Casio PT-82,

Casio PT-87,
Casio EP-20
small keyboard with ROM-Pack, key lighting & blip
rhythm

Casio PT-82
This keyboard from 1986 has many similarities with the Casio VL-Tone 1 and PT-1, but
includes a "melody guide" key lighting feature for music teaching (not the keys itself
light up but a row of small LEDs above them) and a ROM- Pack music cartridge slot.
Unfortunately this instrument is missing the great built-in synthesizer, sequencer and 3
octave switch of the VL-Tone.

Although the music playback from the ROM- Pack includes wonderful polyphonic
accompaniments, the player can play own musics only monophonic with thin and dull
sounding blip rhythms. A bit unusual is that this white keyboard has brightly coloured
orange and red buttons and red lines while Casio normally preferred pastel colours.
Also a red case version of the PT-82 was made. In 1987 it was re-released in grey as
Casio PT-87.
main features:
32 mini keys
built-in speaker (with unpleasant, loud mid-range resonance)
monophonic main voice
8 OBS preset sounds {violin, organ, harpsichord, piano, celesta, trumpet,
clarinet, flute}
12 preset rhythms {rock, disco, 16 beat, swing 2 beat, swing 4 beat, samba,
bossa nova, beguine, tango, march, slow rock, waltz}
volume switch (5 steps)
tempo +/- buttons (16 steps?)
ROM- Pack music cartridge slot for melody guide and "auto play" (jukebox
mode)
"melody guide" keyboard play training feature with key lighting (32 red & green
LEDs above the keys), 4 levels and automatic rating
2 "one key play" buttons (to step note by note through ROM musics)
semi- analogue sound generator similar like VL-1 (only monophonic keyboard
play, but additional 4 note polyphonic accompaniment during automatic ROM
music play). The digital envelopes (with audible zipper noise) are linear and thus
sounds unrealistic because they fade silent too soon.
rhythms consist of dull and distorted digital (squarewave?) blips + simple shift
register noise {base, low tom, high tom, snare, cymbal}
CPU= "HD61703B01, 5L 13"
tuning adjustment trimmer
headphone and power supply jack



notes:
The PT-82 was likely intended as a technically simplified successor of the Casio PT-80.
The speaker has an unpleasant, loud mid- range resonance. The main voice sounds are
the same like with the PT-80, but tend to sound a little thinner and harsher. These
sounds resemble much a Casio VL-Tone 1; unfortunately they don't include the famous
"fantasy" sound of the latter. Although the musics from ROM- Packs play with nicely
orchestrated accompaniment, the player can play own musics only monophonic with a
simple rhythm and no accompaniment at all. Due to various other "Casio PT" keyboards
(e.g. PT-30 or PT-80) had a set of additional buttons to the left of the keyboard to play
chords, I searched also for such keyboard matrix eastereggs, but yet found none. The
distorted percussion sounds a bit harsh, very colourless, and really thin and boring (like
when blip drums from a PT-30 keyboard would have been resampled at an extremely
low resolution and sample rate which removes all dynamics). The rhythm patterns
resemble the PT-80, but are not identical (e.g. blip instead of popping base drum). Much
like with the VL-Tone 1, the harpsichord sound suffers from a too slow attack rate,
which makes it unrealistic. In the plastic case of my PT-82 was an embossed mark that
seems to be the manufacturing date 86-02-08. The hardware is much simpler than PT-
80 and contains far less analogue components; with my PT-82 one of the red key
lighting LEDs was faulty and had to be replaced.
When the instrument is switched on, it plays a tone scale (8 notes) while a light runs
from left to right on the LED chain. The instrument was sold with the Casio ROM- Pack
RO-551. The ROM- Pack cartridge employs the same conductive carbonized silicone
rubber connector that is used in many LCD watch displays. (I had to clean mine and the
contact row on the PCB with isopropanol to make it function reliable.)
More interesting is that the musics from it can be used with "melody guide" training
feature, in which a flashing LED (next key) and a lit LED (current key) in the LED
chain above the keys teach monophonic keyboard play. It has 4 training levels {1= with
light, waits for correct key, 2= with light, no waiting, 3= without light, waits for correct
key, 4= without light, no waiting}. After finishing a piece of music, the player can press
the "rating" button to see how good he has played. To show this, a sort-of "wheel of
fortune" noise effect is played while a light runs multiple times from left to right above
the keys. The light turns slower and then stops at a certain key. The better the player has
played (less wrong noted and timing flaws), the further right it stops with a short jingle
that depending on how good the player was {"* TRY AGAIN"= falling notes, "**
FAIR"= very disharmonic clip of "Unterlanders Heimweh", "*** GOOD"= fanfare,
"**** EXCELLENT"= different fanfare}. As a sound effect, the rating jingles can be
also started by pressing the "rating" button while the mode switch is set to "play"
instead of "melody guide". In this case the melody guide level select switch selects
which of the 4 jingles is played.
Casio PT-87
This grey cased instrument was a re- release of the PT-82 from 1987. (Inside the case
embossed marks for 87 and {5, 6, 7, 8} make me conclude that it was manufactured
between may and august in 1987.) Unlike the PT-82, it has the classical pale coloured
Casio buttons again.

On this photo from eBay
you see my Casio PT-87
and my PT-82 (below).
The PCB of this specimen contains less discrete components, the shielding aluminium
cardboard inlay is gone and the PT-87 has also no headphone jack anymore. The CPU is
"HD61703B01, 7D 33". My specimen has a strange defect; when operated with
batteries, it sounds distorted and howls, while with a power supply it sounds perfect.
Apparently the battery voltage (5 batteries = 7.5V) is too low to operate the circuit
properly - possibly a defective voltage regulator drops too much voltage.
modifications:
Power supply jack polarity changed and protection diode added (with PT-82 and
PT-87).
Casio EP-20 'Muppets'
(photo from eBay, showing my specimen)
Also this yellow toy keyboard is a mutilated Casio PT-82. (Under the Muppets "Ms.
Piggy" picture stands " ha! 1987".) The power supply jack, tuning knob, "rating"
button and "melody guide" level switch are missing (level is always 1). Also the ROM
cartridge slot is gone, instead it has only a fixed soldered ROM chip "OKI MS268V-57,
7405" which contains 4 nicely orchestrated musics from the "Muppets" TV series. An
interesting technical detail is that this ROM apparently technically contains 7 pieces of
music, but the musics 2, 4 and 6 are empty files to make the ROM use only the white
keys for music selection. The CPU is "HD61703B01, 7D 33".
eastereggs:
As you can imagine, in the EP-20 the "rating" and melody guide level select features are
still present in the keyboard matrix of the CPU. To select the level, a switch or push
buttons needs to connect a diode from CPU pin 19 with pins 6, 7, 8, 9. The rating button
connects a diode from pin 12 to pin 7. Theoretically certainly also a ROM- Pack could
be added, but this would be mechanically extremely difficult and not worth the effort.

removal of these screws voids
warranty...




back
http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/Casio_PT-82_PT87.html

http://makezine.com/2013/04/16/hacked-casio-pt82-keyboard/

http://stereoklang.se/blog/exploring-the-casio-pt-82
Casio PT-82 /// A blast from the past!

Years ago (almost 22 years is a bit more accurate) I got my first electronic keyboard, the Casio
VL-1. I was 10 years old and there was nothing any cooler to me. I put it in my book bag and
took it to school and had a crowd standing around my desk the minute I got it out and hit
rhythm select/start. It starting pulsing away with its blip beat sound and I was king of the
classroom for the 30 seconds before the teacher told me to put it away or it would be hers.

I also still have a Casio SK-1 Sampler which I am in the process of circuit bending at the
moment. I have finished all of the wiring and soldering but have yet to build a case for it that
will hold all of the new buttons, knobs, and sensors I have added, but that will be a different
post in the future.

OK, got a little off track there. What I was getting at is that a year or two ago a friend of mine
gave me her Casio PT-82 she had from way back. I put in in a closet forever. Then I let my son
play with it for a while, but I never really messed with it myself. I recently had a minor surgery
and while picking my son up from Grandma's I saw the PT-82 in a pile of toys, I had honestly
forgot I even had it. I asked her if I could take it back home and she said sure so I brought it
home and dropped 5 double A's in it. It's crazy how we forget just how far we have advanced
in technology but trying to play this thing will remind you real quick.

Believe it or not I have been playing with this thing for 3 days now (well, me and the kids). Its
amazing how much we get used to the synths and drum machines today that do all of the work
for us. With my Korg EA1 and ER1 I can hit play and when one of the pattern starts it sounds so
good I really don't have to do anything except add more patterns to it to get something that
will still impress people who don't know how they work. I'm not saying that it takes no talent
to make electronic music, I'm just saying its getting so easy it makes us lazy. I sat around
pushing 1 key at a time trying to get a cool bass line or lead melody and came up with some
good stuff that I plan to sample and use in the future. Since it really doesn't do ANYTHING on
its own it will be nice to say that the finished product is all my idea and not sampled or a preset
sound or pattern.


I don't think I will be getting rid of the PT-82 anyway soon, Its kinda nice to go back in time and
play with the synths and boards that got us where we are today.

http://homestudiotalk.blogspot.com.br/2007/12/casio-pt-82-blast-from-past.html

A Rant from a Bitter Circuit Bender 11 / 5 / 2009
You know, at one point, I was really into circuit bending. I live a stones throw form a
Value Village, and I was once a regular customer, rescuing lonely toy keyboards from
the Etchasketch and Barbie littered shelves. At one point, I even managed to find a
Casio PT-82 (a fairly rare 80's Casio that I couldn't bare to mess with because it was
already so cool).

But I now realize that all along I was just trying to satisfy my urge to create my own
musical instruments, something I hadn't realized at the time. After designing and
building various Electronic Musical instruments from scratch, I can see now how much
more rewarding that is than fucking around inside someone else's circuit.

There are great things about circuit bending. The unpredictable nature can be addictive.
The people who really go all out and take their bent instruments to a nearly
unrecognizable level of beauty are great. The sounds that some people find are very
neat. But these things do not out-way the long list of things I DO NOT like about circuit
bending.

For instance, the overwhelming prevalence of failure. I don't know if your typical
Circuit Bender will admit this, but all of them have a pile of Toy carcasses in the back.
It's inherent in the process. "What happens if I wire this to this??? Do you smell
smoke?". It saddens me thinking of how many bender's projects went in the bin. I wish I
could redirect that effort to another outlet.

Or what about the contradictory nature of releasing bends for reproduction? Speak and
Spells for instance. A bit of googling will turn up hundreds of different well
documented modifications you can make to these toys. Where is the fun in that? If you
ask me, removing the experimental nature of Circuit Bending leaves you with a sterile
way to almost break your toys. And what do you end up with? Something a bunch of
other people have. Granted there are only so many possible tweaks you can make, but
you might as well discover them yourself. Perhaps I'm just bitter.

Not to mention how dangerous it is. Don't kid yourself with the 'batteries aren't that
dangerous' banter. Sure, it's not like dealing with 120 volts. But you can still easily start
a fire with shorted batteries. And that's exactly what bending is. Artful short circuiting.
If you're preaching an electronic musical activity that requires little prior skill or
knowledge of electronics, then don't be surprised when people destroy circuits and burn
down their houses. I would argue that naivety leads more frequently to destruction than
creation, in a scientific environment like Electronics.

Don't be discouraged. Circuit bending is fun. But to any Circuit Bender, I challenge you
to try designing and fabricating your own musical circuit. You might just find it more
satisfactory than a Speak and spell that glitches on swear words. And the knowledge
you gain from this might in fact help you successfully hack a toy in the future.
Tags: circuit bending, toy, audio, electronics


Currently Displaying Posts that have something to do with: "Yet More Blog Updates."
Blog Updates 2 / 28 / 2010
Alright! On this last day of February, 2010, I've just done some updates to the blog
itself. I've changed the layout, cleaning things up a bit. And I've also added a feature
which changes the color scheme according to the time of day, to increase readability.
And it's just cool. During the day, the layout is bright, at night it's dark, you get the idea.

http://www.xelentdesign.com/labs/search.php?search=Yet%20More%20Blog%20Updat
es.