m00dawg

Oh well of course I don't run the vregs off mains. I used a 12VAC transformer. In my current design, that runs through a rectifier, caps (typical thing) and then directly to the 7809. For the 7805 I use power resistors to bring the things down before it hits the 7805. The regulators and resistors are both heatsinked. Currently I only have a single fuse from mains to the xformer. That's really there to prevent me from doing something stupid. The +5V rail may get close to 1A but I haven't heard any reports of exceeding that (you can find more accurate numbers by searching on the wiki or forums - I forget the numbers people have ended up with for typical current draw). The +9V rail likely won't get near that (also you can find the specifics on the forums). I forget the VA of my current xformer. For my next PSU I was going to go with the 50VA from Northern's specs as that seems more than enough. I'm not that familiar with current limiting transistors (I know Wilba does trickery there for the LED and button matrices) so that's a thought. Crowbar circuit is totally new concept to me so I'll have to do some Googling :) Resettable fuses are something to consider as well. That said, if the regs blow I'm not that concerned. They're cheap. To some degree, even the xformer is cheap(er) compared to the precious SIDs, but I won't disagree with having more methods of protecting a circuit for sure. The thought of a C64-compatible PSU has come up a few times here on the forums since I've been around. I haven't seen a really good "kit" for one but the design is fairly simple. I know people would love to have a nice repeatable design, if not a full blown bulk-order style kit for sure. I think the fewer C64 PSU's that are in use, the better.

I run my MB-6582 on just a 7809 and 7805. Basically it's like his design but without the +12V since I didn't need it. But I used resistors and heatsinks for both regulators. Wasn't a problem. Many 78xx can handle above 1amp with proper heatsinks. Just look at the datasheets of the one you're going to buy to make sure. The C64 PSU has a 7805 regulator in it, in fact.

I am trying to upload revisions of some of the diagrams and things for my MB-SIDR8TR project. Trouble is, the option to overwrite files has been removed? Is there any way I can get this access, at least for the MB-SIDR8TR namespace?

Actually, is the Bourns encoder Wilba recommends (PEC16-4220F-N0024, see [url=http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=wilba_mb_6582_control_surface_parts_list}this) the same size as the ALPS STEC16 (the ones also used for the MB-6582)? I see that the Eagle library has a BOURNS PEC11 but the replacement Wilba recommends is a PEC16 - so I'm trying to figure out which package to use in Eagle? Thanks!

=psu]this or this might be something to consider (the latter is untested :) ). I'me a HUGE advocate for building a custom PSU. The C64 PSU is #%^!ing $^#&. People need to let that thing go :) It's not hard to build a PSU that will work for an MB-6582. It's really just a handful of parts, some care, and fuses :)

Hi MidiBoxers! I have noticed that EagleCAD has a rather small selection of encoders (at least that I have been able to find). The ones I was going to use were the ALPS EC12E (http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=EC12E) for my own custom MB-SID control surface. Unlike the ones used in the MB-6582, these seem to be a bit shorter and I was curious as to if anyone had any experience with these? Or if someone could point me to an EagleCAD layout for the buttons that are used for the MB-6582 (http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bourns/PEC16-4220F-N0024/?qs=6FD5PBp7ZtSGeyX4p%2fuIDg%3d%3d)? I would actually prefer those since I was hoping to use a similar design in the MB-6582 in terms of how far back the control boards site from the surface, etc. Makes finding parts easier (assuming I can get the layout in Eagle of course :) ). Update AHA! found them. Thanks wiki! :)

Doh! Good call. Sorry about that :)

Yeah but I didn't want to cut one of those up. Those sockets are usually more precious whole than they are in parts for me, though I have one that could meet an untimely death :) If I want to put machine strips everywhere, I need 80 of them (6 * 8 for the SIDs and 16 * 2 for the LED resistors) if my math is right. That's a lot of IC sockets to have to cut up :)

Aha! Fantastic! Thank you very much! Using that link I was able to grab the part number and found the same part here in the states: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Harwin/D01-9973242/?qs=ecHgFjcWJS%252bVNM5C80XwDA%3d%3d I also added it to the MB-6582 parts list page on the wiki for future reference. Thanks again!

Pins 28 and 14 would be what should give you 12V. There's some good documentation on what to do at this stage on ucapps.de, specifically: http://ucapps.de/mbhp_sid.html. The SID should get +5V from CORE and the +12V would be coming from it's own 7812. That is, if you're using a separate CORE and SID module. You probably don't need to heatsink that for one SID (never hurts) but you'll want one for the 7805 off the CORE module almost for sure since it's having to "burn off" 10V or so from your 15V power supply. It burns it off as heat so, as you can imagine, that sucker can get hot and will shut down if it gets too hot, spoiling your awesome SID fun-time.

Anyone know where I can get the machine pin strips Wilba talks about for the SID caps and LED resistors for the MB-6582 CS? I didn't use those when I built my first board and really wish I had. Since I'm likely going to build a second board I wanted to do it right :) I found these: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Aries/03-0625-71/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMs%2fSh%2fkjph1tjJZclYmfaNP4y9kNIeUeP4%3d But I'm not sure they are what I'm looking for since they have those pin things on top? The datasheet looks correct from the top but, uhh, I dunno what I'm looking for exactly :) Thanks!

I am now starting to get rather deep in creating the control surface boards for my =sidr8tr]rackmount MB-SID and am trying to figure out how to best approach the wiring of the different modules. I will be using the MB-6582 baseboard and using the button and LED matrices (just like the MB-6582 CS). I was going to use pin headers to hook everything up and, originally, I had been using the minimum amount of headers to fill the particular module. My plan was to combine the wiring later (maybe on a separate board). The thought occurred to me, however, that I could just run the full headers from the MB-6852 baseboard to every module and only wire up the pins needed for that particular module. That way I end up with a single run off the baseboard up to the CS as sort of a string. I was thinking of having headers in a sort of in/out type of thing. Doing that would require up to 6 pin headers (JD5 In/Out, JD7 In/Out, JD8 In/Out for all but the LED matrix for example), assuming 1x8 headers are used. That seems like a bit much so another thought I had was to use DIL headers with crimp connectors and just run a long cable and place a crimp connector where I need to in order to hook up a particular module. I could do something similar with SIL headers but that seems a bit less elegant. Ultimately, I guess my question was are some of the ways others have tackled this when making their own control surface?

Until people stop buying fake Rolex watches I fear we fight an endless battle as far as that goes.

Oddly enough I kinda like entering basslines using the mod matrix :) Not sure why *shrug*

It also allows sort of realtime modification of parameters so you can adjust the internal patch on the SID while playing around with your patch (so you can immediately here the feedback). I thought someone was working on a VST version too? Either way, it's pretty awesome but not as good as the CS. Might be still useful for some complicated wavetable stuff even with a CS though.

Is it a problem with accounts getting hacked or something? If not, why not just enable it for registration and make it sufficiently complex? That said, how about the deleting problem? I don't mind just leaving clutter there as much but it seems like a waste :) And just a larger pile that may have to be cleaned up later?

I have been moving my pages around and things and was trying to clean things up a bit. In particular, I began moving my MB-SID rackmount project into it's own namespace. The problem is that now I have a buncha extra media files I would like to remove but lack the permissions to do so. Who do I talk to about doing that? I didn't want to waste space on the server, however small that space may be. Also, I *HATE* having to enter a CAPTCHA for every page edit. I actually have rather poor eyesight and often use a larger than standard font. The problem is that the CAPCTHA is comparatively small. About 90% of the time, I have to enter it twice when saving a page. Can be please please do away with this, or just use this for logins? Logins seems like a great compromise because I only have to go though that pain once and then I'm good to go. A wiki is a place that should provide easy and open access to information and if the goal is for people to actively use it, should the process not be made as easy as possible (within reason obviously)?

Last night I made a power board design that is similar to the one =psu]NorthernLightX designed. I optimized it around using 9V to power the SIDs (though it can still be used with the 6581's - I just did not make a specific pin header for that, though I guess I could since there's room) and removed the LED since I did not think that would be totally useful. I also modified the resistors slightly. Instead of using a single 9W 8 Ohm resistor, I used two 5W 4 Ohm. I was not having much luck finding the 9W 8 Ohm after a bit of looking, but I also like that they are all the same size. So one can buy one of those flat ceramic types and drop a heatsink on it as an option. I was hoping to use the case as a big heatsink for the positive regulators which is why they have no heatisnk outline. One could be easily added though. Also, the name of the project is now MB-SIDR8TR (get it?) for now. MB-6582R was too close to the name of the MB-6582 itself. As such, the wiki page has been changed - it is now available here.

I have been going back and forth with FPE and while they can accept custom metal stuff, they don't do steel. The Jameco rack is only aluminum in the front. FPE did recommend these. However, the costs go WAY up. About $200 ($206 for vents) up from $70 or so. FPE does not do any metal bending so, while they can make a rear panel that is bent (or will end up being so) on the sides, that would have to be done elsewhere. Drilling the panel oneself is an option. I would like to figure out a way to get panels made since it would be easier for anyone else making these guys. Not anyone has a large drill press to do that type of work (I don't :P). I am open to suggestions :) Update: After thinking about it more, I could probably just cut a square hole from the back of the rack with a Dremmel and then have FPE made a panel for the hole. I can just screw it into the case and call it done. Not as ideal as having an entire rear panel ready to go but it only means I need to cut a big square and screw holes and can leave all the fancy stuff to FPE.

Protoboards would be fine for most of it. My current PSU is on a protoboard and it works as well as it should. For me, I really like printed boards and as a compromise figure I can try my hand at etching. It doesn't sound as bad as I thought (in terms of the dangerous chemicals) and I can use my Eagle designs to do so. If they turn out really well then I can have them printed if I wanted. Etching is something I have wanted to try anyway so it works out for me. I'm not so sure about using a protoboard for the LED matrix. I recall seeing some examples of that, but it looked pretty crazy :) I will likely look at having that fabbed. The board at BatchPCB costs $32 (plus $10 handling per order) which is not bad. If a bulk order came together, that number could likely go down by using another fab-house and it would take less time to have them made. I'm not sure what a good minimum would be there and, so far, you and I are the only ones interested in the project thus far :) As far as the rear panel, most of the items are circular so those could be done without the need of FPE. It's the stuff like the fan hole and power connector that have me worried. If FPE can sell panels made to the specification of the rear panel of the Jameco then it's a non issue but otherwise that's something to consider. Another option is to just cut a square hole out which could be used either for the original MB-6582 rear-panel or could be used for a custom one or something.

Ah I see you went with black. Not a bad combo. Only minor issue I see is that the buttons on the OSC are wider apart than the filter/LFO. As far as the cooling, I was going to either use heatsinks on the regulators or just mount them on the edge of the board so I could screw them to the chassis. I would actually like to somehow do both. Even if it doesn't do much, a heatpipe off the heatsink might be a novel idea. I did consider the option of still going with an external PSU but I think if I add shielding and such it shouldn't be a problem inside the chassis itself. Makes things quite a bit simpler that way anyway. I'm not sure if custom sinks can be made (within reason) but having a single block for all the SIDs would look so awesome! Not sure how to mount that but, man, would it look cool :) I did some heat tests a while back for SIDs in the MB-6582. It wasn't too terribly bad. There are single chip heatsinks you can buy too. Fuzzylizard found some that work pretty well. I may upgrade just because I have the extra room in a rack but, as Wilba has said over and over, that's probably overkill. Still, SIDs are precious! One word of warning - the individual boards are larger than the max size for Eagle free. I am working on getting the non-profit version (which allows sizes of 160x100) that should do the job for those. Eagle certainly is not the only CAD software out there but I already know it and I found the other ones more cumbersome given that. It is, however, possible to use something else with fewer restrictions which would allow for making a single control surface board. The problem there is not so much the fab price but the risk of running into a bug and fixing it. With individual boards that's possible too but since they can be made at home, maybe not as significant. Multiple boards means a lot more wiring though. I haven't figured out the "big picture" of how to wire it all together yet. For instance, some buttons on different boards use the same pin on the MB-6852 mainboard. So does it make sense to wire the two boards together and have a single header down to the MB-6582 mainboard or an intermediate connection board, or... Anyways once I have the upgraded version of Eagle I will start on the boards myself though feel free to jump on those before I do :) Oh and, one thing that totally has not been designed is the rear panel. The back panel of the Jameco rack has bent steel around the edges so it can attach to the other parts of the case such that it may be a DIY thing (I'm not sure if FPE accepts pre-made pieces though I haven't looked).

I should add (sorry for the self post, after a lengthy previous post I might add :) ) that, of course, if anyone wants to work on the board designs, or really any other part of this thing, please feel free and share! Also, I went ahead and made a wiki page for the project as well. If need be, if enough people are interested, I'm sure I could throw together an SVN or GIT repository if need be.

The FPD file is in the ZIP from my last few comments. I have not made any changes since so, sure, feel free to play around and share! The rack is a 3U (300mm depth) I ordered from Jameco. It was the one discussed previously on this thread. Seems like it will work very well. There is plenty of space for the MB-6582 board in any orientation. I was going to mount mine 90 degrees to how it is mounted on the MB-6852. That way I can have air travel over all the SIDs since I was going to put a low speed fan in back in-line with the front vents, or so is the plan. Mounting it that way does make cabling a bit more complex since the audio and CS cabling would run up the sides. So I may not go that route in the end, but that's the plan. The right side can then house the PSU. I am thinking of using a modification of this design found on the wiki. It is similar to my current external design with the addition of the bi-polar +/- 12V stuff. The only different is that I would prefer to put the resistors off board and mount them to the case. I was also wanting to use the case as a secondary heatsink to at least the positive regulators (and may do the same for the SIDs depending on the heatsinks I end up using there too). I was hoping to get one bigass heatsink for all the SIDs but I'm not sure how practical that would be :) I haven't figured it out yet but I wanted to shield the PSU or at least divide that space up and, above the PSU, put the SSM and AOUT stuff. I want to leave the left-hand side of the case open for cooling the SIDs. I don't really know where to start there because the 3U case doesn't come with a half-height plate or anything to use so that's very much a work in progress. As far a bulk orders, I'm totally cool with that and would even be happy to spearhead that for the panels. I can do the same for my matrix board if anyone wants it. Bear in mind I haven't made prototypes of anything yet. The other CS boards I was going to likely make myself because otherwise it is not cost effective and would involve a lot of waiting on prototypes to get back to me from BatchPCB. I don't have the tools to make a single-board control-surface either so I am going the modular route there for that reason as well. If anyone wants to give that a go, by all means, have at :) I would love a single board myself, though my only requirement this time is to use pin headers for everything since there is more than enough room to do so. Regardless of bulk orders, I was going to share all my work for anyone that wants it. I don't have much yet but I will likely expand my wiki pages for all this stuff as well once I start with some good solid designs and spend time throwing that up on the wiki. I'm going to work on it either way but additional help, feedback, etc. is absolutely appreciated! It would be fantastic to have a solid, well documented, rackmount option for the MB-6582!

The OSX version has stuff in weird places it would seem. I was able to find the mixer by opening the info window (Command-I) and it has an option to mute the the 3 voices. I didn't have an option for digital in but I tested that by busting out some Turbo Outrun action. Seems to work like a champ! Also found out Jeroen Tel uses samples for the bassline too. Very clever!