seppoman

droolmaster - I think with your story you should have been prepared to endure a few negative comments without starting to insult everyone, then you might have had at least some chance to get help. Obviously this wasn't your choice, so I don't see why you couldn't ask the seller for help out of moral considerations??? He's done something illegal that you're at least tolerating - but even if you had e.g. bought some Roland or Korg gear and some button stopped working, why would you NOT ask the seller about that issue? Technically he's both the manufacturer and the vendor so nobody else but him can be your contact on this issue. ARRRGH - t_xen, while I agree and sympathize with your post in general - when will people stop spreading this myth??? You won't find any mention of GPL in the source code of the uCApps projects anymore. The current license is "Licensed for personal non-commercial use only. All other rights reserved." GPL DOES mean you can use software for whatever you want including commercial action as long as you provide every source code (ever heard of commercial Linux distros etc?), but there is NO GPL here! Read TK about that: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,6216.msg78214.html#msg78214 S

back in the old days, I loved the modules of Future Crew, most notably the ones by Purple Motion: http://amp.dascene.net/detail.php?detail=modules&view=5984 S

there is already an old thread with a Midibox NES discussion, although there were never concrete activities on that issue: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,4555.0.html S

did you follow this thread? http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,10368.0.html if it depends on the CV connections, I would suspect it has something to do with ground loops. which PSU(s) do you use and how strong is it/are they? S

the normal startup would be to have the first line (full normal height of the first text row) full of blocks. It should look like the last one on this picture: So if you mean by "some blocks/lines" that only some intermittent parts if the display go black, perhaps it is broken. On the other hand, the subsequent clearing of the display is a sign of life. S

the KS controller is HD44780 compatible. Virtually any text LCD is compatible nowadays that has 16 pins connector (or sometimes 14 plus 2 separate for backlight) and matching pin names. So this can't be the reason. Most LCD problems of midiboxers are caused by wrong wiring and/or bad soldering/shorts, so first doublecheck everything again. S

Smash liefert gar keine Version. Der PIC hat normalerweise schon MIOS drauf, die eigentliche Anwendung musst Du noch selbst draufladen (per MIDI). Würde anders auch keinen Sinn machen, denn Du könntest den Pic ja auch z.B. für ne MB FM haben wollen oder die Bedienelemente anders anschließen wollen. Mit dem Hochladen sollte man sich eh vertraut machen, denn wenn ne neue Softwareversion rauskommt, willst Du ja auch mal ein Update machen können. Von MIOS her theoretisch ja, aber es gibt in der MBSID-Software nur ebendiese vordefinierten Funktionen für Encoder und Taster, und wenn Du was anderes machen willst, mußt Du selbst ernsthaft anfangen zu programmieren. Aber die vorhandenen Möglichkeiten haben den anderen vor Dir bisher immer gereicht ;) S

Hallo, ich habe mich für ein anderes Projekt (TK weiß was ich meine ;) ) mal ziemlich ausführlich mit dem Thema Terminierung von Leitungen beschäftigt. Deshalb hier ein heißer Tip: Das Zauberwort heißt "AC-Terminierung". Bei herkömmlicher Terminierung, also z.B. den 150 Ohm-Widerständen von tobsen, besteht das Problem, daß diese ordentlich Leistung wegziehen. Je kleiner die Widerstände, desto schlimmer. 150 Ohm geben z.B. 33mA, 220 Ohm -> 22mA. Berücksichtigt man nun noch, daß die ICs zwar sehr sehr wenig aber auch ein bischen was an Strom ziehen, kann man bei einer wirklich langen DIN/DOUT-Kette nochmal einige mA dazurechnen. Außerdem werden SC und RC für beide Ketten vom selben Pin des PIC versorgt. Wenn beide Ketten terminiert werden, verdoppeln sich also alle Zahlen nochmal. Sagen wir also, bei 150 Ohm wären es insgesamt 80mA (keine Lust, Datenblätter auszugraben). Der PIC ist zwar relativ unempfindlich, aber 80mA pro Ausgang ist viel zu viel. Bei herkömmlich terminierten Leitungen wird deshalb üblicherweise ein Leitungstreiber verwendet. Mit 150 Ohm hat man ausserdem durch 4x 33mA extra den Stromverbrauch der gesamten Box um 133 mA erhöht, was auch nicht unbedingt gewünscht ist. Was also dagegen tun? Das Problem gegen das die Terminierung wirken soll, ist ein Über/Unterschwingen bei Flankenwechseln des Signals. Dieses Schwingen kann im Extremfall dazu führen, daß z.B. eine einzige Taktflanke als mehrere erkannt wird. Ein unverändertes "Signal", also eine Gleichspannung, braucht nicht terminiert werden. Wenn man jetzt zwischen den Widerstand und Masse noch einen Kondensator gibt, wird genau das erreicht, daß nämlich nur noch bei den Flanken ("AC") Strom abgeleitet wird. So kann man bei den Flanken ein Überschwingen verhindern und verbraucht gleichzeitig im Mittel viel weniger Strom, da eben der Kondensator keine Gleichspannung durchläßt. Die genau benötigten Werte sind ohne Oszilloskop schwer herauszufinden, aber z.B. 100 oder 150 Ohm und 100pF geben bei mir ein gutes Ergebnis. Ein weiteres Problem: Das Core-Modul liegt, wenn sowohl DIN als auch DOUT angeschlossen sind, bezüglich RC und SC in der Mitte der Leitungen. Bei unterminierten Leitungen und unterschiedlich langen DIN/DOUT-Ketten kommen deshalb von beiden Enden unterschiedlich verzögerte Reflexionen "zurückgeschwappt". Das ist offensichtlich im Regelfall kein großes Problem. Kann es aber sein, daß bei den Leuten, die diese Probleme haben, eine besonders stark unterschiedliche Länge der beiden Ketten vorliegt? Jedenfalls, wenn also die Terminierung alleine nicht helfen sollte, wäre es eine gute Idee, z.B. nur DIN regulär am Core anzuschließen und RC und SC für DOUT am letzten DIN-Modul abzugreifen. Dadurch bekommt man nur EINE, relativ lange Kette, die auch nur einmal terminiert werden muss. -> weniger Stromverbrauch, weniger Reflexionen, weniger Ärger :) FAQMARKER ;) Seppoman P.S. nur noch zwei Posts vom Guru entfernt, dieser hier wird dem hoffentlich gerecht :D

we're not very far with plans about the mixer, but this is likely to be the master volume for stereo/headphone out. S

Hi, just a small update - hope that posting this is ok with you, Nils: yesterday we were discussing and redesigning the whole evening. It's still no final version, still thinking about a mixer (or at least volume pots as a full mixer with pan etc would need too much space) etc. So just to show you another variant: http://schickt.de/temp/iwannahavethat56.png :D S

I think this might have been asked before one or two times ::) Have a look at the Bulk Order forum to find out more. Short summary: They will be available from SmashTV's shop in the future and he and Wilba will be saved some time and be less annoyed if you don't send them eMail to ask about it ;) S

Honestly, I don't understand at all how people are asking, urging, complaining about the parts kits for months now. I mean, my mb6582 board was finished about 3 weeks after having received the PCB, and this was before anybody even started talking about parts kits. I admit that my newbie times are long ago, but I've never ordered any kit in my Midibox career, my electronics knowledge was very low at the beginning and nevertheless I always managed to get my boards completed earlier or later. So there must be some way to get hold of the needed parts somehow without ordering a kit ;) I mean, I do understand that it's a comfortable, easy and relatively cheap way to rely on Smash's experience and work, but if you are in such a hurry, why don't you just print out Wilba's parts list, find yourself the corresponding Mouser/Reichelt order codes from the module parts lists on uCApps and Smash's site and then order them yorself instead of complaining and waiting for months??? S

Hi, you need to upload both: first mios, then lc. S

just google "paypal freeze" and you'll see they absolutely do bother ebayers. there are a lot of forums and pages describing paypal's actions. Here in Germany, in the last year several magazine reports told stories of paypal destroying the businesses of ebay power sellers for reasons they wouldn't even explain to the victims etc. some links: http://www.screw-paypal.com/resources/paypal_magic/limited_accounts.html http://www.paypalwarning.com/ S

Hi TK, I'm very happy to read and hear that :) All of these considerations and concerns came from datasheet specs and theory as you can't really test everything with only VCFs. So a real world experience with VCOs is very reassuring :) :) Seppoman

Hi, your list looks ok to me - don't know which 1k resistor you mean regarding the LCD? for stereo operation, you need only one core per two SIDs. Of course as you already have the second core module you could also consider adding another two SID modules to have two channels of stereo SID fun :) S

works for me :) S

Hi, I don't have photos but I know a guy who did an internship at Beringer and he brought some defective Behringer junk home for parts. The encoders are normal encoders, surrounded by a circle of LEDs on long legs which are held by a round plastic piece. So there's no way to reuse the LED circle :/ But if you come over a cheap malfunctioning Behringer digital mixer: I got a few motorfaders from that unit and they're very nice. Alps 100mm faders with an attached (non-Alps) motor and belt part. S

yes, that's the same. the B is sometimes omitted on the parts print. S

Should people that didn't get a MB 6582 pcb on the first run even need a soldering iron or will everything be soldered in already? ::) I'm starting to wonder if this parts kit plan is really good for the Midibox community as it gives some people the impression that there's no need to use their own brain or they'd need to decide anything on their own for building a 6582. S

ok, that sentence probably sounds a bit too harsh - what I meant was "as long as someone doesn't have the slightest clue on how to read this schematic, he should probably stay away from anything electric - until he knows how to read it" :) Of course this wasn't meant as a "Newbie, stay away" statement. My point is: this schematic is so basic in a way that you really can't make it more newbie-friendly anymore without going back to a point where you start explaining what electricity is, that it has + and - poles, a voltage, can be AC and DC etc... I mean, everybody must understand that all this is a bit more complex and requires more understanding than exchanging a malfunctioning pot in a guitar amp. So there can't ever be a cookbook-style tutorial that would enable my grandmother to build a mb64, without boring and annoying everybody except my grandmother ;) But maybe it would really be a good idea to use only GND and Vcc in the schematics instead of Vd and Vs. I confess that I also have to check every time where the gnd symbol is in the schematic before knowing which of the both is GND :D S

Hi Cimo, I don't see what could be wrong or needs to be improved in that schematic. I think the ability to understand (or to learn to understand) a super-simple schematic like this is an absolutely basic requirement to build anything midibox - after all, if someone doesn't have the slightest clue on how to read this schematic, he should probably stay away from anything electric. Two wires on every switch and the common side goes to the Vs terminals - the only thing not self-explanatory would be to explicitely state that the lines are meant to represent electric wires ;) S

hi guys, even while CV is not audio, you really don't want any ground hum on it - you won't directly hear the hum, but it will modulate what you're controlling with the CV. A ground hum of 100 mV going to a VCO would modulate the osc frequency by two semitones and a mod freq of 50/60 hz! You won't like that. But the "panel as common ground" concept sounds very good to me. It's not forbidden to have ground on the panel and this saves some wires :) You just need to take care that it's really only one SINGLE ground -> panel connection. S

ground is the same everywhere - actually, with an AOUT you make a logical difference between digital and analog ground, mostly to have things a bit separated. you don't want digital artefacts in your analog signal. If you use the gate outs from the core, use some ground from the core. If you use the AOUT gates, then take the ground from the AOUT module (the AOUT doesn't really have separate analog or digital ground, but at least your reference is from the same area of the box). I'd say the main advantage in using the ones from the AOUT is that you've got J5 free for other uses. There's no such thing as the "quality" of a gate signal (on or off ;)). so it mostly depends on how many you need. if two are enough, use the ones on the AOUT. if you need more, then use the ones on the Core. no idea, sorry. That depends on your jacks. if the sleeve of the jack is made from plastic, no problem. If it is made from metal and somehow connected to ground, this is a great way of building dozens of ground loops (which you want to avoid at all costs). I once had a problem with a DC plug connecting ground to the case, plus the output jacks of the SID doing the same. made a loud hum. I used a rubber ring to isolate the DC plug from the case and everything was silent. S

these are both sources for control voltages. To have an effect on audio, you e.g. need to apply the adsr cv output to a VCA (voltage controlled amplifier), then you get a volume envelope :) I like the idea of digitally generated ADSRs and LFOs - as long as the output is accurate, this is actually better than analog CV sources. You get much more possibilities to configure/influence CVs in the digital domain. The actual "analogue sound" comes from the VCO/VCA/VCFs, not so much from the CV sources. S