Wilba

This is so deja vu...

At least they found your vein... one time when I donated blood, they tried five times in each arm. For some reason they don't let you DIY even though I bet I could do a better job...

This will happen after the SSM2044 bulk order which is in progress. It will happen, just be patient.

If by "being shipped out atm" you mean "sitting on my desk gathering dust while I wait for you to send me names and addresses of people who want them"...

You forgot... WIKI page about nILS' Bulk Order Terms and Conditions: http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/nils_bulk_terms For the people who aren't fluent in Legalese, allow me to paraphrase: STFU, read your email daily, pay when asked, if it doesn't arrive, STFU.

Looking good btw... If you're crafty enough, cut a piece of 3mm acrylic/perspex between the panel and LCD... this fills the gap nicely.

This is so deja vu... http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,12111.msg99563.html#msg99563 Check the SID is getting 12V or 9V at pin 28. If it does not, then the SID's audio section isn't being supplied with power, yet somehow it leaks out some audio signal. Alternately, the audio output buffer (the BC547 transistor etc.) could be faulty, to test this, see instructions in the linked thread above.

Having a look at the switch matrix, all your symptoms are explained by the DIN input for that row always being "grounded"... look at the list of switches on that row: Osc Sync/Ring, Mod Osc 1 PW, Mod Src 4, Menu, Down, Select 4, SID 1, Play.... i.e. regardless of the currently selected "column" of the matrix, the DIN input is always low and therefore the app thinks all those buttons are pressed. The flashing cross is what you would get if you pressed Mod Src 4 with Mod Osc 1 PW... the corresponding row and column will flash while you make the selection and then stop after you release the buttons. The display would also jump to the Modulation M4 screen. The stuck Middle C tone is because the Play button considered pressed. It might be the LCD shorting it, try unmounting it. However, my prediction is a short between/near the 74HC165 pins. See attached pic. That's where I think there's a short, since that's where ground and that pin/track are closest.

In MIOS, if you unplug the LCD, then subsequent commands to the LCD timeout (because they don't get a reply from the LCD) and it is disabled in MIOS - MIOS won't send it any more commands. You would need some code to reinitialize the LCD, and some code in the application to know when you plug in and do a full display update at that time... knowing when you plug in can be done with a single grounded DIN input on your control surface, i.e. like a permanently pressed switch. But is it really necessary to hotplug it? How important is keeping it running while you plug in the control surface?

This model of display works fine when connected to a MIDIbox, in 8-bit and 4-bit mode (PIC18F4685 uses 4-bit by default). So if you used the default wiring (and I'm assuming you did), then it should work. There is nothing wrong with your wiring, because the display is almost showing the correct text for MB-SID... I can see what should be: E002|A001 Ld Chn. 1 1---|Lead Patch [/code] therefore the LCD is receiving the correct data - this is a character LCD, the PIC only sends characters (i.e. ASCII codes) so for the display to show incorrect/garbage characters means the problem is in the LCD. It looks like whole rows and columns of the display are not lit... they're blacker than a "black" LCD pixel. This is a negative display so pixels that are black/unlit should still have a bit of glow behind them, you can see this on the display, but then there are even darker lines... I don't know much about LCDs but that to me suggests the LCD material is faulty. I hope you can get a refund or replacement for it... :(

Observe difference in the pins - this jack would not fit flat against the PCB. Although if you had no other choice, you could buy these and trim the pins with wire cutters.

-ize endings are perfectly correct British English also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences ... and technically,-ize endings are preferred for an international context like internet forums etc. So... :P

They should mount flat to the PCB, and the flat part where the threaded part starts should also align with the PCB edge, since the PCB edge should touch the back panel (ideally, but if there's a tiny gap between the PCB and the back panel then it's not that bad).

After I built the prototype, SmashTV found the right socket from Neutrik and used these in kits and I have been using them ever since without thinking they weren't a standard, easily available part. I am pretty sure they are this one: http://www.neutrik.com/fl/en/audio/210_301451/NMJ6HFD2_detail.aspx ... but I don't really know the exact part number. I'll get him to confirm.

*noise*

I have your GM5 stuff and I'm sending it with your SSM2044 chips, the delayed payment of which put your parcel on the "post next week" pile which became the "oh shit I forgot to post that last week" pile.

The 14 bottom encoders have optional switch pads all connected in parallel (i.e. you can use encoders with switch) should you want to use this feature for something, perhaps a fast/slow switch (i.e. change speed of parameter change). I don't use these, but it doesn't hurt to put them in there in case someone wants them. The menu encoder also has switch pads (separate to the other 14 connected in parallel). Since I have a couple encoders with switch, I did use one for the menu encoder, but I haven't actually made it do anything yet. I'm thinking of using it as an alternative to the "Shift" button. (I'm also waiting for TK to do something with it, since the MB-6582 I made for him has an encoder with switch in this position).

I actually suspected you were. All good then. SoftPots are touch-sensitive strips that work like normal potentiometers, except the wiper is not permanently touching the resistive strip. The Stribe http://www.soundwidgets.com/stribe/ is a good example of what's possible... combined with LED arrays underneath it looks pretty damn cool, but the LEDs are not essential. TK got The Stribe hardware working with MIDIbox so it's theoretically possible to connect one (or maybe up to five) directly to the MB-SID application to control the "knobs", it might need a bit of extra coding though. http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,11130.0.html You can get them in various sizes. As I have a lot of spare 170mm ones (I had a GAS attack when the bulk order was happening), I can toss some your way if you're interested in putting a few in this keyboard, for some real-time controllers like a "virtual" mod wheel or pitch bend wheel. I advise you play with them first to see if you like them before modifying any case design to suit, just in case you can't get them to work as you like.

Great idea! I think I like the top one more. Although if I was building something like this, I might put the keys on the right side so I could play with my right hand while tweaking knobs with my left hand. Or I might do it like you plan to... I can see advantages that way too... esp. if there's a mod wheel or some other control on the left side anyway.... (I'm thinking SoftPots on this would be cool, let me know if you want some).

Do you doubt the production description or me? :D They fit, as if they were meant to fit... but I used the foam discs that came with them (what goes over the "speaker" bit) instead of reusing the foam bits from the original Sony ear-cushions (some people do that, I'm not that audiophile or obsessive).

Ahh, but do you also have the velour padded earcushions? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/313962-REG/Beyerdynamic_942704_Padded_Earcushions_for_DT250_DT280.html Noticeable improvement... more "closed", more comfortable.... (from first hand experience ;))

Yes. That's the gaming rig I bought nearly four years ago... P4 3.2Ghz with Zalman CNPS9500 LED cooler and Zalman ZM-NB47J Northbridge cooler, ATI Radeon X850 XT with Zalman VF1000 LED cooler, and an "original" Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum with drive bay ports (I later added the M-Audio Delta 1010LT so I could mix all eight SIDs.) It's survived four years with very little maintenance or upgrading, only the coolers, 4GB RAM and extra HD were upgraded. It still plays the latest games (not that I play many these days)... still, I miss not having PS 3.0 on the graphics card, so it's probably time I bought a new desktop PC... and leave this box unmolested - it's had a good run and deserves to be retired as a fully-functioning PC :)

Go with XP. I upgraded my notebook from XP to Vista... it's got 1GB of RAM and it runs slower for everything, and then I had trouble finding compatible drivers... i.e. notebooks with an ATI Radeon Mobility graphics chipset won't run the ATI reference drivers, as notebook vendors want you to only use their drivers, and when they don't publish Vista-compatible drivers, you're screwed. Well, not totally screwed... you go and find something like this: http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php to get the ATI reference drivers to run on your Vista notebook... Here's an interesting article about how cheap, low-powered notebooks are keeping XP alive... http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001179.html

Of course I'm going to upload what you need on the PICs! ::)

I have plenty of 4620 and 452... Take them! They are just gathering dust (or would be if they weren't in a parts box). Just send me a PM with details. The 4620 were free Microchip samples that were in the original MB-6582 prototype, before TK switched to 4685...