dcer10

I think that is a good decision TK, people can always build a MB64E to use for all these things, lets see the sequencer sequence as well as possible :)

I know its a simple thing, but I would love to see a dedicated volume knob... Its probably possible already but I dont know how to add it (nor am I drilling more into my case until V2 comes out :) )

If the 16 buttons were to be used in the mixer mode I would prefer it to be flexible like the buttons on a Kenton Control freak where you can choose what is sent, if it is momentary, on/off toggle, and if a cc will be sent, or sysex or something else. Without a complex editor for this I guess its not possible. Im not sure that sending notes from the buttons is really going to suit everyone. Id prefer to still be able to access menu functions in the mixer mode unless what is sent by the buttons could be edited. But thats just my 2c worth :) Considering this is a sequencer which has a primary purpose of sending notes, and is meant to be hooked up to a keyboard which also sends notes, why would you want to use these buttons which are doing something perfectly useful to send notes too? I guess everyone uses things differently.

Sorry I should have been more specific, in the delay :)

Am I missing something or is there nowhere to define the SRs and pins for the buttons? I can see where to connect up the encoders I think (odd the SR's start at 13, are the precious ones for the buttons??). Would the intended use be 9 encoders and 30 buttons or would 9 encoders (8+jog) be enough and the best config? Thanks! John

The new mixer mode in the last version of the beta has the capability of being a very compact midi control system to send multiple CC's on multiple channels and ports. You can easily save a lot of programs with different configurations if you like for very easy use. This makes use of all 16 steps of encoders, but not the buttons (from what I know). I actually prefer the usage of this to any other midi controllers now.

Will the Aout run on 9v dc? The psu diagram shows +-12v. I hope it can be used, this way looks good!

Hi Everyone, Does anyone know how what would be involved in changing the Optimised 4xSID PSU board to be suitable to power a midibox sequencer? Ive still notfitted a power board into my sequencer that will give power to both the core and Aout. I thought since I have some C64 PSU bricks laying around I could use one to power my sequencer? Is this possible? Thanks, John

Perhaps a play button for the internal sequencer would be a good way to do this for auditioning sounds in V2 since it will be able to change between all of the stored patterns, this way you could make up patterns for particular kinds of sounds suitable for audition?

For the moment I am cancelling this post as I have repaired the PSU's and found a couple of 6581's worked that I thought didnt :) I may still be interested in a SID chip of either kind if the price is right tho!

I got stuck on the same thing too!

Im pretty sure that the 4xsid problem is that the psu I used for it has the different pinning. It doesnt say its a C64 PSU, but it is from commodore. It has the same output only the 5v is on the other side of the earth for some reason. Wierd! That psu wont power a single sid either as the pinning wont work. All in all my problem is solved for now, and I will certainly let you know if that plug shows up. From memory it is similar looking to the square scsi plugs on the back of older mac laptops (not identical but similar). All the best, John

Your 100% correct! I was reading the voltages wrong on the plug (how retarded since Ive made 2 sids before). Also several of the PSU's were actually damaged too. Last nite I figured out my error. I was measuring the 9vac to earth insttead of to eachother so it looked like dc, and also was reading the wrong pin for the 5vdc, its on the other side of the earth pin! Now I have a heap of cleaned up working PSUs! Oddly enough still none will power up my 4x sid except the one in the photo in this thread (the beige one). The others will power a single sid version , but when plugged into the fully stuffed version it wont even power up the screen! Thanks for your help :) John PS after thinking some more about which ones I have had over time I do recall having a very big commodore psu (maybe twice the size of any of these ones) which may have had a square plug on the end of the cable which someone had cut and gaffer taped on there. If I come across it I will send you a photo to see if it is what you need. Also as a note, the pinning is different on the first psu shown (b&w image) in this post, and that has lead to a lot of confusion too.

On the output line of the power board Im measuring all DC, but on the actual PSU ive been looking at the 9v ac and 5vdc. Oddly where I would expect AC on some of them im reading DC but no AC! I will post the actual results from the PSU itself tonight.

Some extra info about all this... I have several C64 power supplies. This one: Is working fine and is in my 4x sid, I put in a 500ma fuse but apart from that its untouched. I have several of these: which mostly seem to boot up the C64 computers, but not the SID. They usually give 9v where I expect 14, and around 3-4v where I expect 5. All of which wont power up my new (not related to the 4xsid) power board which is this: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_4xsid_c64_psu_optimized.pdf (the optimised psu). Then I also have a few of these: and one of these: which is a drive psu so I guess not very handy... which usually gives 12v where I expect 14, and around 3-4v where I expect 5. This one also boots up the C64s fine but not the SIDs. Is it possible that they are all dead and wont run the SID except that top one? Doesnt seem realistic since most of them boot up the C64 psu ok. Different pinning? Different specs?? That doesnt seem possible either since my original SID used one of the black ones ok, but the black PSU blew up and took the sid with it (I used the smaller non optimised PSU board on that one:http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_sid_c64_psu.pdf ) Ive bought 2 other black ones in my quest to fix this problem, and they seem to all measure the same output voltages as the ones that wont boot up a sid but will boot up a C64... Im confused! Can anyone shed some light on all this?? Thanks, John (PS not my photos)

Sorry its still 70% uploading :) Finished

Thanks! I just put up an mp3 of a test of 3 of the 4 sids going thru some external multifx :) http://www.dcerecords.dnsalias.com/testrec4a.mp3

Also to add to the post I am interested in a couple of SID chips, any kind will be ok if the price is right. I would prefer 1 x 6581 and 1 x 8580 if possible. I would like to get my hands on them fairly quickly and an Australian seller would be preferred. Thanks, John

I finally got all four sids in there and working ok! Here is a little sound grab from the first jam with all 4 sids, I know a lot more could be done with them, but just a test... Its using SIDs 1+2 and 3+4 as 2 stereo groups of seperately modulated stereo synths ie 4 modulation tracks 2 note tracks.. stryd_one, the led problem landed up being the LED itself :) doh!! UPDATE.. The upload didnt work to the forum last time so heres a link. http://www.dcerecords.dnsalias.com/Saw_Waves_ensemble.mp3 All the best, John

Ouch, that would have hurt! Thanks for the warning :) I think im in over my head so im going to hunt for a C64 PSU replacement, probably easiest.

Funnily enough most of the bricks that wont work with the SID synth will actually power up the C64 computer itself, but with no sound (no ive not taken the SID chip out of this commodore). Bizzare! Thanks for the info on the transformer, I will see if I can get one and put it into the brick.

I dont know how to wire up the transformers, thats why the C64 power packs are great for me. I do have lots of them here, and Id be happy to repair them if I could, failing that I need another working one :)

Thanks :) Do you know what the specs of the transformer are??

I did find a guide for the repair of the PSU... Look at: http://staff.washington.edu/rrcc/cbm/wallwart.txt If you have the same problem. Dont know how effective it will be. Thanks, John

Hi all, Im looking to buy a commodore 64 external power supply that is 240v and in good working condition. Im only really interested in ones from Australia only due to keeping the shipping price down. Im not looking to spend a fortune on one. I think around $10 - $15 Au is fair (plus shipping) for one, but I will consider other prices. If you have more than one Im interested in several, so please let me know a price for the lot. Im not interested in other C64 psu's like the disk drives PSU or similar if they cant be used to power the MB Sid. Thanks, John