Smithy

LOL! Good idea stryd, just realized if you dont have the chinese characters installed on XP, and just copy the squares, it still copies the correct ascii code somehow. So was delighted to see it convert successfuly into Chinglish. :D Heres the unique features ofthe lower case b model: super cost-effective, economical and practical. fever four-core design, temperature stable and accurate. And of the upper case B model: fever body temperature the use of imported materials made through the advanced technology, long life. heating core all-in-one two-core design, and testing temperature when at the same time. split design, small size, easy to display and save working space. temperature stable and accurate. dual-core control of heat collection.

Let the clone wars begin! This ATTEN AT936B is the closest looking one to the Hakko 936 i could find: http://www.atten.com.cn/newweb/product_show.asp?ProductID=153&id=106 What do you make of it Stryd? Some very decent photos of the model here There is also another model on the site, whos only difference is a lower case b? lol http://www.atten.com.cn/newweb/product_show.asp?ProductID=154&id=165 And a 969A which has a grey case instead of black, not sure of the other difference: http://www.atten.com.cn/newweb/product_show.asp?ProductID=154&id=165 Also, the replacement heating element they make seems to be ceramic too: http://item.eachnet.com/prd/1216679453671166_prd.html Btw, check out these awesome looking skinned Hakkos! http://stores.ebay.ie/NEI-Lamps-and-Electronics_HAKKO-SOLDERING-STATION_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ16378302QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Yeah, youd prob end up taking down a plane or something! :P

this is proabably the most unhelpful post ever, but one alternative could be replacing let say a blue one, with an amber coloured LED.

Awesome! I was worried about the range you could get with this thing, but jesus christ! Look at the max ranges for the different modules! :o http://www.ladyada.net/make/xbee/modules.html

LOL!

Ah now i get you! I found your post a little confusing, so apologies for the mix up! I wonder can these ones still be obtained! I might be calling on you to try and verify one sometime hehe! Would you go as far as checking to see if your heating element is ceramic to know for sure if its OEM though? ;) That 950 style case does look pretty identical alright.

Ah sorry, at the time i could of sworn i read it in there when i posted! I must have read it on the forum then.

Yeah, the hakko parts will fit alright, they fit for pretty much all the well known clones, according to people who owned them.

Alright, i did a lot more research into this, and id be pretty confident in saying that the aoyue, and other clones, definitely are not OEM, but rather damn good clones regardless. People who compared them side by side, reported that the Hakko will heat up much faster too. Aparrently they do not have a real ceramic heater, like the Hakko has. This guy opened a few clones up to see, as well as a genuine hakko: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=205141 This probably explains why most Aoyue 936's come with a replacement element included when you buy them, as they dont cost that much to make. Still though, at the price you pay ive heard excellent things about them, that you couldnt get a better soldering station at that price. Stryd: I noticed that the Aoyue 936A has a tilted face plate, and different grooves around it, compared to the Hakko. As well as having the lead connected on the opposite side and a power switch on the front. The kada however looks much more like the Hakko, except for the fact it has an numerical LCD. :P I'm still sort of leaning towards it, that gimmicky LCD just has me sold! haha! :D The extra 25W will be a good advantage too.

I complete forgot about this! Its highly recommend to start with just a sid module and core module, before taking on Wilbas Beast, as stated in the wiki: ;) Be sure to check that page and the links, (the construction guide in particular). Practically everything you need to know about the MB-6582 is in there. Practically everything you need to know about any project is available on ucapps, the wiki, and the forum too. ;)

You might find this video interesting too, its a video of the Kada assembly line in their warehouse in china: Notice that they produce different brands in the same warehouse! ;) More videos in their Gotta love china! ;)

Bump! Im seriously thinking about buying one of those hakko clones, my old crappy 15w antex just isnt cutting it for me anymore. Is yours the aoyue brand Stryd? The 936 is only 35W but the 936A model is the 60W version. The other clones include a CSI-Station1A and the Kada 936D I'm seriously thinking of buying the Kada, or else the Aoyue 936 from here Both have free shipping, but the Aoyue is only the 35W version, and the Kada is the 60W version, its cheaper, and has a Numeric display for the selected temperature, (the led blinks once it reaches it). Im really leaning towards the Kada more, ive ordered quite a few things from deal extreme before and find them reliable each time. What do you think?

Pretty sure they are only done through the forum, as you know its a non-profit community, and you could make profit if the bidding went high enough on ebay. Unless of course you used buy it now, but then youd need to prove that you genuinely sold it for that price or whatever. Anyways, all that aside, sorry to hear about your financial difficulty man. :(

Have a look at my post here for what i consider the easiest way: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,13381.msg114884.html#msg114884

If you want the easiest project, then go for the mb-6582. Wilba designed 2 all-in-one pcbs - the base pcb, and the control surface pcb as shown in this pic: This requires far less wiring, and removes the need of getting your own front panel made, provided you wait for Doug to make them, and all goes ahead as planned. (Not to mention, buying a c64 just to use its case) If you still want to go for a c64 case style MIDIbox, then you should still consider buying Wilbas Base PCB, and base parts kit (which you can buy from Smash TV), so there will be less wiring to do for core, sid, input, output modules, psu etc... You will then end up with something like Thorsten's... Subatomic built one in that style also, and has really helpful, in-depth information of the whole build process on his blog. Check that one out here: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,11530.msg91797.html

Have you not heard rutger's 8 x sid + 8 x moog filters, demo? http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,12835.0.html Thats probably the best demo to date, that shows off what can be done. Its in a blasphemy bitrate, for a demo that exotic though, but still as demo none the less! ;) The sounds in that demo threw my previous interpretation of the "sid sound" right out the window!

And don't forget this 4x20 Crystalfontz bargain here: http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/zz-xb-lcd-b It works out at $21.98 postage to europe. Which is a fraction of what it costs from crystalfontz direct.

haha, didnt solder it fully yet! Instead of using a spot face cutter, im using a stanley blade now as suggested to cut through the tracks. This will allow to have the 3 pins of the Voltage Regulator in line, instead of having to bend them. So the circuit could be modified so theres no gap between the Positive and GND pins of the 5v line, so you could throw in a Dil Header, instead of 2 SIL headers, one gap apart. If you need any help with it im glad to help. Are you using a special protoboard like i am?

I think there may be a reason why Nils' pcb is white instead of green. My guess is that he got so excited when he saw it first, he *whacked* until it became covered in white. ;)

Okay, i did have a c64 and there is the nostalgia element there. I havent built a midibox sid yet, but from hearing the online demos, and comparing them to my Novation KS-4, (my first and only current synth) i must say that the SID chip sounds so much warmer, and has more life to it, its got this really nice kick in the balls about it. Its like it sounds more emotional, and my VA synth sounds more cold. I guess it could be the fact one is digital and one is analog thats the reason, but i honestly think the sid is so much more appealing to me.

True, i was just worried that they might get lazy. ;) Will link em up in future.

You Sir, Are a sheer gentleman. Now no one can have an excuse for not "searching" through the site! :D

yes, and didnt we already answer this? ;) http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,12896.0.html Its in the manual alright!

Thats awesomely compact man. The pics are really nice and colourful too. :D