woolsey

Thanks for the welcome m00dawg. I'm not sure how I missed that, as I know I've read the CS manual a few times...thanks for pointing me to that and reminding me to reRTFM :)

Does the midibox SID (or MB-6552 specific build) application support this display? As I considered alternative case designs the idea of using a 40x2 came to mind but never saw it implemented or referenced in the manual/walkthrough.

Hey everyone, I currently have the base PCB of a MB-6582 constructed, somewhat tested, and am anxious to start building the control surface. I have tentatively placed an order with julianf for one of his aluminum panels, but while I have been waiting I discovered some cool possibilities using acrylic. Specifically, I stumbled upon this thread: by vcfool and I thought it would be cool to try the same thing in the meantime (and possible use for a second build). The two things I plan to do differently are to leave the acrylic in place over the LCD (no window) and also have the spacer holes pre-cut. I found the fpd file with corner holes and SOME threaded spacer holes on the mb-6582 cs panel wiki page and I was wondering if anyone (particularly, wilba ;) had a version with all of the holes. Specifically, I was hoping for the coordinates (which, I was surprised were in inches, while the hole radii are in mm) for the top center hole, just to the left of the SID engine indicator LEDs (which vcfool used as one of his locations). I do not actually plan to use all of the holes as some I believe would interfere with button presses and the engraving. What I have done with the current file is removed the countersink properties of the corner holes and replaced the threaded holes with regular 3mm holes (exactly like for the LEDs and the corner holes without countersink) for the holes I want to use (minus the missing one I am asking about). I then removed any threaded holes I didn't want to use as well as the window object. Oh, and I also changed the infill color of the separator lines. Then I export to DXF (which is the format the company I am going to use supports). Does this sound like the correct approach? Lastly, just like vcfool, I would like to use the encoder fixtures (washers and nuts) to further support the panel. Are the current 11mm holes specified appropriate for this? Thanks for any and all help! I have attached the modified version of the fpd for reference. MB-6582_frontpanel_r2_with_mount_holes_mod.fpd

Good to know. I just ordered a pair of these. Once I get them and can fire them up I'll update with my experience.

While looking for parts for my MB-6852 I stumbled upon Smithy's wiki page: http://www.midibox.o...u.php?id=Smithy where he lists sources for his control surface parts. He noted that divineo.com had cheap LCDs (the link on the wiki pointed to a discontinued SKU, however) and I was blown away to find this: http://www.divineo.com/magento/big-lcd-green.html 20x4 STN Gray. Positive. Transflective. Green Array LED Backlight. $0.94 ea from Crystalfontz CFAH2004A-GGB-JP Shipping to USA (well, at least California) was $6.99 for up to 2, $9.99 for up to 5. So for $14.69 you could get five 20x4 LCDs. Now, from the looks of these, and since Crystalfontz has since discontinued them, I would guess they are not the highest quality. Probably wouldn't necessarily want to use it for a finished project, but good for backups and or debugging purposes. Or, if you are on a super tight budget.

Thanks for the input! I think I am going to go with those LEDs and once I have figured out all of the mouser parts I am going to order, see if its truly worth the trouble to try and save a few bucks on the other parts. Mouser was currently out of stock on the hex spacers, so that may be reason alone to get those through eBay.

Hey everyone, first post here and I am excited to join the midibox community. There is such great information here and I am excited to start building a MB-6582. I have been browsing this forum and the wiki for awhile and have a good understanding of what I will need. Two posts I found most helpful were: By Hawkeye Where to buy MB-6582 Control surface parts Plus this wiki entry: wilba_mb_6582_control_surface_parts_list Anyway, I purchased the boards and kits from SmashTV and currently have a panel on order (with corner mount holes, similar to Hawkeye's) and am looking for possible part sources for the control surface. I am going to be using mouser for most of the parts, but when adding everything to the cart I realized the price for parts was adding up pretty quickly. Specifically for things like LEDs and the hex spacers and bolts. So, I started looking at my favorite online store, eBay. Here is a list of the parts I hope to purchase and was hoping someone could point out any issues I may have. So, instead of the 24pcs M3 x 6.0mm Screw (Mouser P/N 534-29311) $0.364 ea X 24 = $8.74 I was hoping to use one of the two options: 25pc Metric SCREWS M3-.5 x 6mm Phillips Pan Washer Head - $1.38 + s/h or 25pc SCREWS M3-.5 x 6mm Slotted Pan Head - $1.34 + s/h If I went with the first one, I would hope I wouldn't need washers. However, in Hawkeye's tutorial, he suggested using nylon washers that he could then cut to get make room for the solder pads. However, those washers look huge in comparison to the ones from the first ebay listing. On wilba's parts list (the wiki entry) he suggests "spring washers" which I assume are what I consider "lock washers." I think they are a good idea and available from the same eBay seller: [*]25pc Metric Lock WASHERS - Internal Star for M3 Screw - $1.28 + s/h Next, I need the 10mm spacers, which instead of 24pcs M3 x 10mm Thread Hex (Mouser P/N 855-R30-1001002) $0.285 ea X 24 = $6.84 going with: [*]10pc Hex STANDOFF M3-.5 x 5mm x 10mm Aluminum x 3 @ $1.98 ea + s/h All of these are from the same seller and they currently offer $4.95 total shipping for all orders. The only remaining bolts I would need would be for the 4 corners of the panel and the LCD. Hawkeye suggests: [*]4pcs M2.5 x 10mm screws, washers, and 8pcs M2.5 nuts for the LCD [*]4pcs black countersunk M3x20mm (optimal) or M3x25mm (not longer!) allen screws, washers, and 12pcs M3 nuts. His source for these were Reichelt and another eBay seller, but I'd rather not order from a 3rd source if I can get away with it (also, I cannot seem to find an English version of the site, which was discouraging). I haven't looked on mouser yet, but since it is for such a small quantity, I'd probably just order from them if available (anyone know part numbers that work?). I can always check my local hardware store for alternatives. The other parts I was hoping to purchase off eBay were LEDs. I really liked the idea of using flat top 3mm LEDs similar to Hawkeyes and I found this ebay listing: Lot (1000) Red 3mm Flat-Top LEDs Stanley # BR3365S-1 - $14.99 + $2.50 s/h This seemed like a good deal and I could see myself using these for other projects (or potentially selling some to other midibox users if they worked out well). Two issues I can see with these particular LEDs. One, they are not fully tinted red, kinda a clear red. I am worried they could be too bright. I know I can always use larger resistors to dim them, but would avoid this if it were going to be an issue. The second issue is I notice the LEDs have lead standoffs. The LED itself is 4.1mm high and the stand-off is 6mm from the base of the LED. You can see from the ebay listing photo that the standoff is just about 10mm from the top of the LED. I could imagine these being a perfect fit in conjunction with the 10mm hex spacers. Since we want the LEDs flush with the top of the panel, I may need to extend them away from the CS board just a bit, but no more of an issue if I were to use LEDs without stand-offs. The bad thing would be if the stand-offs were just two tall and the LEDs stuck out of the panel. What do you guys think? Woo, long winded post! Sorry about that, just trying to be complete. And actually, I just realized that really I am only going to be saving a few bucks by doing it this way (after totaling and accounting for the fact I need 3 orders of the spacers). But, I figure this post can point some people to alternatives to parts. Specifically if someone wanted to do a bulk order for these bolts, this eBay seller could be a good source with a fixed shipping rate like that. Any and all suggestions or critiques appreciated.