Bose PSDC I different presets as in manual

[Laurens1]

I am currently looking at buying a used Panaray Systems Digital Controller version 1 (Black front, square buttons).
But it seems it has other presets as mentioned in the manual.
I am missing al presets for 402-I and 802-II.
Instead there are several more LT- presets in there.
Software version as mentioned on startup is v1.06.

Is there a possibility to load the presets for the Bose 402-I and 802-II in this PSDC and if yes, how? And where to get the files needed?

[Kakudo-at-Bose]

Hi Laurens,

I think you can upload the software v1.01 including 402I and 802II presets with attached updater. This updater is kind of old so I'm not sure if it works on recent version of Windows such as 10 or 7.

I have attached the ReadMe (procedure) for v1.06 since I couldn't find that for v1.01.

Hope this helps.

Kakudo

[Thomas_S]

And you'd need a 2MIDI converter.

My recommendation for 402/802 applications would be to search for a newer controller, e.g. PSDC-II.

best,

Thomas

[Laurens1]

ThomasS-at-Bose posted:

And you'd need a 2MIDI converter.

My recommendation for 402/802 applications would be to search for a newer controller, e.g. PSDC-II.

best,

Thomas

Hello Thomas,

I have several usb-midi adapters and soundcards with midi-ports available, so luckily that's not a big issue.

In the manual from the PSDC-II i can't find any presets for the 402-I and 802-II which are the speakers i currently have. So to me it seems the PSCD-II isn't a good match. If not just let me know

The PSDC-I is at sale in my town for a good price, and i also have a little collection of this stuff. So for nostalgic reasons it's also nice to have a version 1, if a version 2 or a sp-24 would come along for a good price chances are i would also buy one of them.

The setup is purely a hobby and is going to be used a couple of times a year. If this would be commercial i would have invested in newer stuff.

Nevertheless thanks for your reply,

Laurens

[Laurens1]

Kakudo-at-Bose posted:

Hi Laurens,

I think you can upload the software v1.01 including 402I and 802II presets with attached updater. This updater is kind of old so I'm not sure if it works on recent version of Windows such as 10 or 7.

I have attached the ReadMe (procedure) for v1.06 since I couldn't find that for v1.01.

Hope this helps.

Kakudo

Hello Kakudo,

Thanks for the quick response.

It looks like the software will start on windows 10. Tomorrow i will try with an usb-midi adapter, and i am currently planning a meeting with the seller to try and load this firmware.

The Readme is embedded in the software, so i think it's going to be alright.

I will let you all know if the upgrade was successful.

Laurens

[Bruce-at-Bose]

My other concern on purchasing this unit is whether the internal battery is still working to retain it's memory. We learned (at least in the US) how to get into the internal programming on these units which made them much more functional. Yet, most if not all of the units that we had out in installations lost their programming when the internal battery in them died and they no longer remembered their settings. Be very careful in purchasing one at this point unless you need a rack mount doorstop in your collection (I have several by different manufacturers....)

Bruce

[Laurens1]

Bruce-at-Bose posted:

My other concern on purchasing this unit is whether the internal battery is still working to retain it's memory. We learned (at least in the US) how to get into the internal programming on these units which made them much more functional. Yet, most if not all of the units that we had out in installations lost their programming when the internal battery in them died and they no longer remembered their settings. Be very careful in purchasing one at this point unless you need a rack mount doorstop in your collection (I have several by different manufacturers....)

Bruce

Thanks for the warning.

What kind of settings are lost when the battery dies?
Does the unit lose all the presets, or only the custom presets and the last selected preset after a power failure?

It seems the unit restarts after a power down with the same preset as selected before the power was disconnected, so it would seem the battery has enough capacity to survive a short power failure.

I will check when i am going to the seller of the device.

Laurens

[Bruce-at-Bose]

Laurens,

It has been years since I experienced it. If I remember correctly, it was coming up in the default settings when powered up which I believe was the 402 Full range. And I never opened one up to check on the battery - I think I was told by a tech that was the cause of the issue. I just remember that we ended up replacing it with a series 2 DSP. The bad thing about the replacement was that it did not have a delay in it for the balcony speakers!

The attached file will help you get into it and do some "real" programming including loading in the parametric settings for the original 402 speakers....

I created this back in the early 2000s when we were selling these and happened across the "rabbit hole" to get into the inner workings......

[Laurens1]

Back here to let you know that with the software provided by Kakuro i managed to downgrade the firmware on the controller. This didn't work under windows 10 and also not under windows xp with a no-name usb midi adapter.

Luckily i have a Terratec EWS88 in stock, which is mentioned in the manual of the software. This card installed in a windows xp machine did the trick.

Still need to test with the real 802 and 402's, but the lab test with some simple desk speakers sounded like everything was in working order.

Couldn't find any evidence of a battery failure, after a longer (more than one day) power disconnection the device still starts with the same preset as when i turned it off. I opened up the casing of the device for a quick inspection of the insides, but couldn't find anything what looks like a battery.

Thanks for all the help!

(now hoping the buyer of the controller wants to sell his entero 4400 for a good price, it would be a nice combination)

Laurens

[Bruce-at-Bose]

Thanks for updating us. I think the dealer told me that it was the battery that went bad and it would not retain it's memory but I never checked. I guess the RAM could have developed an issue. I think I have one of these in a obscure rack at home- I will have to find it and see if it is still working.

Remember that it will not take the full output of a pro mixing console (24 dBu) on it's input. I think it's limitation is 14 dBu before clipping.

Bruce