tomtiki

I have the 40x2 LCD from BG Micro (requires the negative voltage) and I have misplaced my spec sheet. It has a 16 pin IDC header already soldered on. Can I just make a straight IDC cable with 16 pin IDC connectors on each end? If not, can someone point me to a wiring diagram? In the future, on those LCD's that already have IDC headers installed, how do I know whether it will be pin compatible with the 16 pin connector on the CORE board? Can I just crimp an IDC connector on each end? What if the display has a 14 pin connector? Has anyone put together a list of pin for pin compatible displays (i.e. can be connected to the CORE module by a straight through 16 pin IDC cable)? Thanks, Tom

I have a "repairable" C-64 power supply that I'd like to use for my Midibox SID, but I would like to replace the internal transistor with a regulator...I would hate for the supply to fail and take my Midibox SID with it. I remember in the past seeing a schematic for doing this. Or is there a better way? Thanks, Tom

Are there certain controls on the SID that would more appropriately be mapped directly to a rotary encoder, rather than having to -scroll the display -press the menu button -turn the encoder Having separate encoders for some of the functions would also allow multiple parameters to be adjusted in real time. I saw the 40x2 col display at BG Micro, though I'm thinking if I add more encoders, I might stick with the 20x2 Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, but what is the switch built into the encoder usually used for? Thanks, Tom

Since the DINX2 board supports 10 buttons, I think I'll go with 10 and 1 encoder. If the 40 col display is not significantly more expensive, I'll probably go that route. Are certain buttons switches reccomended? Also, what is the advantage for having a switch built into the rotary decoder? Since I have never built anything like this, this is not obvious to me... Tom

My Midibox SID will mostly be computer controlled, but I would like to have some external controls and display. What is a good mix of displays and rotary encoders for a basic unit? Some standalone operation would be nice, but not required. Thanks, Tom

I'm researching building a single channel Midibox sid. I have been reading many postings and have some questions: - I am planning on controlling the SID primarily from my Apple iBook, but would like to have enough control surface to compliment the computer control. I was thinking a 20 or 40 character display and 4 - 6 encoders. I was planning on using the DIN module (8 channel) in addition to the CORE and SID modules. Does this make sense? - how are people cabling the different boards together? Most IDC headers are 2 row....i could buy headers of the appropriate width and just ignore one row...this would also give me some physical separation between the wires in the cable. - once I've got it working and can test all my SID chips (I've accumulated seven 6581s from various C-64s), do people trade SID chips? I'd like to get at least one 8580.... Thanks, Tom