svi-738 UPGRADE

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By LS120

Expert (106)

LS120's picture

12-09-2016, 10:50

Hi everyone i have an old original (msx1.5) SVI-738 that i'm wanting to know whats the best updates to do,

i want to goto msx2 and maybe ide as i have ls120's, zip drives and hdds i can use as i run my own computer repair shop and have done for 20 years..

so i am a little out of practice with the old gear.. also have some svi-328 gear as well.

any help most welcome. Cool

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By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3568)

Wierzbowsky's picture

12-09-2016, 18:18

My piece of advice - leave the machine alone. Smile It's good enough in its original condition. If you want an MSX2 or MSX2+, just buy or trade one for your other MSX hardware. The IDE controllers for MSX are nowadays available easily and they don't cost much. Also with the release of the Maxis' Procyon cartridge you will be able to upgrade any MSX to MSX2 or MSX2+ with by just inserting the cartridge (and you will get a lot of bonuses with it like video output, RAM, FMPAC and so on).

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6016)

NYYRIKKI's picture

12-09-2016, 20:03

Upgrading 738 can be a great learning experience if you are looking for a fun DIY project... If you calculate the effort needed & money used perspective it makes no much sense. There are plenty of relatively cheap MSX2 machines that are better from the start.

I would say most popular internal upgrades for this machine are:
- Fixing SCC/FM-PAC sound problems (Replace R2 with bigger value resistor)
- Change disk drive from single sided to double sided (Might require also new DISK ROM depending of version you have)
- MSX2 upgrade (Requires new ROMs & change of VRAM chips)

By yzi

Champion (444)

yzi's picture

12-09-2016, 20:56

What do you do with a 738... you upgrade it!! Smile That's the most common, original, authentic retro usage for that machine.

By LS120

Expert (106)

LS120's picture

13-09-2016, 09:32

thanks for the advice i am going to do a re-cap as its still got originals...

i thing i've noticed is it was working fine when put away & now the floppy wont read..

so thinking maybe a strip & clean the pc, so i thought why not do the basic upgrades, it has v2.0 roms in it and socketed V-ram. Question

By mtn

Champion (269)

mtn's picture

13-09-2016, 09:59

The coolest thing to do with a 738 (after upgrading it ofcourse) is to carry it around in its kewl Spectravideo-bag!

By LS120

Expert (106)

LS120's picture

13-09-2016, 10:15

yeah pitty i have lost the 16v AC power pack... may have died awhile ago.. can i use a 16-18v dc in the same jack as it will just turn it to dc inside.. ??

By gdx

Enlighted (6069)

gdx's picture

13-09-2016, 10:58

MSX2 upgrade requires no hardware modification, just a replacement of VRAM, Main-Rom and Sub-Rom, and add 2 capacitors for Vram. This does not affect the authenticity of the device. The modification is reversible. It's very simple with socketed V-Ram.
The main problem is only software. You must find or make a proper Roms (for keyboard, etc).

LS120 wrote:

can i use a 16-18v dc in the same jack as it will just turn it to dc inside.. ??

NO! Unless you want to produce smoke.

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6016)

NYYRIKKI's picture

13-09-2016, 13:58

LS120 wrote:

i thing i've noticed is it was working fine when put away & now the floppy wont read..

I would say that is perfectly fine reason to replace the drive with less crappy one. Original is TEAC drive that tends to get really hot and it has only one read/write head. One thing to consider is that the screw holes are not in standard location, so hardware fitting needs some tweaking. Finding fitting DD-drive (HD drives don't work) might be a bit hard these days, but I think it is worth the effort.

Quote:

so thinking maybe a strip & clean the pc, so i thought why not do the basic upgrades, it has v2.0 roms in it and socketed V-ram. Question

Ok, if these are socketed, then it is very easy to upgrade. If also VDP (the one with heat sink) is socketed (in mine it was), you can easily upgrade it also all the way to MSX2+

What language keyboard you have? I can help you with the ROM's if you need. I have also upgraded my 738 (Modifications listed in video description.)

By mohai

Paladin (999)

mohai's picture

13-09-2016, 17:52

I would go for the MSX-2+ upgrade.
I upgraded mine recently and it works fine.
Only thing missing is the clock chip and the 2+ roms.
I tried clock upgrade in the past but it did not work. Maybe I will try later someday.
Upgrading to MSX-2 or MSX2+ is more or less the same work and it is quite easy.
Regarding disk drive, I only had to change with a PC type one. No DISKROM change was needed.
To fix the drive, you only need to turn the brackets (the metal parts where the drive is fixed to). Try again and again and you will find the correct position.
I did not need to make some extra brackets, but use the existing ones.

By mohai

Paladin (999)

mohai's picture

13-09-2016, 17:58

By the way, I also got stereo sound directly forn the PSG chip.
It is only a matter of cutting some tracks and drive sound outputs from chip to a single mixer made of resistors.
Then, I changed RCA connector with a stereo mini jack.
You will also be able to add RGB output.

You can find some information on the Hans otten page here.

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