smashtv

Whoop! I'm not sure how it would act with the SC on pin 29, but with a bankstick attached it would effect the LCD. So does the CORE keep it's +5v even when the SID reads low?The only way you should be reading +5 on the CORE and less on the SID is a bad cable (J10-J2) between them. If a short or miswire somewhere on the SID board were present to cause the low voltage, it would drag the CORE +5 low with it. With no power you should check that there is no resistance across this cable. Be sure to keep those chips out of the SID until all voltages are correct. Don't give up on it yet, I know it's frustrating but when it springs to life it will be worth the effort..... ;) Best SmashTV

From this page we get: The relevant part of the CORE schematic: So for MIOS 1.6 and below the jumper goes to pin 22, and for MIOS 1.7 (and above) it goes to pin 28. Here is the quick view for my boards annotated below: Note that future versions of the CORE board from my shop will have a via/pad on pin 28 for the jumper, and the pin 22 jumper via/pad is gone. There will be a new build page on my site that shows these changes when it's time. :) Best! SmashTV

Heya James! The vX (or rX) designations I give to the boards are only for id during fabrication. No chance.....All of my core boards work with all versions of MIOS. There is build info for my boards at http://mbhp.coinoptech.com/mbhp_core.html including current Eagle layout and a jumper chart. Let me know if you have other questions :) SmashTV

Hi J! Motion control? Tracking a turntable? Just curious...... ;) You might consider building your own optical encoder out of old mouse parts. There are many articles about this here and out on the web. A modified potentiometer, a custom interruptor disc and some optos are all you need. This technique is very popular with robot builders. Have Fun! SmashTV

I have lowered prices in my store, due to new suppliers, a new PCB fab deal and a shift towards buying in larger quantities. I want to make the price change retroactive, so those who have bought from me within the last month, check your email for more info from me. Some boards/kits will be in short supply as I make these changes, but nothing will be out of stock for more than a few days. I accept payment through PayPal, which allows you to pay in your local currency without additional bank fees, and I have new shipping options that make it very cheap to ship boards worldwide. Many thanks to all my customers! Best :) SmashTV

Bootloader only, Always. :) Smash

link?

The Alesis DataDisk or Peavey MIDI Streamer are (were!) rackmount boxes that do nothing but handle MIDI data and sysex. If memory serves both have a floppy drive built in, but one uses 720k disks (hard to find these days). I don't know what more modern devices are out there to do this, but both of these units show up frequently on ebay cheap. If anyone knows of other commercial boxes with similar function, speak up! ;) Have Fun! Smash

Hehe I thought about that! Looks like its time to make a screen of my business card.... : ) Best SmashTV

All of the pics from the old portal gallery are there already, and in the next few days I'll be pulling all other known MB photos onto it. Yes! As more of the content moves from static to wiki, menu selections will go away. I forsee a portal with only a links engine, photo gallery, guestmap, etc. with all info pages in the wiki. That brings us to security. The way the wiki sits now all of the work could be wiped away in minutes by anyone, and there is not much we could do about it. None of the wikis I tried out have any security worth noting. I realize that backups are made and content can be replaced, but the whole thing could be avoided if I can setup a wiki to share the login database of the portal (like the photo gallery does). So far nothing like that exists. :( Lets see what we can make of it, and the best plan will present itself. :) Best SmashTV

If these were just a bit wider I could replace all of my AOL CD drink coasters. ;) Smash

Hey all! There are few new things on the portal @ http://portal.midibox.org Photo Gallery<--very easy to use/upload photos WIKI<--a documentation system that everyone can edit Navigation has been made a bit simpler also. Have fun! SmashTV /edit: forgot the link to the portal! ::)

Wiki is up at the portal. Have fun! ;) SmashTV

Cool! Hopefully we have finally found a good/cheap replacement for the JDM. I'm also taking suggestions about the most creative use of a JDM board (besides it's intended use). ;) Have fun! Smash

The ISP connection on the CORE and JDM are left there from the days of the 16F877 based Midibox, when everything loaded via the JDM. Have Fun! SmashTV

More on transistor only high current drive found in pinball machines: http://www.marvin3m.com/wpc/index2.htm#trans. If anyone needs more info on this just ask (even if it's to drive something besides a MIOS pinball machine) ;) Have Fun! SmashTV

On very large boards (100+ chips) I used to use a propane torch with a spreader tip, char the board quickly with the torch then knock it hard against the workbench. All of the parts in the charred area jump off the board into the floor, with minimal (about 2 seconds) heat time. I have not tried the heat gun approach, I have a couple of boards here that I'll try that on when it's time. It's got to be way less smelly and toxic with a heat gun! Have Fun! SmashTV

Wow! I never thought my old profession (arcade game tech) would mix with the Midibox stuff! This combination has only been seen in my nightmares (usually along with the nightmare of when they had the "mental patient's day out" at my park). The best way to pull this off without re-inventing the wheel would be to use some modern WMS pinball assemblies, most are either NOS or third party and I can help you find them relatively cheap. For the output drive, relays are the easy but expensive/messy/loud way. Also when you drive coils with relays the slapback current from the solenoid/coil has a tendency to burn the contacts quicker than expected. The drive concept that WMS used was rock solid without relays though, using a common transistor (like a 2n2222) to get the drive current up high enough to drive a TIP120 transistor. This method is extremely cheap and can drive any coil on the pinball but the flippers. For the flippers they used a TIP36. You can also use an enable relay+heavy contact flipper switches+capacitors but the life of the flipper contacts is finite. Let me know what help you need, I have all of the relevant schematics and complete understanding of them. Have Fun! SmashTV

There is space on Midibox.org, and I have more on my other domains if needed. I would like to try the WIKI, I'll do my best to install a fresh WIKI over the weekend so we can play with it and make an educated decision. If we don't like it, no harm-no foul. I'm thinking even if we don't like the formatting, it would be a good way to collect and organize the needed data to be formatted into whatever way is best. Thoughts? Comments? Have fun! SmashTV

See also http://www.gocco.com/prod.HTM These are silkscreen kits that have sold millions in Japan. The kit takes all of the guesswork and required skills out of making the screen. I doubt the included inks would work well for smooth surfaces, but who knows? http://www.dickblick.com/categories/printgocco/ is a retailer with all of the gocco stuff. They have a great selection of non-gocco screen printing supplies also. In my very limited esperience screening simple shirts, I know the hardest part of the process is making a good screen. The rest is trial/error and practice. The great thing about screening panels is once you have a good screen you can simply clean the ink off of the panel and try again if it doesn't come out right (unlike shirts!) Have fun! :) SmashTV

hehe love this box! Please use caution carrying it outside of the house, here in the US an ammo case in your car will get you extra attention from your local law enforcement. (Unfortunately I speak from experience, I carry some tools in the same size ammo box in my car, and I have had to open it several times now at the request of a highway patrol trooper, making for a nervous cop until they see the tools) This might only apply to me though, as a long haired guy driving a 1981 Trans Am i'm sure I fit the "bad guy" profile. ;) Great work, this box will inspire many to look for more creative enclosures! Have fun! SmashTV

I do the same with MAX all the time, some of the MIDI strings I need to send with one button press are very long (I run stage lighting with my boxes). Even a simple Blackout button has to send at least one note off for every fixture on stage! The "fixture initialize" button on the controllers has to send a value for every DMX address on the show, and on the typical layout that's 128+ values that are sent with one button press. Without MAX in between the control surface and the DMX convertor handling things, my life would be very tough, or at least require 10 times the amount of buttons! ;) With a translate/filter like you are doing (system-wide control), it opens up the midibox to control so much non-midi system things, and programs that were never intended to use a control surface. Might be time to examine the MB as a lower cost, more versatile, individually customizeable input solution for the disabled/handicapped. Everything currently on the market built for this is extremely expensive..... Have fun! SmashTV

You can do this two ways: 1) Add jumpers from the "jumper" parts library to your schematic (.sch). (look under "J") 2) As you are manually routing the trace, route it up to the point where you need the bridge to start, switch layers from bottom to top, route the bridge, then switch layers back to bottom. This will automatically put a pad+via+hole where you do the layer switches. The second method is the easiest to do on the fly. Have fun! SmashTV

Try:http://avishowtech.com/midibox/photos/preamp_v2.brd That one works ;) hopefully one of these days I can build a better upload script, that does not give the wrong URL to the uploader! Best SmashTV

See: http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=parts_q;action=display;num=1054271159;start=20#20 and http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=parts_q;action=display;num=1045138790;start=10#10 For info about the different types of power supplies. Have fun! SmashTV