glitched

You answered it perfectly, thanks. Now, you said that screws hold the sides together, but if the interlocking method was the only one I intended to use for one of the panels (for easy access; the others would be glued), should I add 0.1 or 0.2mm to that piece to allow for the laser burn-off? Do you think the fit would still be decent enough to hold with normal use? (Come to think of it, your idea to use screws to apply pressure for the top panel sounds pretty good...) I'm nearing completion; I'll PM you when I'm done, if you don't mind. Thanks so much for your help.

Hi, Wilba. A question about your design: Did you add the 3mm "teeth" at the end of your design phase or did you create your case, including the teeth? In other words, let's say you had a 150mm X 100mm x 70mm case design: Would you have to make the dimensions 153 x 103 x 73? Also, did you include the "bumps" on the teeth that Ponoko recommends for the interlocking method?

Thanks very much for this. I'll let you know how I do.

Hi, Wilba. About the Ponoko enclosure: Will you share the .svg file(s) with us? Your work is inspiring, and I'd like to try to adapt the case to another DIY project (the Shruti-1: http://mutable-instruments.net/). I have never worked in Inkscape before and your design would be extremely helpful in the learning process. Thanks. Regards, -d

Thanks. The knob was taken from a fully-operational Alesis Midiverb IV unit. One day, I was searching for a case to put my MBSID in, and the Midiverb was the unfortunate victim. I never used the racked case, but found that the knob fit the "D shaft" encoder, perfectly. I also toyed around with taking one of those giant Sony volume knobs and putting it on there, but it just looked silly. I have no idea where you could get a knob like the one on the Alesis (but there are tons of used MV's on ebay).

Let me just recommend that you purchase two SID boards (and parts) now. Trust me, it will save you some time later when you find you're addicted to the SID sound (and your new-found love of electronics). It's no fun looking at those extra chip(s) and wondering what they sound like!

Well, I got mine, soldered it, and started playing with it within a day. Very easy kit to put together, even with the SMT chip. Take a look at some pics and listen to a couple sound files: http://drop.io/wtpalog The official forum is here: http://www.narrat1ve.com/forum/ .

Great! Thanks, Thorsten. I'll check it out today. Regards.

Thorsten: I believe I found a "bug" or oversight in SID V2 RC30 involving the saving of ensemble data to the internal EEPROM. Simply, it is not possible to save changes to ensembles to the internal EEPROM when using the "SAV" function. When saving, it only gives one address: "E001". The message, "SAVE ENSEMBLE" appears as if the settings were written. Upon changing ensembles by hitting the "page up" button, the settings are lost. Some background: I have one bankstick, mouser pn# 579-24LC256-I/P. It is ID# 0 and patch saving works fine. In order to troubleshoot the problem, I checked over all my connections (they were correct) and uploaded both the latest MIOS firmware and SID applications using MIOS Studio 7 (beta 5), with the suggested settings (smart mode--MIDI IN and OUT connected). Also, I tried setting "DEFAULT_ENS_BS_CS" to "-1" in the .asm. None of these things solved the problem. On a whim, I decided to fire up the V2 Editor and see if I could write the data that way. Well, I changed some filter settings, saved, and uploaded the ensemble to memory. What do you know? The settings are retained! To me, this means there is probably something at fault with the mechanism that saves the ensemble to the internal memory, within the SID software. What do you think?

Great! I'm glad I'm starting to help the MB community, rather than wasting its time (as usual) :D . Another bankstick is on the list for the next Mouser shipment, for sure. By the way, I wish that there was a higher resolution version of the first pic on this page: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp_bankstick.html Perhaps I'll make a version.

Ok, so, on a whim, I decided to fire up the V2 editor. I thought, maybe I could edit the ensemble and save it to memory. Perhaps, you know, that would sort of clear out the crud. Well, I changed some filter values, saved the patch, and uploaded it to memory. Boom--the settings have been saved! The settings are recalled when the machine is booted up. However, any changes I make to the ensemble on the SID itself (by pressing "SAV") are not retained. So, this seems to point to a bug in the mechanism that saves the ensemble to the internal EEPROM. Would you agree? Thanks.

This is a triumph! I'm curious: How much money do you think you spent on this project? (Not that it matters!)

The LCD actually looks closer to this, when properly adjusted (see attached). Actually, it looks a lot better than that in real life, but I can't get the right settings on my camera! 100_0818 (Large).JPG 100_0818 (Large).JPG

Thanks for the reply. Oh, and my problem is a little different than the original poster's: my settings aren't "messed up", they just aren't saved. The machine is always initialized with E002 (which is expected, as you have said). I have one bankstick, mouser pn# 579-24LC256-I/P. It is ID# 0 and patch saving works fine. I used MIOS Studio 7 (beta 5) to upload with the suggested settings (smart mode, device ID = 0, bankstick = 1). Also, this is a dual-SID setup: one core and two SID boards (a 6581 and 8580). The L/R communication works fine (that is, I can adjust the filter settings for either chip, independently). Do you think the problem is with the internal EEPROM? EDIT: This may have been a silly assumption, but you can SAVE to the ensemble on the internal EEPROM, right?

Rather than starting a new topic, I'll resurrect this one because I have the same exact problem. The only difference is that I'm using a 24LC256, rather than the 512. I have re-uploaded MIOS 1.9f and SID V2 RC30. I have checked and re-checked the connections and they are correct. Is there anything else I can try?

A couple notes: Acrylic backpanel pros/cons: PROs + Cool looking! + Uh...not un-cool looking! CONs -Fragile! -Weak! -Breaks easily! I have already broken a corner of the back panel. Although a dab of superglue fixed it, it's not perfect. I broke it when I was taking the top off; I wasn't even exerting any major force and, "craaaaack." Also, one has to be very careful when plugging/unplugging leads. You can see the acrylic bend as you do it--it does not give you a great deal of confidence in the strength of the material! Anyway, I just had the back panel laying around, so that's why I used it. Just be careful, that's all.

I purchased a WTPA kit and the guy tells me I should receive it soon. However, I might have jumped the gun a little because it's more like a looper than a fully fledged sampler, but it was fairly cheap and I'm really getting into this DIY stuff. Who knows. I'll report back when I get the stuff and start soldering!

I, too, can vouch for FPE's quality. I just finished my project and couldn't be happier. When I do another DIY thing that requires a front panel, I won't look anywhere else.

Wow, I appreciate the honor of being MBOTW! I'm very happy with the minimal look, but regretted putting those screws on the front, at first. I now like them on there because it makes it look like a secret military device or something. Hum...maybe that's what I should call it! SMD - Secret Military Device! We'll see... Anyway, the front panel was made by Front Panel Express (frontpanelexpress.com), which is the sister company of Schaeffer. I can vouch for the quality of their craftsmanship. Everything was spot-on. It takes a while, but if you can wait 2 weeks, it's worth it. Thanks again! Here's another shot of the front (I need a better camera):

Hello: Thanks to the help I received from people on the midibox and electro-music diy boards, I have (nearly) completed my MBSID redux. (I say nearly because, although it is operational, I have ordered another SID board from Smash TV and will install a 6581 in it, soon.) This one doesn't have an official name yet. A little background: In 2007, I dove head-first into the MB SID project. With very little electronics knowledge, I was able to purchase the right components, create the optimized psu, and produce a functional synthesizer. My idea was to put the guts into an NES case; the bastard child of a Commodore 64 and Nintendo NES. I thought I did all the right things, including making a template and purchasing a Dremel, but I misjudged how difficult it would be to cut holes by hand with that tool. The result wasn't perfect, but somehow fit the lo-fi aesthetic. I had great fun making tunes with the "NES_SID", but didn't like looking at it much, kinda like the Beatles didn't like looking at Pete Best. After some research, I decided that the "standard" PT-10 case would be perfect, but I wanted the front panel to be my own. I did like Wilba's design, but there's just too much going on for me. All I needed was a basic control surface. From there, it was "simply" a matter of measuring my control elements and plotting them in Front Panel Designer. (This part was aided by several helpful people on the aforementioned boards.) I was really nervous about sending the final .fpd to FPE because I had never done this before, but I bit the bullet and in a few (long) weeks, I had my front panel. It was perfect. I mean, this was amazing to me--I had actually done everything right! What made me happier is that it only cost me $30 because of the minimal design. What about the back panel? Well, as luck would have it, I had a spare set of acrylic panels from an x0xb0x project that I eventually completed, got tired of, and sold. It's perfect as well. Well...almost perfect. Aside from its fragility, it has the perfect size and number of holes for my inputs and outputs. Finally, although I love the minimal look, I may add graphics in the future; however, I've been reading up on some of the issues you guys have had and am not sure I want to dive into that with this project. By the way, after listening to the filter capacitor experiments, I opted to change my .068uf capacitors to two .01uf caps (one WIMA 5%, the other Xicon 2%, just for the heck of it). The sound is very smooth on the low end, but the resonance is less prominent. There is much less distortion, which I like. Some pics (see the rest at: http://drop.io/mbsidv2): Thanks again! Regards, -d

Thanks, guys. I went to Home Depot and picked up some "multi-purpose" glue that cures in 24 hours, sets in 1 hour. I was able to position my LCD before the glue hardened and currently have the pieces clamped. We'll see how strong the bond is tomorrow, then do the board that holds the switches! This is going to look nice.

Hello. I just got my front panel from FrontPanelExpress.com and it's amazing. Perfect, really. Everything fits and the finished product should look really cool. So, I intend to glue the control boards and LCD to the back of the panel, as stated above. I have some aluminum spacers and some plastic ones that I use on the LCD. Here's the question: Is it a colossally bad idea to consider using Super Glue? I know Wilba recommends JB Weld for metal parts, but I'm using plastic as well. Keep in mind that this isn't going to be a mobile rig and the boards are so tiny and light, so I doubt I need the strength of a weld to affix the control boards to the panel. I would "practice" on the appropriate materials, but I don't have any to spare! Thanks. Pics soon!

Hey, just a little update. I ordered the front panel and it should be here by next week. Can't wait. Also, after searching high and low for the best prices on standoffs and screws, I found them at mcmaster.com. I did not go with the M3 standoffs for the LCD because the Radioshack ones work perfectly and are the perfect height. Besides, the cheapest 10 mm M3 part is something like $1.24! I would then have to buy a bunch of screws @ $6.00 or whatever. So, I said forget it. However, I still needed some standoffs for the board that holds the tactile switches. The clearance there is around 5.5 - 6 mm. Again, I found that the metric part was too expensive. Hum...what's close to 5.5 mm...ah, 7/32". To my surprise, the non-metric (aluminum) part was a mere $0.39! I ordered a bunch of these: http://www.mcmaster.com/#91780a415/=1qbtn3 . I got the 4-40 screws at Home Depot for like $1, rather than spending $6 on a million screws I don't need. This is how much my SID V2 "remix" has cost me so far: 1 Pactec PT-10 case @ $30 1 Custom front panel from Front Panel Express @ $31.00 1 Package of 4-40 screws @ $1 6 Female threaded hex standoffs (7/32" body length, 4-40 thread) @ $0.39 = $2.34 Superglue (free) Total: $65.34 Not too bad! I'll continue to update this when the front panel arrives.

This is great! I think I have all my questions answered and will commit to buy the frontpanel today! Thanks again!

Ok, so, just to be clear: an M3 sized screw will fit through the hole in my LCD and will mate with an M3 threaded standoff/spacer. Is that right?