Hawkeye

No problem here so far without fan, and it is in use every other day ;-). Methinks the 8580/6582s run a bit cooler anyways, the 6581 might require a fan. The 6.3mm stereo mix audio-out jack is highly recommended, two cheap 3.5mm ones broke down after a few months of use... Have lots of fun building it! :-) Bye, Peter

You should definitely ask - with all Schneiders on that list, it is gonna be a fun time for airport security ;-). Nah really, I sometimes wonder what stuff they smoke to implement such a "security measure" ;-)

"Schneider... uh-oh, that sounds shady, lets pull this parcel and look for bombs" ;-) That process must cost a hell lot of money, and I´d really love to know their reasoning why they pull parcels to "common names" and why people with these common names should have a higher likeliness of receiving "illegal export material". Many greets, Peter

By the way: great initiative! Am looking forward to seeing some nice case designs :)

Hm, wenn Du eine MIDIbox mit USB-Anschluss bauen möchtest, wäre das die einfachste Methode, eine andere Methode wäre (wie oben geschrieben), dass Du nach einem alten, möglicherweise teilweise defekten, kommerziellen MIDI-Controller Ausschau hältst... irgendwas mit USB-Port und mindestens 16 Tastern, Du kannst dann an die Tasterkontaktstellen anstatt dessen Deine Arcade-Buttons löten, wenn Du die verwenden willst... Oder einfach zwei Korg Nano-Controls... Ciao, Peter

Hi, hab oben nochmal meinen Post geupdated... Ein MIDI-Controller besteht (auch bei "Markenherstellern", wie z.B. Akai) aus einem Microcontroller, der die analogen Eingabegeräte (Taster, Schieberegler usw) abfragt und in ein digitales Protokoll übersetzt, z.B. wie die MIDIbox64 in ein MIDI-Protokoll, das über ein einfaches MIDI-Kabel an weitere MIDI-fähige Geräte (oder einen Rechner mit MIDI-Eingang) angeschlossen wird. Für das neue MIDIO128 V3-Projekt brauchst Du den Microcontroller selbst (Embedded Artists, LPC1769), ein Basisboard, um diesen Microcontroller anzulöten (LPC17 Core), was z.B. auch die USB-Schnittstelle beherbergt, eine SD-Card-Schnittstelle (für die Konfiguration) und für Deinen Zweck ein "Eingabemodul", hier DINx4, an das Du bis zu 32 Taster (Arcade-Style-Buttons) direkt anschliessen kannst. Schwierigkeiten können die Lötarbeit selbst (z.B. schlechte Lötstellen), die Konfiguration (MIDIO128 V3 über ein Textfile oder über ein Display, wenn Du es anschliesst), die Stromversorgung (hier über USB und unkritisch) und die restliche Hardwarearbeit, wie z.B. der Gehäusebau bereiten, alles in allem ist es aber machbar, es gibt gute (englische) Dokumentation und hier im Forum erhältst Du Hilfe. Ciao und viele Grüße, Peter

Hallo und willkommen! Ok, für unter 50 Dollar könnte es knapp werden, wäre aber wohl gerade so machbar mit dem alten MIDIbox Framework. Schau mal auf ucapps.de unter der Rubrik MIDIbox 64, dort gibt es ein Handbuch und ein Tutorial, wie man sich so eine Box bastelt. An Teilen bräuchtest Du neben Gehäuse und 16 Tastern ein Core8 Modul und Teilekit und einen PIC, und ein DINx4 Modul und Teilekit, wird alles in Mikes Midishop verkauft: http://www.mikes-ele.../mshop_deutsch/ Hilfe zum Bau findest Du in den Modul-Dokumentationen auf ucapps.de und wenn die nicht weiterhelfen, hier im Forum! Edit: Mist, gerade erst gelesen, Du brauchst einen USB-Ausgang... in diesem Fall müsstest Du auf die neue LPC17-Platform wechseln, das zugehörige Projekt (ebenso auf ucapps.de dokumentiert) wäre MIDIO128 V3, ist aber leider mit 50$ definitiv nicht machbar. Ich denke, hier würde es Sinn machen, nach alten, evtl. kaputten MIDI-Controllern, z.B. aus der Akai MPD-Serie zu suchen... wenn dort z.B. ein paar Schieberegler im Eimer wären, könnte ich mir vorstellen, dass man in einem bekannten Auktionshaus ein Schnäppchen machen könnte, 16 Taster (Drum Pads) haben die alle... Ciao und viele Grüße, Peter

tupinamba, in addition to updating the MBSEQ_HW.V4 control file, which configures MBSEQs options and button assignments, you need to download the newest firmware from ucapps.de and upload it to your MBSEQ in MIOS Studio!

Here you go: http://www.midibox.o..._pcb_bulk_order Some waiting may be involved if you add yourself at the bottom of the list, if it seems to take too long, you could always buy a SEQ CS PCB and source the parts on your own. Of course, waiting for the full ready-made kit from SmashTV is highly recommended, he offers top quality kits, and you are sure, that everything is right. Many greets, Peter

Very cool! (want one too now, but waiting for Ilmenators TPD PCB for additional ghetto bling :-)) Many greets, Peter

Hi there, me haz got a hardware control surface here and i use the SID filters every other day for some time now, thats why i was so sure, that the cutoff has higher than 8bit resolution :-) The SID filters are not "perfect", and only one cutoff value is applied to all filters (LP, BP and HP), if more than one filter is active, e.g. LP and BP, a combination of these filters is active, and with certain values you won´t hear much (same as only lowpass filter active and cutoff frequency very low -> everything is filtered), in other combinations you get a nice filter "distortion", which is exploited in certain sid music tracks and sounds very nice (and is very hard to emulate in software) :-). The MIDIbox SID platform uses the full 12-bit resolution (4096 steps) for the filter cutoff range, maybe because there were some SIDs that allowed for it, but more likely because it is a more common "data exchange" format for high-resolution MIDI messages for example. Also, you can control external audio filters like a SSM2044 connected to a MIDIbox SID with the MBSID engine, and thus reach the full resolution. Bye, Peter

Might be a power related problem - could you check the voltages of the 5v and the 9v/12v rail under load (when switched on)? Many greets, Peter

From the datasheet you quoted: "FC Lo/FC Hi (Registers $15, $16) Together these registers form an 11-bit number (bits 3-7 of FC LO are not used) which linearly controls the Cutoff (or Center) Frequency of the programmable Filter. " FC/LO and FC/HI are added together, even for the "LO pass" filter mode so that it will become a 2048 step filter (which has its flaws of course, but that adds to its charme). The filter can be switched through modes and combinations of these modes (e.g. you can activate LP, BP and HP filters at once to achieve a nice distortion effect). Also you can switch the filter on and off for each of the internal three voices of the SID. Best of luck with your project :-D

Sorry to be persistent, but the SID filter cutoff resolution is way higher than the claimed 4-bit, the 6581R1 had a full 12-bit cutoff range, some later models reduced it to 11 bits... http://en.wikipedia...._Technology_SID CV to MIDI conversion, which in turn would be sent to an existing MB_SID is a possiblity, but also bear in mind, that the MIDI protocol has limited bandwidth, which could cause "jumpy" updates of the filter and an aliasing effect. Many greets, Peter

Yes, but as you already wrote, the C64 CPU is also involved, reads the A->D conversion result, and sends SID register updates. It would not work "standalone" within the SID without an external microcontroller or a CPU. As you need an external microcontroller anyways, you can use it in conjunction with its internal or some external and probably better A/D converters to get the job done... Also you´d probably want to use more than 2 CV-ins per SID... also, e.g. for the filter 8-bit is not enough resolution, it is 12-bit... As a conclusion, i´d say your task is doable, if you a) build a CV in box, that performs A/D conversion b) write some microcontroller code, that reads the sampled CV values and creates and limits the register change update rates to a "sane" amount. The update rate can be quite high on the SIDs, that is why the MIDIbox MBSID is able to update the SID chips much faster than the original C64 CPU. But it is not indefinitely high. Therefore you´d need some logic to prevent "flooding" and resending the same data... I would not compare this approach to a real analog modular board, that can take infinitesimal CV changes and reproduce the sound in realtime... "Programming" a SID must be done in cycles and you may or may not hear "zipper" noise in a filter sweep, for example. Many greets, Peter

In contrast to the mostly analog modular gear, the SIDs are digitally controlled and thus have limited bandwidth for register updates and sound changes... As far as I can remember to have heard from TK, the SIDs suffer a bit (as in not good sounding) when fed too quickly with register updates, which could happen if you "overfeed" them and not limit the register change updates coming from the analog CV conversion... That is why TK. probably wants to keep the Core8s as "SID controllers" even for the next generation of the MBSID platform, and use the LPC17 to coordinate them. They are simply fast enough and there is nothing more to be gained... I am quite sure, that the paddle A/Ds within the SIDs can not be internally wired to perform sound generation, you´d need some logic controller to convert the A/D output to register change commands. Many greets, Peter

Great job on the integrated patch librarian! Thanks, TK.! It will really make archiving patches easier and it is good to see it MIOS Studio :) Many greets, Peter

Hi Alex, Sorry for the late answer - i bought it directly at mouser, and just noticed, that it even got more expensive since then, paid a bit above 80€... http://de.mouser.com...fbgiFgpRQ%3d%3d It is worth every cent, would do it again :). Regarding the driver - Yes, a recompilation should be sufficient... it runs very stable for me, have been using it for over a year... but the modified mb6582 hex file is to be uploaded only on the first core (with the display connected) - the other cores will hang, when you put it on (so you cannot "push-redistribute" firmwares from the first core to the other cores, but this is not so important, as there are not soo many MBSID v2 releases in the moment :)). Many greets, Peter

Apart from the very unprofessional outside look (as Nils said, they didn´t even take the time to align the texts to the buttons), I would truly like to see the internals, and would not be surprised to find a cache of stolen intellectual property :-)

Hi Alex, thanks a lot for the clarification! :-) It all makes perfect sense now, I treated the TL072 dual-op-amps, which were correctly marked e.g. as U5:A and U5:B in the schem as two single-op-amps and was wondering why one of the pair was not connected to power... Hehe. Great, the schematics are all perfect then! :) Many greets, Peter

Hi orange! Sehr cool! Gut geschrieben und viele anschauliche Bilder! Wird sicher ein paar sequencer.de User hierher bewegen ;-) Hehe bzgl. des Kommentars von wegen Kaugummi im Distanzbolzen ;-) Ciao und viele Grüße! Peter

Thanks, orange! :-)

Hola! Great build! I´ve got a Noritake VFD in the MB6582, it is awesome, but it needed some driver hacking: Many greets, Peter