[midibox sid - what does a good, basic control surface consist of?]

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

[midibox sid - what does a good, basic control surface consist of?]

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

[midibox sid - what does a good, basic control surface consist of?]

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

[midibox sid - control surface density, parts questions]

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