Sasha

If you didn`t see in the panel thread... the packages has been sent today. ;)

I was also impatient to start building it so I soldered what I`ve got right after I receives the PCBs, but that cost me a lot of unplanned work. What happens is that standard 12x12 buttons i soldered arn`t standard to E-switch guys. ??? When I realized that E-switch cap don`t fit because of few tenth`s of mm, I had to cut the pins off the buttons in order to avoid damaging the PCB because overheating, I desoldered each pin individually and clean the holes. For 23 buttons it is 92 holes to fix... not an easy task on a double sided board. :P At least I learn how to properly use desoldering pump, thanks to Mike. ;) I know.. It is not very much like your case but still... better to do it in sections. You wan`t make it squelch much sooner soldering a dozen of resistors but you could bitter your life. However, x0x is not difficult project and everybody can make it. Only real problem I got was programming the fuses as there are no guide nor enough tips on how to do it, and there are 2 different fuse set on forum. I finally solved the problem by adding external ceramic resonator to the programming adapter.

Goblinz, I used the schematic from ladyada website. It is just capacitor and potentiometer plugged into microphone input. Here is the direct link: http://ladyada.net/library/equipt/diyaudioprobe.html

Nebula, I build 2 x0xb0xes following the part list from sections pages so didn`t even noticed the documentation error. I advise everybody who is making x0x, no matter how experienced, to follow the ladyada`s building guide. Takes more time, but it is much easier to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. I didn`t used the proposed standoffs for LEDs nor spacers from ladyada part list because of American measurements that I even don`t know how to read. ??? I used 10mm male-female metal spacers for attaching the PCB to the case and panel, and LEDs are positioned by eye. I aligned them all to stick out as I wanted, than solder one pin, then recheck to make sure they didn`t moved, and than solder the another pin. The process wasn`t dificult at all even it would be more easier if I used flat LEDs as Mike. Here is one picture from the VCO testing section. Lo-Fi DIY scope is much better than using the phones. More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fibra/sets/72157604783740945/

I was just skyped from the German guy, he told me he sent all the packages. Thank you all for patience.

Ultra, you`ll receive the panel, sub panel and 2 PCBs in one package once the german guy send it. I hope it will do it next week.

I should meet the German guy at Skype the other day, but as he couldn`t install it in the internet caffe, he send me an email... the packages are left in his driver`s car (his friend) and not at his home as his sister told me. The driver is currently in Serbia and will return this week. He promised me he`ll went to Nürnberg when driver returns, get the packages and send it to you.

I just got a phone call from the German guy. He got out of the hospital and apologizes for not sending the packages. I didn`t wanted to ask him anything except for his health as he seams he already feel a guilty and I didn`t wanted to make it even harder for him. I`m glad he is OK. He said he`ll sort the things out. I`ll be in contact to him again when he got internet back. I hope you will all feel happy and satisfied very soon. Thank you all for your patience.

I really don`t know how to comment that, so I`ll remain silent... like I would do in jail. ??? Exactly, and julien knows why this happend. I asked him to notify me when he send the money to prof and he obviously forgot to do it. Julien at first didn`t wanted the panel and then he changed his mind, so I didn`t made him the panel. Now I know he payed but now I need to send him another package. I`m not sure whay you have with it. Wrong. You obviously didn`t follow much x0xb0x on MB forum and I`m really not surprised you was expect metal panels.

Sorry everybody I didn`t notify you about the situation. I was in a mess myself. His sister visited him in a hospital and they allow her only 1 hour. She told me he is recovering slowly and he remembers he took packages from me but he don`t know where they are now. The packages are probably at his home, but he is not allowed to make a phone calls from hospital and I don`t have any contacts of his wife. His sister ensures me that he wan`t left us short no matter what happens to packages. Only bad thing is the time. We need to wait more until he went out. If I manage to make and sell x0x before that I`ll run another batch of boards and panels and send it to the pople that didn`t received it and I`ll sort problems with him myself when he got out. Thank you all for understanding and patience.

Thank you Pedro. I can make you some custom buttons if you like. Contact me with details.

It would be really cool to have LAN MIDI hardware especially WiFi. I search the net from time to time in hope somebody will do it but haven`t got some luck by now.

Well, that is nothing new. I already reported fire happens in hospital and not in his home, so chances are very slim he took packages with him in hospital. Hope to have some real news at the end of the month when sister come back.

I`m 99% sure the packages are in his house in Germany. His sister said she`ll check his room in case he left it in Serbia but he obviously didn`t. As fire happened in hospital we know packages hasn`t burned in a fire, and we also know he haven`t mailed it, so we pretty much know where are the packages and we know they are safe. Time is the only X here.

I don`t understand what are you saying. ??? What filtering? Seams you still suspecting about what really happens and that somebody is avoiding me intentionally. I reached her finally and she told me some more details. Nothing relevant to x0x. She is going to visit him around 20. so hopefully I`ll have some more concrete news. She said they want to bring him back to Serbia for some time after he come out of the hospital to be with the family. So, things will surely sort out at the end but not sure when exactly it will be.

What a nice way to start my working day. I truly enjoyed your video. Keep them coming. ;)

Great! Thanks Mike. Sorry you have to mess with all that accounting and conversions but I don`t think you should care about varying Dollar, just take the value that wan`t make you lose. I`m sure people want care much about it as you are doing all the hard work for us.

Cool video and very nice handling. ;)

Unfortunately, the other guy is having your PCB. You should received it with priority but it ended totally opposite. Sorry mate. I`ll do my best to sort it somehow.

Shane, I just sent you dxf export from corel. Hope it works.

Vlad, I wouldn`t say it would be lack of responsibility if i know the condition he was in when he heard he lost a job. I`m sure x0x wasn`t on his minds in that time. He almost stayed in Serbia even he has wife in Germany. He was obviously very disturbed and on the edge of the nervous brake down before he even went back. As far as I know Germans are investigating his responsibility for the fire in hospital, so I just can imagine how bad his state really was. I don`t wanna speculate with no much facts but I can`t say I`m mad about him now even I was before I heard some details.

I have some news finally. The story was... German friend came to Serbia and didn`t realized his passport is outdated. As he needed to stay longer in Serbia he late on work and lost the job he started to work few months before and he was very satisfied with it. The fact he lost it, devastated him, and he thought about not even back to Germany at all. When he back to Germany, he had a open arm brake and ended in hospital on already very bad emotional condition. Somehow fire happens in hospital, and he with few other patients burned. He had a skin transplantation and a nervous brake down. :'( He is now in psychiatric clinic on rehabilitation. As far as I know he is in very bad physical and psychical condition, so I don`t expect he will recover very soon. As his local friend told me, he was very disturbed before the trip to Germany and there might be the chance he never took the packages with him. It is good to know that PCBs and panels arn`t destroyed in a fire as I was suspecting. I get a phone number of his sister yesterday and tried to call her but she don`t answer. I`ll try again. I`ll post some news as soon as I know anything else. If the packages are left in Serbia and if there are no chance to get it somehow, I would try to make one x0xb0x and sell it so I could make at least one set for those of you that pay for few sets so you can start building it. I hope after some time things would stabilize and i will somehow reach him. Thank you all for patience and I`m sorry one more time for the inconvenience. I`ll do my best to get you your packages.

I just soldered missing parts and tested my module, and despite my fears everything worked instantly. Just to mention one more time in hope it will give some courage to the people with no SMT skills... I haven`t got any experiences with SMT except recently soldered the MBFM, but pitch was much wider on OPLs. This is my first SMT with such a small pitch. I didn`t wanted to buy any expensive flux as I wouldn`t use it much. Normal soldering, 1mm soldering wire and wick is really enough to do it right. ;) Now I feel ready for some of those advanced, and maybe faster techniques. So, who is next to design some SMT PCB? ;D

Your wick left more solder on pins than mine. Mine looks like factory soldered... almost no solder visible. :-\ I applied enough solder before using wick but it seamed thirsty for solder. I think everything is right, but as I`m not experienced with SMT I`m bit suspicious. Using magnifier glass to inspect it didn`t help me much.

As far as I know it was always possible in MidiOx. Correct me if I`m wrong. Never tried it as I never had any multiport MIDI interface before. But you should be able to do it with MIDI Yoke