unrise_lyrical

Just checking if it is possible to have a Tempo LED (pulses on every 1/4 note from an incoming midi signal) on a mbSID? I had a read and saw someone else ask the question but saw he got no response. Dont think I have noticed it in any videos either...but yes, please fill me in! :)

*slaps head* thanks man, can't believe I didnt see it there :/

Hey all, I have had a look around but I cant find the answer to a rather n00b question. As far as I know I need 6 buttons for the minimal setup and 1 encoder. I know the encoder is for scrolling through the menu options...but what are the specific functions of the 6 buttons? obviously one of them must be "yes/ok/enter", and i assume one is + and one is -...probably one that is "back"? cheers in advance.

Well, I picked up some black aluminium knobs for it from Jaycar on Friday, only to take them back today to change them for straight brushed aluminium...suits the woodgrain more.

Bit of a change of plan. I found these buttons and thought they looked rather sexy! http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/monomelike-allinone-button-red-p-108.html I will obviously need to make the actual button bit but im up for the challenge :)

the only electronics store I know of is Jaycar (OZ/NZ) and they absolutely RAPE you on price :/ Are there any online suppliers that people have used? I would love to get buttons with a rubberised feel, but after a bit of searching i came up with nothing :/

haha, I never thought of timber knobs! I would love to use some if I could get them...Id even have a go at making some but fitting them to a D-shaft would be an absolute bitch :/

Hey all, just wanted to check before the thing runs out on ebay... will these buttons be suitable for the 9 buttons that are used to navigate the SID synth menu functions? they are SPST off (on) momentary. Id imagine they are the right ones but I figured I should ask first seeing as they are labelled as "normally open" ? i assume that means the circuit? as in there is no current flowing through until the button is pressed? http://cgi.ebay.com/Min-SPST-Black-Push-Button-Switch-Normally-Open-PB01B_W0QQitemZ190306227071QQihZ009QQcategoryZ11644QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem any help greatly appreciated :)

well...me being as giddy (and impatient) as a schoolgirl, and looking for a distraction from my assignment thats due tomorrow...went ahead and just put the encoders in in the way I drew in the pic. Worked out better than I could have hoped for! The thread on them wasnt long enough to screw a nut onto...but they didnt come with any nuts anyway! BUT...the drillbit I used was just the right size that after i varnished the inside of the holes...they swelled up enough that I could just screw the encoders into the lid itself :) And after some selective grinding of that stupid little standoff tab thing on pots/encoders...they sit nice and flush! picture: Heres the problem though. I have already broken two encoders trying to open them up to remove the detent. There are tiny tabs that sort of...split down the middle and spread out to form something like a snakes tongue....and they are about 1mm thick :/ I will take a photo when I have more time with a real camera...its too small for my camera phone to pick it up. Anyways...I have 2 more spare encoders (5 x assignable, 1 x menu one (finished), 2 x broken) but I don't really want to break any more of them :( Does anyone have any nifty inside tips on how to do it? I wish they were as simple as wrap around tabs that you can just fold back...but these ones are...well...f*cked up.

Encoders arrived today. I have already destroyed one pulling it apart but I figured I would probably kill one or two working out how to get in. There arent any actual things to bend back on these ones to get rid of the detents....its actually a spring-loaded ball bearing that bounces over the spline of a plastic cog inside. In typical ebay style...the company sent me knobs for it too...which are for a star-style shaft...and these are a d-shaft....so incredibly useful ??? oh well. EDIT: Could someone possibly clarify if that is a good design for the layout of the front panel or not? :) Just want to check before I go hacking into it!

Thats ok wilba, if the ones that arrive are rubbish quality, I may hit you up if the offer still stands then :) The ones i ended up getting off ebay really do seem too cheap to be decent...

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice re. the front panel layout. As I think I mentioned somewhere in here, I am going for the minimal setup + the 5 assignable encoders. From what I have read, the minimal setup involves 9 buttons and 1 rotary encoder for the menu navigation. Here is the basic layout I was thinking of: Obviously the 9 red things are the buttons, the one rotary enc near the LCD is for menu navigation and the 5 rotary encs along the bottom are the assignable ones. Does this look like a decent layout? any advice on how to have the 9 menu buttons laid out better? Any help greatly appreciated :)

ahh ok, cheers wilba, at the moment I am just going with a single SID chip setup and I have already placed my order with smashTV so I may just have to go with the 512 unless I could contact him before he ships it perhaps?

more baby steps made. I needed to fit some pine inside the container to help reenforce it and give something for the socket screws to bite into that hold down the top panel. This is proving to be a right pain in the ass as I had to cut one of these pine supports to fit around the audio output jack, only to realise after I had glued these piece into the box...the other one needs to be trimmed to clear the 2x20 LCD :( since it is glued in I will have to do this with a dremel I guess, which will be painful to say the least. Oh well, hopefully a bit of a sand and some more varnish and it will blend in :) I also ordered my CORE, DIN and SID kits today, along with a few other required parts :) oh, and some encoders...as far as I know I have everything other than a power supply and some buttons now :)

Hey all, with my basic design I am going for (space is to a minimum) I have only ordered one bankstick 512 for now. I figure I MIGHT get another one in the future, but for now just the one shoud suffice. I was going to just mount this to a breadboad and wire this to the corresponding pins on the core module. If I want to get another one in the future, will it be possible to add this to the same breadboard and use it also? I have never used a breadboard/protoboard before so I'm a bit confused as to how they work...

thanks guys! I just placed an order then. Annoyingly I have too much uni work due to justify needing it delivered in the next week..so I have several weeks to wait before it arrives. Oh well...anticipation! :)

Hey all, I was just wondering if someone could clarify my parts list before I order? I am building a fairly basic SID atm, so I am figuring I will just need the CORE and SID kits from smashTV. I am only going mono for starters, and I only have one SID chip at the moment anyway. I am planning on having the minimal control surface with 9 buttons and 1 rotary encoder for the menu, then the 5 encoders that can be assigned to anything. Will these two PCBs be all I need? Im guessing mounting the buttons would be easier if I use a breadboard? Other than that, I have a 2x20 LCD which I will be getting some 16 strand ribbon cable for, and a few others to run between whatever else I get. I was a bit confused with the connectors on smashTV's website...are they for connecting onto the pcb pegs on the various boards? or for something else? Any advice much appreciated :) EDIT: for audio in to utilise the synth's filter...do I need an AIN kit as well? or can that be done with the SID pcb?

haha, I know :) I just wanted to defend my intelligence a little bit :wink: yea I am really interested in seeing what kind of audio quality comes from them. I am not expecting studio-quality clarity, but I have quite a few gigs coming up this year and the more weird the sound, the better really as long as I can get something useable. As for comfort, I HATE having things around my neck but its actually suprisingly comfortable :) the original elastic fell to pieces when I tried them on so I made a new neck-band for it and I think I could wear it for hours before it really started getting to me :)

Fuck me thats brutal. I am all for fixing stuff up, but even I would scrap it I think. You are a braver man than I!

No, I'm Australian :P born and raised, and yes, I am aware the war went from 39 - 45...but as someone said America wasn't involved the entire conflict.

ahh ok, in that case I will leave them be. Might contact smashTV and ask when he is getting more in. Thanks for the help guys! :D appreciate it

I had a look on SmashTV's website but I couldn't see any listed for sale...

well, I made another baby step today. Picked up some rubber feet for it on the way back from dropping in an assignment...Put them on excitedly before I realised it was rocking backwards and forwards :( I figured the box must be slightly warped...which isnt suprising as its made from such light material...but seeing as the feet are fixed with such strong adhesive, i just took to the "longest" ones with some sandpaper and it now sits flush :) Also picked up some stick-on PCB standoffs, as I dont want to be using screws through the soft timber. Will hopefully put in my order to smashTV sometime over the weekend once I have worked out exactly which bits I need. Also, I stumbled acrosssome rotary encoders today on ebay. I have put up a post on another section of the forum about them but I figured I may as well ask in here. I have heard of people mentioning bourne encoders before, but can anyone tell me if these ones will work? Going by the "if they look good, they probably are" theory, Im guessing they will be pretty decent. They look a damnside better than the other ones I have seen on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=120413220840 The downside is they are $5AU each...which sure as hell isnt cheap...but as I am going for a minimal setup with the 5 assignable encoders...I think I only need 6 all up? (those 5 plus one for the menu?). If thats the case...I dont mind spending 30 bucks on them...if they are good quality.

yea, Im really hanging out to see this carnage :) sounds brutal!

my net is capped so I can't see the video, but it isnt by DJ Scotch Egg by any chance is it? If not, he is also worth tracking down...crazy tripper from Japan who makes breakcore chip music :) Very...interesting...stuff :D