Tascam 788 firmware upgrade

Hi, thanks for your replies RealTime and blckjck. It had v1.07 installed when new. I recently downloaded the v1.10 update but have had no joy running it from the Tascam CDR. I just burned the file onto a disk on my Mac as there were no instructions for any particular way to prepare it, and then followed the update instructions to no avail. After reading up some of the threads on here, I'm thinking perhaps I'll need to buy the Eprom RealTime found?
 
I've just gone and bought it as I don't know if it's possible to upgrade my Eprom and it was his last one with had a couple of watchers on it so gotta be worth a tenner! ;~)
 
I am in the process of restoring a Portastudio 788 and am very excited about getting to explore the machine. I plan on documenting the power supply build here to help those in the future who have a little technical skills and need a supply.

That said, I am looking for the 2.02 update to no avail. I'm not sure what version I have since I don't have a supply, but I'm betting it's not 2.02. I understand the EEPROM swap, etc. I have a EEPROM reader/writer so programming a larger chip wont be an issue. If anyone thinks that process could be beneficial to others I would be willing to document that here as well.

Can anyone point me in the right direction since it's not available on the Tascam site?

Thanks!
 
Burned EEPROM's with 2.02 can be found on ebay and such for a fair price.
I have a copy of the 2.02 ISO for flashing an older version as long as the current chip is large enough to support it.
 
Thanks for the reply!. It doesn't look like there are any available on e-bay at the moment. I am certainly more interested in the ISO honestly. The blank chips are abundantly available, and most of the fun on these projects for me is the hands on stuff.

I'm sure the ISO is quite small. Is there any possibility of getting a copy?
 
blckjck: I've finally got the power supply ironed out and it looks like this machine has v1.07 which is the larger EEPROM. I've got an approved drive to uploading via CD is an option. Would it be possible for you to upload or share the 2.02 ISO?
 
Does anyone else have the 788 v2.02 ISO? I've tried a few other places, and even tried contacting Tascam and I'm not having any luck at all getting a hold of the v2.02 update.

WAV export is critical to this project and I don't even want to begin without that functionality.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
 
I am also interested in this upgrade. Any info would be appreciated.

Dave
 
I still have had no luck sourcing the upgrade from Tascam USA, nor any other channels. Blckjck had the file hosted but unfortunately that is no longer the case. He said he would take a look to see if he could find it but I'm guessing he didn't since I never got a reply after that.

If I manage to get a copy of the ISO I will host it on my webspace indefinitely.

I refuse to pay some individual a premium price on e-bay for a burned chip. Anyone with a reader/burner can clone the chips and the chips themselves aren't that expensive.

Anyhow, if and when I get the files I will update this thead.
 
Sorry guys, I was pretty busy back in November and failed to follow up with the email notification. I do have the ISO file. The reason the file was not hosted here on this site was because of the risk to versions that cannot support the upgrade. You could brick your device if the EEPROM does not have the room. I will PM you both with the current link.
 
So if the Firmware is ver. 1.06 and below there is not enough space on the EEPROM, but if it's ver. 1.07 and greater, we are OK to install the upgrade?

I just want to verify that this is correct.

Thanks,

Dave
 
DaveZ, that is correct. you can upgrade 1.07 to 2.02.
Please take the time to look through the upgrade procedures linked in the manual area that I posted at the beginning of the thread. An incorrect procedure can also brick the unit.

i45one, I agree about paying premium prices when you can do it your self. However, some people still use this gear enough to not want to risk bricking it. If they can just swap out the chip, they would rather do that. Also, if their chip is to small, they don't have an option.
 
Thanks again blckjck. You're a lifesaver!

I agree with your decision of not posting the file due to the risks involved. Coming from a very long IT background, I forget burning e/eeproms isn't something most people are aware of or equipped to do.
 
Hi, I'm looking for v2.02 firmware file please if anyone can help? :)

I have v1.07 EEPROM chip in my 788 so it should be able to do it ok.

Also could anyone offer advice on how to burn the firmware file to CD on a mac as well? I have the Tascam CDR788. I downloaded the v1.10 from the Tascam website and burned it to a CD (simply using Finder>Burn). I then tried the installation upgrade process on the Tascam, but no luck.

I have also fitted a 80GB hard drive in the 788 so it should have enough memory.

Any thoughts, much appreciated :-D
 
TargetOne,
I sent you a PM with the ISO link.
Also, Google'ing "Mac burn ISO to disk" came up with:
1. Insert a blank disk
2. Start Disk Utility
3. From the File menu, choose Open Disk Image and select the ISO to be burned
4. In the list of volumes, you will now see an item representing the ISO file. Select it.
5. Click the Burn button and follow the instructions.

I've never owned a Mac, so I hope this is correct. The big thing to pay attention to is that you are not writing the file to a disk, you are writing a disk image.
 
Wow! Thanks so much blckjck, the update worked and I'm on v2.02. Many thanks for the super quick response as well.
On a side note, El Capitan now has the "burn disk image" option in Finder, just right click or ctrl+click the ISO file and the dropdown menu gives you the option there to burn to CD.
Thanks again :-D
 
You are welcome. It's great that these 16 year old devices can be upgraded to still be useful.
 
I have a Digital Portastudio 788 ver. 1.05, and it wont boot up anymore. I recorded some very long songs on it and I read somewhere that this might be why and that I may need to upgrade the firmware. Any tips on where I may be able to score a higher level eeprom chip and the firmware upgrade?

My email is taiadelaja@hotmail.com. Thanks.
 
I have a Tascam 788 version 1.05. What exactly do I need to do to upgrade it?? I'm new to this forum and and help is appreciated. From what I understand, the earlier versions require some extra steps or upgrade. Where do I find the EEPROM chip???
 
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Anyone still have that v2.02 upgrade? Please PM me? I have a v1.07 paper weight at the moment.
 
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