technobreath

Not to be a killjoy here, but this community mostly tries to protect the mbhp from non-licenced use. Hacking a locked source code from the eeprom is just what it sounds, a licence breech... If I were the inventor of the original code I would not be happy if someone snatched it from me. The MCUs also tend to have protection against such hacking, so for the hacking, no help from here. If you get permission from owner, that is a whole different thing, but if the source is locked, it is not likely for u to hava any luck with that. So. Welcome to the forums, but please do not come here to get help stealing source code, that just aint right... But you are free to look around ucapps.de and see what the mbhp is good for. Maybe u find something u can build to suite ur own needs, then sell the quasi... Hehe.

To dawg. I have now posted all the designs I got regarding audio design. Including the simple psu. Some pcbs could easily be on the same board, buy free eagle constrain me to keep the PCB size down. Have a look, and comments are appreciated. I will etch the boards as soon as my FeCl arrives, and then some build time, and then we will know for sure how they really works.

Count me in for some chips and PCBs too. I don't need it atm but now I can make a 15io interface and utilize some cores with usb MIDI mmmm. So mostly to help this happen, but also for future expanding of my units. Them ic are always useful to have laying around hehe. Just need to get into wiki login first... Can't do on my phone for some reason...

Yeah, everything I have also is going into the daw. More headroom should mean better s/n ratio within the system, therefore the 15v. My main issue up till now with the big psu is that I might have set too big standards when it comes to current output of the 5v rail. Was designed to be good for 5 amps, as I was thinking to use it for a psu for more units too, but I will lower the demands down to 2amps on 5v, and it will solve the main issues that kept me from realizing it before. In the meantime, my WiFi drivers on the eagle computer has done something funky, coz I can't get online with it. However, I finished the buffer board and post it when I get it online again.

Nice. I have a simple 4ch opamp output board ready tonight, it would be cool to compare PCB design, to see if I'm totally out there or... Hehe. The board accept line in and the outputs can be used as is for line outs or u can hook up xformers to its output and you have balanced outs. The big advantage of seperating outs with buffers like this is of course the impedance stuff. I went with 15v since most opamps will accept it, and the higher voltage, the more headroom. 12 to 15 volt is like 6v difference peak to peak. I don't see any problems to build a PCB that u can only swith the vregs to support both voltages wo any other changes... Apart from the mains xformer ;-). I also have a uber psu going for the mb6582, wich features rail voltage sensing and a mute relay on all outputs. This way the psu will not go out of standby unless all caps on the input is charged. Also work as a inrush current sensor, so basically the psu doesn't supply anything to the load unless all rails are stable. This also means that if one rail goes down for some reason if will immediately go into standby and cut power to the load on all rails. Most mboxers call that overkill, but I see no disadvantages at all other than a more complex design involving conparators and power resistors. But no big problem. Only thing is I am not sure how much noise the sensor resistors will add to the psu, but again, werent we talking about sids hehe, not hifi audio hehe. Problems with this kinda design is that if the psu experience instability over and over again, you might sit there with a psu that does hickup restarts, so I might make it smarter with a psu controller ic of some kind to put the psu in standby until a cold start is executed. That way you will be able to have control if something goes wrong. I doubt that it is very healthy for any equipment to experience brown outs like a hicupping psu would do to it. I'll share some eagles with ya tonight when I get home from work. As for me getting the design before publishing, its not important to me at all, but the design should work flawless before u post it though. I am no long term electronics expert, but if I have a look at yours and you look at mine (hehehe trying to not think perv here hehe) both designs could end up as good as can be ;-).

Yeah, this sounds cool. I got some transformers incomming any moment, or that is, some small radioshack toys with transformers in it that sounds very good, says smashtv. So with massive help from him I get some of those shipped to Norway soon. I have a few circuits soon to be ready, but not tested yet, and also some links and info on output xformer circuits I used for inspiration, since I'm relative new to analog audio electronics. I don't have them here, since im on the phone right now. But as I mentioned in ur thread on balancing mb6582, it would be very cool to share some ideas and schematics, since we work on very similar stuff atm. I'll try to prepare a proto of the pcbs I designed soon. I still have no etchant, so I have to wait some days for it to arrive before I can make the pcbs. I'm all outta protoboards. But I guess I don't know how well the design work before I get it on a PCB. My design is using dual rail 15v psu, so I made a schem for that too. Basically a simple psu with the +/- 15v, a 5v rail and a 9v rail that can be built as a 12v rail. Makes it practical to use with a mbsid with active mixing circuits. Well thus was just some random chitchat, but as I said, it would be interesting to work together some on this stuff!

I see you're doing much of the same work I am doing at the time, would be interesting to share some schems and ideas if you're up for it dawg. Only good can come out of two minds instead of one right? :-D

Ok, this looks cheap and good. I'd have to try it :D Very good find!

This imo depends on what the use is. Personally I prefer balanced outs. And xlr. I use a PCB with 4 opamp buffers. The first two buffers is tied up to a headset amp PCB, and the other two is gonna be tied to a couple of output transformers that goes to the xlr cons. The buffer also has panning pots, so I have full stereo control on the midibox from the two pan pots.imho active circuit with balancing xformers at the output is the advanced, but the way to go. I made it that way to get headphones out actively seperated from main outs. A passive design, when using several outputs would cause change in volume when u plug in the second output... U know what I mean... As said before, it all depends on what use. I would in all cases run away from rca and 3.5mm jacks. They work yeah, but it doesn't stand any real use. Xlr is the most rigid, but 6.25mm trs also works good as long as it is named neutrik hehe. Balanced outs means no di boxes when on gigs, and also fits pro audio standards. Also u electrically isolate the synth from the foh if u use transformers, wich is the only real way to balance the outs...

Just had å quick peek in the lm78xx vreg datasheet. Absoulute maximum operating temperature seems to be around 120 to 125 c. With that said, u don't want it thaat hot in your case hehe. But for the vreg itself, it has automatic thermal shutdown, so it is hard to operate outside specs anyway. So its not too hot at all with 55c for the vreg, but as moondawg says, instead, worry about the sids ;-). If u use a linear psu to power it with, the internal psu circuits will smooth it very well, but if u use switching psu, - that is another story. But its based on soundchip veeery old, so if it wasn't noisy I would worry hehe.

Is it possible for u to just cut the tracks and invert the pinning by solder some wires and fix the problem that way? Then u not need to worry about any sw changes...?

Hi. Bypass caps is supposed to be as close to the 5v input terminal of the ic as possible yeah. One pin on the 5v terminal on the ic and the other pin to ground. And to solder it to the 5v terminal of the ic directly is ok. It's kinda hard to see for me since I don't know mikes board from before if it is correctly placed, but if u follow the simple instructions I wrote above it is ok. But picture show u have no insulation on the cap legs... Bad. U must make sure there is no way that the caps legs can ever shift position and make a short in there. Mmm magic smoke. So I suggest u put a piece of tape around the legs and glue them in position with epoxy or something. They will never move then. Or u can desolder and add some shrink tubes around the legs. But it is easy to ruin the tubing when soldering close to it. Right amount of heat = shrink, too much heat = melting. As for the feedback leds for solo / mute, yeah this can be done with mb platform, but if it can be done with mb64, I have no idea. Getting those MIDI signals from your daw should be easy enough, but if it require a logic control protocol emulation... I don't know. I'm sure a lot of other peops here answer u precise and quick on that question. Good luck!

Hehe. More next door than ilmenator hehe

Ooooh another Norwegian midiboxer! Can I ask where u are located? It would be too bad if there were others than me in the area owning a sid synth hehehe... Nah, what I meant to say is that it would be bad having midiboxers around the door and not knowing hehe. But then again, Norway are a long stretched country... Sorry, totally off topic... Hehe

A word extra. If current draw from led display is 1000ma then voltage drop is about 220mv... Then again, if the lc and display use more current than the psu can deliver u have a problem. If so, a external psu for the display would solve it. Only take care to not wire the extra 5 volt so it gets to the lc. That is trouble. Tying ground together will be ok.

Ok, to get this factual I made some calculations. You don't say how many segments the led display are, but my calcus assumes that there is three 7 seg displays on your external module. Let's say each of the segments draw 20ma, wich is pretty standard for a red led. That multiplies to roughly 450ma. At 5 volt the voltage drop over 1m ribbon cable (estimated to be about 0.16mm2 wich is about average size) is then about 2%. Wich equals like 100mv. That means with display fully on it has like 4.9v to use. I wouldnt hesitate to assume that if power is the only factor here, it would be enough. So in other words, cable lenght and size shouldn't be the problem. How is it wired? In some kinda funky way together in a matrix of some kind, so that when the box does certain things the power available to the display suddenly goes down? Drivers I don't know about, but are they logic buffers? If they simply amplify the current at the input it may be a problem, but if schmitt triggeted, they should give u 5v with input of 2.5v and up. When seeing the calcs, it shouldn't be a problem at all. What kinda signal is driving the led? Pwm or linear? If software is making the leds dim, there would be some kind of way to figure out what the software is doing at that times by looking at the code. The lc only receives MIDI from the daw. Find out what MIDI signals goes to the lc when it happens with a MIDI monitor, then check the source code to see what the lc actually does with the MIDI commands... But as said earlier, the problem is probably much simpler than u believe... It can be a short somewhere, a bad soldering somewhere etc that makes signals go crazy. It's hard to search for faults when you don't have a complete picture of how the system is wired and works both hardware wise and software wise. Only solution is to get a complete picture, then isolate the fault as best can be done... It can be many things, but when u find the fault u will notice that it was all very logical. No fault appear by itself. Hehe. Encourageing - I know hehe.

Hooray for that. Sorry to resurect this, but after reading I could not withstand the temptation to say a few words. I've been around here long enough to see people come and go, and that seems to have happened here too. Just encourageing you (everyone) not to go all bossy and complain on other people. @ escapemcp if you're still around. Even though u have been around for 3 days and read the basics it does not give u any authority at all to go all ranting like that, I'm not sure if anyone get that kinda authority ever. The number one rule on forums in my head, is to not join and act like u own. Be realistic and polite. A bad day ain't an excuse at all imho. I don't know if time or rudeness killed the activity of the main person in this post, or if it was simply the fact that he saw that there was a completely new approach needed for his project, but comments like that is enough to make a new member feel not welcome, and especially u as a fresh noob should be more careful. Not a threat, I'm in no position to threat, but its just common sense and also normal politeness! It's important to rtfm yes. But not all understand everything from rtfm so what people then normally do, is to ask, and there should be room for that. But what there isn't room for is impolite rude comments designed to make the other party feel bad and to show off yourself. IMHO!

Oops I didn't notice the long cable... May cause trouble as described in above post.

That psu is a switcher, it probably works ok with a switcher, not owning a sammichsid, I can't tell u for sure, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work other than the sound may be a bit contaminated by switch noise if its low enough frequency... This psu is regulated yes. I may be out on deep water here, but what u describe here sounds like the psu doesn't deliver 12v at once but for some reason is softstarting itself. Maybe because the sammichsid is drawing too much for it during startup aka charging the caps. I mean, maybe it can't for some reason deliver all that current at once... This may also be a defect in the psu... Tried it with another load connected? If u connect it to another thing that u have wich fits the psu specs and measure the voltage at the psu output when u turn on. Does it start slow now too? I can't imagine that 30w @ 12v should be insufficient for the sammichsid either... But these are just thoughts, I've worked with linear psu only wich is a totally different type, so I'm sure wilba can do this much better than me hehe...

Checked soldering if there is some bad joints somewhere? Maybe a ground failure somewhere. If you had it working earlier and u did no funky changes in software, why would suddenly led display start to fail. It doesn't do it by itself that's for sure. In my job I have had a lot of training in searching out errors and correcting them. I thought it was sometimes difficult to find them and keep my head straight, but what my experience tells me is that there is always an explanation, often a simple one, but that don't mean its simple to find. Often u gotta go through lots of stuff to do it right. Psu isnt tricky. It can still be psu problem, if both psus u tried are somehow inferior... Have u actually calculated how much amp you need and make sure it is enough? Linear or switching powersupply?

Hi TK. Nice job. What I'm planning to build is a 32ch daw controller, with this new core does it still mean I need multiple cores or will it be possible to realize with one? Asking just for the sake of simplicity, a few more cores will still be one of the cheaper modules of such a controller, but it less hardware means less trouble if something needs fixing hehe.

Hi TK. Mine arrived yesterday all well and nothing broken. Nice piece. Can this be used as core for midibox lc? Or whatever replacing lc... Remember I read something a while ago about midibox ng or something. It's gonna be exciting to see what u firmware guys come up with. I'm not very skilled in programming, and its awesome how complicated stuff u manage to put into those MCUs. If I wrote the code I'm sure I could manage to use up 10 times the memory for the same shit hehe.

Hi TK. Mine arrived yesterday all well and nothing broken. Nice piece. Can this be used as core for midibox lc? Or whatever replacing lc... Remember I read something a while ago about midibox ng or something. It's gonna be exciting to see what u firmware guys come up with. I'm not very skilled in programming, and its awesome how complicated stuff u manage to put into those MCUs. If I wrote the code I'm sure I could manage to use up 10 times the memory for the same shit hehe.

Mmm covers. Nice idea flemming. It's presenning here too. Is the cover durable? I might try the same stuff with a bit thicker plastic cover just to make you look bad muhahahaha. Nah, u know I'm full of shit. Nice work and good tip flemming.