JMS

... i just ordered everything except the pic chips to slap together at least 2 cores (mistakes happen) and i should have enough leftover and what's already in my bins for a third core just in case. i have a few of the different pics sitting here and will only need to make an icsp adapter board for the pickit2 to get the bootloader on there! i'm still trying to come up with a case design. i'd like the boards and wiring to be visible. i'm considering .250" thick lexan...

here is a video, the milling of my first midibox_core circuit board on my homebrew cnc mill! i may need to redo it and add .0015" to either side of the traces (or just jumper two traces after it's all soldered.) the through holes still need drilled because i don't have any tiny tiny drill bits on hand. so that's it! my midibox project is underway. now that i have a board cut and can see how packed the traces are i may need a smaller tip for my weller iron. if the board was just a tad bit less crowded i would be so so happy. though even the board name and the copyright text came out legible! if anyone wants to donate parts to help keep the ball rolling on this build... i wouldn't mind a bit ;) the video is suck quality i know i know, i'll take some extreme clear closeups with my digtal camera soon. EDIT: i had the video link wrong in the first revision of this post :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl0guIkizVQ

interesting video... i like the radium 49. i have one here at home. i think it's Reason 4's soulmate.

ok, everyone knows your happy it's the 4th of july... it's 5 am on the 5th of july now... you can stop lighting firecrackers now. (directed at my neighbors who have been exploding things for three weeks preparing for today i guess) EDIT: ok... maybe that was a tad bitter. happy 4th of july!

i voted for irc, it's cozy and it works... freenode.net possibly? there is some smart people on that network.

very good question indeed! i/we/ohiopctech.com would be located in in Dayton, Ohio in the good 'ol USA... i'm not afraid to ship anywhere i'm legally allowed to ship PIC Chips... i may need to investigate that exportation factor a little more!

howdy midiboxers! i recently purchased a picKit2 PIC Programmer so if anyone is in need of a Programmed chip i can hook it up! (not to step on anyones toes, just throwing out another option) i bought the programmer because i want my midibox to be as close to 100% DIY as possible. (point me towards a hex file and tell me what chip you want it on, i can even order the chips if needed.)

well, i have to build a MB_CORE first, i'm sorta just reasearching in the forums until i get all the parts rounded up adding my 2 cents along the way. ;) BUT!!! if someone wants to draw a prototype schematic, i'll do a prototype pc board and we can build the first one with donated parts to the assembler person and then send it off to the coders! assuming it's doable... with everyone documenting the progress along the way it would turn out awesome, i have seen what the MIDIbox crew is capable of!

i've got an m-audio radium 49 key midi controller, i think they make an 88 key version as well. it's usb powered, usb connection... has 8 knobs, 8 faders, mod wheel and pitch bend wheel. it's out of production but they are all over ebay.. the replacement model is the oxygen. i even have the radium 49 working in ubuntu 8.04 with jack and alsa midi stuff! it was cheap too compared to what else was out there when i bought it. i'm planning to plug it into my midibox when i get there.

now those are very similar... i get it now!

someone wanna split a set of four with me? errr muh is this the right thread?

can you replace the xtal with a 555 timer circ.?

does anybody want some used ps2 or xbox or gamecube buttons/joysticks? i have a pair of ps2 joystick sitting around waiting for my midibox. i know the ps2 controllers have 2-10k pots and a switch all mounted in the assemblies. i can test the pots with my DMM to make sure they are good before i send a set out to whoever.

this is kinda old but you could grind a slot in the heads of the screws with a hand held rotary tool and use a flathead to back them out.. or grind the heads of completely. (i've been browsing through the forums looking for tips and ideas for my own midibox project.) bump MIDIbox_NES and MIDIbox_SNES

http://web.archive.org/web/20030805180424/http://greybox.norfair.org/proto_r4.jpg <-- this would look nice sitting next to a midibox core inside a case. if the circuitry is 3.8" x 6" or smaller i'll mill out a couple prototypes of the SBC MIDIbox_NES module boards ;) i would like to hear what this can do! i know the SID module sounds AMAZING!

they used JB Weld to attach flathead screws to the back of the panel where the holes should have been...

looks like the f16 is a hardcore plane! (...goes back to working on the pcb fixture/table for my mini cnc)

you guys lost me about two posts back with the url thing...?

thanks for starting the new thread, frailin. my actual cutting envelope is a bit bigger, a few thousandths shy of 4 inches. the front i think i can do in only two sections joined exactly in the middle or just flip it on the table. i'll have to get the mm's in the documentation to inches and check clearances on my machine in depth. the back panel would be doable in one go. now the question is... would i be cutting the boxer's panel or cutting my own from materials i'd provide. does the case for it come with a set of blank panels? stryd_one: that f16 pic was tiny but i like the idea the you used it for a model. i got my pcb blanks yesterday and i'm tooling up right now to build a pcboard for the function generator (xr2206 ic) and get that working first so i'll have something to hook my core up to which will be cnc milled pcb project #2. so my midibox core is coming soon to a forum near you.

there were a few people that mentioned i could help cnc panels for this project in my thread about possibly milling the core pcb's for people. ( http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,11613.15.html ) ... so i thought i'd bring it up here. i've got a dxf from the FPE panel layouts for the front and back of the case. (the front panel dxf is 75mb right now for some reason, i think it's millions of tiny lines instead of arcs/lines) i know for sure i can handle the backside in one setup. as far as the front panel, i think i can do it half and half (still in one piece) i had an idea about maybe the front panel being done in sections that would mount on a thin frame with rivets or small flathead screws. could the main pcbs be made modular with short jumpers between them? i could cnc up 1 kit at a time this way between pcb bulk orders maybe? "will cnc for sid chips, i'm getting ready to start my own midibox project here." ;)

awesome idea.... i've got a dxf of the front panel.. i'll do some thinking and see if i can't come up with a way to do this on the mini cnc.. save some buxx for everyone. should we move this topic to a different category? i'm running ubuntu so i had to do this since wine crashes when i try to run FPE in it: qemu -> winxp -> install hpgl file printer -> FPE -> load panel design -> print to hpgl file printer -> email the file to myself from within qemu -> -> use hp2xx from terminal with this command line `hp2xx -m dxf -r 180 -f mb-6582-fp-r2-2 mb-6582-fp-r2.hpgl'-> -> all this results in a 75mb .dxf file that loads in autocad, qcad, mastercam, etc... i am pretty sure i should be able to get the size down somehow so it doesn't takes ages to manipulate the file. if i can get the size down i'll post the dxf, may just be a matter of scaling it down from image size to real size, i don't know.

-- the dxf filter is like $178 US!! -- while i was looking at the files in Front Panel Express, i had an idea, where the red lines are could each be different sections with 1 hole in each corner mounted to some sort of thin frame with rivets or small screws. if it was done this way i could engrave almost anything on them as well as cnc the cutouts. no silkscreen step, just fill the engravings with paint. - eagle does dxf export of the pcboards.. one may be able to pull dimensions off the components that way. -- one could also do a screenshot of the FPE window and convert the image to .dxf with inkscape. but this may not turn out very good as far as dimensions being right.

asafnetzer, shouldn't be any problems with doing it this way... you can do half then flip it, make sure it's square to the machine and clamp it back down... pick up a hole or line from the half you just engraved and tell the machine the hole or line's location.. the hit go. i've done this many times on huge pc's of steel on a larger cnc mill where the bar would be longer than the machine travel but requires holes the whole length of a bar. we're talking thousanths of an inch tolerance here and i work in thousanths everyday! if someone can get me a layout of the panel i'll do a sample and post pics of the final results.

well i can do larger panels... only engraving half at a time.. then flipping it around to do the rest. my problem with doing larger panels is the post that supports the head of the machine. larger panels would hit the post when the table moves back. (shoulda coulda built a gantry style machine) is there any .dxf's or plain old image files available for those panels that i could check out?

lol, on the panels, i can do them but they would have to be made so i can engrave them in sections... the machine only can cut somewhere around the 3.8" x 10" range. i was thinking i could come up with my own modular case system and provide people with panels this way... if you guy can come up with a sketch or even a svg,jpg,png, bmp, gif or whatever of your panels i'll cut them for you if you pay shipping. i have access to some awesome brushed aluminum sheet that would make sexy panels... remember i only have a 4" by 10" work envelope if you are wanting a panel... of course i could do half at a time of an 8"x10" panel or something of the sorts. hit me up with your ideas and i'll see what i can do! i'm glad you guys are as excited about the machine as i am ;) here is some info about the machine: http://ohiopctech.com/dp/?q=node/19 <-- the page for it (still needs updating) http://ohiopctech.com/dp/?q=node/135 <- the newest publicity shot of the mini cnc mill ... i have a table for it, it's just off in the last pic. -- chr0n1c