RowanHall

This is not cool. If the outside is near identical, one would presume they have done the same with the innards. Bad craic. Rowan

Thanks again, i'll go ahead and update mios to 1.9g, then sid to 1.7303e. i had read about removing the oscillators from the sid modules, so i'll do this too, for completeness. Rowan

Thanks for the good advice nILS, will certainly try that. Cheers! :) Rowan

Hi, I have recently began to complete my sid project, after a six year break. My midibox knowledge has began to get a bit hazy! It is currently fully working up to step B, and have decided to finish the control surface. I was wondering if there were any hardware mods required bringing the software to most recent V1 standard? (V1.7303e) The machine currently has MIOS 1.8 installed, and SID 1.7a. Rowan

Great idea for determining the resistance! Just what I needed to hear! Thanks! :)

Ah of course, that does make sense! It would have paid to bother reading the datasheet! :) I do have some 20k ohm resistors lying about and will test it out tomo. Likely i suppose the installed 220 ohm resistors would probably end up eventually damaging the blue LEDs? I think I'll probably just use the red as I'm less likely of being blinded! Haha! :)

I decided to keep the standard resistors to keep the LEDs less bright, hence why i mentioned it, is this practice alright? How much further would the resistors you suggested dim the LEDs? I don't have to use the blue ones, just thought I would as I had some to hand, howcome they are so bad? Rowan

Hi all, Just starting back at finishing my control surface for my sid after a break of 6 years! Sid is a v1, 4 core, fully working up to step B, with mios 1.8 and sid 1.7a. I am planning on using the ultrabrite blue leds with the standard resistors. Just wondering if it was possible to add some sort of dimmer pot that would control the brightness of the leds attached to the dout, to save my eyes from the leds? Any advice greatly appreciated! :) Rowan! :)

hey midibox peeps, i'm back again after a slight absence, with some spare time and a thirst to get this 4xsid synth finished! really just cosmetic stuff and panel still to do! anyhow, since i was away it seems a lot has happened that is applicable to my build. i was wondering, since i was about to do this panel, am i going to have too add any buttons, encoders, leds etc to the basic panel for the 303? or is it just as simple as adding some more text? as i havn't used the new software yet i am a bit lost as how the 303 functions are operated. please could you put my mind at ease by clarifying these queries. thanks in advance, Rowan Hall

i was just trying to find out wether the slaves were working, as i have not got any audio outs or sid and link buttons wired yet. i assume you can tell from the startup messages from the modules that everything is alright, but i don't know how to comprehend them! :) heres what midiox tells me when i switch on the midibox: TIMESTAMP IN PORT STATUS DATA1 DATA2 CHAN NOTE EVENT 00093557 1 1 F0 Buffer: 8 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 40 00 01 F7 00093CC2 1 1 C0 00 -- 1 --- PC: Acc. Grand Piano 00093CC3 1 1 C0 00 -- 1 --- PC: Acc. Grand Piano 00093CC3 1 1 C0 00 -- 1 --- PC: Acc. Grand Piano 0009437A 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 01 0D 00 00 00 F7 00094383 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 01 0D 01 00 00 F7 0009438A 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 01 0D 02 00 00 F7 00094392 1 1 F0 Buffer: 266 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 01 02 00 4E 65 77 20 50 61 74 63 68 20 SYSX: 20 20 20 20 20 20 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 40 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 40 40 02 00 04 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 40 3E 02 00 12 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 40 42 02 00 14 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 7F 00 00 7F 00 00 7F 00 20 10 2E 00 00 00 07 10 7F 07 SYSX: 20 00 01 30 7F 01 40 00 01 50 7F 01 60 00 7F 40 40 40 SYSX: 40 00 60 60 20 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 60 F7 000943E8 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 02 0D 00 00 00 F7 000943F0 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 02 0D 01 00 00 F7 000943F8 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 02 0D 02 00 00 F7 00094400 1 1 F0 Buffer: 266 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 02 02 00 4E 65 77 20 50 61 74 63 68 20 SYSX: 20 20 20 20 20 20 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 40 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 40 40 02 00 04 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 40 3E 02 00 12 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 40 42 02 00 14 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 7F 00 00 7F 00 00 7F 00 20 10 2E 00 00 00 07 10 7F 07 SYSX: 20 00 01 30 7F 01 40 00 01 50 7F 01 60 00 7F 40 40 40 SYSX: 40 00 60 60 20 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 60 F7 00094454 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 03 0D 00 00 00 F7 0009445C 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 03 0D 01 00 00 F7 00094464 1 1 F0 Buffer: 11 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 03 0D 02 00 00 F7 0009446C 1 1 F0 Buffer: 266 Bytes System Exclusive SYSX: F0 00 00 7E 46 03 02 00 4E 65 77 20 50 61 74 63 68 20 SYSX: 20 20 20 20 20 20 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 40 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 40 40 02 00 04 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 40 3E 02 00 12 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 40 42 02 00 14 40 00 00 00 00 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 7F 00 00 7F 00 00 7F 00 20 10 2E 00 00 00 07 10 7F 07 SYSX: 20 00 01 30 7F 01 40 00 01 50 7F 01 60 00 7F 40 40 40 SYSX: 40 00 60 60 20 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SYSX: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 60 F7 is there anything to show me if everything is alright? and what is this telling me? i dont know where to start decyphering this! haha thanks Rowan

thanks for the info raphael! was going to go ahead with it, but thought i'd check, its always nice to have a piece of mind! i currently have three of the 4 required sid chips, i take it its alright to have everything wired for the 4 sid setup and just have the 4th sid removed? sorry for all these probably obvious questions! :) cheers, Rowan

got it sorted! changed the ids and installed the slave software on the three slave chips with the current one sid setup. :) just had to remind myself how to recompile the perl files, found it in the comments in the code! if i connect the boards with the ics unplugged, following the optomised psu schematic, can i test the sockets using the same steps as shown on the sid and core pages? and can i harm the master core/sid boards if something isn't right on the other slave boards? Rowan

hey midibox peeps! i ordered the remaining three pairs of modules and ins and outs from smash last week, and have them built and wired, but no ics stuffed! :) tomorrow the testing will begin and hopefully get the new modules connected to the current ones and everything uploaded and running! :) i have a couple questions though. is the application in the downloads section for changing ids straightforward to use? need to set up 0x01, 0x02 and 0x03. how can i check if the change was successful? when i upload the mios and sid to the master, do i have to remove the other pics? how do i select the other slaves so that i can upload the relevant files? sorry about all these newbie questions, its been a while since i did any mios uploading! :) in the info on sid v1.7a it talks about this new lfo waveform? does this require a light on the control surface? thanks again Rowan

excellent! cheers for that wee nugget of info! i'll get on it! :) i keep changing my mind on how i want it to look eventhough aesthetics should be bottom of the list!! hehe!

has your midines arrived yet? i'm anxious to hear what its like! would like to get some info from users before i go and source a ntsc nes! :)

hey there! thanks for the input! i shall get reasearching! :) its just an idea though, don't know how useful they would be, but would look damn sweet! :) another wee thing, since starting off making the synth i have converted to using apple macs and was wondering what good midi software i should get. i used midiox for all the previous things. any help on this would be great! :)

hey fellow midiboxers! i'm back and have free time now and am going to get this finished! the current state of my sid build is: fully working single sid/core setup with basic lcd control and optomised psu board. i want to continue on and get the other three sid/cores pairs made up and installed, and get the full surface finished! so i shall be calling on smash for an order shortly! :) if by the time i'm done and if i still have time, i'm going to make up a seq! :) i have an idea but have no idea how to implement it, basically to complement the 80s style commodore, i want to add in some square leds to be used as vu meters, 10 leds: 6 green, 2 orange and 2 red. how difficult would this be to integrate into the box? it would be great to hear some advice on this one! anyhow, its good to be back and i have a real thirst for some quality sid sounds! so time to get cracking! looking forward to the midibox fm also, the ST was my other favourite 80s computer! :) Rowan :)

that is such an amazing case! looks like its straight off a production line at cbm back in the 80s! i'm green with envy! the wee laser engraved midibox logo is just the icing on the cake! great work and be sure to post more pics as you progress further! :)

hey there everybody! i come back and find the sid has gone accceiddd! simply amazing! always loved those sliding licks of the 303! its been a while, but i've been a busy bee and have time to get this sid completed! got the box painted, so all i got to do is get the other three sids going and the facepanel and i'm sweet! just one thing i'm wondering though, is it likely that more buttons etc are going to be added? or are these going to be menu options etc? good to be back, Rowan

thanks for your input on this issue, its all greatly appreciated! :) i started fiddling about with the settings. set some variables in the main.asm to #define CS_MENU_USE_DETENTED_ENCODER 0 // i assume that by setting this to 0 the speed for the menu encoder will be defined below? #define CS_MENU_ENC_SPEED_VALUE 2 i tweaked the knob to the left and each detent selected a different patch number!! bingo! but... when i tweak it to the right, it takes several detents before the patch changes! strange indeed! any ideas? i'm confuzzled! haha! Rowan

hey marcel! thanks for all your help so far, it is greatly appreciated! :) alas i am sorry to report that changing that setting hasn't worked i'm afraid! it is possible that i have it wired wrong, its a bourns, currently its wired like the diagram with the middle pin as gnd. i also noticed speed settings? should i fiddle with these? also is it correct to assume that for every detent the value selected increases by one when turned slowly? Rowan

hey there, i am now unsure about compiling the source to make a new sysex with the above change. i was wondering if sombody could point me in the direction of some info or give me the lowdown! :) thanks Rowan

nice! cheers for the advice illogik! i shall check that out later on and get back to you! thanks! :) Rowan

hey all! everything is working fine except for one tiny problem. the mbsid is configured as cs stepA. when i turn the encoder to choose values/patches, some values are skipped out, therefore its quite difficult to choose what i require. it is a 24 ppr detented encoder. i assume there is an easy answer for this! thanks in advance! :)

hey midibox peeps! midibox status: lcd plugged in, 1x core/sid setup, c64 optomized psu. din and bankstick not yet wired. sid plays perfectly. question: when the switch is flipped and the midibox fired up, the lcd displays the blocks, then the copyright notice from tk, then nothingness, a blank screen. just wondering if this is normal for my setup? Rowan