frailn

Here's what I have in the spare box. Let me know how much you need of each: 1000pf standard capacitor (ceramic) 470pf standard capacitor (ceramic) 2n2222 transistor 22000pf standard capacitor (ceramic) 10uf electrolytic capacitor 1kohm resistor (5%) 10kohm resistor(5%) I'd be interested in trading for the 2206CP chip. PM me your mailing address and I'll respond with mine. Thanks!

15 Miles!? Good Lord. Hmm. After hours, get up in the drop ceiling at work, wire up the audio of my monosid to the PA speaker in my office. Next day, come in with my wireless XBee and start sending SID sounds throughout the office randomly...

Awesome price! You can get tips through the Hakko corporate website. There are probably other sources you can google up, as well. I just did a google search on "anti-static diy" - looks like there are a lot of ideas out there. I just bought a strap and mat from Radioshack. It was around $20. A little pricey, but hey, it's insurance and piece of mind for me. You can get the same result cheaper with a little DIY ingenuity. But, I just wanted something I could grab and use. You know, you can recycle some electronic parts from a throw-away C64 board. I've read on several forums where people have done this. If you are short a certain resistor, etc..and don't want to have to do another Mouser order and pay shipping, just desolder the part you need from a C64 board that is not working or is a throw-away. But, I know that I have some spare parts that will work with your SID2SID. I'll check my inventory tonight and let you know what I have available for you!

Glad to be of help! For a change, it's nice to be able to offer assistance instead of just asking for it!

I know that I have some of these parts that you need. But, I won't be able to check until I get home from work. I'll let you know something tonight.

Well, for guys like Jon and I who are fairly new to building electronics circuits, the last thing we need is to fry something with static electricity and then go down eight million rabbit trails trying to figure out why something doesn't work. Then, clog up the forum with help requests that could have been avoided. The wrist strap and/or matt is cheap insurance, especially when we're talking about using analog chips that are getting more expensive and harder to come by as the years progress. I'm sure you can toss the static electricity strap and mat once you've established a long history and habit of grounding yourself before touching a board or electronics everytime you sit down to work on a project. I still say at that at least a wrist strap is an essential for us newbies.

No worries. I had to build this thing three times before I got it right. But, it's good experience!

See attached. This is how I understand it to work. vreg.JPG vreg.JPG

Hey, I have one of those in 40x2! I used it for my first Core/SID build. Now it's sitting in the desk drawer awaiting future project. Well, so much for the VFD on the MB-6582. But, I'll be eyeballing these for future projects...Thanks for the insight, Wilba.

I think Smithy meant to reference the Walkthrough page on ucapps.de.

I am interested in this for the MB-6582. I hooked up my amber crystalfontz display this past weekend and was not happy with it. I like the appearance of VFD - reminds me of the old handheld video games I had back in the late 70's, early 80's! I compared the Futaba VFD dimensions to the Crystalfontz dimensions listed by Wilba in the MB-6582 wiki, and the mounting holes do line up...see attached drawing from Futaba. Based on a quick search of the forum, it looks like these will work with MIDIbox. See this thread....and many others if you run a search on "VFD"... I think I'll buy one of these and try it in my MB-6582!

Sam Bonham, creator of J-B WELD, died suddenly in 1989. He had commented before his death, "My life's dream is for J-B WELD to be all the way around the world, and for me to see an 18-wheeler load out of here with nothing but J-B WELD." Wilba, you've made his dying wish come true.

I'm in the US, so I use a desoldering wick that's available at the local Radioshack. Also get my solder there: .022" Rosin Core silver-bearing, part number 64-013. While you're at Radioshack buy a crimping tool - Model: 64-2984 - around $8. And I picked up an anti-static mat set at Radioshack as well so I wouldn't fry my MIDIbox projects with static electricity. This is a MUST when you are handling SID's and PIC's and other electronics. Model: 276-2370 Stuff to get at the dollar store: Tweezers come in handy. As does a cheap magnifying glass. Tiny screwdriver set. For soldering, I bought a Hakko 936-12 and love it! You can get one for around $80. Do not buy your soldering station at Radioshack. If you don't get the Hakko, look at Weller's. This is the one purchase you don't want to cheat yourself on. Bad soldering iron = frustration and giving up on your project! Trust me, I've been there...

Welcome Jon! Glad to see you made it over here from the P64/MSSIAH forums. I followed the same path as you - modded a C64 breadbin: built out a SID2SID board, added pots and audio in/out. It just whetted my appetite for more, so I ended up over here. I agree with Smithy that the MB-6582 is the easiest way to put together a great synth. But, my first project was not the MB-6582, it was just one Core PCB and one SID PCB (both purchased from SmashTV's site). I'm glad I did this first, because it gave me MUCH insight into what I am doing as I put together the MB-6582. Here is my suggestion to get you started - purchase the following at SmashTV's site: 1. Core Kit with PIC18F4685, PID ID Header = 0000 0000 0000 0000 - $26.95 2. SID Kit - $15 3. 16 pin Female IDC Connector (for hooking up your LCD) - $.50 4. 16 pin Ribbon Cable (for hooking up your LCD) - $2.50 5. 10 pin Female IDC Connector x 2 (for hooking up your Core module to your SID module) - $1.00 6. 10 pin Ribbon Cable - $2.00 7. 2-Pin Female Connector x 5 - for running power to both modules and maybe for your audio in and out - $3.65 Total from SmashTV's shop: $51.60 Also, you'll need an LCD. If you search this forum, you'll find tons of info on finding them cheap. Stryd has a great eBay search link that should put you in business. This should cover the basics - someone pipe up if I missed anything. But, this is enough to build something that you can hook up to your MIDI keyboard or MIDI ports of your computer and make music. And, it's simple enough to get you started and understanding all the concepts behind a MIDIbox. The best part is...you can add on to this project later and build it out even more by adding a control surface that you design. After I built my first Core and Sid module and was able to make music with it, I started collecting parts for the MB-6582, which I'm in the middle of building now. I also started collecting parts for a sequencer, MIDIbox FM, SSM2044 filter PCB, and the A-Y-3910 box that Lemonhorse has designed. Once you get that first "Ready." text on your first Core LCD, you are HOOKED.

I'll give virmidi a shot!

One more thing - Thanks Stryd!

I have no idea why I did my screenshot that way! I think got excited when I heard noise coming out of the SID's! :-[ Well here's a better screenshot. So, this proves the sound card should not be blacklisted. I've been able to get it to work with MIOS Studio on Win XP and Vista. Just need to figure out how to get it to work with Debian Linux. If that happens, then we'll know it works for labuntu and pure::dyne. I'll start a new thread for the purposes of figuring this out.

I'm happy to report that I was able to use MIOS Studio and MIDI-OX in conjunction with this sound card on the Vista box! Uploaded MB6582 app to all four cores seamlessly. Playing Bassline Demo1 through the SID's 1 and 2 now! I LOVE THIS SYNTH. Can't wait to get the other SID modules fully built! 000_0337.JPG 000_0338.JPG 000_0337.JPG 000_0338.JPG

I don't think that's a cop out suggestion at all! I've been considering it, as well. In fact, I have a Vista machine in the other room. Right now, I'm going to move my MIDI Sound Card over to the Vista machine to load up the MB6582 app to all four cores, then move it back to this Linux machine. That way I can move forward with the project. However, I don't want this thread to die - I think there's still a chance that MIOS Studio could work with the Dell Value version of the Creative LiveSB Card using Linux. And if it does, this bodes well for some in the community since these cards are easy to find and most of the time can be had for free or extremely cheap. I'm sure there are others like me that want to start off on this journey with lower end hardware and work up to something nicer as the hobby develops. And, I'm eager to use pure::dyne. There are so many good apps that came installed with this Linux distro - Rosegarden, Seq24, etc...beats paying hundreds of dollars for Windows commercial DAW software. Stryd - as you have time, let's continue to pursue this. I know might have some Linux insight since you have been working on the MIDIbox distro of Ubuntu...

I'm definately using ALSA, not OSS. I checked the blacklist and my card is not there. It is the Dell Value version of the Creative LiveSB sound card. I watched my neighbor taking his Dell to the curb for trash pick up one day and decided to recover it for parts. When I found the sound card inside, I decided this was a good free find! About a year ago, I built a core and single SID board. At that time, I had WinXP on this same PC using this same card. I was able to use MIDI-OX and MIOS Studio with no issues - uploading MIOS and the SID app successfully. So, I don't think it's the card at fault. I'm going down the path of the Linux configuration being in error at this point. I tried your troubleshooting technique: 1. Made sure QjackCTL was stopped. 2. Loaded up a small hex file - "main.hex" from the lcd interconnection test folder. 3. used a midi-coupler to connect IN and OUT to each other from the sound card. 4. checked my routing in MIOS studio: MIDI Devices Readable: MIOS Studio Out Port connected to MIDI Devices Writable: Live [hw:0,0] MIDI Devices Writeable: MIOS Studio In Port connected to MIDI Devices Readable: Live [hw:0,0] 5. Sent hex file. Results: MIOS Studio Out monitor displays the data being sent. MIOS Studio In monitor shows nothing. So...I'm going to do some digging around the internet to see if I'm missing anything on set up of the Linux configuration. I know I have the right driver installed - EMU10K1X. It was written specifically for this Dell Value version of the Creative LiveSB card. When i run "amidi -l" in a root terminal, I get the following: DIR Device Name 10 hw:0,0 EMU10K1X MPU-401 (UART) EDIT: After pondering, I realized that the EMU10K1X driver does not come into play with MIOS Studio. EMU10K1X is an ALSA driver. And, as you mentioned earlier, JAVA doesn't support ALSA. So, from what I understand, MIOS Studio acts as a standalone MIDI driver in its own right. My driver configurations wouldn't matter to MIOS Studio.

Did some further research on JACK and latency. I do recall opening Qjackctl and seeing what looks to be some serious buffer underrun. The image below is NOT a screenshot from my system. Just here for an example. The red numbers on Qjackctl on my system are more like "1(4000)". On this image, you see "1(1)" - methinks this might be the source of my problem. I don't have problems with sound. I can play streaming audio and video and I can play CD's with no problem. Wondering if my MIDI out is suffering from buffer underruns...I found a good tutorial that I'll be exploring when I get home tonight. In the meanwhile, if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears...Thanks!

Here's my question: Are there any Linux users out there that can suggest a utility for sending simple sysex strings to core and monitoring the MIDI in and out as I do this? I'm using puredyne (debian/gnome based). Here's why: In the process of building the MB-6582 base PCB. I've built the four core modules. Cores power up fine - "Ready" displaying on LCD for all four cores. First two SID modules are built. So, I'm basically at the SID testtone stage for these two modules. However.... I'm running into an issue with MIDI Out from my Linux-based PC. For some reason, I can't upload apps to the core. Using MIOS Studio, I can see that core sends the proper upload request through MIDI-IN on power up. I know this because the MIDI In monitor in MIOS Studio consistently displays "F0 00 00 7E 40 00 07 F7" one time when I power up the base PCB and core. Based on TK's MIDI troubleshooting guide this should indicate Core is functioning and has MIOS installed: However, when attempting to upload the testtone app or the LCD testing app, or even the MB6582 app, I get no response from the core, other than the original upload request. I've tried all the different settings for HEX uploading in MIOS Studio. No luck. When I try uploading a hex app with feedback from core, it hangs on block one for a long time. When I upload with no feedback from core, it will show blocks uploading in the MIDI Out monitor. However, nothing happens on the LCD attached to the core and no feedback on the MIDI In monitor. With my PC MIDI In looped back to MIDI Out, I tried using the virtual keyboard supplied in MIOS. I can see information being sent to the core in the MIDI Out monitor of MIOS Studio. And I can see information coming back in on the IN monitor - however it's not consistent. I'll press a key on the virtual keyboard and will see the corresponding data on the MIDI Out monitor and MIDI In monitor. Then, I'll press several other keys, see them go "out" but not back "in". Inconsistency. So, I'm thinking to myself, "this could be an issue with my PC and sound card set up." I've read through TK's MIDI trouble shooting guide. My PC is running pure::dyne in the great hope of having a lean system focused on music experimentation and creation only. Given I'm on the steep learning curve for Linux as well as electronics, my first step in solving this problem is my Linux set up. So, I am going directly to the loopback test on TK's guide. I want to make sure my PC set up is correctly before I go down the path of testing everything on the MB-6582. I don't want to run any testing rabbit trails until I'm absolutely sure my PC is working properly for MIDI output. If my PC is not set up properly, I don't want to risk my PCB work by desoldering anything if the problem is with my Linux set up for the MIDI sound card, etc... I've plugged my MIDI In and Out to coming out of the PC into each other for loopback test. Now I want to send a simple sysex string out and back in and monitor the output. However, I read that MIOS Studio is not set up to do this. From what I understand, HEX files are converted to sysex and uploaded to core. But, a oneline sysex can't be sent using MIOS Studio. And MIDI-OX is not available for Linux, so I am going to try Amidi. Just not sure how to monitor the progress of Amidi or if there is a better tool out there to use. I've done some googling around and can't seem to find anything similar to MIDI-OX for a Debian/Gnome based system. Sorry for the ramble, but I wanted to head off any questions regarding why I'm skipping over all the MIDI test steps and going directly to loopback. Once I determine my PC set up is working correctly, then I'll go back up to step one in TK's guide.

Received a used C64 PSU yesterday (purchased on eBay). And....it works! Testing the used C64 PSU's was a pain for me since my meter has probes instead of alligator clamps. Trying to hold the probes on pins 7 and 9 at the same time without them slipping off before I could get a read was near impossible. So, I purchased a 7-pin din female chassis mount plug in my last Mouser order. I've found it's much easier to test the output of the PSU by plugging the PSU into this part and applying the meter probes to the backside of the female chassis plug. Now on to better things...finishing this MB-6582 base PCB. I've finished all four cores and they pass test! I've also finished the first two SID modules. Now, I'm struggling with getting MIOS Studio to output MIDI properly on crappy Dell-version of the Creative LiveSB sound card living in my Debian box...but that's another story for another time...once I figure that out, I'll post a thread with the solution for the benefit of anyone that may be using budget hardware scrounged from dead PC's like I am.