Hawkeye

Step 4: Surface-Solder Diodes Parts used: 5 more diodes (1N4148_T50A) a few centimeters of tape Description: Now , lets solder the five diodes below the LCD window to the PCB front side. This is necessary, because the LCD will be attached to the back side where those diodes are, and we want the LCD to be as close as possible to the PCB. So we do not waste millimeters of precious space and solder directly to the surface. You have to get used to it anyways, when you will need to learn SMD-soldering in a later project ;-). It is a little bit tricky, but it is not as hard as it seems. Just have your daily dose of caffeine AFTER the surface soldering steps :-). Maybe you want to use an iron with a smaller tip this time, but it is not really necessary. * Turn the PCB over to the front side. * Bend 5 diodes like you did before. * Cut the wires really short (see photo), so that when you insert the diodes, no wire peeks out at the back side. * Insert the diodes, check for polarity (line/mark goes to the bottom). Pray for no earthquake in the next seconds... ;-) * Temporarily attach the top of the diodes with tape (see photo - use tesa tape or something similar). If attaching the whole strip is too difficult (other diodes are being pulled out), you can attach 5 small strips. Attaching the tape works best if you keep it very tense, next to tearing it, while moving down vertically on the diodes. * Solder the non-masked part of the diodes as before but now from the front side. Do not apply too much solder, because we do not want drops/bubbles on the back side of the pcb in this area. * Remove the tape. * Solder the top of the diodes (see photo), only using a minimum of solder, as before. Photo four shows how the corresponding backside should look after finishing this step. Like a virgin! Ok ok, a virgin looks better, usually ;-).

Thx, dude :)

Step 3: Cut Diode Wires and Solder Diodes Parts used: A sheet of cardboard carton Your favorite wire cutter Your favorite soldering iron, I use a 25 watts version with a big tip Description: * Secure the diodes by putting a cardboard carton on top of the PCB. * Holding the cardboard carton in place, flip over the PCB and place it bottom-up on the table. * Cut the diode wires. Just press the wirecutter flat on the PCB and cut quickly, it is not necessary to control every cut (see photo). There will be enough wire showing out for soldering and doing it this way makes sure that all pins are of the same length. * Solder. Do it in an ergonomic way, work in "rows", like a robot :-). I work top to bottom, right to left. Apply the iron to one side of the diode wire tip, heat up for a sec. Apply solder wire to the other side and it will automatically solder perfect. Have proper lighting when soldering, so you can instantly control for good solder connections. Soldering can be done really quick and needs no more than 2 seconds per solder connection. Count the pins when soldering. When you have reached 90, you are in deep meditation mode and know you are done :-). Do not inhale too many fumes ;-).

Step 2: Drop Diodes Parts used: 45pcs 1N4148_T50A Diodes (buy a pack of 100) (Mouser P/N 512-1N4148T50A) Description: * Lift the PCB up a few centimeters by placing it on spacer objects (look at the photo, i used a roll of solder wire at the top and a meterstab :-) at the bottom), so that you have enough space below for the uncut diode wires. * Bend the wires of the diodes at a 90 degree angle directly at the diodes. * Drop the diodes into the diode holes, aligning the marked side of the diode (usually a dot or line) with the arrowhead on the PCB. If correctly bent, they will fall in automatically, no pressure necessary. Do not drop the five diodes below the LCD window yet! We need to solder them directly to the front side later. * Double-check for correct alignment and right diode count (45 pcs).

Step 1: Prepare Control Surface PCB Parts used: MB-6582 CS PCB (AVI Showtech) Description: * Have a nice drink. Have a look at the PCB. Looks yummy :-). * Now turn it over (we will work on the front side of the PCB in the next step) and get ready for action.

Silvrbak, if you want quick results, buy the MBSID pcb and the base components package available at SmashTVs online shop. I was able to construct a working MBSID base within three days. It is CORE8 based and works the sh** out of any attached SIDs :-).

Hola, the MBSID is such a great project, that i wanted to contribute and share insights of how to build the control surface. I think that names, part-numbers and supplier links of used components and photos taken of every relevant construction step will be a nice reference for you. Be warned, this construction guide will be for frontpanels with drilled holes in the four corners. It should be adjustable for frontpanels without corner holes, but I will not cover this. The chosen steps may not be the ideal solution for everyone, please don´t blame me if something does not work for you, just blame nILS ;-). And - this is a live feed. If something goes utterly wrong, I expect your compassion ;-) Also, big thanks to orange_hand, who provided additional illustrations/photos for this tutorial. So, lets go. Have fun! Hawkeye

Thanks for the links to the other connectors! Will post a picture of the interconnection when it works and fits into the case :)

totally agree with Snoozr, i bought mine from a cheap retailer in china and the datasheet was wrong (backlight polarity had to be switched). So if it never worked before, you can always try that :-)

Sry for late posting, but MissionBrown, could you take out a few of your SIDs if you have more than two? Still humming? Did you ground the SID audio inputs with a jumper? I have three C64 power supplies by now (using ebay to harvest old c64s and they usually come with power supplies) - and all provide good power and there is no humming. But i only have three 8580s populated so far (PSU option A). I don´t even use the condensator at C2 in the PSU section, because i accidently broke it while building the mainboard (the spare shipment is expected to arrive tomorrow). If you really want a different power supply than the original C64, go for it. But I can assure you, at least with only a few SIDs populated, these power supplies are perfect (three out of three tested) and very calm.

Hoi Smithy, thx mate ;-) Planning to use these: http://www.musikding...tor-8-pins.html They are cheap and as far as i have seen there should be just enough room. The cable is also already attached to the connectors - should save some time. If it does not fit, I will solder the boards together as per Wilbas original instructions, no problem. Awaiting the reichelt order, cannot wait for the CS to become true ;). Woah, and btw, received two old C64s from ebay today for harvesting. They were totally moulded! As in totally! White "foam" everywhere inside. Woaaah! :) Could not bear the smell in the apartment, so took them apart on the balcony and ripped apart two working but smelly 8580s. He heh. Bye! Peter

Wilba, thanks, great master (bows), i know about the connector, just ordered a flat one yesterday @reichelt. Greetz!

Here is a very quick (spent half an hour) soundcheck, no control surface yet, which allows sound tweaking, but some very convincing sounds out of a single SID. Just some random key bashing - am very tired because of nights of soldering and could not keep the tempo, also the notes very improvised, so forgive the childish melody ;-). But the arpeggiator rocks ;-) Part B is a test of the 303ish "acid" step sequencer, which is truly excellent, can´t wait until the CS is ready... MIDIBox SID Soundcheck

Hola! The MBSID base works, just a few days after the parts package arrived from SmashTV... Had a great time building it, now letz move on to the CS :-)... By the way, Rutger´s Patch Librarian rocks (for those still CSless like me, it is great to get a preview of what will be possible with the control surface). Aaah, and the 8580 sounds yummy, btw. Never thought the low pass filter would sound so nice... Very cool! My only problem during build was a datasheet error for the LCD - they printed the wrong polarity for the backlight - but it was cheap at 9USD from China though, you cannot ask for a correct datasheet, i guess :). Ah, and ups, gotta insert that C2, but it runs without it, too :). Bye, Peter PS: The V-Synth it is sitting on is just for providing MIDI input and holding the LCD, ofc :). EDIT 2.PS: WHOAH! Incredible, what the Midibox SID squeezes out of a single SID. Great, great work and big kudos to you, TK! (Just played around with the lead engine, outstanding!)

Ok, after a ridiculous session at the german customs (buerocracy to the max), I started soldering the base board. After that session, my back and head was hurting like shit, my hands were shaking and I was high on solder fumes :). Was a lot of fun and is far from finished yet. I broke the capacitor C2 while inserting it and the SID output sections are still missing :-(. Thanks for the great and complete kit and documentation Wilba and Smash, and of course for the concept, TK!

*Bump, price raise and request change :)* I´d truly like to mod the CS of the MB6582 for backlighted kn0bs and want these sold-out black/transparent red ALPS "waldorf" knobs badly. If anyone has 15 pieces left, please contact me, will pay a good price for them (50EUR for the package of 15). Ex alps.de part number according to the subatomic blog is 863062. Located in germany. Would pay via paypal or money order. Thanks and bye, Peter

Yo, thanks y´all ;-). not going for next-to-invisible super-duper-infra-red, then ;). Being in marketing must suck these days :)

Update: just read the tech specs, and they seem to differ in wavelength, indeed. Has anyone seen these in real-life?

Hi there, is there any visible difference when using ultra-low-current LEDs for the control surface of the MB6582? They cost twice as much as normal LEDs. I would not have asked, but I am intrigued by their description "super red" in the reichelt.de store (part number LS 336K). Do they look more fancy than standard low-cost LEDs? Probably its just a marketing effort from OSRAM, but... I thought I´d ask here :). And, is 28mcd brightness enough? I also saw these: LH 3364 - 112mcd and marketed as "hyper red". WTF?!? I always thought classic LED red is as red as it gets :) Bye, Peter

Indeed, they look really nice!

Sorry for you - how bad is it f***ed up? And thanks for the warning! As I have the beforementioned job ahead of me, I will try to first build the control surface with everything (standoffs, switches, leds) in place, aligned and soldered, and when the alignment is good, I will apply small blobs of epoxy directly on the standoffs screwed to the control surface pcb. Very small amounts of epoxy should suffice as there are ~20 connections points. Bye, Peter/Hawkeye

Yay! Got it! I am a happy man now :-D. The panel has been very well manufactured by FPE/Schaeffer AG. Just eating the gummibears that came with the package and waiting for SmashTVs parts delivery ;-). Can´t wait to hear ´em 8580s screaming. Thanks to all of you who have made this great project possible! And by the way: does no one have 15 red waldorf knobs for sale? Pleeaase? The lady wants them so baaaad ;-)