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Wisefire

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  1. Wisefire

    Frontpanel.

    By Wisefire,

    Alright, another update is due.

    While waiting on some other things to arrive (PICs and CS pcb) i thought it was a good idea to finish some other projects. So i removed some detents from encoders and I received 25 lego pegs, dremeled them in two, glued them on tactswitches, some more dremeling and put on my custom rubber caps.


    And today i visited a good friend with a lasercutter.


    And cut out the frontpanel out of triplex wood.


    Sanded it down and put on somespray laquer, this is the result.

  2. Wisefire
    And the IC headers.


    i've found my SID chip collection as well, i've got 2x6582, 3x6581, 3x8580 and one 8580 that has a defective filter.
    i want to have 1 6581 pair, 1 6582 pair and 2 8580 pairs, which means i need to find one 8580 from somewhere. If you got one for a good price, contact me :smile:


    I'm also thinking design choices, the mb6582 base is prepared for stereo outs, probably to save on space. but i'd rather have mono out, that's how my studio is set up. otherwise i need special cables for my MBsid. the MB6582 has passive mixing built in, but this means i either need to buy other mono outs, or i need to go with the stereo out smashTV provided in the kit. probably need to think about this some more.

    Then there is the control surface. my younger self thought it was a good idea to do it myself. and i kind of agree, that way its completely the way i want, but its way easier to build the CS with the PCB wilba designed for the pactec case. I may splurge and just buy the CS and pactec case just to make it easier for myself. One big gripe i have with wilba's design though, is the buttons. maybe i can change them in his design. need to ponder these choices further ;)

    greetz,
  3. Wisefire

    Mouser order

    By Wisefire,

    YEEH!

    Most of my Mouser order just came in.


    Tact switches, which i will modify.


    Dual potmeters for the feedback.


    Some bolts, nuts and spacers.


    And a lot of diodes.


    now its only waiting on the PACTEC PT-10 case.



    as for progress:

    The rubber buttons i want to use on top of the tactswitched are too big. so i needed to find a solution. and i think i found one.

    on top of the tactswitches fits, exactly fits, a lego connector peg.

    and the rubber buttons fit exactly on top of these.
    i've ordered 25 of them. i'm going to cut them in half and hopefully stay under 15 mm in total, otherwise they'll sticks out too much.


    In other news, I succesfully ordered a CS from SmashTV. I love how he provides some excellent service. and i'm a real stickler for service.
    CS en BASE boards usually go together. and smash just sold his last pair. new orders would come in about 3 weeks and he could order one CS extra for me.

    however this would mess with my plan to have this thing done in time for a performance i'm planning to do with it. So smash came up with another solution, he remembered that he had one bad CS board in his discard pile. it had one bad trace and usually wouldnt sell these at all. but instead of him throwing it away, i could throw it away for him :P long story short, i'll have a near mint (IMHO) CS board for a significant discount AND in time for me to complete the project in time. the guy is golden!

    thats it for now.
    till next time!

    thats it for now
  4. Wisefire
    alright, i've thought about it some more.

    I'm going for a wilba design, with some minor alterations. which are mostly frontpanel related.

    His design is very good, and combined with the ease of construction it makes it the better choice.


    I've ordered the following from mouser:

    4x 100K AUDIO POTMETERS (for the feeding the out back into the in of the SID)
    Some screws, washers, and spacers.
    100x 7.0 mm high 100gf buttons. which i will use with custom caps. (ordering a 100 is cheaper than ordering 50, weird)
    100x Diodes
    1x pactec pt-10 production unit, which is only 14 euro! it doesnt have panels, but i dont need those!

    this means i would only need a CS PCB from SmashTV (i haven't heard back yet, i'm guessing he is enjoying the holidays and has taken some time off.) which hopefully will fit inside an envelope and means cheaper shipping i hope.

    and i would need a front/backpanel.

    i have a preliminary design for the frontpanel and will be easy to get lasercut out of plastic. for the backpanel i couldnt find a DXF file, i've contacted wilba for a frontpanel file with mountingholes, so i can have the choice to mount the spacers without jbweld (afaik, we dont have that in holland). When i get a reply i'll ask him about a DXF file for the backpanel as well.

    and finally a question. i'm going for the feedback option,
    and im wondering if the [EXT IN] button near the filter is switching only the audio in, on or off. or is it doing something more?

    If its only to switch external (or feebacked) audio on/off, i could rename it to feeback, change it in the software as well, would look nicer imho.
  5. Wisefire

    Stuck..

    By Wisefire,

    Alright, i'm stuck within choices.

    When i started about 8 years ago (i had to look that up, see here for my old blog.. has it really been that long?) there was only a sidV1 and no mb6582 from wilba. I collected parts to be used in a compete CS, all diy wiring, as that was the only option.

    Then came the V2 and wilbas awesome mb6582 project with it. I got his base pcb, as i still had my own CS in my head.

    Fast forward to now. I'm finally at a point in my life where i can finish this project, as i want this to be done, and start using it. Especially because i've found one of the dutch chiptune communities, eindbaas.

    Back to the choice i now face. Do i really want to build my own CS?
    Pros are:
    Customized to my liking.
    Able to use my old stuff i've collected.
    Rackmountable if i so desire.
    Cheapest solution (excluding my time)
    Mono outs.

    Or do i want to go with wilbas design
    Pros:
    Beautiful design.
    Pro looking insides.
    Less troubleshooting.
    Faster to build.

    Here are some pics of the stuff i have:

    First an overview.


    Jacks.


    Datawheel.


    Encoders and knobs.


    Buttons.


    2x40 and 4x20 Lcds, and row of buttons for the 2x40.


    Red leds and ribbon cable.


    For me, the most important factors are, usability/functionality, cost, and time spent.

    It would probably take me 2 months to design and build my own CS. Excluding any difficult troubleshooting. I may also fail completely.

    What would it cost to go for wilbas design?
    I would need:
    A CS pcb. From smashTV. - unknown
    Maybe A lot of buttons. - not much i guess.
    A lot of diodes. - not much i think.
    A pactec pt-10 - 25 euros
    A frontplate - free (i know a guy.)

    If i can change the buttons on his design, i may be able to use my the ones i have. Or make the holes bigger and use these.


    I'll contact smash for an estimate, so i can make an informed decision.
  6. Wisefire

    It's Time To Start!

    By Wisefire,

    Hi all,

    I am wisefire. I was kind of active on here a long time ago, and I promised that one day i'll be back to complete (and document) my Midibox SID.
    Well, the time has come to build it.

    I have the version of wilbas MB6582 core board directly from wilba.
    The idea back when I bought it was to build my own control surface around it, to be honest if I could make that choice right now I wouldn't be so sure, but i've got all the buttons and stuff for it already so let's start this adventure!

    Soldering the resistors was first, here is a timelapse.


    The next evening came the capacitors.


    i'll keep you guys posted!
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