Wilba

Not sure what you mean... If you're referring to J3, that's an optional output so you can reposition the Beat LED, e.g. putting it in between the LCDs like TK's original MB-SEQ panel. There's three pins in case you want to use a bicolor LED. The Beat LED footprint on the PCB is for a single color 5mm LED, because I thought a 5mm round red LED would look cooler and contrast better with the other LEDs... and it does.

Yeah you can do LEDs last... in fact, it makes sense to do the LEDs last because they overlap other parts. That case looks interesting... I assume you're going to mount another panel on top?

Very cool... I look forward to seeing what you do with the MB-SEQ! People wanting to copy this could consider getting clear acrylic panels laser cut from Ponoko. I'm a "Ponoko Prime" member and I get cheap shipping to me, especially if combined with other orders, so it would be quite easy to stick four panel sets on a "P2" size 2mm sheet. I've also worked out a way to get the font done as a vector engraving, instead of messy raster... which is ideal if you want to fill it with paint. I'm guessing the sheet with four panel sets would probably be at most US$50. The last P2 sheet I did had an obscene amount of holes and raster engraving and only came to US$55, and that was including US$15 for the dark grey tint sheet, the transparent sheet is only US$6.48! Of course, you'll have to wait around while I draw it up in Inkscape... in the meantime, think about where you want the mount holes :)

I'll curb my enthusiasm. It just looks like a nice tray. I'm used to boxes of LCDs which are just a box with individually bubble-wrapped LCDs.

Solder the switch leads (and any others like diodes) that overlap the LCD from the top side, this lets you cut the lead on the bottom side as close to the PCB as possible. Solder wires to the LCD from the bottom side, flat against the pads, not through the hole.

No, that's normal. I put a piece of 3mm slightly tinted acrylic in between the panel and LCD. You can cut it roughly because you don't see the edges. I thought I wrote to solder them from the top and cut the leads close to the PCB. Use sticky tape or card to insulate. 2mm or 2.5mm screws. I nominate you to update the documentation to share what you've learned. :)

A year ago, I bought the Stribe "uC Hacker's Kit" with red LEDs, shortly after TK got the hardware working with MIDIbox firmware (see this post). This is the same as the "Complete Stribe Prototype Kit" but "MINUS the Arduino MINI, the Arduino USB, associated sockets and the reset switch. You will need to provide your own microcontroller or other method for controlling the display and sensors, and powering the board." Of course, this is perfect if you want to use MIDIbox firmware and reuse TK's code (I assume there's a reason he used MIDIbox instead!). Due to so many other projects in the past year, it's still in it's original, unopened box. That's a good sign that maybe I should sell it to raise cash for MIDIbox prototyping (or to build nILS' modular) ;) So... if anyone is interested in buying it, send me an email: Jason.S.Williams@gmail.com I paid US$470 over a year ago, the US$ is about the same now as it was then, plus it's now a discontinued kit, so don't insult me with cheap offers! ;) If I was sufficiently motivated, I'd build it myself and then sell it pre-built. There are plenty of people with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and serious DIY aversion who could drive up an eBay auction for a pre-built Stribe. Add "discontinued and rare" to that equation and I'm sure I could get over $1000 for a pre-built one (esp. if I do a funky acrylic case). But I seriously CBF building it and designing a case, etc. Maybe someone else with more time can take this kit and make a profit on it, or turn it into a cool toy. The option is there to use MIDIbox hardware or an Arduino or some other flavour of microcontroller, I don't know... you'll have to research this yourself... just know it's the "uC Hacker's Kit" meaning it doesn't come with the Arduino (See Stribe kit details here). Only serious DIY people should make offers - I'm not going to help you build it. More details about how to build it can be found at: http://www.stribe.org/ I'll collect offers (if any) over the next fortnight and then make a decision to sell or not.

Maybe I should add two more so you can post me a full tray ;)

lol I was about six black caps short from an order of 1500. 25 orders x 60 caps = 1500. Annoying. Luckily I had some spares from an earlier order. btw I can spare a white cap if you don't mind 2 AUD postage ;) Totally agree on the mock-up idea... I print panel layouts onto paper then stick onto cardboard and cutout holes for switch caps, knobs etc.

For people who don't know, this MB-SEQ board is designed to use the same switch/cap combo as the x0xb0x... the switch needs a 3.30mm actuator to fit the rectangular button, hence the specific e-switch tactile switch which is slightly different to 3.80mm which every other goddamn manufacturer of this kind of switch, including ALPS. However, the good thing is, they fit the funky cap from C&K. All the parts specs I used can be found here.

Topic updated to "MB-SEQ V3/V4 Control Surface PCB and matching case", as I'm still not using V4 yet... I only have a half-finished Core32 prototype PCB.

No, encoders are not connected to the switch matrix.

BTW can you post some top-down photos of the PSU section, maybe some shots of the bottom side as well, around the J71,J72,J73 area. You know what they say about a second pair of eyes :) maybe we could spot something.

They are not really optional. The firmware expects them there (it inverts the outputs so that a high DOUT pin causes current sinking). You would need to modify the source code to not invert the outputs. Not really worth the effort, since they're there to sink more current than the shift register can handle by itself... i.e. sinking current from 16 LEDs.

OK... 12V going into V1 is good. Now keep in mind, the middle pin of V1 should be connected to the +5V supply. Now check between the output pin and middle pin of V1. Should be 9V. Note the middle pin SHOULD be connected to 5V but you're measuring the output of V1 relative to the middle pin, not ground! Now check between the output pin of V1 and ground. Should be 9V+5V=14V. This 14V is what should be between the input pin and middle pin (ground) of V2 and V3. You say it is not, well that's why stuff isn't working! Check the bridges J71, J72 and J73. If these are not correct, then things won't work. What I suspect now is, V2 and V3 aren't supplied with 14V... maybe J71 isn't correct. Or there's a short somewhere near there... you may have mounted the bridges correctly but a short from one of these pins to something else might cause the problems you're seeing. Check J71 pin 2-3 not shorted. Check J72 pin 2-3 not shorted. Alternately, some other problem... V1, V2 or V3 are mounted backwards, or V1's heatsink (which should be at 5V) is touching V2 or V3's heatsink (which should be ground) or touching something else, making V1 not work. I know I'm suggesting things you already checked... but it's the only explanation I can think of. The next logical step would be, not assume things are correct just because they look like it. Remove J71 and J72 bridges. Check no two pins of J71 and J72 are connected. Test V1 relative to middle pin (~12V in, 9V out) Add bridge at J71 between pin 1 and 2. ((This connects V1 common pin to 5v, so it outputs 14v relative to ground). Test V1 relative to middle pin (~12V in, 9V out) Test V1 relative to ground (14V out) Add bridge at J72 between pin 1 and 2. (This connects V1 output pin to 14v supply lines, to go into V2 and V3). Test V2 relative to middle pin (14V in, 9V out) Test V2 relative to ground (14V in, 9V out) Test V3 relative to middle pin (14V in, 12V out) Test V3 relative to ground (14V in, 12V out)

How did I miss this thread? Awesome stuff, Alkex (as usual). Even better than the one that got broken.

That's not the same switch/cap combination that I'm using... I can't tell what the cap is, but it's definitely not the same rectangular cap, as they come from a different manufacturer. Please note that any future bulk orders of the PCB will include an option to buy the matching tactile switches and caps, for less than the prices you can buy the same quantity from Mouser and Digikey. I'm pretty sure even the US "bleeding edge prototypers" got their switches and caps cheaper than they could buy them, even including the shipping from Australia.

Please confirm, you're saying the input pin of V1 is -7.46v relative to the middle pin? You need to be absolutely specific in what you test, when you report a voltage measurement, specify EXACTLY what you're measuring between, because in this case, V1 is not connected to ground, and the whole problem is probably related to the voltage regulators not being connected properly. We're gonna be here forever if all you report is the input of V1. What's the output relative to middle pin? What's the input going into V2 and V3? etc. Go over my last post and answer all the questions first. I can't help if you don't confirm what the problem isn't.

yes... MB-SID app can play SID tunes just like a SidStation... you have to use the ASID XP program with Windows. You can find ASID XP here: http://www.elektron.se/support/

Note that the common (middle) pin of V1 (7809, 9V regulator) should be connected to the +5V DC supply... this is how it will output 9+5=14V relative to the ground (i.e. the same ground throughout the PCB which is connected to the C64 PSU ground). So first check you're actually getting 9V DC coming out of V1 by testing between the output pins of V1, which is the same as testing between the V1 output pin and the +5V DC rail (when using PSU Option B, where +5V DC rail is connnected to V1 common pin). Then check you are getting 14V DC going into V2 and V3, testing between V2/V3 input pin and middle pin (or ground). Check the heatsink of V1 doesn't connect to V2/V3... they share different common pins (i.e. as above, V1 sits on top of the +5V rail). To correct fussylizard: J4 is just inline with the power supply, it can be used to connect an external PSU (see PSU Option D) or to power other things (if using PSU Option A or B). So testing voltages at J4 is fine, and the same as testing at J1_SIDx Maybe a short somewhere is causing the voltage regulators to fail. A short causing V1 to not output 9V will cause this kind of problem perhaps. FWIW I think it's going to be something simple to find and track down... might take a while though :)

This is what I have: http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/product/T2250 (your link didn't work for me, but it's the same one based on product code). Temperature controlled and cheap (129 AUD) though my definition of cheap might differ from yours. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and excellent bang for buck. Seriously, do not bother with anything that isn't temperature controlled. I've never needed a different tip for this one, even for SMD ICs (using solder wicking method, see curiousinventor guides). I usually set it to 330 deg, and crank it up to 400 for brute force desoldering or soldering pads "direct connect" to ground planes (which will dissipate heat much faster and require more heat to do a good joint).

No... all you do is double-click on the "HPGL engraving" object... which contains ALL the engraving... this is separated into two "pens", pen #1 is the white text/lines, pen #2 is the orange text (pattern labels). Thus for each pen, you change the "In-fill color" to something else. Make sure the "Tool" is still "Engraving tool 0.2mm". Note this gets produced a bit thicker than it is displayed on the screen. Resist temptation to increase it to 0.4mm. Believe it or not, I spent A LONG TIME deciding on the orange :) and I think it works well, a good contrast to the black, but not as bright or distracting as red or yellow. For natural panels, I'd probably suggest the mint green. Maybe even "No in-fill color" would be cool for natural panels... subtle but still visible. However, if you decide you want to change more than just colour, i.e. remove/change labels, etc. then you can manually edit everything with the "unopt" versions of the FPD file... you can then multiple-select all objects and change things with the object properties dialog. Alternately, I could manually edit the artwork in DXF, export it to HPGL again, and then import it back into FPD to save you some money. Don't ask me why, but HPGL engraving is cheaper than the exact same amount of engraving as discrete FPD text/line objects.

fussylizard 2 strophlex 3 nsunier ~10 rosch 4 ssp 2 (maybe 4) gtxdude 2 matoz 4 lucem 6 enth 3 flemming 1 kyo 2 wilba 6 dstamand 1 olga42 5 latigid on 2 ---------------------- ~53 [/code] confirming 6 for me

BTW it's virtually impossible to get two 6581 with the same output levels, noise level and filter characteristics. I gave up after acquiring about 8 of them. So... getting a stereo 6581 setup to sound good is difficult. Plus I've grown to hate the noisy, flaky, overheating little buggers :) Avoid the hype and the hassle, get some 8580 or 6582A. 6581s are for masochist hard-core SID fans ;)

SORRY CAN U SPEAK UP I'M A LITTLE DEAF FROM ALL THE SHOUTING