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Having had most of the parts required to get started for a few months already, I finally managed to spend some time working on this project! The midibox forum upgrade seems to have come with this new blogging feature, so I thought I'd use it to document the build.
I started last night by unpacking and sorting all the components required to assemble the base PCB (acquired from SmashTV). This didn't take very long as although there is a lot of components there is not that many different kinds; almost everything comes in multiples of 8. I wonder why that is... ;-)
After a bit of confusion as to which PSU option I was gonna go with, I opted for PSU Option A since I will only be using 6582s (8 of them, acquired from Wilba quite a while back and kept in deep freeze since). I have a C64 (second generation - looks like a C128) PSU which I assume to be working since it's able to power the C64 it came with...
I then started soldering the components in the order suggested in the construction guide.
Mmmmhh the smell of rosin always brings back sweet memories... That is of course until the fumes start to build up and my eyes start to sting. Time to open the window I think!
After 4 hours of soldering, most of the core and psu sections are complete. All the chip sockets are in. I haven't soldered any headers yet as I haven't decided exactly what I will require - I need to do a bit more reading on this... Also still to be soldered are all the electrolytic capacitors.
One thing I have noticed about the PCB is that a lot of the chip labels get covered by the sockets once they are in. Not a big deal, I will be using this file for reference if needed. I understand that this is kind of unavoidable as the layout is quite compact.
I started last night by unpacking and sorting all the components required to assemble the base PCB (acquired from SmashTV). This didn't take very long as although there is a lot of components there is not that many different kinds; almost everything comes in multiples of 8. I wonder why that is... ;-)
After a bit of confusion as to which PSU option I was gonna go with, I opted for PSU Option A since I will only be using 6582s (8 of them, acquired from Wilba quite a while back and kept in deep freeze since). I have a C64 (second generation - looks like a C128) PSU which I assume to be working since it's able to power the C64 it came with...
I then started soldering the components in the order suggested in the construction guide.
Mmmmhh the smell of rosin always brings back sweet memories... That is of course until the fumes start to build up and my eyes start to sting. Time to open the window I think!
After 4 hours of soldering, most of the core and psu sections are complete. All the chip sockets are in. I haven't soldered any headers yet as I haven't decided exactly what I will require - I need to do a bit more reading on this... Also still to be soldered are all the electrolytic capacitors.
One thing I have noticed about the PCB is that a lot of the chip labels get covered by the sockets once they are in. Not a big deal, I will be using this file for reference if needed. I understand that this is kind of unavoidable as the layout is quite compact.
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Keep us posted and don't forget to add pictures of your progress ;)