Snyderman

It's been a while since I posted in this topic but I've been busy with other work, I finally got back to things and checked my soldering once again and found that a few joints needed fixing but it didn't fix my problem and even made it "apparently" worse (now there's more of an issue with the LCD light). Once again, there has been no improvements in the lights or the banksticks. Wilba, if you could clarify what you mean by "pullup resistors". I've checked all of the contacts on the base board with the banksticks but I will check again. Now, I've noticed that if I push in to the MIDI sockets too hard, sometimes the backlight of the LCD goes off so the text is dim and greenish. I haven't put it into the full case though, but it shouldn't really matter. I never had that issue when I was testing the sammichSID. While I'm not sure about the hum issue, I think it has to do with the fact that I'm splitting a Stereo signal into two mono signals to go into my Mbox2. When I fiddle with the levels, I get just about the same amount of noise regardless of if I'm using Stereo Out 1/2 or 3/4. For example if the output is 1/2, one controls the level and the other just adds hum. If it's output 3/4, one brings up the level and the other just adds a high frequency hiss (same effect, at the end, more noise). Not sure what's causing it to be so noisy, but I'm also noticing I've got some issues with the decay of the signal going on indefinitely (though I think this has to do with my bankstick problem). The frustrating thing is that the sound is actually really good (although a bit noisy). Everything seems to work other than a few really irritating issues. I should probably mention that when I screwed up with the resistors way back, I was forced to go to RadioShack and pick up some there instead. I hope that's not the problem. It was hard enough desoldering all of the incorrect resistors in the first place. However, I'm not sure that's it since the voltage tests were fine and the sound works great and the control surface seems to control pretty well. Here's a video of the LED problem: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzrLUC9SYdxPOGFkZjNhYWUtYWVhMy00Njc4LTgzZDMtYzM5ZDJmMGM5M2Yz&hl=en_US For reference, the top row lights up when it is on the top row, but they are only very dimly lit when the bottom row is active (and 3 of 5 light up there anyway). Here's the LCD backlight issue: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzrLUC9SYdxPMGRkNDYwN2MtZTRiMS00MTBlLTg1NjctOTk3YjkwYjU3ZThj It gets dim if too much pressure is applied (but it doesn't shut off).

Given that it's just three LEDs (and not vertical pairs), I'll go back and check my solder joints or I might just have to replace the LEDs altogether which is fine since I was given spares. I tried the patches business and the only conclusion I can come to is it's not recognizing the banksticks and it's only saving the very last patch received, and it's not currently capable of storing the patches at all (one default patch that just keeps getting overwritten). Any ideas for fixes? I have the banksticks in there, the orientation is correct.

After fixing my stupidity, I have got the thing working and it sounds good. Now I'm noticing a host of relatively unrelated problems. First I'm getting some inconsistencies on the LEDs. The top row seems fine, but the bottom row might be fried. The third and fifth from the left seem to light up just fine, but the other three seem to light up very dimly if at all. What is the bottom row supposed to look like? When do they light up? Second, the controls on the board seem fine, MIDI seems to work okay since I can play it from a MIDI keyboard, however the patches won't upload. I upload them via SysEx on MIOS Studio and it CLAIMS to do it but afterwards I'm stuck with 128 gunshot patches for some reason. It lists all of the patches it supposedly sends via SysEx but once it gets to the last patch, all of the patches seem to be the same. Is it because I installed the banksticks before installing the sammichFM firmware? Is there a way to override that or manually have the banksticks format again? Do I need to remove them and re-insert them? I tried all of the programs listed and none of them seem to work. JSynthLib seems to just hang, but I haven't tried the newest version, and to be honest I'm not sure what to do with the contents of the JSynthLib Snapshot file anyway. The last problem is a low hum in audio 1/2. The audio in 3/4 seems to be perfectly fine. Any clues would be appreciated.

I think I found my problem... I'm pretty sure all of my 10k and 220 ohm resistors have been switched. They look so similar, there's a good chance that's what I did wrong.

My apologies, I'll be more detailed. The continuity tester at all points between ground and Audio 5V beep continuously, with a resistance of 0.050 exactly. It's not exactly 0 however as it is with ground (understandably). It's consistent at all points that I tested (using the diagram, between ground and all orange points). For reference, resistance between ground and OPL3 5V is roughly .408 (I assume that means 408 ohms) and between ground and Digital 5V is about .512. EDIT: I realize now it's not technically a short, but resistance seems really low.

So I've been going through and building the sammichFM with only a few small and silly hiccups but right now I'm at the step with voltage checks. I haven't plugged it in at all and am just doing continuity tests. The ground is fine throughout the base PCB and there's no shorts between the OPL 5V and ground but there's continuity on all of the audio 5V and ground (as far as I can tell). Where should I start looking? Are there a few specific places where there's a bad joint that's causing it to go all through the board? Thanks for help in advance. EDIT: I have looked, I just couldn't find anything egregious on the base PCB.

I just got the notification that the thing is coming in the mail and I can't wait! I finished building the sammichSID not too long ago and the thing is a monster. Few questions Wilba, you said in the email that you were sending 20k pots instead of a 10, will it have much of an effect or just make it so you have to rotate the potentiometer a little less to get a change? Also, you don't have tracking on them right? Because I'm so stoked to build this one right away, just have to practice doing the SMT soldering.

After watching the Youtube time lapse video, I see it was just stuffing them in place. The beast works, and it sounds friggin great. I can't believe I don't have any TRS cables, so I'll need to get some tomorrow.

Okay, last dumb question. I got all of my stuff working, I put in the banksticks, they formatted, I got the patches via sysex, I put the SIDs in and the voltage is a tiny bit low (8.71 with both SIDs, it's a weak PSU) and I read the instructions but I'm not sure how to install the capacitors. Do I just clip the leads and sit them in there or do they need to be soldered in place? The strips themselves have been soldered to the board since the base PCB steps. Just want to be extra clear. Also I've got the 6582s, in case it wasn't clear. I know I need the 22nF capacitors.

I haven't had a chance to check the soldering yet (since this morning when I fixed the LCD), but I uploaded the CS App, the LEDs seem to work perfectly but the buttons all have issues. Menu buttons 1 and 2 (top left two of the five) work if jiggled around vigorously (but not pressed) and the rotary encoder seems to work from time to time. I'll check my connections. Could you clarify what you mean by checking the dots on the resistor networks? I'm like 99% sure I double and triple checked before putting in any resistors and made sure any diodes were oriented the right way. EDIT: Okay, so I've rechecked my soldering and it seems to have a slight effect. I saw it flickering between pressed and released, and more of the buttons seem to be responding. It probably is my soldering on the header pins or at least the ones on the actual LCD. I'm still not getting it though :( It does seem to be universal to the buttons, and the encoder, but they're overall slightly more responsive. Some buttons that didn't work before work now (if you jiggle them) and buttons 1 and 2 (the most responsive) stay in that flicker pressed/unpressed state if you hold the button at an angle, where before it took significant jiggling to get anything out of them. On further examination, the only buttons that make any kind of response so far are the top five. The bottom three and the four shift/menu/up/down don't seem to respond hardly at all. EDIT2: I think I'm mentally challenged. I think I figured out what you meant by the dots on the board... for resistors which are CURRENTLY UNOCCUPIED!!! Goddamn it. I'll be back in a second. EDIT3: Okay. The resistors being in helped! The Banksticks are formatted beautifully. Now I'm going to upload some of the patches and then finally install the SIDs.

I went back and corrected some leads that weren't stable and all's well. Thanks Wilba. Also this project is super awesome. Also, I accidentally melted one of the corners of one of the button caps by mistake, haha. What was the part number so I could order another one, or could I send you some money and have you ship me a few extras? Just the rectangular plastic caps, not the round buttons that are soldered to the board. EDIT: Well now I have a new problem, or a head scratcher anyway. I'm looking through the MBSID V2 manual trying to go into sub menus, but I can't get beyond the starting screen with any regularity. Buttons and the encoder seem to work randomly. Perhaps the buttons themselves aren't soldered properly? I've seen menus change here and there but I can't reproduce any particular things. They're pushed all the way in, so I'm not sure why they're not responding. My one thought would be that I soldered all of the pins on the bottom but not on the top and because of that they're not making solid enough connections? Unless I misread the instructions I thought I only needed to solder from the bottom since all of the other components seem to be working fine (though maybe buttons are different?). Also, the bansksticks and SIDs aren't installed yet.

Hey everybody, I've been putting together my sammichSID after putting it off for ...about a year and a half, but it's been going really well (started about a month ago working on weekends when I have time). I've done all of my voltage checks, I've uploaded the Sammich_SID.hex file with no errors but I have a problem with the LCD. When I turn the trimpots down to the left, I get the rectangles, but I can't seem to find any combination that will show me any text. It should be there, since it's been uploaded and the lights blink when the Sammich powers on. To start I had a few slight mishaps earlier that may affect it. I have one of the holes in that's unrelated to all of the pins with a blob of solder on it, but it's not bridged to anything. Also when I set it up originally I had the shunt position for a 25mA LCD (I guessed wrong, it needed to be in the 250mA position). Did I fry my LCD or am I missing something obvious? I really don't know what I need to do to test it right now, so any advice is welcome.

Hey guys, the appropriate PMs have been sent, so unless someone backs out I'll let you know. They're accounted for for the time being.

Hey guys, I bought these from Wilba some time ago and never got around to this project. Money's a bit tight and if anyone wants any let me know. I paid roughly 25 each for them so I'd like to stick to around the same if possible. I'm in the US for those that are wondering. EDIT: The chips have been sold in case anyone is wondering.

Absolutely, I'll try to catch you in the chat one of these days. I tried to get some help there earlier but I don't think the right folks were in the channel. I've tried my best to avoid asking for help and reading the documentation but it's really hard to find a comparison between the Reichelt order and Mouser, since the part numbers aren't the same.

Got my chips today, thanks again TK. These chips and boards are a lot smaller than I thought! EDIT: I'm having some trouble finding the Reichelt equivalent components on Mouser.com, if anyone could help me out it would be greatly appreciated. There's so many variants on some of these components I don't know which ones are right to get.

There's always HardSID as yet another alternative to building your own, but frankly I think there's enough people like me (who are complete newbies) that are willing to take the plunge that you shouldn't feel intimidated by the project if you really want to get it done. http://www.hardsid.com/order.php

Yea, davotron I was planning on it. I plan on getting a 2x40. I know that will mean that I have to add more buttons but I prefer more parameters visible at one time to less.

Buhler, yea that's what I wasn't sure about. Without the C64 PSU I thought I'd need a separate power supply for the core and SID modules. As far as "cannibalizing", all I meant is that since I don't have a SID or a PSU at the moment I'm likely going to buy a C64 with PSU and just snatch the SID chip. I might just ask here in the fleamarket since I'm much more likely to get a working 8580. Or I might just wait and get extra chips from the SID Mega-Sale #7. I was originally planning to get 8 for the MB-6582 but I know myself well enough to say I'll probably leave the components sitting around like many others. If I build one of the basic models first I'll be much more likely to actually make the MB-6582.

Right, I understand that the C64 PSU is external. I meant more along the lines of is the "optimized PSU" option more necessary for the complete control surfaces or even just the basic control surface, or would another PSU do? Also, I noticed that the DOUT module wasn't explicity mentioned in the FAQ for the minimal control surface. Do I really need one if I don't plan to have any LEDs on it?

Okay, I've tried my best to read up as much as I can on the topic before asking here but I'm at the point where I think it would be more helpful just to ask you guys here. I even read this forum post: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,11465.0.html I've looked over SmashTV's site and as far as I'm aware the parts I need to order are: 1 Core Kit with PIC18F4685 (Header 0000 0000 0000 0000) 1 Din Kit 1 SID Kit 1 24LC512 Bankstick Is there anything else that I can order from him that I'll definitely need like midi jacks? Another quick question. I noticed in the FAQ regarding PSUs, they say that once you add an LCD you either need to use a second power supply or the optimized PSU. Does that mean it will be best to just cannibalize an old C64? I'm sorry for the really basic questions, but I'm really anxious to get started on this.

Just added my name to the list. This is just the kind of project I've always wanted to do.