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uk FR8L / TR77 trigger interface board

Please check the rear of your board. This guide is for boards labelled '03/16 R1.1'. If your board says
'02/15 R1' please use the alternate guide that can be found HERE.

The Bentley Rhythm Ace FR8L and the Roland TR77 are more or less the same machine. The only
differences being that that the PCB's are in different positions, the FR8L doesn't have the tambourine
sound found on the TR77 (although the empty spaces for the components are on the board and it can
be installed), the TR77 has a fade out feature, and the TR77 also has 3 extra preset patterns.

Internally the sounds are triggered using -12v spikes, instead of the standard +5v pulses used on later
machines. This interface board is designed to convert standard +5v trigger pulses supplied from an
external source such as a midi to trigger converter, modular synth, drum machine or analogue
sequencer, into the correct triggers to drive the FR8L / TR77 voices.

The parts list and build details can be found at the end of this guide. Once you've built the board you
need to install it as follows:

Mounting the board:

To mount the PCB you're going to need to remove one of the screws that hold the pattern generator
board in place, and screw a M3 16mm hex PCB spacer into the vacant screw hole. Then use the
screw to bolt the PCB in position on top of the spacer.
Below you can see the board positioning for both the FR8L and the TR77. Note the positioning of the
mounting screw on each image.

Roland TR77 mounting BRA FR8L mounting

Interface power:

The interface needs to be powered by15-25v. In theory both the FR8L / TR77 have a 24v power rail
with two other rails running at approximately 21v and 14v that are derived from the main 24v supply.
All measurements are approximate as the voltages on these old units can vary wildly and the stock
power supply circuitry is utter crap by today's standards. We would recommend that you install some
kind of improved power arrangement as shown on the circuitbenders site HERE, but this board will
operate ok on an unmodified unit.
The closest points where power can be sourced are shown on the next page. On the FR8L they are
found on the voice board, and on the TR77 they are on the switch board for the Latin patterns. On the
FR8L image, the two solder points with the orange wires under the 'B' on the board are connected
together, so either can be used for the positive power. The same goes for the points marked with the
'G'. On the TR77 the correct points usually have red and black wires connected to them, but don't
count on this. Check the polarity on the interface before connecting the power.
 Roland TR77 power BRA FR8L power

Trigger points:

The trigger input points for the drum sounds can be found along the edges of the voice boards. They
should be wired to the trigger output point of the same name on the interface board. It is important
that you only use the inputs on the voice board that have the same labelling, and do not under any
circumstances wire anything to any other point. See below for details of the Guiro triggering.

Roland TR77 - BD, LC, LB, HB, RS, CB, C trigger points. BRA FR8L - BD, LC, LB, HB, RS, CB, C trigger points

Roland TR77 - TB, CY, HH, M, SD trigger points BRA FR8L - TB, CY, HH, M, SD trigger points

Note that the TB trigger input has nothing connected on the FR8L. This is because the FR8L doesn't
have the Tambourine sound as standard, although it can be installed by adding the missing parts
Guiro triggering:

The guiro has a completely different triggering method compared to the rest of the sounds. The guiro
sound is triggered by a pulse of around +11v at the GU trigger input. Unlike the other sounds, this
pulse lasts for as long as the sound is produced, Around 2/3rds of the way through the main GU
trigger pulse, another +10v trigger is sent to the trigger input labelled '5'. This second pulse bends the
frequency of the sound upwards to give the characteristic guiro effect.
The GU output on the interface should be wired to the GU input on the board, and the GB (guiro
bend) output should be wired to the input labelled '5'.

Roland TR77 - Guiro trigger points BRA FR8L - Guiro trigger points

Pattern board power switch:

To hear the sounds when they are driven from external triggers you have to have the machine in play
mode (by touching the metal start bar), but with all the pattern buttons popped out, so no patterns are
actually playing. This opens the VCA used to silence the machine when its stopped.
The one drawback of this is that the pattern generator is running all the time, regardless of whether its
actually triggering any sounds. This results in all kinds of triggering clicks and pops leaking onto the
audio whenever the VCA is open. Normally you don't hear them as a pattern would be running, but
they can be very annoying when using external triggering.
The best way to deal with this is to cut power from the pattern generator board when you're using
external triggers. This is done by removing the wire labelled 'B' at the back of the pattern board, and
wiring a switch across the gap. The B wire is shown disconnected and circled in the images below.

Roland TR77 - Pattern board power connection BRA FR8L - Pattern board power connection
Parts list: R1.1 boards

PART NUMBER PART VALUE NOTES

D1-D15 1N4148 Diode
R0 Wire jumper
R1, R4, R7, R10, R13, R16 10K All resistors standard 1/4 watt
R19, R22, R25, R28, R31, R34 carbon or metal film
R37, R38
R2, R5, R8, R11, R14, R17 1K
R20, R23, R26, R29, R32, R35
R3, R6, R9, R12, R15, R18 270K
R21, R24, R27, R30, R33, R36
R39, R40 1M5
C1-C13 39nF Poly film
C17, C18 220nF Poly film
C19, C22 100nF Ceramic
C20 220uF 35v Electrolytic
C21 47uF 25v Electrolytic
Q1-Q13 2N5088 or equivalent transistor
REG1 7812 Voltage regulator
IC2 40106 Hex inverter
IC3 4093 Quad NAND gate
PCB spacer M3 16mm 22mm total length
Switch SPST or SPDT toggle Pattern board power switch

Notes:

R0 should be jumpered with a piece of cut off component leg.

The PCB spacer should have a 16mm body with a roughly 6mm M3 threaded end. The total length
should be approximately 22mm. Order code 146-6736 at Farnell is ideal, but you can get something
similar at many places.

C1 to C13, C17 and C18 would probably work just as well as ceramic disk caps rather than film ones,
but the FR8L and TR77 both use green dipped poly film ones for this job.

The voltage regulator might get very slightly warm, but should not be hot to the touch. If its unusually
hot then check the input voltage, and the power rails of the machine. Make sure you have nothing
shorted and you are getting 12v at pin 14 of IC2 and IC3

When you've cut the legs off components after soldering, check you haven't left the remains of legs on
adjacent components shorting together. Problems like this can arise from placing all of a certain
component into the board, and bending the legs across each other to hold the parts in place prior to
soldering.