AN1x OS v1.04 Revealed!
By Jon Levinson
Originally posted Winter 2001.

November 15, 2000 ~ Posted to the AN1x Mailing List on October 22, 2000:

The recent speculation and feedback on OS v1.04 got me more curious than before soooooo...

I'm happy to say I've joined the ranks of those with v1.04 installed and no new problems(!) for over a week now. Here's a summary (and some commentary, of course ;-) of how I obtained the EPROM chip from Yamaha. Hope this is of help to someone. I'll probably add this to the Tips & Tricks page of my 'site next month.

I used the Yamaha Service web page to request Tech support and received an automated reply which contained the following bits of useful information:

"You are entitled to free email/telephone support by our Tele-Support staff of product experts for up to three (3) full years from the original date of purchase, plus free unlimited access to the "Yamaha Solutions Network", our online database of product answers on our web site at http://www.yamaha.com/ycaservice/group008/fgrop008.htm. It is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

If you do not find the answers to your problems by using the "Yamaha Solutions Network", then complete the registration below and one of our specialists will contact you.

"If you purchased your product used, you are entitled to ninety (90) days of free email/telephone support upon registration of your product with Yamaha."

That latter bit regarding 90 days of support for Yamaha products purchased used is pretty generous, IMHO. That begs the question regarding Warranty support, as opposed to Tech support, for previously owned equipment?

I completed the 'registration' form included with this automated reply - again - and reiterated my request for info on how to procure OS v1.04 for my AN1x. A day later I received a 2nd reply - along with a 'case number' - which quoted the previous email form the day before. Whew. The next day I received a 3rd reply this time from a human being(!) who politely and efficiently indicated the order had been placed for my An1x OS v1.04 EPROM and that I would receive it "soon." Eight days later the EPROM was delivered to my front door step as promised!

Note: I had one more exchange with the tech rep and he was again very courteous and prompt in answering my questions.

<< Is it safe to assume v1.04 OS will be the final revision to the AN1x OS? In other words, no new features or bug fixes? >>

"Version 1.04 should be the last and final version for the AN1x. However, if some obscure bug should be found, another update might be available"

<< it's my understanding the v1.04 OS corrects an erroneous 'low voltage' warning which can occur prematurely and that it also corrects the audio response when modulating the depth, i.e., return, of delay effects. Is this correct? >>

"Version 1.04 does correct the symptoms you described."

For the record, I've had nothing but good experiences each time I've dealt with Yamaha's Customer Service.

Here's the installation procedure I followed.

NOTICE: If you decide to pursue the EPROM update to your AN1x and decide to do it your self - I want you to be clear that all I have done is post information to this web page.

If you decide to do what it says, that is entirely your own responsibility. I am not responsible for anything bad that happens as a result of you carrying out the EPROM update described here.

  1. Power off the AN1x and disconnect all attached cables and pedal controllers.
  2. As with any sensitive, electrical based installation make certain to discharge all electric static energy prior to making physical contact with the internal components. You may want to use one of those disposable wrist straps for static control while working.
  3. Remove the 10 plastic Knobs from their "pots" - they aren't *really* potentiometers in the traditional sense - so that the AN1x can be flipped over safely. Don't want to put unnecessary pressure on them.
  4. Remove *all* screws from the bottom side of the AN1x. The metal, insulating bottom will remove with ease once all the screws are removed.
  5. I always use a container of some type to keep all the loose screws and plastic knobs accounted for. Don't want any parts to go missing...
  6. The EPROM will have a label affixed to it and text printed on it - something along the lines of "c1997 YAMAHA XS467 D O". The v1.04 EPROM had a similar label (a silk screen print) that was very similar but the "XS467" alphanumeric had an increment of some degree on the suffix (sorry, I forgot to take specific note of it.) I did make note of which direction the label was facing on the old EPROM before removing it so the new EPROM could be installed facing the same direction (I truly doubt this makes a difference but better safe than sorry.)
  7. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to extract the old EPROM while exercising some care not to damage it or the surrounding area! The EPROM fits snug in its socket and required some effort to extract. You *do not* want to inadvertently damage any of the circuit board components by being careless.
  8. Installed the new EPROM by lining up the connectors to the socket and inserting it with enough effort so that it fit securely.
  9. Reattached the bottom cover of the AN1x using enough screws so that I could comfortably flip the board back over. Reattached the AC Adapter and powered up the AN1x as a test to see that it booted okay before reattaching all_those screws ;-) During the power up sequencer, I held down the '0', '-', and '+' keys. This key sequence displays the OS version of your AN1x and places the unit in test mode. I did NOT play around with the buttons and dials while in Test Mode as I've no expertise what so ever in this area and did not want to foul up any auto calibration routines. Simply powered off and back on again to return things to normal.

As already mentioned, if you decide to follow a similar course of action it is entirely your own responsibility. I will accept no blame for any damage that results from your actions. Nothing personal - just exercising a healthy dose of 'CYA'. :-)

You can tell from the above description, the process is no more complicated than removing and installing RAM into a desktop computer. Here's a suggested rule of thumb - if you're not comfortable with one type of process then don't attempt the other. Pay an authorized service tech to do the work for you instead.

Addendum: It's come to attention that Yamaha adheres to an upgrade policy that differs for original owners of an AN1x Synthesizer than for those users of previously owned AN1x Synthesizer. The OS v1.04 EPROM is available for a charge of $35 U.S. to users of previously owned AN1x synthesizers where as it is free-of-charge to original owners (at least, it remained so as of this update March '01.)