of the 200.000 that has bought NT (VS the 
four million OS/2 users..)

--------------------------

I finally got a RAM upgrade for my GUS. But it was Sanyo chips....
I tried the RAM chips I have on my Vga card (256x4 -8, no name on the 
chips only "Korea") but they wouldn't work either.

It's quite annoying that the GUS is that selective on what RAM it will use.
I have never had that problem before on other stuff.


--
Thomas Lundquist.
Halden, Norway.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 17:58:46 -0500 (EST)
From: Phat H Tran <ptran@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: Re: GUS Daily Digest V10 #11

> Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 11:02:00 +0000 (GMT)
> From: "Robin W. Glover" <swrglovr@reading.ac.uk>
> Subject: Glitch free sound recorder needed.
> 
> Hi,
> 
>   I'm looking for a program capable of recording (preferably in .VOC
> format) to the hard disk *without* pops, glitches and dropouts occurring
> when hard disk access occurs. I seem to recall that this requires quad
> buffering or something similar. I only need to record mono, at up 20
> 22KHz, but I need to be able to record several minutes in one go. Any 
> suggestions? I'd also like to find a sound conversion program for DOS that
> works. The convert.exe program on the 2.06a install disks keels over every
> time I try to use it, and although winconvert does do the job, it's a pain
> having to start windoze all the time.

Try using PlayFile (the new one with the point-and-click interface) to
record to disk.  To prevent data dropouts (which are responsible for the
clicks), you must record to an uncompressed drive, and must disable
drive caching.  The layers of software just get in the way.

> Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 10:59:52 EST
> From: mkalisia@electrical.watstar.uwaterloo.ca
> Subject: GUS + Sound Canvas
> 
> Thanks for the response guys, but I have to clarify one point. We want to have
> the Sound Canvas hooked up to the GUS MIDI box  --- WITHOUT --- the MPU-401
> card. Reason is, this is on a laptop with one expansion slot.

If you work with music using Windows apps, then you can drive the SC 
via the GUS MIDI port.  In DOS, you'll need something to emulate an
MPU-401 and output to the port, but such a beast does not exist.

> Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 18:03 CST
> From: T4100076%twncu865.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU
> Subject: Tech Support Request from the Gravis distributor in Taiwan
> 
> Hi GUS community,
> 
>   During the period of distributing GUS in Taiwan, I have received many problems
>    , some are solved by myself, but more are not. I hope you can help not only m
>    e,
> but many GUS users, who can't access INTERNET in Taiwan.
> 1.How can they solve the problem of "NMI disable"? Must they replace a mothermoa
>    rd? It seems impossible for them.

Most of the time, a motherboard without the NMI implemented doesn't 
provide facilities to enable the NMI, and without it, SBOS won't work.
However, Mega-Em will still work without the NMI to provide Roland and
SB DAC emulation.  Hopefully, it will also do SB FM as well.

> 2.One customer, when he was installing the GUS 2.06a driver disks, failed at
> the test of SB functions and GUS functions. And he failed to load the SBOS,too.
> andsbos return him with a message of "
> "error on load of patch library -- c:\ultrasnd\sboslib.sbs"
> What happened? How should I tell my customer to solve it?

The version of Ultrajoy on the 2.06a disks causes setgus to report
IRQ time out errors for the MIDI/SB IRQs on revision 3.4 and higher
GUSes.  There is a new version of ultrajoy that fixes this bug.

As for problems with other GUS functions, make sure that the GUS is
seated properly and securely in its slot.  Also, try the card in
different slots, and test it with all other non-essential cards
removed.  These are just suggestions -- I don't guarantee that they'll
solve anything.

Phat.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 13:21:43 PST
From: bsteinf@eis.calstate.edu (Burke Steinfelt)
Subject: GUS Mixer, the GF1, and WaveTable Synth

 I find it unusual that the GUS doesn't have Treble, Bass, Mic, and possibly
other mixing level controls like PAS's and SBP's(?).  Is there a reason these
controls weren't included in the GF1?

Regarding WaveTable Synthesis...

  It's known that when you have a sample recorded at a certain frequency, you
 play it back at that frequency to hear the sound as it was recorded.  But
 when you play it back at a different rate, higher or lower, the sound
 speeds up or slows down, respectively, and the sound becomes quite distorted
 the further away from the original frequency you recorded it at.

  Since time compress/expand features are included into Wave editors, why not
 have it built into the GUS hardware?  It should be realtime like other
 filters, and enable looping portions of a sound to sound the same on each note
 as it does on the middle key note, in addition to the sound being played back
 at the same speed on all notes.
 
  Alas, this wouldn't be useful for making voices sound like The Chipmunks,
 but hey, it would be NiCE to enable for instruments and F/X.  To do this, you
 would use the ratio between the "original" note and the "new" note to time
 compress (if its a lower note) or time expand (if its a higher note) to make
 the sound play back at the same speed, but different pitch.

  I don't know how feasable this would be, since everyone would need an upgrade
 if this actually happened (yeah, right.) but I would atleast like to see a
 software attempt at this. (Attn: ASM programmers! :)

  Well, any responces would be read. I'm interested in hearing any other new
 ideas for GUS synthesis, or whatever too.


*** BTW: To whom ever asked about the Day of The Tentacle Music Upgrade, you
	can find it on archive.epas.utoronto.ca as .../submit/upgrade.zip
 
	 L8r On.
	-Spam
(EverybodyWantsARockToWindAPieceOfStringAround.)

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 23:52:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: "By this time, my lungs were aching for air" <JKS4675@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
Subject: If you don't know what you're talking about....

Whenver something as utterly wonderful as Internet comes along, there's always
some static the typical Joe will need to put up with...which brings to
mind the complaint.

Yesterday, I posted a rather angry note about the GUS's inability to
make digital sounds in OS/2, and received a rather bothered rebuff from
some fellow stating that the Doom FAQ would explain the problem, and
it wasn't the GUS's fault at all.

This caused mild feelings of regret, since I looked pretty stupid 
blowing my top. Alas, the person was FULL OF BULLSTUFF.

The FAQ has the OS/2 settings thoughtfully included in the README
executable, and that't it. Nothing specific about Digital audio
in OS/2. Evidently the settings are supposed to make it all 
better.....looks like this person never bothered trying to get
it to wrok in OS/2, since I got about nine letters today from other
people with the same problem....

By necessity, the typical OS/2 user needs to know more about their new
OS than the typical DOS user does. Thus, that person is welcome to keep
their mouth/e-mail shut until they know what the hell they're talking about.
Get a life. Reply here.....

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 16:41:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Telepathic Surgery <yaga@u.washington.edu>
Subject: oops

sorry, I was trying to show someone these addresses, and I forgot to 
erase them before I mailed the letter.  Sorry!

chris

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 10:07:57 GMT
From: Clarke Brunt <CLARKE@lsl.co.uk>
Subject: PatchDir

>You must also edit the PatchDir fields (all of them) in ultrasnd.ini to point 
>to your /ultrasnd/midi directory.

I've seen this said so many times, but where else might it point? I must
have installed every possible new windows driver, and have never yet
had to alter PatchDir field - they have been correct all along.

I appreciate that some people might have loaded the software into
different directories, but if they do that, then I assume they also
have the knowledge to know that when we say \ultrasnd, we mean
wherever the DOS variable points, and when we say \ultrasnd\midi, we
mean where the .pat files are.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 11:22:37 FWT
From: tblanchot@vnet.IBM.COM
Subject: SB + GUS, BLASTER question

I'd like to know the meaning of the Tn parameter in the
set BLASTER=Axxx Iy Dz Tn??
I've re-plugged my old sb 2.0 clone card, at 240, Irq 5. Gus is at
220,7,7,11,7. However, many games are causing problems, sometimes
not working with the sb, giving parity errors, outputting sound to
both the sb and the gus, etc...
I have no jumper enabling DMA sharing on my motherboard, and no jumper
to change the DMA on the sb, could this be a problem since the gus
sb emulation dma is always 1, as the sb itself?

Thierry.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 16:39:06 -0800 (PST)
From: Telepathic Surgery <yaga@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Sound Blaster Drivers

On Tue, 11 Jan 1994, Mike Loux wrote:

> Is the list a mailing list or a newsgroup?  I suppose I'll have to join 
> comp.sys.ibm.soundcard or whatever it's called, but I'm holding off for 
> now.  If, on the other hand, there is a GUS-L, I will join that one PDQ.

It's a list.  The addresses are below.  That c.s.i.s. group is flooded 
with stuff.  I can't keep up.

> 
> What's the address?

There are a few:

the general one (where most of the discussion goes on) is called 
gus-general.  To subscribe, write to:

gus-general-request@dsd.es.com

They will fill you in on all the other addresses (there's a musicians 
(composers) list, a programming list, etc.)

Enjoy!  It's where I get most of my info.

chris

> 
> -Mikus 
> 

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 2:25:24 CST
From: cowles@hydra.convex.com (John Cowles)
Subject: Re: Sound Canvas & GUS

mkalisia@electrical.watstar.uwaterloo.ca writes:
> Subject: GUS + Sound Canvas
> 
> Thanks for the response guys, but I have to clarify one point. We want to have
> the Sound Canvas hooked up to the GUS MIDI box  --- WITHOUT --- the MPU-401
> card. Reason is, this is on a laptop with one expansion slot.
> 

Don't worry - they work together wonderfully! Only a few programs
use the programmable capabilities of the MPU401, and only in DOS. (This
allows you to program for extra ports, get line status, and use a
primitive kind of sequencing that is built into the MPU401.) Roland
developed the MPU401 when the 8086 was the latest CPU, and most
cpu's were not capable of running a sequencer in software that would
support the timing neccessary to accurately play midi files. The midi
specification says nothing about these extra features of the MPU401,
nor does the Windows 'RIFF' specification, which is used to develop
Windows (and probably OS/2) drivers.

It's possible to play 1. GUS waves, 2. CD Audio through the GUS,
3. GUS Midi synth, and 4. external midi modules driven from the GUS
midi box, plus use 2 GUS joysticks from the midi box ALL AT ONE TIME!

(Versatile, wouldn't you say?)

I have several external midi modules, some driven from my MPU401 clone,
and some driven from my GUS midi port. I have no problems playing everything
(and a keyboard) at once.

-- 
	 John Cowles        cowles@hydra.convex.com   CompuServe: 72074,451
						Convex Computer Corp.  214 497 4375
						3000 Waterview Pkwy
						Richardson, Tx. 75080

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 23:58:24 EST
From: dmcintyr@muselab.ac.runet.edu
Subject: To Gregor Brecko

Gregor, in case you read this, your e-mail address has crapped out.  The
server is responding but your local user ID seems to have disappeared.

Mail me if you get this, and tell me what's going on.

I'll try to send the message again tomorrow...

--Michael-- << dmcintyr@muselab.ac.runet.edu >> <<dmcintyr@vt.edu>>

------------------------------

End of GUS Daily Digest V10 #12
*******************************
