Smithy

Hehe well the wiring was definitely okay................... with the pin out i had in mind that is! :P I should of just went back to the beginning and retraced every step! (or just got it right the first time!) I think i should stay true to my nationality and midibox on alcohol, it will yield better results! ;)

LYLE! I could kiss you man! Im so stupid i cannot believe it. I remember reading nebulas post about the pinout in the bulk order, but still managed to read it wrong myself! Here's his post on the pinout: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,9910.msg75364.html#msg75364 I still managed to read the pinout the wrong way as in: 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 14 I cant believe i made this mistake even after reading that post! :-[ I also cant wait to rewire the LCD correctly, wether its dead or not, i dont care, at least ive found a reason why. Funny how i failed to spot this sober, and managed to realise it after reading your post after a few drinks! ;) Thanks man!

Yep, pins 1 and 14 are marked on both sides of the LCD Thanks for the reply TK. I might try just connecting Vs, Vd and V0 on their own, with the other connections taped individually to prevent the risk of a short, and i will update as to how i got on. Might be a day or so by time i get to though.

I've created a thread in the Testing / Troubleshooting forum on the issue with my LCD: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,13657.msg117422.html#msg117422 Any help would be appreciated. :)

Hi guys, So I've hooked up an OPTREX LCD to my CORE in 4-bit mode, and only the backlight works, theres no pixels. You can get the datasheet here The Luminance pot is working fine, but the Contrast pot has no effect whatsoever. I'm using a SmashTV PIC 18F4685 with MIOS V1.9E preloaded, and i also tried another pic with 1.9F preloaded. I'm using the optimized c64 PSU circuit, connected to J2 of the core, and got +5V in all the relevant pins in Jim Henry's guide. Heres a picture of the problem: Top side of core (pic 18F removed): Fig 1: I installed a SIL header to the GND LIFT port, which shouldnt be used. Fig 2: I installed the voltage regulator to IC3, which isnt used with optimized PSU, tried removing it to see if that was the problem, and it wasnt. Fig 3: When i was installing these 2 caps, i found it really hard to push them in, i remember a small piece of ceramic coming off of one of them after trying to force it in. Note: I do not have midi sockets installed yet. Core underside: LCD module: I installed DIL headers for the 14 holes, including Databus line 0-3, which are not used for 4-bit mode, and cut these 4 unused cables making sure there was no shorts. I have checked the wiring about 10 times at this stage and can confirm it is correct. Here is how i have the LCD wired: Optrex - Core 1.VSS - VS 2.VCC - VD 3.VEE - V0 4.RS - RS 5.RW - RW 6.E - E 7.D0 - null 8.D1 - null 9.D2 - null 10.D3 - null 11.D4 - D4 12.D5 - D5 13.D6 - D6 14.D7 - D7 15.Cathode - B- 16.Anode - B+ Here is the pinout of the LCD from the datasheet: I resoldered the pins of J15 but there was no change. Could someone please give me info in how to check for shorts properly, and which pins to check in particular. What is the maximum Resistance in Ohms that could indicate a short? And which pins should i check besides side by side. All 5+ to GND pins im assuming? btw i definitely have the PIC in the right way when I'm turning on the power. ;) Any help would be appreciated. :)

Thanks for the reply nils! I might actually use a cdrom-> soundcard audio cable that will connect to the SILS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I tried hooking up an LCD to the CORE, and all that came on was the backlight, no black boxes, no characters nothing. Before i post a detailed thread on this, i just wanted to know if the READY message will come up when using 4-Bit mode? I have not soldered midi sockets yet, could this be the problem? Asked in the chat and got replies from nils, smash and sinesurfer, and these 2 things should not be causing any problems.

I just wanted to know what type of audio cable people have being using for the SID Module, or what would ye recommend? This is for a panel mount audio socket obviously. Is your standard Awg 22-26 cable sufficient or would ye use something shielded a bit more? Im guessing AWG 22-26 is grand for the midi socket at least?

The best thing to do first, is do a one sid, one core, version with a minimal control surface. Wilba advises you to do one of these before doing a mb6852 in the dokuwiki, so youll gain experience, and have less of a chance of f***ing up the mb6852.

Im going to be naughty with my sid module, by using a 3 pin cut IC socket to hold the voltage regulator (with legs shortened of course), so i can simply push it into the socket, instead of soldering it, thus making it removable. Ill be doing the same for the Filter Caps also, so ill easily be able to install a different Sid version in the future. Its not advisable however, someone (dr. bunsen i think?) in the chat said it might cause instability with the regulator but im going to be a stubborn prick anyway and go for it! :P Its great how the mb-6852 allows you to use any version, by changing jumpers i think?

Try building a one sid version with a minimal control surface and see how you get on. You could then add another core, and 3 more sid modules if you feel youre upto it, (2 sids per core). And maybe use the mb6582 control surface pcb, and a pactec 10 case.

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/silvertouch/VSID.htm

At the risk of sending you something youve read 100 times already take a look at this....... http://interview.sonikmatter.com/data/bob_yannes.php Imagine how cool it could of been if space wasnt an issue!

LOL! You so cerazzayyyy.

This pic is particularly awesome: http://oms.wmhost.com/misc/MOS_6581_R3_sections_bus.jpg With picture filesizes of 20MB -900MBs per file, and such high resolutions on that page, each sid chip model could easily be reproduced.

You need dies? I haz dies. http://mail.lipsia.de/~enigma/neu/6581.html KTHXBAI

This thread would be worth a read if you havent already: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,12989.0.html Although you'd experience different results with those cap values on a 6581 i'd imagine.

Nice! You might have a problem having the faders that small though. Although actually now that i remember, i always expected the mpc pads to be much smaller than they actually are in real life, and keep forgetting. And i guess you could always use knobs for the envelopes instead. Id love to see TK's crazy side actually! Hes just so such a clinical, professional engineering machine on here that you dont get to see the crazy side!

God damnit, so close i was but no cigar! I thought of using the c64 keyword instead of commodore but it just didnt seem to follow through!

Thats cool! I'd be worried about dust though, its annoyingly dusty in my room. Any easy ingenius ideas to seal the opening space with the minimum amount of effort? Would be a shame to cover up that sexy pcb though. Hmmm, a perspex window would be in order so you can still see that goodness!

With the IC legs facing away from your ring right? ;) Actually someone made a commodore ring from the Commodore key on the keyboard, but i'd be damned if i can find it in the search!

It might be a good idea to use a transformer or power supply that can accept both 110V and 240V like most transformers tend to do these days! Although you might never use a 110V supply!

Just finished the core module 99%, all thats left is to solder are the midi sockets. I just tested it for 5V between the 4 pairs of pins TK and Jim Henry suggested, and it passed. :D I also spotted a minor mistake in Jim Henry's Assembling a Midibox Core PDF Edit: It appears i had the older version with the error in it! I was absolutely baffled as to why i wasnt reading any voltage between those 2 incorrect pins! :-[ Must stop trying to save bandwidth and start viewing pdfs online, instead of downloading them! error.JPG error.JPG

Oh and please note that the diagram of the Pin out for the C64 PSU socket is wrong in the diagram. The GND lead should be connected to the bottom middle pin. I could of sworn i got 5V DC when testing the top middle pin before, but I didnt this time so I switched to the correct pin.

Well finally i managed to get the PSU finished, and got a stable 14V and 5V dc reading. As many have said before, BUY A DAMN GOOD SOLDERING IRON! It makes life 10 times easier. Because im using a panel mount Socket for the C64 psu, ive connected it using sil headers for the AC (yellow wires) and DC lines, (black and red wires). So i can detatch it and use it in a different case in the future (i think ive thrown out the top of the c64 case! damn) Also, i broke the original C64 LED, and tried using a Green LED from an old PC which tends to get hot, so hot in fact that it shines Amber instead of green! :P Anyone know off hand what rating the LED should be to replace the c64 LED? It aint pretty but heres the pics:

SmashTV has them also, might come in handy if you need to buy some other stuff: http://www.avishowtech.com/mbhp/buy.html