toneburst

Hmm.. that's a fairly clear 'NO' on the water-clear ultrabright blue LEDs then... lol I bought them basically because they were cheap on eBay, and I didn't really know what I was doing ;) Is there a consensus that any kind of blue LED is bad? I'd really like to use blue ones, because I have a blue display (white on blue, actually), a blue-lit fan, and even blue divider lines on the panel! How about diffuse blue ones, in a blue-tinted casing? I can always put in stronger resistors to choke the brightness a little... a|x

HI again Wilba. I'm definitely jumpering across those pins on all the SID slots. Maybe the higher noise level is just because the SIDs aren't being controlled properly.... I will test that next. I've loaded the testone app to all the cores though, and the SID app to all but the last core (there is still a problem with the audio output of SID #7, so the last core still has the testone app loaded), so there doesn't seem to be an issue with MIDI communication to any of the cores. I haven't tried the testone app with the SIDS in though. I'm not sure if you're suggesting I should here. I Will will try swapping each SID pair to SID slots 1 and 2 next. Great, thanks once again for the tips. I will try all these things and see how it goes. Thanks again! a|x

I love drums, it's just that I thought tweaking the same parameter on several different sounds might not work very well. a|x

Thanks guys, I will try and track down some less intense ones, in that case. Thanks for the advice! a|x

Just wondering what kind of LEDs people are using. I bought a load of blue ultrabright ones with a 'water clear' lens, but I'm now thinking that less bright ones, with a blue lens, might look nicer. So, I'm interested to know what others are using. Cheers, a|x

They're pretty easy to pick up on eBay. I have a French one, actually, and would really love to get hold of the German and Italian versions, but I've never seen the former for sale anywhere, and the latter comes up every so-often, but is verrry expensive, unfortunately... a|x

Have you seen this guys work? http://highlyliquid.com/kits/decoder.html He makes MIDI control devices for circuit-bent toys etc. I've also bought a couple of his Speak & Spell MIDI control retrofits, which are very cool! a|x

Hmm.. I just tried this. I also checked all the diodes under the Core PICs, which look fine. I did notice I'd only installed R6_CORE1, and not the same resistor for the other cores, but it says in the mainboard parts list that it's only necessary to install R6 for Cores 2 - 4. I'm still not getting any sounds out of any of the other SIDs. I did notice that that level of background noise seems a lot higher from the SIDs 3 - 6. That makes sense. Anything else I should try? a|x

What we want is controllers that will do more-or-less the same thing in the Lead, Bassline, and SuperPoly engines (the Drum engine is a maybe not such an obvious contender for CC control), so my vote is for Main Volume Osc. 1/2/3 Wavform Filter Cutoff Filter Res Filter Type Filter Env. Depth Filter Env. Decay Portamento On/Off Portamento Time As the basics. a|x

Great, cheers. a|x

Hi Wilba, thanks very much for getting back to me so quickly! I've definitely got R80 installed. So, when I turn on the mainboard, and sent notes on MIDI channels 2 and 3, I should hear sound from SID pair 2 and 3? Is the fact that the LCD doesn't show a patch name when connected to any core other than the first one, or is this expected behaviour? I did have the testone app working on all the Cores (though there was a problem with the audio output on SID #7). I've put all the stuff away now, but I will check the diodes under each Core PIC tomorrow. Cheers, a|x

Hiya, I've got the SIDs in the first 2 slots of my MB-6582 mainboard (controlled by the first Core PIC) working nicely, but I'm a bit confused as to how to test the others. I've uploaded the SID application to Cores 2 and 3 (there's still a hardware issue somewhere with the output of SID slot 7, so the final Core still has the Testone application loaded), and installed nice new SID chips in SID in all slots but the final two. I don't seem to be able to get any sound out of them anything except the original 2 SID chips. I had kind of assumed that the Cores would operate on consecutive MIDI channels, but that doesn't seem to be the case, and I can't seem to trigger notes on anything other than channel 1, and the first core. I can hear noise from the other SIDs, but I don't get the startup jingle when I switch the mainboard on. If I plug-in an LCD, and the display for Cores 2 and 3 just shows MIDIBoxSID V2.0RC26 and doesn't show a patch name, like the first core does. What am I missing? a|x

Any developments on this? a\x

Did these work for you? a|x

Thanks guys, I've just done my first one. 12 to go! Incidentally, julienvoirin, I notice you've been a LOT more generous with your JB Weld that I was- hope mine holds. I'll soon find out, anyway. a|x

Sorry if this is a RTFM question, but could someone take me through the process of removing the detents from the VOTI-sourced encoders for the MB-6582 CS? Or point me at a walkthrough. Cheers, a|x

Anyone found a UK source for heatsinks for the voltage regulator in the MB-6582 PSU section?

Just an idle though: I wonder how many MB SID builders out there are doing it because they're genuinely nostalgic about the C64? I must admit, that was never a big part of my motivation for embarking on the project, as I never had one when I was a kid (or owned any other computer in fact, until I bought a second-hand Atari ST from one of my lecturers, when I was at university). I was more interested in the project because it's definitely one of the most flexible and powerful self-build synth projects out there, and seemed to me quirkier and more interesting than the myriad modular analogue synth projects. 'Discuss', as they say ;) a|x

Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. It's bad news, I'm afraid: I've had a look around, and it looks like I must have thrown a lot of my old C64 bits out. I found 2 C64 PSUs, but I'm building one of Wilba's MB-6582s, and I've read that some C64 PSUs have trouble providing enough power, so I want to keep both around, just in case one doesn't quite cut it when I fully-load it with 8 SIDS and 4 cores. The problem is, I did a load of MIDIBox SID-related stuff a couple of years ago, but eventually ran out of impetus. In our small flat, it became hard to justify keeping all this stuff around, so I must have eventually chucked a load of bits and bobs (though I don't actually recall doing it). It's only seeing Wilba's excellent (and well-documented) 8-SID design that prompted me to take up the soldering-iron again. I really should have checked before I replied to your post. If I do come across another spare PSU, I'll get back to you again. Apologies again. a|x

Hi chimchim, I suspect I haven't been liberal enough either. I've just done the spacers, and am going to leave it until tomorrow night, but I've a funny feeling not all the spacers are going to be properly stuck. We'll see though. The corner ones seem OK so far though. I managed to get them to fit through the holes in the top of the case OK, anyway. a|x

DAMN! Having spend several hours this afternoon soldering the LCD cable, I've just now broken my last remaining 16-way IDC connector.... I'll have to order another one now. Very annoying. On the plus side, the four corner screws to old together the panel and CS PCB seem to be well stuck now. I will do the second gluing pass tonight, then I can finally start soldering the CS components. a|x

After taking a bit of a MIDIBox break, I finally got around this evening to attempting the first stage of gluing my front panel and CS PCB together. a|x

Sounds like the Q might be the problem, then. Can't think why this would be the case, mind you... Have you got some kind of MIDI feedback loop going on? a|x

I seeee.... should have read the beginning of the thread shouldn't I... a|x

Nice work! Makes me want to dig out my old SID and Core modules and see if they still work... a|x