Question 1

How do I switch banks?

Accepted Answer

There are two switches for bank switching, one labeled A…D and one labeled 1…4. Each
combination of letter and number is one bank, from A1 through D4, giving you sixteen banks.

Question 2

I have the M-512 variant, which only has eight banks of 64KB each, but the switches have 16 positions. How does this work?

Accepted Answer

In the M-512 configuration, banks 1+2 and 3+4 are merged, so the "1" and "2" switch positions will select the same bank, as will the "3" and "4" positions.

Question 3

Can I switch the card between synths and use different banks for different synths?

Accepted Answer

Yes – the card behaves like sixteen (or eight) completely independent original cards, so formatting one bank for a given synth will not harm the data on any other bank.

Question 4

Can I switch banks while the card is plugged in, and the synth is turned on?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The synth only accesses the card during actual data transfer. It will also re-read the patch whenever you push the "CARD" button or select a new (or the same) patch, so switching the bank will have the same effect as plugging in a different card.
Some synths access the card in between too, and I've seen a bank switch occasionally cause a GC-8 to report a card error, but that can be easily corrected by removing and re-inserting the card.

Question 5

Help, I inserted the card, and my synth says, “Invalid card”! Is my card broken?

Accepted Answer

No, the synth is just telling you that you need to initialize / format the card for that synth first.
Please consult your synth manual for the necessary steps.

Question 6

Every time I have a blank Bank my card shows “Illegal Card” What is this?

Accepted Answer

Your card is completely fine. This shows when you are using a brand-new card, and it was not being formatted yet. When you see “Illegal card” just wait for a second and the function you selected will continue. For example, if you are about to save from Internal memory to card, you selected Bank Ax, Bx, Cx or Dx and you just pressed Int → Card, the card will show “Illegal Card” because the bank is blank, for a second and then it will continue for you to say Save Yes or No, you just proceed with enter. It should show “Complete” in the end.

Question 7

My synth complains about a low card battery. Is this a problem?

Accepted Answer

No, the card does not have nor need a battery. It’s trying to pretend to the synth that it’s got a fully charged battery but some devices like the JV-1080, JV-2080 or U-20 won’t have it.

Question 8

How can I tell if my card is an M-256 or M-512?

Accepted Answer

The card type is noted on the anti-static bag. If you ordered more than one card and already
removed them from the bag, you can still tell by their solder jumper configuration, see below.

Question 9

Can I use the M-512 variant in a synth that needs M-256 or M-128 cards?
Can I use the M-256 variant in a synth that needs M-128 cards?

Accepted Answer

Yes – if you use a larger bank in a synth that only needs a smaller card, the extra space will be unused, but the card will work just fine.

Question 10

How should I handle the card, especially regarding electrostatic discharge?

Accepted Answer

Handle the card with care, only grab it by the edges and be extra careful not to touch the contacts. The plastic cover was made to grab the card on the plastic cover area.
Human sweat is slightly corrosive, so even though the contacts are gold-plated, touching them might degrade them over time. While the card is unused, place on the plastic cover offered by Halg, ask us about it if you did not purchase it with. This should keep you out of trouble.

Question 11

How do I upload data from my computer or synth to the card?

Accepted Answer

We probably don’t know! The exact process differs between synths, and is documented in your
synth’s user manual. We do not have access to all the different devices that can use the card, so
please refer to your manual if you’re stuck.

Question 12

Can the card be re-configured to be an M-512 instead of M-256 (or vice versa)?

Accepted Answer

This is possible, but requires some soldering skills, see manual for it.

Question 13

I’m seeing "Improper Data Card" on my display. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

This is possible, it simply means that the card has not been formatted yet. You have to copy data to the card for this message to disappear.

Question 14

I’m seeing "Data card not ready" or "Data card read error" on my display. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

This is not a good indication. This means the card is not working properly. For JD-990 specially we noticed a few keyboards that happen, maybe as the card slot plastic warps with age, more synths are affected by it now. We recommend pulling the card out by a few millimeters to help making it work. Give it a try!

FAQ

Frequently asked questions