t_xen

yup. I moved 1 wire over on the IDX and now it's in stereo. (core to sid) that's what I get for looking into the details. ;D

ok, I did a double check on the audio wiring. I have the "Tip" (left output = bottom sid) and the "Ring" (right output = top sid) connected to the appr. pins of the stereo jack. The Top Sid Board (J2) is 1 to 1 on the Core (J10) except on the Top Sid board (j2-pin9) connected to (j14)........ Oh, crap. I just saw the prob. blank pin conected to nothing. let me adjust the wiring on my 10 pin IDX connector. ::) moving a wire over... My cabeling on the sid has 3 connectors on it like a montherboard to a slave HD an master HD, But rather than that, it's a left and right channel.

ok. I figured I have the Left and Right SID modules wired up to the core correctly, because I am getting audio from both left and right channels. but the audio produced (no matter how much tweaking I do through the menu interface) it still comes out as mono. My mixer has a left and right audio level readout and I am getting audio from both channels, however there is no noticeable difference between the channels. I use a stereo cable that splits to left and right channels that plugs into my mixer. On the output, continuity checks out by testing the Tip to the right module and the Ring to the left module. Not sure what to do at this point. any insight? Thanx

There could be a problem with the PSU being flakey cuz I tried puting a load on it from another project that works and it doesn't work on that. So.... I got another design for a Bipolar PSU. Is this adequate? So for the caps after the regulators, I have some tantalum caps, but no electrolytic. Should those be fine?

Happy Pyro Day! :P

good job! :)

that's what I figured was happening. My walwart seems to be delivering just enough amps though. What I'm going to try is putting in another 5v regulator, move all the shift registers for the SID Modules off the current regulator and link them to the added regulator. Should pull some heat off the current 5v regulator that's in it by reducing the load off that part. I'll update when I get around to doing this.

I think there is a possibility you might be right. It reads fine but the second I put a load on it, I get weird voltage readings from the module I connect to it. Pics and schematic will be posted in a bit. I need to take a break from it for a bit. :P

oh yes. I did. After setting the project aside for a bit (sometimes it's good to step away) so I don't get too frustrated, I think the majority of the issues I'm having is a less than adequate PSU that I'm currently using.

I built an analog synth (Soundlab from MFOS) and wanted to build the midibox CV to control it. I built an AOUT_LC etched myself and populated. it worked fine for the external filter I have for the SID but not good enough for controlling VCOs. so I decided to etch an AOUT. The etch turned out fine and populated all the parts. I ended up with faulty readings on the pins that I tested for the OPAMP ICs. and I could not trigger the DACs that I had gotten as samples from the core module. I ended up putting the board to bed. The Aout_NG came along. I put it together triplechecking to make sure I had the proper parts in the proper places and oriented properly. alas, I get faulty readings when testing the voltage. there is a bridge somewhere on the board that's not being created by solder or lead clipping sitting across some pins. After a week of working on the aout_ng and testing. I have given up since I have not been able to get a solution in sight. I'm baffled over this because I have built an 8xSID v2 from individual modules and did not have any weird voltage issues, or strange, anomalous problems. the only problem I have with the 8xSID is that I'm not supplying enough current to it. that's an easy fix. I almost wonder if I failed to build a proper bipolar PSU even though I get proper readings off it from the + and - rails. Only when I connect it to the aout_NG, do the readings off the negative rail get flipped around. positive rail comes out fine. I got troubleshooting tips from various users, even seppoman, the creator of the board, but still have yet to determine what went wrong in populating the board. alas, like the others I've put this one to bed. :'(

I put a probe on the jumper that runs from P12 after passing through the resistors, and the other on - rail. I can get a reading and adjust the resistance, but when I place the probe on the + rail, I get a reading, and cannot adjust it. At this point, I'm giving up on this. into th estatic bag it goes and into a box in the closet. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

ok. no continuity when checking the pins on the board for P12. when checking the trimmer by itself, no continuity. but when I put the trimmer back into the board, I get continuity off 2 pins.

I removed the trimmer and now the positive and negative rails aren't bleeding together, but unfortunately I'm still getting a + reading off the negative rail.

I was testing for continuity and started checking the pins under the trimmers. I found a bridge underneath p12. time to desolder the part and check.

off a whim, I did a continuity check. pin4 has continuity to the positive rail. when I checked pin 11, I get continuity to both positive and negative rails. now I have to figure out where it's happening.

ok. by looking at the board file in eaglePCB, I reflowed all the points that both the positive and negative rail contacts. I retested the voltage and am still getting the reverse polarity on Pin11 of the ICs. While I was looking, R14 - R40 are basically setting between the power rails. when I check the voltage on the positive rail It's still giving +11.7v, but when I check the other side of the resistors on the negative rail, I still get a reading of +7.5v. now, I don't know the formula for how much reduction in voltage an ohm rating will reduce the voltage, but what is interesting is the resistors on the positive rail will low the voltage from +11.7v to +9.3v. what's weird is the voltage on the negative rail reading a +7.47v to +9.1v??????? Ok, I figure if it's supposed to reduce the voltage I should be getting a lower reading, but rather a higher reading. now I'm really confused. ???

update: 7912 in the PSU does not get hot. power drops out on the negative rail and flips to positive voltage. Negative rail ends up reading as +7.4v on pin 11 of IC3 and IC4. (jumpers are currently off the module) When I check the current on the PSU I built, the positive and negative voltages are fine. Today I'm going to try a solder reflow in case there is a bad joint that I cannot visually detect.

Umm, yea, it does read -11.7v. (oops! left that minus sign out). ;p It is, but that was before I had tested with the jumpers removed. I'll check again without the jumpers. Didn't think about that. I'll let you know when I retest without the jumpers. I cannot since my meter is really basic and does not have a setting to measure amperage. (I should invest in a really good one.)

That is correct, before I connect the PSU to the Aout_NG, then the power drops. all joints look good, the orientation on the DAC, Resistors, and ICs look good. tested the value of all the resistors and they are correct and in the proper places.

I have constructed a regulated bipolar PSU. Both positive and negative rails read as 11.7v. When I connect the power to J3 of the AOUT_NG the power on negative rail reads as 6.6v, the positive rail is still the same. Pin 4 and Pin 11 on IC3 and IC4 reflect this. Before I checked the power, I was also having a curious issue with the Bipolar and Unipolar configuration. the voltage output is not adjustable. no matter how many times I turn the gain trimmer, the voltage measured on the outputs do not change. is there something that I may have just missed? ??? ??? ??? I went over it 3 times checking for bridges and bad solder joints and cannot find any reason for this problem. :-\

heh. think I am pulling too much current. I have disconnected the shift registers on 3 sid modules and the thing is being stable. I think need to figure out how to get more amps for the draw. ;)

ok, I removed the LCD. powered it on and after a short time the power still goes out. so what should I do now? I'm gonna try disconnecting the DIN and DOUT boards to see if that has any effect. any other suggestions?

got a cheap ass meter that doesn't test current draw. nothing else like a fan or anything is hooked up to it. I'll get to pulling the LCD in a bit and testing.

The LCD was ordered from Crystalfontz.com http://www.crystalfontz.com/products/product.phtml?partname=CFAH2002ARMIJP no core reset messages. The LEDs aren't ultra brights, they're high efficiency reds. The 5v regulator will get hot before power cuts out. Do regulators just "quit" when too hot and have to cool off before functioning again? I wonder how many amps I'm pulling. Is it possible that the current draw might be too high for a single 5v@1A regulator?

yup. just a straight up can of flat black spray paint. And the downside to most ppl using those knobs are, you gotta have small fingers. This is a version 2. I did not get the baseboard from wilba. I used all individual modules and stuffed the case (Thank you SmashTV and get well soon, damnit!). there's not any room left inside, but only for a memory upgrade (2 bank sticks installed). The panel is a v1 panel (no volume LEDs on the mod matrix) , but it's stuffed with 8 6582 sids (thank you Wilba!). Of course, uber props to TK. ;D What needs work.... Anybody know anything about power dropouts err, brownouts? Seems to be my only hurdle left. I've got a 12v @ 1A wallwart feeding a single 5v and 8 9v regulators. I can play it for a couple of minutes, then it looses power. I have to let it sit for 10 seconds before it will boot back up. ???