Mickey_Sadler

Robin, check the eorg-l mailing list at http://eorg-l.pipechat.org/ . You can search the archives for info on cleaning bussbars, or you can join the list and ask about your particular model organ. (I would suggest searching the archives first.) Mickey

daveojo wrote: Yep, with all that that implies. St. Patrick's day is celebrated with parades, shamrocks painted on the centerline of the street, etc. etc. and if you are caught not wearing green you are "arrested" and held in "jail" until bailed out (all moneys to charities). Lots of Irish street names, subdivision names, etc. The comment about "so that's what it is" was just a little leg pulling. Although, as I explained, even someone with a masters in the field sometimes tries to make things too hard and I have not been able to figure out why. Mickey

Hi So THAT'S the problem! I have found that most people with college degrees try to make easy things hard. I am 66 years old and started building circuits at age 12 or so, learning from the ARRL Radio Amateurs Handbook. I went to a 2 year technical school, and when working I went to classes at work. I have found that most people that had problems understanding "things" were people with college degrees. I worked with one fellow who had a Masters in Physics and a Masters in Electronics Engineering . He designed a door interlock circuit for a piece of equipment with multivibrator circuitry and a bunch of other parts. When I started ordering parts to build it I found he had specified parts from catalogs that were special order and could not be completed in time. I used a door interlock switch designed for the purpose instead. It took me an hour to explain how it worked so he would OK the installation. If the door is closed, the switch makes contact and power is applied. If the door is opened, a spring loaded plunger opens the switch and power is disconnected. If you need to work on the equipment, open the door, pull out on the plunger to a detented position and the switch makes contact. If you forget to push the plunger back in, just shutting the door does it for you. It took an hour with diagrams and a physical tryout several times to convince him that it did work and how it worked. Two Masters degrees! Humph! Sorry about the grumpiness, but it does take some reading and digging to learn something new. Mickey

Hi All, TK mentioned that the DIY friendly chips are going away to be replaced with SMDs. These can still be used by DIY folks. I just takes a bit of learning and practice and smaller tools to work with them. When I was 12 years old I got my first amateur radio license and built transmitters and receivers. That means I learned to solder at an early age. After technical school for electronics, I worked for a time for RCA in a plant where they built tube type radios, stereos, etc. Then I went to work for an aircraft manufacutrer, North American Aviation, working on aircraft electronics. I had to go to a class to learn how to solder. I had been soldering for around 10 years and thought it was an insult to have to go to a soldering class. The first day the instructor passed around a printed circuit board, everyone thought the board was just beautiful. Then he told us it was a reject board from the rocket division that was rejected for poor soldering! I learned a lot from that class, but the best thing I learned was that using good tools, good cleaning, and careful inspection (with a jewelers loupe if needed) good solder joints are a breeze whether they are on a 1/4 inch stud or a 200 pin connector that has the pins almost touching each other. SMD is just smaller, but still workable. Oh, I had to take that class, then pass an exam every year in order to stay employed - just like the aircraft welders had to be certified. Don't be afraid of the SMDs, just use a smaller soldering tool and the proper adhesive to hold them in place while working. You will learn another very useful skill. Later, Mickey

Way to go SmashTV! I appreciate all the trouble you have gone to in this matter. I like to let people know about the DIY MIDIBox, but I always let them know that it is not to be sold and tell them to read the FAQ where this is pointed out. Mickey

That's great news! I've downloaded it and gave it a quick look. Now to spend more time than I should playing with it..........uh learning to use it. Yeah, that's the ticket. Mickey

Take a look at AMERICAN THEATRE ORGAN SOCIETY MISSISSIPPI CHAPTER at http://atos.stirlingprop.com/ and click on the knowledge base button. There are a couple of items that may be of use, Diagram for 2 amp solenoid driver (chime relay) and Applying electric solenoids to tuned percussions. Also take a look at Mechanical Music Digest article on building a pneumatic beater for a xylophone at http://mmd.foxtail.com/Tech/chimes.html . These could be driven by MIDI also, by using small solenoids to valve the air to the pneumatic. Mickey

yeah - but I give it a week max............................ Mickey P.S. GREAT looking work area! MES

Hi All, There used to be a Mac program for programming PICs called MacPIC. (Do a google for MacPic and it may still be available - somewhere.) Kevin Coble, the name, has discontinued it and is working on a program called MacrocASM for OS X. See http://www.macrobotics.com/MacPIC.html for more info and the download page. At this time it doesn't support PIC18xxx yet but if we joggle his elbow a bit, maybe it will soon. Also, some of us Mac types may be able to use the info on his web site to add the chip definitions. Mickey

Years ago I worked in an area with electronic equipment, computers, teletypes used as computer consoles (now you know how old I am) in an area wired by "licensed electricians". I was touching one piece of equipment and leaned over and touched a teletype I was reading information from and got a dandy shock. Seems like the "electricians" had miswired ground in the shop and there was around 68 volts between grounds. Some equipment in that room ran on 120 volt, some 240 volt (both single phase) some on 208 volt three phase (all 60 cycle), some on 220 volt single phase 400 cycle, etc. Made my day go a bit slower till I found what was ok to touch and what was not! Mickey

As an old computer tech, I would recommend using the solder wick or a solder sucker to remove the solder. The better solder wick will suck the solder out very quickly. Don't forget to clip the end off the solder wick so you are working with a fresh piece on each pin. Then use a small screwdriver and gently push each pin away from the side of the hole to make sure the pin is not still connected. After checking all pins, slide a thin bladeded knife under the chip and gently lift from one end to the other. If you can't get a knife under the chip, use a small scredriver under one end and lift a bit, then move to the other end and lift. Go back and forth until the chip is off the board. Remember, patience and gentleness work wonders removing chips. Later, Mickey

Hi John S, Now that IS an interesting idea! The diode matrix sounds like the easiest way to go. Smaller cables from the keyboards, fewer boards to build, but lots of diodes to install. Fortunately, diodes in 100's quantity are very inexpensive. I'll be exploring this further. What keyboards/stops to what MIDI channel are you using? Hopefully we can come up with a "standard" configuration so MIDI files can be exchanged with a chance of sounding reasonably correct on different organs. I'll probably have a bunch of questions as soon as I learn enough to be able to know what to ask. Later, Mickey

Hey thanks Thorsten, that makes it a bit easier to find. Looks like this is a very popular thread. Mickey

Hi Jim, I'm glad to see you here. Hmmmmm - another interesting problem. How do I add second touch to my Wurlitzer electronic organ? I've heard of it being done to pipe organ consoles that didn't have it and I think there is a keyboard kit out to do the conversion. Later, Mickey

Hi All, Along with adding MIDI a big problem is no standard for what stops are assigned to what channels or controllers or notes. Tony Decap has written a MIDI Mapper program, primarily for band organs, that might be useful. See more about it at http://mmd.foxtail.com/Tech/decap_midimapper.html where there is also a download link. I have downloaded it, but have not had a chance to play with it yet. Later, Mickey