Wilba

BTW some of the circuit was stolen from this: http://xkcd.com/730/ but shhh... don't tell him, he may want royalties.

Too small to be dangerous.

Not too late, plenty of places left. Plus I just bought 100 more OPL3 chipsets, so there will be a batch #3, eventually.

I had to change from Xicon to Lelon for my kits, I can't remember when, but probably 200 kits ago... They seem identical in size and colour, and I'm assuming performance - I'm pushing the limit using a 2200uF 16V electro instead of 25V and no reports of explosions or blue smoke death :wink:

Yes, there's nothing bad about it when it's working. nILS just likes to put the fear of blue smoking death into you... :rolleyes:

If the polarity is reversed (worst case), it will just short through two diodes in parallel, and they're rated at 1.5A of current. The sammichSID probably won't blow up, and even the bridge rectifier probably won't blow up either.

Nice panel layout! I took the liberty of editing the topic... "Wilba style" => "MB-6582 style" (FWIW "Wilba style" actually means "elitist douchebag" or "cheap minimalist" depending on context, i.e. "That sammichFM is so Wilba style")

Can you clarify exactly what you are doing? i.e. are you using shunts in JP set to 6581 but using 8580 SIDs? What power supply are you using? I'm not sure if what you are doing is "safe" or makes any sense, actually... the 8580 needs 9V supply, so if you're connecting 9V DC input power directly to the SID, then how is the 7809 supposed to work with input voltage equal to output voltage?

and in the build guide: :poke:

I agree. Please don't go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mode-Machines/178267622200065?sk=wall and post "offensive comments". In particular, don't "Like" people's "offensive comments". BTW you have to "Like" Mode Machines in order to "Like" or post "offensive comments" on their wall, so don't bother.

People in the OPL3 chipset bulk order were offered kits, and then a few people asked me directly to get on the list. It is now officially announced:

Click for full size view. More photos on Flickr. sammichFM Assembly video made by Siempre La Luna (featuring backing track by TK!) sammichFM sammichFM was designed to be the "no excuses" MIDIbox FM synthesizer kit - i.e. for all those people who want a MIDIbox FM but consider building it with modules too time-consuming, too newbie-unfriendly and/or too hard to design and construct a control surface. sammichFM therefore has the following design constraints/features, which support each other: looks a lot like sammichSID cheap (relative to fully modular MIDIbox FM with "pro-looking" control surface) small DIY newbie friendly minimal control surface single "walwart"/AC adapter supply, no bipolar PSU and mains power wiring! "sandwich-style" stacked PCB design, no wires! laser-cut 3mm acrylic case by Ponoko, customization possible industry standard 2x20 character LCD, customization possible common control surface parts used, customization possible available as a complete kit, including PCBs, components, case, hardware and new OPL3 chipset! MIDIbox FM Synthesizer features One Core module and one OPL3 module, fully integrated on one PCB with power supply. 4 simultaneous instruments of 6 voice polyphony each, plus drum kit. Each voice is a 4 operator waveform. Each instrument can be routed to one of four audio outputs, via two stereo 1/4" phono jacks. Five "BankStick" slots, so you can store 5 banks of 128 patches, 32 "Ensembles" and 16 "Drumsets" Minimal control surface with up/down arrow buttons for fast menu scrolling. 2x20 character LCD with support for low-power (25mA) or high-power (250mA) LED backlight. Potential for future upgrade to 32-bit microcontroller via an undocumented "daughterboard" header. BATCH #1 SHIPPED APRIL 1st 2011. I HAZ SPAREZ! BATCH #2 (50 kits) SCHEDULED TO SHIP MAY 1st 2011 Go here for more details: sammichFM Info

Do you know how much of the build guide is already devoted to idiot mitigation? :rolleyes:

No, I underestimated how much time it would take, and overestimated how much time I had. I expected to finish it by the 6th April. It's finished now, but I will add some photos of painting the engraving and probably discuss power supply options in more depth. I got a bit lazy with this one and haven't actually measured current load :whistle: OPL3 is so much lower than two SIDs that it wasn't as important, except when you need to tell other people what kind of plugpack to get.

I already know about this, and I will comment more on it later.

You're not the only person to throw out the clear window piece. I can supply spares, fitting them is sometimes tricky, which is why I do it, also, if a window is slightly too big or the hole too small, I try a different one until it fits.

Sheesh... and I still haven't finished the build guide. Sorry. The almost-finished version is available on request, it's just missing the voltage testing diagram/photo thingo a la sammichSID build guide.

Yes. You will get a slightly different filter cutoff range for the existing Ensembles which were initialized for 6581 use, but you can then change the Ensemble to match the default 8580 settings and there would then be no difference.

lol... it's no April Fool's joke, 36 of the first batch of 50 sammichFM kits were shipped on the 1st April. Stay tuned for an official announcement of sammichFM.

Start a thread in the Flea Market forum.