Wilba

I have one 6582A SID which did not pass testing... there is a very, very faint click as the filter cutoff passes through (roughly) value 700 and 900. You don't hear this while the SID is playing, but if you have a free-running LFO modulating cutoff, you might hear a repetitive click sound. I can't sell it at full price, but it seems a shame to throw out this SID just because of a very minor flaw. Anybody want it?

What kind of LEDs have you got? If you use 1K resistors with (for example) SmashTV's red LEDs, it probably won't be a problem. My MB-6582 has 4.86V under full load, and that's with a lower current draw from the display. A 1.7A supply is more than enough... I estimate the current draw should be around 1A, including 100mA for LEDs.

That VFD may have mount holes that line up with the MB-6582 CS PCB, but the display needs to fit in the cutout on the PCB, which it will not. Note the reason the cutout is only a little bigger than standard 4x20 LCD bezels is because the switches above and below the display actually overlap the LCD's PCB (i.e. the area outside the bezel but still within the LCD's PCB edges). The closest thing to a VFD is obviously a PLED display like my "prototype" MB-6582, but there are short lifetime issues with them. I am now experiencing this first hand... my PLED display needs to "warm up" to full brightness and the pixels which used to be square are now wide rectangles, so it actually looks like raster lines. :( This from a display that has probably only had a couple hundred hours of being used, maybe even less, it's been on for less than an hour a week on average! The next best thing is the ultracool and ultraexpensive Optrex STEP LCD in negative white or negative green (see ultra's ultracool and ultraexpensive MB-SEQ)

Where does it state that in the wiki? I can't find it.

Some C64 PSU "bricks" can't deliver the fully rated current of 1.5 amps for some reason (being old most likely). Thus the 5V supply will drop down under a big load, which is what happens with 8x SIDs plus high-powered LCD drawing 280+ mA. What kind of C64 PSU is it? I have had good results with the large black ones with ventilation slots, and others have had the problem I described with the sealed light beige ones that came with late model C64s.

space is cool...

It's a bit hard to use protoboard - we're talking about silicon rubber buttons with conductive rubber pads, which need to mate with exposed traces on the PCB. Protoboard is typically bare copper donuts which are bad for contacts like this... even tinning them with solder would lead to intermittent conductivity and a crappy switch :-) Sparkfun sell a "mini button pad set": http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8998 which mate with a different type of PCB: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8963 and this PCB is easy to split into single buttons to reposition them as you like. If you really prefer a row of four big square buttons like the other kind, then it's probably easiest to cut one of SparkFun's 2x2 boards in half, than go to the trouble of making a new PCB, and paying so much more in production costs to get them made. I mean, they're already designed to split a 4x4 board into four 2x2 boards, so cutting one of these in half and adding wire between cut tracks (or just connecting wires to the switches' pads) is probably not too much work.

You might consider shopping on eBay Australia, the shipping to Singapore would be cheaper than getting one from U.S. or Europe, and the power supply will suit, I think Singapore has 240V mains.

I HAD SOME CATNIP BUT I EATED IT

Yes, you can have a subset of the full control surface. For example, you could use just two rotary encoders for Filter Cutoff and Filter Resonance, or encoders plus switches, or encoders plus switches plus LEDs. You would only need to change the setup_*.asm file to configure which DIN/DOUT pins you are using. Since all parameters are editable via the menu, it's OK to have some or all of the Osc/Env/LFO/Filter sections missing, or even some parts within a section. i.e. perhaps you just want two knobs to tweak the currently selected LFO rate/depth. Also consider an alternative idea... there is a "Knobs" layer which lets you control 5 custom parameters, which are setup to control one or more patch parameters. Perhaps adding a few rotary encoders to control just this Knobs layer would be more flexible than having them fixed to control Filter or LFO parameters - you could change what they control in each patch, and also control the range, etc. This is preferred when jamming with the bassline engine. You used the term "pot control"... MB-SID does not use pots for the sections, it uses rotary encoders. You can connect a pot but that's for controlling "custom" parameters that you define per patch.

YOU CAN HAZ LAZERS FOR TEN DOLLAR PLUS TWO DOLLAR POSTAGE

I think the PIC18F4685 shouldn't be used, because it reserves two pins from port B for CAN bus, so that may prevent correct data signals getting to the YMF262. It is best to use a PIC18F452 but I have make mine work with PIC18F4620 also. Only install the MIOS 1.9f .hex file that matches the PIC type. Check you are supplying 5V/Ground to the OPL3 module via header J1. I know that if there is no 5V supplied, the LED will still be on during interconnection tests, as the YMF262 will be powered from the data lines! If you are not connecting ground at J1, you need to connect the ground of the Core module to the ground of OPL3 module and the ground of the +12V/gnd/-12V supply (J3). The voltages you measure during interconnection test will not all be 5V, as some pins get used for other things like LCD control, so they will not be at 5V all the time, and your meter will average it. ALSO cable length between Core and OPL3 modules should be short, as mine didn't work at 35cm, it should be < 15cm. Do these checks and report new results... it's quite possible your YMF262 is good.

I can smell an SSM2164 bulk order in the air...

If a man speaks in the forest and there are no women around to hear is he still wrong?

According to TK, it is spelled "NILs": and TK is never wrong.

Is there a capital letter requirement? My password "n1ls1sgh3y" doesn't have capitals.

WILBA HAZ SIDS NOW. YOU GUYS ORDERED 277 ALREADY ALREADY NOW IZ ONLY 217 LEFT. TEH LAST 217 NEW AND UNUSED 6582A SIDS EVAR!!! U WANT SUM, JA???!??!??!!??!?!?!1111 CLICK ON THE LINK HERE ----->>>>> THE LINK DON"T DELAY!!!! ETERNAL HAPPINESS IS JUST A FEW DOLLARZ AWAY!!!!! BUY 32 OR MOAR AND YOU CAN HAZ SHINY RED LAZER FOR FUN STUFF LIKESUCHAS PLAYING WITH CATZ OR MAKE PPL GO BLIND REELY COOL!!! KTHXBAI

Awesome! I like the two panel concept, with the bevel cutout, that looks very cool. How did you make the panels, especially the artwork? I also like the glued (JB-Weld?) spacers :) BTW the two LED matrix boards look blue, are they custom made?

WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU NILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's autumn! :)

If you really like the blue/white displays, I can sell you some blue/white 2x20 LCDs (not 2x16!) that I got really cheap. These are a little wider but much better than 2x16 for MIDIbox projects. They might not suit MB-808 but should be good for other MIDIbox projects (except MB-SEQ, MB-FM, obviously) They are almost identical to this model: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/5326593.html but that is a fake photo, they look more like this in real life: http://www.crystalfontz.com/product/CFAH2002A-TMI-JT I just want to help out someone who was trying to start a bulk order. Send me a PM if you want to arrange something.

Maybe you should get http://someonewhocares.tel/

Some things that need adding: Wiring diagram of feedback pots Uploading walkthrough - people should upload MIOS to each PIC in the Core it belongs to (to prove MIDI In/Out works) then upload testtone app and test audio buffers (i.e. no SIDs installed, bridging pins of IC sockets) then install SIDs and test audio out of SIDs. Some people are too impatient and plug in SIDs before they've got everything else running. It's probably a good idea to get the LCD connected before you start uploading, as another proof of things working. LCD wiring diagram/instructions could be added, with specific advice about soldering wires to bottom side of LCD only (i.e. keeping pads flat on top side since it touches the control surface PCB).

which one doesn't exist? this one: http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=home:project:midibox_fm or this one: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_fm.html

Thanks for the explanation TK, I will try those changes. Yes, it seems to be consistently playing notes now.