frailn

I've started this topic to explore the possibility of using the services of chr0n1c's homebrew linux controlled CNC mill to create panels for the highly popular and ever so elegant MB-6582 variant of the MIDIbox SID designed and built by Wilba. It seems a worthy goal considering the expense of having panels created by Front Panel Express. Also, I'm intrigued by the nature of the challenge - working within the limitations of chr0n1c's mill and Wilba's design. This challenge follows the spirit of DIY (to a certain degree) and gives me a chance to offer something useful to the community other than posting photos of deep fried pigeons! But, most importantly IT'S A HOMEBREW LINUX CONTROLLED CNC MILL. HOW COOL IS THAT? The Challenge: chr0n1c's homebrew linux controlled CNC mill can produce panels, but is limited to a range of 3.8" x 10" (inches - in the king's measurements which we sadly still use here in America) or 96.52 mm x 254 mm. The MB-6582 front panel (control surface) is a bit out of range - Width 232.41mm Height 163.3mm But the rear panel looks promising - Width 217.93mm Height 52.6mm In order to overcome the limitations of the CNC, chr0n1c offered this suggestion: Great idea! Since Wilba's design does not use screws through the control surface panel, but instead uses JB-Weld mounted threaded spacers, there is a possibility of breaking up the panel into sections without the need of the thin frame. It's just a matter of studying Wilba's control panel PCB in relation to the location of the threaded spacers and in relation to the location of the lines on the front of the control panel. I'll be reviewing Wilba's specs over the next few days, when I get time away from work and the wife's honey-do list and see if there is a workable solution. I have a PAC-10 case sitting on the shelf to use for reference, so I may post photos of it with mark-up as I work through this. Comments, corrections, criticism, advice all welcome as I explore this with chr0n1c and other interested MIDIboxers.

I agree we should start a new topic. I've been reviewing Wilba's MB-6582 design and there is lots to discuss. Thanks for offering this service to the community!

Below are links to the Front Panel Express files. However, I don't have the ability to convert these to standard image files. One would have to purchase a filter from FPE to do the conversion. If anyone on the board has this ability, help us out! Front Panel Width 232.41mm Height 163.3mm Thickness 1.5mm FPE pricing = $115.13 Rear Panel Width 217.93mm Height 52.6mm Thickness 1.5mm FPE pricing = $38.03 If this works out, just need to find a way to screen print the panels.

Oops..I guess I misunderstood what you meant by "engrave them in sections." However, I will consider your services for future projects, if they are still available at that time. Thanks!

I think there would be a high interest in creating panels located on this WIKI Page: wilba_mb_6582_panels I, for one, would be highly interested in working with you on MB-6582 panels!

Back on topic! Here are what Pigeons look like in my great home state of Alabama...

Radioactive sand castle competition! Awesome! Here's a geiger for you, like mine, but it would have to ship from the USA. I researched the one I have - the yellow box for USA civil defense - and they say it's not a real geiger counter, it's some sort of ion box. And I read that if mine actually picks up any radiation, I should run like hell because it only picks up large amounts! eBay USA Geiger Counter Russian version on eBay UK

I don't know even remember what I typed. I photoshopped it after three martinis. I hope I can lay off the gin long enough to build a midibox correctly. Edit: I went back and found it. It's "Bookshelf Symbol 7." I promise I'll start adding something constructive to this forum soon...

I like this poll much better than the decision I'll have to make in the upcoming US presidential election!

Thanks for putting this together!

Stryd - my wife and I just watched an interesting documentary on "peak oil" - now thinking I might hold on to that geiger counter for when the oil runs out and the sh*t hits the fan over here in America....

10 PRINT "FORUM TOPIC 11367" 20 GOTO 10 READ BELOW if, like me, you fall into Scenario 4: "I have recently discovered the MB-6582 project and have no parts for it at all. Where do I start?" http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,9838.0.html Last Post in the topic: I haven't put my name on any pre-order list, based on this information. I'm pretty sure we just need to wait until the announcement. If I'm wrong, let me know. I didn't see this specific information listed in Wilba's definitive post. So, I'm posting this as a clarification for newbies like me. Well, maybe they aren't like me if they don't take the time to read. I love reading these threads, I learn a lot and get enjoy all the different personalities. Especially Goblinz. He wants me to save my $7 crappy geiger counter in case of nuclear war. But, I'm going to canibalize it anyway and stick a SID in there.

I'm new to this project, as well. Have been collecting parts for a little while (so far I have purchased the PAC-10 case, ALBs knobs from a bulk-order, and SIDs from Wilba's MEGA-SALE #5). I understand it can be confusing, because there is a lot of information located in many places on this forum, in the Wiki and on ucapps site. I've read and re-read countless threads to make sure I don't miss anything. As far as I can discern from my research, if you want MB-6582 PCB's and base parts kits, you just need to wait and keep checking back until there is an announcement that they are available at SmashTV's web store. I read somewhere that a message will go out to all forum users when these are available. As far as I can tell, you cannot sign up for these any longer. The critical piece, in my estimation, are the PCB's. Unless you have the expertise to design one of these, the ability to etch the PCB or the money to pay a company to etch it for you (after you design it), you will only be able to get one through Smash when they are available. All of the other parts you can get on your own, just check the Wiki for the parts list and shop around places like Mouser.

I can't take full credit for the geiger counter idea - I found it here, and decided this would be perfect for a core and two sids, if I can figure out how to stuff it all in that little yellow box: <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

When I read your post, Jidis, I thought "bmsobczyk" was a dirty word from an Eastern European country. I was thinking, "did he just call me @#$$% in Polish or something?" >:( Then I realized that is the name of the eBay buyer. ;) No, I'm not "bmsobczyk" - I wouldn't pay that much to recycle old hardware for a case. I like the idea of finding something that looks unusual but is cheap. I was just crusing eBay for ideas for a case, and thought this was interesting. BTW, I did buy an old geiger counter on eBay for $7 USD, it just came in today. I've been staring at it wondering what electronics I should stuff inside there...

If it's got enough room to fit the core and modules. My favorite key - "Do It" Here's the listing on eBay: http://tinyurl.com/5bu2zm

You mean like this? You need a spokes-model for the 6582A Mega-Sale and for the MB-6582!

I collected about a dozen old C64's from eBay and from retro video game stores that sell products on the internet. Most of them were non-working, so I got them super-cheap and just pulled the SID chip and keep them around for spare parts. I found a guy who sells old Atari games and consoles who happened to have six broken Commodore's in his back room. He sold them all to me for like $10 US. It never hurts to ask guys like this if they have old C64's or chips laying around that they don't need or want. Also, check out the C64 forums on the internet, they all have FOR-SALE threads. You can always post a request for SID's or old C64's. You really can't go wrong with Wilba's MEGA-SALE. Unless the Rockefellers are stockpiling SID's in secret, I believe this is the last chance in your lifetime to get new-old-stock (straight from the factory - never used in a Commodore) SID chips for midi-box projects. I just bought ten for future projects. When you buy old commodores, you're risking getting a non-working SID or partially working SID. But, to me, that's half the fun - scavenging and bringing new life to old equipment. Just be careful buying individual SID chips on eBay - there has been one guy scamming people by re-labeling old SID's as new, never used. Ask around the C64 forums before you purchase new-old-stock SID's on eBay.

Wilba - Received my SID's today! Posted on the 19th and delivered to the US in 5 days! Thanks for putting together this group buy [move]MEGA-SALE[/move].

I don't think anyone is manufacturing SID chips any longer. The SID's for sale by Wilba on this board are new-old-stock that seems to be hard to come by. I attempted to do the same as Wilba - I searched for an Asian source for SID's and actually found one, but then I got a little freaked out by the purchasing process. I was worried I was going to get scammed by an unknown company in China. So, I was glad to find Wilba's mega-sale here at MidiBox. In fact, I've got 10 SID's from Wilba shipping this week! Before I found Wilba's sale, I was collecting SID's out of old C64's. I would look for stores that have broken C64's and salvage the SID's. I have like 6 busted C64's in the closet that are driving my wife crazy. I found a guy who sells old Atari equipment and he just happened to have six 64's in various states of disrepair that he shipped to me for a good price. The SID's may or may not be in good shape, it's a risk. The Elektron Sid Station, which is no longer manufactured, was shipped with SID's, but they stopped building them because they ran out of SID's. They were using new-old-stock as well. I highly suggest placing your name on Wilba's Mega-Sale #6 SID chip bulk order. Get as many as you can afford because I think they won't be around much longer. They are 6582A SID's manufactured in 1992. They've been sitting in storage since '92. Another solution would be to build your own SID - I think there are instructions for doing so somewhere on the MidiBox wiki.

Hey, I'm a NEWB, too. I was looking for the same thing about a year ago, then found midibox.org and changed my mind. Wilba's MB-6582 is just too awesome not to take the time to build. Here are my suggestions based on what I've researched: MSSIAH - coming out sometime in the next month or two. It's the next generation of Prophet64. mssiah.com I have a Prophet64 cartridge combined with a FB_SS Stereophonic-SID Cartridge. http://www.c64net.com/fotios/fbss.php. This combination doesn't require any modification of an existing C64. You just need to find an extra SID chip for the FB_SS. You could spend a lot of time using a P64 or MSSIAH to create custom SID music. I don't know if Fotios is making anymore FB_SS cartridges, he might build one for you if you ask. You can find P64's on eBay sometimes. The new MSSIAH will cost around $78 US currency. Throw in an FB_SS for $33 and buy an extra SID for around $25, and you can have a powerful system for around $136 USD. Synthcart - http://qotile.net/cynthcart.html - It's a fun little cartridge you can plug into your 64 and play like a keyboard. If you have paddles, you can even control sound. It's limited, but fun, and requires no mods to your 64. HardSid - http://www.hardsid.com/ - It's expensive! But, you won't have to mod a C64, just get 1 (minumum) to 4 (maximum) SID chips to plug into this and then plug it into your computer via USB. Occasionally, you can find the HardSid Quattro (discontinued production) on eBay. Here is a site that describes it - http://www.reflexaudio.com/products_hardsid.htm Or you can go the old fashioned way and use old C64 music creation software on your existing C64. You can buy old disks on eBay. Or you can get free copies of programs here - http://www.lemon64.com/apps/list.php?Genre=sound. In order to get the free programs to load into your old Commodore, you could use Star Commander - http://sta.c64.org/sc.html or 64HDD - http://www.64hdd.com to load the programs from your PC to the C64. You would need an XE-1541 cable. I bought one from a guy in Poland via eBay for less than $15.00. I've tried the cable with Star Commander and 64HDD. Both are great, just depends upon your taste. I will say 64HDD had a much steeper learning curve than Star Commander. But, once you get it going, it's much better than Star Commander because it turns an old trash PC into a virtual drive for your Commodore 64. My suggestion to you is - build a MidiBox! I've never done anything with electronics before and I'm going to try this out. It's worth the money - and it's not very expensive to start a small project with one SID chip. You can build a simple MidiBox using the information on this website. It's easy to pull your SID chip out of your C64 and plug it into the SID module for MidiBox. If you decide later you want to keep your old C64 "original" then just put that chip back in! Since you said, "I don't have a big budget now to lay out for some expensive device, but may be able to justify one some time in the future..." Then that means you have the time to start a midibox project. It will be worth it, and you'll learn a lot about that SID chip and synthesizing music that will help your creativity.