iamlark

im thinking building a new PSU from scratch may be easier.... :'(

so i just picked up this guy: http://www.bgmicro.com/prodinfo.asp?sid=01715046296296370179231234&prodid=LCD1022&page=1&cri=LCD1022&stype=3&time_out=44:54 i just disassembled my core (there was a short somewhere), so i haven't been able to try this guy out yet. BG micro says it requires an EL inverter for the backlight. what would i look for if i'm trying to build on of those guys, or how would i hook it up to accomodate the EL backlight?

so last night, right after i got the core to finally work, my C64 PSU died (i think) so i'm wondering. could i power both core and sid using one 12v power adapter if i removed the voltage regulator from the sid chip or would this cause damage to the chips and circuts. if not the regulator, what would i bypass in order to be able to use the SID with a plain 12v power adapter? if i do not use the c64 psu designs to power my sid, how would i change the wiring between core/sid. would anything else change?

oh what fun.... my PSU died last night so im having to rebuild it (4th rebuild), so i might as well redo all the wiring and everything else. does anyone know what sort of voltage levels i should be getting out of j10(core) and j2(sid)?

so i'm not sure what i did, but the PIC is working now. it was up on a breadboard and i attempted to load mios again and i got a response with midi-ox. i switched over to MIOS Studio and re-uploaded MIOS again, studio said everything was good. now, i'm not quite sure of the proper steps from this point on. using MiOS Studio, i then sent SID programs; first i sent the one entitled main, then 6581_without_cs (since my sid doesn't have any sort of cs at the moment). next i sent some midi commands using the keyboard, but i got no response. i tried changing SID chips (to another 6581) and rewired my connections from core - j10 to sid - j2. i haven't tried soldering the wires directly to the jumper spots yet (the only reason i would do this is because i got super glue on the jumpers while building a cable out of old IDE cables). should i keep messing with my cables, or reload my software differently?

hey, good idea. thank you. now, lets see if i can build a JDM on a breadboard with very few parts, heh.

all of the core voltages are fine. i had some problems earlier though, so i think i may have fried it then..... :-\

i saw one of those at radio shack yesterday. http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F011%5F002%5F015%5F005&product%5Fid=275%2D1386

so i think i've tried everything, but i am recieving no sign of life from my core. i just checked my midi connections with a loopback, and it seems to be working just fine. so, i've come to the conclusion that i've fried my core chip. it's sitting on a bread board right now, and im trying to figure out the most basic setup for it to test it's midi i/o. i'm thinking connected pins: 1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 25,26, 31, 31 back to the core would be a proper way to isolate what i'm looking for, or should i run out to radio shack and pick up the basic parts i need, or is this more trouble than its worth?

is it normal for my 6581 chip to get rather warm when the unit is plugged in?

it took me a few mintues, but then i figured it out. i had forgotten how to read pin numbers for chips (in a circle, not lines). everything checked out clear!

i feel so dumb.... i had connected my power input to j2 instead of j1. probably almost melted everything. hey rapael, thank you. it was late last night and i was frustrated. a clear head in the morning made everything work better ;)

regulator - i can't really tell from the photo, but it looks like taller side metal plate) is facing away from the electrolytic cap. electrolytic cap - look at them again, i see a GIANT minus sign....oops, heh. multimeter points- ive looked at the core site many times and the directions/points they give are meaningless to me. can you define them? remember, i very very little about this sort of stuff. power adapters- well. hm. i guess i'll just build the commodore PSU one. 9v for core, 15v for 6581 sid, correct?

so i'm finishing up my first core module (now comes the hard part) i know very little about electronics. does it matter which way my voltage regulator is placed? for my electorlytic caps, which leg is + and which in - (cathode/anode - i dont know the difference) i have several power adapters for keyboards and stuff, what should i look for to power my core and for my SID. which points do i check with my multimeter? is it volts or amps that are going to destroy my circuts?

so, i got 2 C64s in the mail yesterday. so i decided to keep the one that works (until i build a bigger SID) and use the other for parts. once i remove the SID chip from the non-functioning one (RF and keyboard don't work, but it powers up), what can i do with the remaining parts? are there any other C64 projects out there, or should i just try to sell all the left over parts on ebay. or, if someone on here wants the leftover parts, i'd gladly give them away. what to do....

STATION!! if i ever feel adventurous enough to build it, that will be it's name. yeah, i too really like the stuff that spectra has. i was think it would be really cool to build my SID with a membrane switch type front panel, but, i can only imagine how expensive it would be. but man, that would be cool. i ordered some samples from them (XY controller + touch sensor) and i'm hoping i'll be able to use them in this project.

thanks! i'll try out that puredata stuff. seems like it would be the best.

yeah, a jogwheel cap is what i'm looking for. thank you.

3 - found it http://www.qprox.com/products/qwheel_qt510.php

i really like the VST, but i use a mac. how would i go about programming a SID VST control for mac for myself?

so, i'm hoping that i'm posting this in the right forum. from these forums, i came across this website - www.spectrasymbol.com looking through their products, they had this - http://www.spectrasymbol.com/sensors.html then i got to thinking, what could you do with these babies? well, how about an air-guitar midi controller? what i'm thinking is, they could be built into gloves (not a new concept). each finger on the right hand could control notes, while the left hand could be like pitch bends for the corresponding finger/note from the right. hook this guy up with floorboard unit to control parameters (and your synth) and i think you would be set. just wanted to throw that out there.

i have a few questions about encoders 1) is the bourns rotary encoder /w switch from smashTV an on/off or momentary? 2) im looking for a button cap that is large, round, and almost flat with a finger divet. i've seen them before on various pieces of equipment. there is one on this guy: http://media.samedaymusic.com/media/fit,325by400/quality,85/brand,sameday/dr880_lg-a081d9868aafc6e528f4709a9c8ab2c2.jpg has anyone seen (caps) these for sale anywhere? 3) one time, i found a website that made and sold the touch sensor encoder like the one you would find on ipods. i can't remember the website anymore, but i would like to find it. has anyone else seen it?

ah, that's what i was afraid of. i guess i'll just start by ordering the most basic parts (core + sid modules) and work up from there. thank you! the calculator had me confused, but i think i've figured it out now.

so i've aquired two C64s now and i'm looking at ordering parts for this project. i plan on building a single SID unit first, but i may upgrade it to two. 1) i want to order my PIC with the bootstrap already loaded, but i'm not sure what to have it set to. 2) [this was a really dumb question, but i found an answer for it] 3) [another dumb question] 4) i would like mine to have a full control surface. if i'm only using one SID should i reduce the amount of buttons/encoders/etc. that i'm ordering. i guess what i'm really asking is how much of what should i be ordering for a dual SID unit (other than cores, sids, lcd) 5) is it possible to combine 6581 chips and 8580 chips in the same unit? 6) are LCD displays really $20+ or am i looking in the wrong places thank you all. -joey

i don't have the original adapter for the controller, but plan on buying a brand new controller for this project. the one that i do have is in-120vAC 60Hz out - 9vDC 500mA pos tip, neg sleeve (does that matter?) would that work? or should i find something like 1000mA