toneburst

Anyone tried retro-fitting a 20x2 character OLED to the SammichSID? I recently (after Many years) rediscovered my SammichSID. It still sounds great, but sadly the original LCD has faded almost to invisibility, so I wondered if a more modern OLED would work. I've heard OLEDs can cause HF noise issues, so I'm especially interested to find out if this would be the case with a drop-in replacement of the original LCD.

Sorry to dredge this thread up from the mists of ancient time, but.. I'm considering making up a little PCB for the LPC17-based implementation of Audiocommander's MB SpeakJet synth, based on the schematic in the SVN. Would you recommend I try and rejig the circuit to use a different set of IO pins? It currently uses pins P2.2-2.5 (PWM1.3-1.6). Would changing the pins used (if that's necessary) require a major rewrite of the MIOS software? I'd also like to add an amp section (with volume attenuator) to bring output level up to Eurorack synth levels. a|x

Cool, thanks again. Do you happen to know if I will be able to upload MIOS applications from MIOS Studio via USB MIDI, assuming I don't have a DIN MIDI in socket? The super-minimal SpeakJet synth just has a USB socket. a|x

Hi @gerald.wert thanks for getting back to me! Good to hear the new LPC is fine. I'm not planning to use it with a Core board, actually. The idea is to finally get around to making a proper PCB and case for the SpeakJet synth I made years ago. It's a very minimal circuit, with just the LPC board, USB socket, SpeakJet and a simple low-pass filter on the SJ output. So, just to double-confirm: the process of uploading the MIOS boot loader to the new LPC board is the same as with the previous one? Re. Teensy etc. I don't think I have the skills to take on that project myself, unfortunately. I asked mainly because I happen to have a Teensy 3.x and Teensy LC board kicking around. As you say, they're slightly smaller, but also have a more powerful MCU than the LPC1769 (Cortex M4, as opposed to M3). As for the NodeMCU, I think it would be really cool to do something with that and MIDI. Even without MIOS installed on it, if it could be controlled from a MIOS application, I think you could do some interesting things with it. How about have a web-controlled sequencer, for example? Or an wireless OSC sender/receiver? Thanks again for the tips! Cheers, a|x

Also, on a related topic, has anyone tried/managed to get MIOS working on any other development boards? I'm thinking particularly of Teensy/Teensy LC, or NodeMCU. I find myself with a couple of the above, and I thought it might be cool to try some MIOS stuff on them. a|x

Haven't posted here for many years.. Quick question: does anyone know if the new LPCXPRESSO, Cortex M3-based devboards from NXP are compatible with MIOS? If so, is it pin-compatible with the old version, and would code for the old version work on it without modification? The old ones that the LPC-based MB Core is based on seem to no longer be available. Apologies if this has already been covered (as I said, I've been away). I did a quick search, but didn't find any posts on it. Cheers, a|x

Sold to a member of another forum. Thanks guys, a|x

@ilmenator yep, sorry, it's an FM, not the SID one. Sounds equally nice, in it's own way, though it's a quite different beast. a|x

Nobody interested? Too expensive? a|x

Fully assembled and working SammichFM, never left my home studio. Great condition, with frosty white enclosure and green infilled engravings. I'll include a UK PSU for a UK buyer. £250 + shipping from UK. Drop me a PM if interested. Cheers, a|x

Thanks for the reply, smashtv. I am reassured. I wasn't implying that you weren't doing anything, incidentally. Having done a couple of component 'bulk orders' in the past, I know how long all this can take. a|x

It's all gone verrrrrry quiet.... a|x

Hiya, just wondering how far you've got through the list, SmashTV. My name is down, but quite far down the list, so was wondering if you've not got to me, or if perhaps there was some other issue. I do have an email address on my profile, but it's not publicly-visible (i.e. you can drop me a message via the contact form, but can't actually see my address). Is this OK? I'd actually forgotten about this one (put my name down some time ago), but I'm still interested. Is there any news on backordered parts, by the way? I'm not in a huge hurry, but it would be good to have an idea of how long things might take, if I haven't now missed the boat entirely, of course. Cheers, a|x

Did you get to the bottom of this, in the end? I haven't used my SammichFM for a while, but I didn't notice anything like this last I checked. On the other hand, I did get some pretty nasty digital distortion artifacts when I first put the thing together. They were solved by re-melting the solder on the SMD chips. You could try that, if you haven't already. Just a thought. a|x

Great work Thorsten! I was just saying on another forum the other day someone should do a CTRLR-based editor for the MIDIbox/SammichFM. And here it is! a|x

Are the LCDs you shipped with the last batch of SammichSID kits also high-powered, Wilba? I ask because I just completed my kit, and initially, left the jumper in the low-power position. The display was quite dim, so I followed the instructions in the Build Guide to use high-power mode. The display is much brighter now, even with the backlight brightness trimmer turned right down. However, as soon as I turned the device on after changing the jumpers, I noticed a slight burning smell. It wasn't strong, and there certainly wasn't any smoke or anything dramatic like that, but it was noticeable. Also, the power-handling part of the board got noticeably hotter than it had before. I know the two heatsinks and the holes in the case are there to handle that, but I just wondered if things are set as they should be. It still seems to be working OK. a|x

Hi Peter, thanks for getting back to me. Turns out I made another really stupid mistake... I was thinking the two audio sockets were two mono audio outputs. I'd forgotten that they're actually two stereo sockets, one for audio out and one for in.. doh! Dug out my Y-Lead, plugged it in, and I'm not getting audio out of both SIDs. Very silly mistake. Sorry for wasting your time... Happy it's working now though! Time to upload some patches, I think :) a|x

Thanks Paul. I think my ridiculously oversized Farnell PSU is working OK. I have another issue now, unfortunately. That's another story/topic though ;) Cheers, a|x

So, just installed the SIDs in my sammichSID. Unfortunately, only one of the channels seems to be working- the right one. I've tried swapping the SIDs, and it's consistently the left channel that doesn't work, from which I conclude that both SID chips are working as they should, individually. I've remelted all the joints around the socket for that SID, and the caps that are connected to the audio outputs. I've removed thew SIDs and check the ground and 5V points, as identified in the Build Guide, and both seem OK. I'm not really sure how to proceed in debugging from here. Any tips, anyone? a|x

Hi Paul, thanks for the quick reply. It's the 'suitably-rated wallwart' bit I'm having problems with, actually. I was under the impression that a 1A regulated linear (rather than switch-mode) PSU was required, and I've been having problems finding one of those. Looking again at the build manual though, it looks like I misread the first time, and don't need the regulated supply for the 7580R5 SIDs I'm using, so my normal-size 12V/1A wallwart would probably have done the job... a|x

Hi, anyone in the UK managed to source a suitable sammichSID power-supply? I just bought one from Farnell, but it's of a similar 'inline' style to the original C64 brick, and is almost as bulky and heavy, making it almost as large, and significantly heavier, than the actual sammichSID itself. I've not managed to find a UK supplier for the recommended Jameco wallwart, or one with a UK plug. Anyone any luck with this, or found a working alternative? a|x

Problem solved! Turns out I had some of the shift-register chips mixed up. I stupidly assumed they were all the same, and didn't read the parts list properly, so some were in the wrong places. Reinstalling them in the correct locations seems to have fixed the problem. Sorry for wasting your time, guys. a|x

Hi, just making my SammichSID kit. Have done all the soldering for base and CS boards, installed SID application. That seemed to go OK, and when the box boots up, I see the first SID application screen showing the patch name. When I send MIDI notes, the LEDs seem to work, but none of the controls, buttons or encoder, seem to do anything. At this point, I have everything installed except the SIDs. Any ideas what might have gone wrong? a|x

I have a spare CEM3396 analogue voice (Dual VCO/Filter/VCA) chip for sale. Used in the Cheetah MS6 and Oberheim Matrix 1000, among other classic boxes. This is the narrow-body version. £15 + delivery from London UK. Thought I'd offer it to you guys before I try eBay, as I've seen discussions on MIDIBox forums about them. a|x