SoundPiper 16 & 32

@5130.ADF SoundPiper 16/32(tm) Adapter (ESS1688) (takes wavetable daughtercard)
@5130.ADF SoundPiper 16(tm) Adapter (ESS688) (rename to @5130.adf)
Warning! Tecmar HDE+ SCSI MCA Host Adapter uses the same ID. More info HERE.

SoundPiper 16 Stereo Sound Adapter User's Guide (Page 6 was probably blank)
ESS Audio Applications USER GUIDE, v3 Aug 1994 (Piper Utilities are based on these)

Pre-May 1996 Bus Arbitration Problem
Piper Research Incorporated (local copy) (archive)

SoundPiper Drivers
SoundPiper 16
SoundPiper 32
Win 3.1x Hangs - Replacement *VDMAD
Adapter ID Conflict
AdapterId 05130h - SoundPiper 16/32 Adapter


SoundPiper Drivers (from Jim Shorney)

Click on these links to download the latest known drivers for the SoundPiper Micro Channel sound card. There are four 1.44 MB disks, comprising drivers for Windows 3.1x & 95, Windows NT 3.51 & 4.0, and OS/2 Warp. Unzip using PKUNZIP -d. Please be aware that these drivers may not work properly with all SP16 cards; Piper Research was offering a free firmware upgrade for the SP16 in conjunction with the release of this driver set to fix some bugs with the card. Since Piper seems to no longer be around, neither are the firmware upgrades. Even with the latest rev, these cards do not always work in the fastest PS/2 Model 95/Server 500 machines; if your card seems to be bad, try it in a slower machine!

For Windows 3.x, run Setup from Disk 1. Windows 9x users, refer to WIN95.TXT on Disk 2. Warp and NT users please refer to the README.TXT file on the disks.

The Piper 16/32 drivers listed below appear to be for the ESS1688 chipset. I don't know at this point if they are backwards compatible with the ESS688 used on the SP16. The ADF included in the 3.01 ZIP appears to be written for both cards. Use at your own risk, and let me know how it works out.

These drivers are provided without any warranty of any kind, express or implied. The disks are virus-free (to the best of my knowledge) as of the time of upload, but you are using them at your own risk. I am not associated in any way with Piper Research, IBM, or ESS Technologies.

SoundPiper 16 Drivers

Windows 3.1/95 Support Disk Rev. 2.1, Disk 1
Windows 3.1/95 Support Disk Rev. 2.1, Disk 2
Windows NT Support Disk
OS/2 Warp Support Disk

SoundPiper 16/32 Drivers *

SoundPiper 16/32 Drivers & Utilities v3.01
AudioRack 32

* My sincerest thanks go to Dan McLean for sending the Piper 16/32 drivers and AudioRack32 software.


SoundPiper 16 Rev. 2A [P] (photo by Alexander Paterakis)

F1 PTC fuse
J1 Headphone/Speaker Out
J2 Microphone In
J3 Stereo Line In
P1 MCA connector
P2 Joystick/MIDI port
P3 CD Audio header (R-G-G-L)
P4 MM link header?
U1 Altera EPM7096QC100-15
U4 ESS AudioDrive ES688F
U5 NE558D Quad timer (joystick)
U7 JRC M4201F/M4242F
U8 LM78L05ACM 5V reg.
U9 LM1877N-9 Dual power amp
U10 Yamaha YMF262-M OPL3
U11 Yamaha YAC512-M 2-ch DAC
X1 14.13 MHz xtal

P4 MM link header? 16-pin header, minus one pin (key). Straight or 90°, with or without a shroud.
P3 CD Audio header (R-G-G-L). Straight or 90°.

My 16-2a has a simple 16-pin header, minus one pin, no shroud. P3 is a shrouded header that points upward along the PCB (90°).

Silkscreened info on my two SP16s:

SoundPiper 16TM
Piper Research, Inc. © 1994 (PCB marked 9507)
ASSY.: 10020737-2A
FCC ID.: LQD-SP16-2A
SoundPiper 16TM
Piper Research, Inc. © 1995 (PCB marked 9528)
ASSY.: 10020737-3A
FCC ID.: LQD-SP16-2A

SoundPiper 32 [P]

F1 Transorb
HDR1 26-pin wavetable? header
HDR2 14-pin header
J1 Headphone/Speaker Out
J2 Microphone In
J3 Stereo Line In
P1 MCA connector
P2 Joystick/MIDI port
P3 CD Audio header (R-G-G-L)
P4 MM link header?
U1 QuickLogic QL8X12B-XPL68C
U4 ESS AudioDrive ES1688F
U5 NE558D Quad timer (joystick)
U7 JRC M4201F/M4242F
U8 LM78L05ACM? 5V reg.
U9 LM1877N-9 Dual power amp
X1 14.13 MHz xtal

U1 QuickLogic QL8X12B-XPL68C FPGA, 96 cell, 100 pin PQFP

Board layout derived from SoundPiper 16. No OPL3. Different MCA iface GA. Different sound chip (ES688F vs. ES1688F). Additional headers - wavetable, OPL, and/or 3D sound modules?

SP32MCA SoundPiper 32 Stereo Sound Card with 32-Voice Wavetable SP32MCA-3D SoundPiper 32 with 3D Sound Option

Silkscreen info:

SoundPiper 32TM
Piper Research, Inc. © 1996 (no date on PCB)
ASSY.: (blank)
FCC ID.: LQD-SP16-2A (same as SP16)

Win 3.1x Hangs - Replacement *VDMAD

From Ron Stork:
   There is a fix for hangs especially when you are moving the cursor around I got it locally it was a Sound Blaster fix that works with the Piper card. More information HERE.


Adapter ID Conflict

Tecmar HDE+ SCSI MCA Host Adapter ALSO uses a @5130.ADF! If you have mistakenly used the wrong ADF, get the correct ADF and save it. That gives that ADF the most recent date. Run setup, choose Copy an Options Diskette. Setup will see the "new" ADF and copy over the incorrect one.

In this case, the chipsets between the SCSI adapter and the sound card are dissimilar. No damage will occur. BUT with other adapters with like chipsets (two SCSI controllers, for instance) I would pull the adapter out, run Copy an Option Diskette on the "new" ADF, then reinstall the card.


AdapterId 05130h - SoundPiper 16/32 Adapter

I/O Port
   The SoundPiper may occupy one of two different I/O port ranges
       <Port 240>, Port 220, Disabled

Interrupt Level
   The SoundPiper may occupy one of four different Interrupt levels
       <Level  5>,  Level  7, Level 10, Level  9, Disabled 

DMA Arbitration Level
   The SoundPiper may occupy one of three different DMA Arbitration levels.
       <Level 1>, Level 0, Level 3, Disabled

Joystick Enable
   The SoundPiper has an joystick interface available
       <Enabled - Port 200-201>, Disabled

Joystick Wait States (16/32 ADF only)
   Wait-State generator permits some software that use the joystick to work better on a PS/2.
       <2 Wait States>, 3 Wait States, 1 Wait State, 0 Wait States

ADLIB/OPL-3 Port Enable (16/32 ADF only)
   An ADLIB/OPL-3 compatible interface is typically used as the MIDI Synthesizer. Disabling this port may cause your MIDI playback under Windows to stop functioning.
       <Enabled - Port 388-38B>, Disabled

MPU401 Port Enable (16/32 ADF only)
   An MPU-401 compatible interface is typically used to communicate with an External MIDI device or the Internal Wave Table daughter card on a SoundPiper 32.
       <Enabled - Port 330-33F>, Disabled

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Louis F. Ohland, Peter H. Wendt, David L. Beem, William R. Walsh, Tatsuo Sunagawa, Tomáš Slavotínek, Jim Shorney, Tim N. Clarke, Kevin Bowling, and many others.

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