dcer10

Hiya Stryd_one, Small is 6 Cheap is about $50 + shipping of about $10 for the 6. I have a feeling the seller has a stash of them. If you want the source PM me and I think we could buy more as a lot? The opportunity may vanish or get more expensive by tomorrow as its a second change offer on ebay I got. Aparently the price is about to go up... Im just wondering how viable it would be to buy them, id like to do it, but if your project doesnt happen then I would have little use for them [and would probably sell them to you if you wanted them!!] ;D Im not asking for a rock solid commitment to do anything by a given time, but if you are really serious about finishing it then I will buy up now as there here, and will try to get you some too if you like?? Im happy for them to sit on the shelf for ages if need be. All the best, John

Hi All, Any news on the CEM3396 project? I read about it here: http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=midibox_3396 Does anyone know the status of its development and if it has a future for sure as a midibox? I only ask as I have found a small amount of CEM3396 chips I can buy cheap, so if the project will eventually make it for sure then I will invest, if not I will leave them as I am not capable of doing anything else with them. Also if anyone knows, how many chips may be required for the midibox synth using these chips? All the best, John

stryd_one, Im on frappr, didnt see too many other midiboxers there down under, maybe I better look again, it was a while ago now. Sorry, when I said group discount I assumed that the price would go down when ordering more than one, I probably shouldnt assume anything :} I know you guys [stryd_one and wilba] wont be getting anything standard after seeing/reading about your work which I am admiration of!!! Back to the real topic of the post, I would really like to see your web page aileroned when it gets going with some more pictures etc. Do you think that will be soon? I nearly ordered 3-4 different panels last nite, but held out to make some changes, I might like to get them soon tho, can I send them to you for a quote in an email? Instead of asking 50 questions about can you do this or that, Ill just pass on the files with my questions in the email if thats ok and we can take it from there. I noticed your profile doesnt have an email address so can you supply one? All the best, John

Hiya mess, I am forever impressed with the enthusiasm displayed by people such as yourself in this community to help others and expand the project and their abilities, my hat is off to you sir!!! If you do get the ASM code working, would it be soemthing a non programmer could then move into other applications? Im interested in this being a standard feature on all of my midiboxes should it all work out. Also I was thinking, would this mean that a core without your code already uploaded would not be able to use the LCD at all? Im only thinking of initial code uploads. I have another core so its not a big deal, but maybe someone doing their first core might get confused :} Another potential thing to think about would be the ability to turn this feature off in the asm or in a menu if possible {the asm would be easier yes??}. Also, would the PWM aspect for fade out {not in} be possible to get working or too hard? That would be something to see! Let me know how you are going with it all, no matter how long it takes. My cores should be here in the next couple of weeks so Ill be ready for a full test then. PS: I had a look at your DSEQ32 project in the wiki and it looked awesome! Keep up the good work!!!! All the best, John

As long as it suits all involved Im interested in a group buy, but I probably wont be buying anything standard, so I hope a group discount would still apply. At least shipping may be cheaper, or maybe you might want one of the panels Im making too :} Considering we live on the ass end of the world, we should probably group buy everything!! How many of us are there? I met wilba, yourself, anyone else? I know its getting off topic, but can we have a head count / city from people??

Hi, That is quite a good price if you are comparing apples with apples. Are you able to accept any design? Also - {you can email me the answer to this in private so as not to legally get in trouble}, can you accept front panel design files made with the other companies software? Or can you offer an alternative? I am used to using that software and dont want to change. Do you have close ups of some other panels to view? Also can you do screen printing? As you can tell I am very interested :} Thanks, John john.gray@message.net.au

Hi, This is hard to follow for english readers. Do you have a web site which breaks it down a bit better with prices and information? All the best, John

Hiya mess, I'd be keen once I get my new boards to try it out on one. If you would like to modify some apps for testing Id appreciate it. How does it handle waking up? First input is ignored and sets the screen on, second input normal? I was thinking a good one perhaps would be the midimon which Im going to build soon as I'd like to just leave it on, so in that case I would see the screen only when I want and perhaps have a 10-15min setting for the lcd to sleep?? If that goes well I'd like it in all the apps I use, but I would probably want different settings in respect to the delay before sleep on all of them ie on the SID, a much longer time. Would it be easy for me to upgrade applications or mios in the future bearing in mind I cant code to save my life? All the best, John

Now thats a radio!!!

Thanks stryd_one!! Ill change the pin over and hope for the best. Im sure its going to be all cool :} I wish I had seen that URL before, ive been trying to work out where things go for too long. Ive not followed the wiki much to tell the truth, between the main site and the forum my brain hurts enough already hehehe. Finally I can jam with my 909 and the SID and my seq with no PC!! Awesome!! All the best, John

Im just wondering how cool that would look next to my gameboy connected up with midi sequencer software :} Great work!!

I like anything with blue LEDs :} Got me thinking too, I have four limbs.. May as well use them all! Great work, what was the case previously? All the best, John

Thats totally amazing! So clean and tidy it looks store bought, but so much better :} Great LED too. I hope it goes into good use to make more clicks and pops.. Bzzzzzzzz pop All the best, John

Hiya TK, Thanks for your reply. With the memory I am using the 8 chip bankstick board from mike. I have 4 of them and have the problem when using any of them with any V2 board, but my V3 board works fine with them. Could this be the case when using the bought PCB?? I will tripple check the connections. Also no data can be written as when the seq loads up it doesnt see the bankstick to format, or read the setup. I have tested for connection for earth and voltage on the pins that are meant to be connected to each other, and also tested for connection between the pins for shorts and it all looks ok. I have been very careful to plug it up exactly as shown in the images as I have interpreted them. On the V2 boards it seems to be a 1:1 connection when you orientate the boards so the jumpers are closest to each other? Attached is an image showing how it is connected up. Thats fantastic! I knew that was a feature, but I just had to say that again!! Maybe soon I can not have to use my studio 4 midi router any more? Ideally I would like to run all of my gear from the sequencer and have no pc! My seq and my G3 running logic using the studio 4 router dont agree, especially when it comes to timing. The seq seems to be perfect, but the mac reads it +- 2-5bmp fluctuating so a lot of stuff cant be played back in time after the midi is recorded. Dont know why that happens. What is unclear to me is how you would actually change between all of the 16 tracks from the tracks 1-4 buttons. I may have been looking at the wrong posts :} There is a lot of things to read. I will look again. Im just trying to figure out how much extra soldering I will need to do to the inside of the seq if any. I was reading the text file with the V3 software and I was not sure on the whole track concept, there was a mention of the various Dout settings to show track usage with the LED's and that looked like mine may need to be reconfigured, is that correct {mine is based on yours when yours was a V2 exactly the same}. Id much prefer not to have to solder to any existing hardware if its possible to avoid. My Aout isnt even hooked up yet as I am waiting on a power board from a friend which will provide power for the Aout and the core board at once, maybe its best for me to wait for V3 to be finished before I hook it up?? Im still nearly jumping thru the roof in excitement each time I boot up V2, and its not even working 100% yet, so V3 will really knock my socks off Im sure!!! The changelog has some extremely interesting features mentioned in it!! I used to use a program on windows called seq 303, not sure if you have seen it. For at least 6yrs I looked for a hardware alternative which was stable, user friendly, and able to do several tracks at once with cc's note lengths etc. This is the answer to those prayers, and much much more, and it isnt in a big loud PC case :} Also I know we have spoken about this before, but the data wheel is still very unstable. It moves in large steps sometimes, and occasionally not in the right direction for a moment. It is usable, but frustrating. I have done all the changes you previously mentioned in the config file, do you have any other suggestions? Thanks again!!! John

Hi Everyone, After making a bit of a prototype in a cheapo plastic box I am wanting to make a nice case and panel for my current 1xsid. I made up the following front panel design based on my usage of the single SID synth to date. The main changes which I wanted were the ability to change the pulse witdth without an external controller, the ability to have edit and cc buttons with LED's so you can see when your in that mode, realtime envelope control over both aux envelopes and all of the osc envelopes {is the config on the panel possible for this??}. These are all in suplement to the filter controls already on my current box {seen in attached photo}. Also I have done away with the 6 buttons below the screen on the current box as they were for osc and filter controls which I find I use the menu for mostly anyway. I wanted to not have to drill out the rear panel except for power {as im not sure on how I will power it via wall adapter, C64 PSU like I am now - NOISY!!, or internal transformer with IEC connector on the back. Im thinking that the core, sid board, a dout1x a din 4x and a small 2 bankstick memory board would all fit snug inside under the panel and I would make the panel on an about 30% slope cut into some stained wood sides and bottom, and maybe cut a bit of sheet metal for the rear. Can anyone comment on the usability / viability of this panel layout? Missing something, something not possible? Enhancements?? Do the measurements look ok in regards to space between the holes etc? Any feedback would help. Also if anyone can make panels up cheap please say hi ;} Thanks, John Mini_SID_smaller.zip

Hiya stryd_one, Dont think its modified in regard to the sync option, but here it is :} Thanks for taking the time to look at it. All the best, John setup_mbseq_v2.asm

Hiya TK, Thanks for the reply. I did solder the jumper wire on as shown in the diagram. As I have said before, all of my V2 boards from mike have had this problem, and it lands up killing the memory chips which are plugged into it. Ive got about 30 seemingly dead 24LC256 chips :} Usually the V2 boards read the memory for a while, then dont do it any more, or ever again. I register the earth connection, the input voltage, no shorts on the board I can see {no connection between the input pins} and for all other purposes each V2 core works fine. My V3 boards dont do this. If I cant solve this its not too bad as I have some V4 boards on the way from smash to replace, and I can use the V2 for making a midi monitor box or similar. Im having enough fun for now with one pattern only :} Another question about the seq, when I upgrade from V2 to V3 and add some IIC boards, does this mean the midi will not work from the core anymore and the only midi should be from the IIC boards? If so what effect would this have on using the LTC board on the seq if any? Currently I have 1 in 2 out and 1 thru from the core and LTC module, and 4 holes drilled into the case for midi, I dont mind using only the IIC as 2 boards would supply 2 in 2 out I guess and I wouldnt need more holes :} Is this all correct? I know there are other posts on the V3 seq, but it was not clear to me about this point. Is there going to be a way to change between the 16 tracks of the V3 using the track 1-4 buttons from a V2 seq? I noticed you said that you will use your existing panel, which is handy for me as mine is the same! Also when using the Aout module, Im not certain about the gates. It says in the Aout page that in the seq RC0 (CORE::J6::RC) and RC1 (CORE::J6::SC) of the PIC are the extra gates, does this mean there are 8 cv outs and 4 gate outs? In this case you could control 4 synths, and 4 extra cv's for filters etc on a modular?? Thank you so much for you help once again!! John PS, this sequencer is totally awesome!!

Hiya TK, Perhaps I have set it up wrong or it wont work with roland gear? Maybe I have used the wrong pin on the core, or connected the wires wrong on the plug, or maybe not set up the option in the asm file properly. It wouldnt surprise me as the whole procedure seemed a bit confusing to me, only because Im not used to figuring this sort of thing out. I had eventually hooked it up so that sc on J6 connects to the clock pin on the plug and j6 vs connects to the screen on the plug. I left the asm file as is for this feature. I have not tested it on my TR-909 yet, maybe it will work on it? I only tested it on my TR-606. Just to help troubleshoot, what should I be measuring to see if the right signal is getting to the jack? Is it something that could be measured on a multimeter or only on an oscilliscope? Best Regards, John

Thats cool :} Great pictures too! So this will work with the app you posted? Im keen to try it as soon as my new PCBs arrive! What would be the process of adding this to an existing app or mios itself? All the best, John

Amazing that you also wanted the same thing! Small world :} People in sync - excuse the lame pun! Well I cant program to save my life, but if there is anything at all I can do to help move it along, please let me know. Next year I start studying electronics properly and hope to some day program and design PCBs but until them im a dreamer. All the best, John

Just to let everyone know, thanks for the help so far. Ive now got a 100% working front panel! What I did with the encoders is I moved them to another SR after the normally used ones and with TK's help changed the setup file for the application. Once uploaded encoder 14 worked instantly. Encoder 10 stuffed me about for a while as I could only get it to work in one direction, I tested another encoder in its place, same thing, I tested another wire, same thing, finally just before tearing my hair out I tried another cable cut from a different spool of ribbon and it worked instantly too! There was connection on both ends of the wire for all three pins, but perhaps some sort of intermittant fault in the wire??? Odd but a new one did fix it up! So now I can use the sequencer but only with one pattern as I still have the problem with the memory not working as described before. Also I am trying to sort out the sync output http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=7245.msg53957#msg53957 And also I am going to connect up the Aout board soon once my power supply is ready, and then Im going to add 2 or 4 IIC boards, the new pic, and the V3 software. If anyone has any thoughts on the memory problem {core wont see the memory} please let me know. Thanks again, John

Hi All, I think that this question may be directed more to TK, but perhaps someone else can answer it too. Has the sync ever been tested? I managed to get help from seppoman on this and I have now got the jack in the rear panel wired up so the clock is coming from J6 sc on the core and the screen coming from the J6 ground pin. I have hooked up my TR-606 and set it to sync in, started up the sequencer and hit play but nothing happened. Is it that there is no play and continue connected? Where would I find these if they are implemented? Thanks in advance, John

Hi All, How hard would it be to code up an application that simply was a master midi clock with a stop pause play button set which would accept midi notes via the input but delay them until the next beat/bar etc? The main purpose for this would be for devices with an arrange mode like the Kurzweil K series synths where you can store a whole bunch of songs as midi files then from one channel you can trigger them off in real time as an arrangement which can also be recorded as a seperate midi file. Currently there is no way I know how to "beat sync" a note from a midi keybaord to the midi clock. I know this can be done easily in software, or indeed by hand editing the arrange sequence in the Kurzweil, but the main purpose for this would be to be able to play the arrange mode of the K rack in a live situation without having the chance for the songs to go out of sync. This method would only want to look for incoming notes as other controls would not want to be synced with the clock ie midi CC's sysex etc. Ideally it would be awesome if this box could also do the same acting as a sync slave too. Im sure there would be other applications for this box than my specific need, playing in time selectable to quantisze your notes to the 1/16th etc for new keyboard players would be one of them. I could imagine this as a cool MIOS toy that may be of interest to people too? Any ideas would be cool :} Im hoping to learn some C soon which could be used for this, but im a long way from knowing where to start! Is C even suitable for such a timing intensive operation? Thanks, John

I would love to see this become a part of the official PCB and MIOS release, I think its not really going to be that confusing to have it as an option for people. Perhaps it could be that it needs a seperate pcb for the pin problem, and that this little add on module can simply be turned on or off in the application code? I think that TK needs to be involved in this discussion to really say if its got a future officially or if this will land up as something people need to hunt down from this topic?? In any case, I like it an will be doing it as soon as someone publishes the modification to the PCB and the associated code inserted into MIOS :) Who is best suited to do that? BTW, I really like moebius's suggestion of the fade out, that would be awesome to see!! Any testing needed? (Hand up in anticipation) All the best, John

Hiya Wilba, I will give it a try, but im still just getting my head around how the SID works at all, so it may take some time. Also slightly off topic, is there a place where MBSID users are swapping patches? I have 8 memory banks in mine, currently there mostly empty, but I want to fill them up! I was wanting to fill them with sounds from the game tunes, which might happen over time as I learn, but im building up a small but growing collection of my own sound designs on it which I'm happy to share and would like to access sounds others have made too. Would be nice if there was a formal way to do it where a lot could be uploaded and kept track of as for their names etc, somewhere that the whole MB community would like to use and was easy to access with a web front end. John