frailn

Just this week, I was reading this page which describes a project developed to capture data from punched holes in paper rolls. Fascinating stuff! Maybe this article will give you some ideas. MIDIbox technology is used in the process of roll-scanning.

Thanks! I'm going to the library tonight...

Another good point. As you can see, I'm learning. I figured the best way to learn was to do a lot of reading and work on a project as well. I should have remembered this from when I built a Core + 1 Sid with the optimized PSU. But, it's been a lot of months since I did that project and I'm having to brush up on my electronics knowledge. Just for my learning: So, why would using a voltage regulator be better than using a resistor? Don't they both drop the voltage? I'm assuming in this case (dropping 9V DC down to 5V DC) I would use a 7805 voltage regulator. But, would it need to be used in conjunction with electrolytic capacitors, just like in the optimized PSU? I just purchased another C64 PSU on eBay, so I don't have any plans on modifying my PCB or that old PSU. Just curious so I'll know for future projects.

Good point. This had crossed my mind, and my original plan was to get another PSU from eBay or Craig's List. But, the frustration of going through four PSU's was getting to me! I just need to bite the bullet and get another one...

My Bulgarian Idol

I have a domain for sale, guaranteed to make you lots of money: kissand.tel

I've built the MB-6582 base board up to a certain point and have stopped at the PSU stage in order to test sections as they are built. I've opted for the PSU Option A, since I have four C64 PSU's in possession. Here's the rub: All four PSU's have issues, which I didn't discover until after I got to this point. PSU 1: completely dead, the unrepairable type PSU 2: outputs 5v only on the correct pin. No 9v AC output. unrepairable type. PSU 3: outputs 9V AC only on correct pins. No 5v output. unrepairable type. PSU 4: third party C64 PSU that is repairable! I can open this puppy and see all the goodies inside. However, it only outputs 5 V on the correct pin. No 9V AC output. Instead of buying another C64 PSU on eBay and taking the risk of getting yet another unusable brick, I've opted to work with PSU 4. I opened up the PSU and discovered a trim-pot resistor on the circuit board inside. I turned it all the way to the right, and the voltage dropped from 9v to 8v. hmm.. So, I decided to pick up a 2.7 ohm resistor to bring the 9V DC down to 5V DC. Here's my decision: Should I put the resistor in the PSU or on the MB-6582 base PCB? Option One: put in the psu. Instead of taking the thing apart and risking damage, I thought I would locate the 5V line as it comes off the PCB inside the PSU and cut the wire, then solder the resistor between the pcb and the wire that goes out to the DIN connector. Option Two: Reviewing the MB-6582 base PCB, it looks like I could remove the bridge I soldered at J73, and replace it with the 2.7 ohm resistor. From tracking the 5V line on the PCB from the power input/power switch area to the rest of the component areas, I think that will work. Option Three: Take apart the third party PSU and figure out where on the PCB inside of it that I can replace a resistor with one of higher value to bring the voltage down to 5. Option Four: Replace the trim pot inside the old PSU that will allow me to crank the voltage down from 9V to 5V. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm leaning towards Option Two, since taking apart the innards of the third-party PSU may be risky. I don't want to damage any components in this old thing. Nor do I want to zap myself since I don't know how to properly discharge the PSU before working on it.

I tried using the bbc table code with all the tr's and td's but couldn't get it look right! Thanks for cleaning it up.

Received mine yesterday. Thanks for the sale! Just in time, as I'm building the MB-6582 now.

In my search for the ever-elusive NOS C64 power supply, I found the following information on the comp.sys.cbm google group. Thought it might be of help to others looking to purchase used PSU's on eBay and such. In particular, there is information regarding which PSU versions are repairable. A big plus when making a decision to purchase a used C64 PSU. Part Number Watts/Amp/VA Ribs Colour Conn. Pins Comment 251052-01 8.4W Partial black 7 251052-02 8.4W Partial black 4 #1 251052-02 7.5W Full black 4 251053-02 8.5W Full beige 4 251053-02 7.5W Full beige 7 251053-10 1.7A Full beige 7 251053-10 8.5W Full beige 4 310157-01 8.5W Full black 4 #2 310157-02 7.5W Full black 7 902503-01 6.5VA None black 7 #3 902503-02 7.5VA None black 7 #3 902503-06 1.5A None dk. beige 4 #4 Notes #1 Has UL/CSA registration on body not on label #2 There is a PN -02 identical to -01 #3 Sloping sides, repairable #4 Sloping front, 110/220V 50 Hz input Ratings - are as shown on nameplate/body. Essentially 1.5Ax5VDC = 7.5VA = 7.5Watts.

I contacted Ted at surplustraders.net to see how many of these PSU's he has left in stock. Here is his reply: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems that this source has dried up. I plan on doing some more research to find another supplier. If I find anything I'll post it here.

BMOW = big mess of wires. And I thought building my MIDIbox was challenging. Wow! Maybe, someday, I'll get enough experience to build something like this.

For what it's worth, you had me fooled! I actually started my first post on this thread to add my name to the list, when I realized I seemed to be the only person doing so...

6583A is the noiseless version of the SID. What I want to know is WHO has been stealing the noise from all of my chips?

Me! Let me know how much for 15 of these plus Shipping to Kansas City, MO, USA. Thanks!

Would it be hard to replace an LED using this method? Has anyone ever had LED's go "bad" on them?

I did a group buy for AY chips through this site. When Lemonhorse received his chips from the group buy, he discovered that the chips were unable to add NOISE to Tone A, B or C. The chips received had these markings: AY38912A/P 9151 CCA Before you order, you may want to ask the seller to give you the markings on the chips and compare them to the markings listed above to ensure you don't get the same issue. I haven't been able to prove it out, since I haven't built my AY midibox yet, but I believe all the chips in the group buy have this issue, simply because all of the chips received by Lemonhorse had this issue. This may not be a "flaw" as much as it is a design for this particular version of the chip. I'm just not sure. But, it is a bummer that I have a bunch of chips that won't be used to their full potential. However, I still plan on using these chips! So, just do your homework with the seller before you order...

Ultra: Yep, I was a cable guy for awhile. I contracted to install CAT5 and CAT3 for a small bank in Birmingham, AL for three years. And, I did residential and commercial cabling, as well, but mostly did the bank. The most interesting job I had was a brand new Super Wal-Mart. I was contracted for a week by Wachter when two of their techs were fired for no-show on the job. It's amazing how much cable goes into a Wal-Mart. Me and one guy would get up to the ceiling on a scissors lift. We would take turns driving the lift forward, while the other guy ran 15 - 20 cables through the girders in one go. And I have an extreme fear of heights. Don't ask me how I got through that job. But, I did. November, 2008, moved to Kansas City to be close to the International House of Prayer (ihop.org). I've had an interest in this organization for several years and knew I would move here, eventually. My interest in midibox is related to my interest in the International House of Prayer. This organization has prayer going twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, non stop. It consists of two hour sets, each set can have several guitar players, two keyboardists, a drummer, several singers. Sometimes there is a cello or sitar. It's hard on the keyboards, we never turn them off! Yamaha informed us that they will no longer honor warranties on our keyboards because they are in constant use, and are never turned off. I'm hoping to inject some midiboxSID sounds into a set or two in the near future. MB-6582 is perfect - I can get an MB-6582, and a laptop to control it, on an off stage fairly quickly without much hassle. Currently, I'm working as a Program Manager for Multi Service Corp. This is the best job I've ever had. The company makes money from transactions of purchases, just like Visa or Mastercard. Only, our clients are trucking fleets, the US Dept of Defense and the Merchant Marine. Most of the transactions we run are for fuel purchases. So, you can imagine how many fuel purchases come out of the US DOD! My account is PACCAR Parts Division. They build Kenworth (US, Canada, Mexico), Peterbilt (US) and DAF (UK, Europe, Australia) trucks. My company gives them a billing solution so that all those fleets have a way to buy parts for their trucks from dealers. My entire development team is located in Melbourne, so collaboration is a bit tricky. Hoping I'll get the chance to visit Melbourne, UK and Europe sometime soon because of this job!

Never would have thought to use pots on an LCD screen. I found some info regarding knobs on an LCD screen here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/jul/15/anlcdscreenwithknobson The touchscreen would be great for Ableton, with the ability to slide objects around the touch screen, Star Trek TNG style. Wait a minute, I just remembered Lemur! Is that a Lemur in the youtube video?

Thanks, Stryd. The RSS link in my Firefox browser works better than the one I cooked up. Makes sense. Now I've finished putting together the perfect iGoogle page where I can track MIDIBox forum, three email accounts, Craigslist seaches for vintage computing parts, track my work time, and keep an eye on the weather, news and my calendar. Nice.

Nevermind! I figured it out. http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?action=.xml;board=recenttopics;type=rss Did some digging on the Simple Machines Forum website and found some info that pointed me in this direction.

Is there an RSS feed for Recent Topics and Posts? Noticed that there are RSS feeds for each individual forum section. Am I just missing it?

Thanks, Cimo! Well, I've got PD on the iPod. But, the OS is running slow as molasses. Maybe in order to reduce latency? Not sure. I'll have to do some digging in the iPodLinux forum archives to see if there is a solution.

Managed to get iPodLinux installed on a Gen5 30 gig iPod. I spent a day trying to get it installed manually with no luck. Then I found zeroslacker's auto installer. It is fun to play around with Linux on this iPod. Now to figure out how to get PureData installed. Once, I get that part done, need to determine how to build some PD modules that send MIDI signals. THEN, figure out how to get the MIDI signals out of the iPod and into my CORE module.

PureData on the iPod. That's perfect! I just installed PD on my desktop. Thanks, Cimo. I would have never thought to even search on PD for an iPod.