dubka

done that... still nothing

Okay, currently I have MD (of mike's core) connected to the "blank" pin on Smash's SID. All I get is black squares on the top line of my lcd...

Could CLK connect to PWM (which in turn is connected to pin 17 of core IC1)?

yeah, that's already printed on the pcb but still doesn't match Mike's core... What's CLK? What am I meant to connect that to? And why doesn't Smash's SID have an MD pin?

Okay, in isolation everything is working. And everything works as long as the core and sid are only connected by vs and vd. The pins don't match on the 2 boards so I don't know what to put where as it doesn't work 1:1. Any ideas? I'm on the home stretch!!!! :-) Cheers, Martin

before I read that, I was going to say "get smash's kits if you don't know what you're doing". It's like paint-by-numbers. Virtually impossible to make a mistake. You look at the components and the picture on his site and you make them match. :-) Took me a couple of hours to finish the core, sid and dinx4. That guys blog for the optimized psu is great too. Stop worrying about it and just start! If you get stuck, log into chat and ask someone what to do next. Martin

That's all very true. You just need to read and read and read and ask LOTS of annoying questions on here and in chat and you'll get it. I started this a couple of weeks ago as a total beginner and now (with lots of help from everyone here) I'm still a total beginner but I've nearly finished my box. :-) For me, everything "clicked" when I actually had the kits in my hands and started - then I could SEE what I had to do and, suddenly, it didn't seem that bad. I was thinking of writing a stickie for the top of the forum when I've finished - a sort of "newbies start here" to highlight anything that tripped me up along the way. "The Idiot's Guide" if you will. Or "MidiBox SID for Dummies". ;-) As great as I think this site is, one or two things are kind of pre-supposed that everyone will understand them. And, clearly, that isn't the case... Best of British luck, Martin

Seems fine to me. You're just looking for +5v and HD44780 compatibility. And the SID box is optimized for 2x20 display... but that's your choice. Martin

hello mate, first of all - I'm no nameity on this subject - as anyone round here will tell you, but... you just clip IDC connectors onto your ribbon cable (no soldering required) that mate with the SIL or DIL headers. Start by getting 16ribbon cable and pull off the ones you don't need for other ports. i.e. 5 pin DIL would be 10cables. 2 x 20 is the standard display size for the step A sid box. Good luck! Martin

Okay, I've been up all night working on this now. I have 5.25v in all the places that are meant to be 5v. The top line of the lcd flashes once when I switch the power on. I soldered and unsoldered it 3 times... so the leads are definately on the right pins. The only things I can think are: 1 - my lcd doesn't have B+ and B- for the backlight (pins 15 and 16 are "not connected"). 2 - I connected the wrong power pins on the core when first testing - the bridge rectifier got VERY hot (I replaced it incase) and the led on the optimized psu slowly faded to nothing. What should I do? Here is the spec sheet for my lcd... http://www.sure-electronics.net/englishsite/lcdmodule/oled.pdf Martin

REACH FOR THE LAZERS!!! 8)

I don't understand how to implement schematics yet

I'd love to but I'm not really confident enough on how I would actually do that.

For step A control surface can I get away with only soldering one PIC to the DINX4 board? And am I able to saw off the unused 3 spaces or will that ruin it? Cheers, Martin

Sorry TK, "he" would be you. :) Anyway, this is from the newbie section of the bootstrap page - "With the MIDImon application you will face a new issue - hardware configuration!" I just got confused because I knew of another pc app called MidiMon. Glad to hear that's not what you meant! Phew! Cheers, Martin

Ah, sorry... he meant the midi monitor within mios studio? I thought he was refering to MidiMon - the pc app. :P

I already have MIOS but obviously at some point I need to upload the SID firmware and MidiMon is pc only... any ideas? Anyone else using a mac? Cheers, Martin

Can someone please just clarify that the 2 grey wires are attached to a pot and the blurred, orange/brown wire is going to pin 5? That's it? Sorry for the boring quiestion - seems too simple. Cheers, Martin

Okay, sounds good BUT I don't understand the bit about the extra IC socket... Wilba - do you mean plug the SID into an IC socket and then plug that into the IC socket on the pcb? Confused, Martin ps - I actually sent this original post 5 minutes after breaking the leg off an eprom in my Sequential Circuits Drumtraks whilst trying to remove it with a screwdriver. It was so wedged in and then, all of a sudden, it flew out across the table with legs bent all over the place. The breakage occurred trying to (carefully) bend the legs back. Luckily it was the chip with Cowbell and Cabasa. Still a bit gutted...

Anyone got any tips on getting it out of the C64 without damaging or bending the legs? Cheers, Martin

Perfboard is what I meant by "the plain one". Matrix board it is then. Thanks.

Okay, I got the C64 (with an 8580 r5) and I want to make the optimized PSU while I wait for my kits to arrive. So I went to Maplin to get the board to make it on - but came home with nothing because there were too many types of board. Which do I need? The plain one with nothing on it at all? Cheers, Martin

Well obviously not. Still makes it the cheapest, best synth available. And I thought it was better to help them both out given their circumstances.

I see. Okay, well I just split my order between both of them so should hopefully keep them both going.

Any comments, advice, opinions? I e-mailed smash tv about what parts I'd need and received no reply... cheers, Martin