Korg Forums

Today, I tried to see if I could use the internal ports of my KronosX and here what I did:

I connected a USB extension cable to one of the internal USB ports
I connected a Ethernet cable to the internal Ethernet port on the mainboard

I made a small opening on the bottom of the Kronos so that I could feed the cables through it

Now my PC is directly connected via Ethernet and the transfer rate seems much higher.
Also I can use the extension USB cable as an additional USB port for thumb drives or whatever else

Of course the cables are not very practical on a live scene but I use my Kronos mainly in my studio.

Hello fabiotre, happy new year!
I just found your post on modifications. I am also using the internal Ethernet port and I am really happy I finished this project! Take a look:

Last month I decided to add memory and bigger SSD drive on my Kronos 88 and during the procedure I noticed the Ethernet and VGA ports on the Intel motherboard. I decided to use them by doing a simple no-cost modification. So yesterday, I added an Ethernet port on my Kronos which works perfectly!


Ethernet and VGA ports on Kronos

Using a Cat6 Ethernet plug (which is used in racks and patch panels), I created a short Ethernet cable (male to female):



On the bottom wooden board of Kronos I decided for the place of the ethernet port and drew it:


Using a Dremel drill I opened the hole on board:


I used hot silicone glue to position the cable on the board:


For security reasons I added some 3M sticking aluminum tape:


This is how the Ethernet port looks from the bottom of my Kronos:


Port is working perfectly, Kronos obtained an IP address immediately:

Intersting article.

Has anyone tried using the internal VGA port to connect the Kronos to a proper sized screen.

Would be great if that worked as well.

Cheers.

scottgblood wrote:Intersting article.

Has anyone tried using the internal VGA port to connect the Kronos to a proper sized screen.

Would be great if that worked as well.

Cheers.

I tried this. It doesn`t works. I can see bios on external monitor, but anything more.

I can post bios photos if you like.

Does anyone have a picture of where the screen connects to the main board?

SynthKeyWizard wrote:

scottgblood wrote:Intersting article.

Has anyone tried using the internal VGA port to connect the Kronos to a proper sized screen.

Would be great if that worked as well.

Cheers.

I tried this. It doesn`t works. I can see bios on external monitor, but anything more.

I can post bios photos if you like.

This sounds like the VGA output for a secondary screen has been disabled at an OS level otherwise you wouldn't even see the BIOS if they had completely disabled the output.

I might go out this weekend and buy a second hand Kronos before NAMM 2015 and have a play around with the OS. As this is Linux based it is somewhat open source...

you know I am wondering if there is a "secret service trick" to enable a service center to use the monitor port in case the internal touch screen had failed for troubleshooting and service.

musicman2011 wrote:you know I am wondering if there is a "secret service trick" to enable a service center to use the monitor port in case the internal touch screen had failed for troubleshooting and service.

I guess you could restart the kronos like 10,000 times and hold down every single combination of key and button till you find it.

However, I don't think it will be that easy. On the top end roland keyboards you need a particular file, containing a particular set of binary data in a particular order on a USB stick in order to get into the pre O\S service system.

Cheers.

Just found this: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/9363342-post77.html

Why drill and use cables when wifi is so much easier?!

http://www.kronoscopie.fr/installer-le-wifi.html

Francois wrote:Why drill and use cables when wifi is so much easier?!

http://www.kronoscopie.fr/installer-le-wifi.html

Personally I don't think that putting and setting up a Wi Fi adaptor is easier (on your webpage says you need 45 minutes which is longer than I needed to put a simple ethernet cable). From the other hand I am not sure that WIFI won't cause any interference (like hums, white noise or any kind of noise). WiFi uses the frequency of 2.4 GHz which is far away from any audible frequency but under certain conditions this frequency could possibly interfere into the audio flow inside the system.
Anyway , this is something to be examined...

A cable is also way faster for large transfers like sample libraries. Then again wifi is pretty convenient. Both valid approaches, thanks for sharing!

First, my comments above do not purport to lessen your realisation or criticise what you have achieved.

For me, WiFi has the obvious advantage of enabling the PC-Kronos link when the latter is in a location that is far from where it would need to be to be plugged. That's why I went that way in the first place.

Note that sample libraries transfer via Ethernet is not an option anyway, even by cable, as it takes much longer than simply copying from USB stick. So WiFi makes it even less attractive. However, for copying a PCG file, reorganising the drive from the PC, etc., then it's really useful. BUT... if anybody installs a PC-Kronos Ethernet link thinking it will be great for libraries transfer, then DON'T! It takes ages, even with a super-duper fast latest generation router.

As for my comments: Easier and longer are different words. I said easier because it doesn't involve drilling, glue, tape... and doing things that are more drastic. Plus, my system is totally reversible. If I sold my Kronos and decided to remove the router, nobody would know this system had ever been fitted inside. In your case, you'd have to find somebody willing to buy a machine with obvious modifications. Believe it or not, many people would be frightened buying a machine such as yours on the used market.

Finally, there is no interference whatsoever in all the time I've had this installed. Not sure what conditions would change that, potentially. All I can say is that my experience using WiFi and the Kronos shows no impact on the sound itself.

I hope the Kronos successor has a WiFi chip on its motherboard to simplify this.

Oh, heh, that is dumb that a USB stick is faster. I also like that the wifi idea is reversible.