The Optimized PSU... necessary or unnecessary?

[XTheWoodX]

The Million Dollar Question... ;D

Is the optimized PSU necessary for a Minimum Control Surface with Multiple SIDS (4 6581's)?  I viewed Daniel Price's web page (thanks Frailn) http://www.danielprice.org.uk/synth-diy/sid_2.htm and in the description is straight forward, but one thing is describing it... another is doing it...

I ask this only because after reading Foona's post...

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,10805.75.html

... it appeared that his Optimized PSU was causing him quite a bit of grief.  I am trying to simplify the building process as much as possible in order to minimize the probability of error and would appreciate any feedback on this topic.

I have a C64 with an excellent PSU (well, the cable, big black box, and plug, that is.)  The part of the PSU that is inside the C64 is, I am sure, in good condition as well. 

So... if the optimized PSU is not necessary, what is the simplest solution?

Best regards,

XTheWoodX.

[buhler]

I ask this only because after reading Foona's post...

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,10805.75.html

... it appeared that his Optimized PSU was causing him quite a bit of grief.  I am trying to simplify the building process as much as possible in order to minimize the probability of error and would appreciate any feedback on this topic.

  foona's grief was him moving too fast.. ;)  if you have a very reliable C64 PSU and you do exactly as the schematic for OPSU says, you should be fine.  the OPSU takes all of about 15min to build and is super easy.

So... if the optimized PSU is not necessary, what is the simplest solution?

that's easy, two PSU's that match the two necessary voltages...  it's no fun having two wallwarts etc, but if that's the way you wanna go, then that's the easiest route.

[nILS]

Go for the optimized PSU since you have a C64 PSU. It is really not that hard. Some people do mess up the simplest things even if they are fully capable of building other far more complex things. Just take it slowly, read the manuals and documents available and you'll do just fine.

You can't really judge how easy/hard something is by troubleshooting posts. Most people succeed in building it right away. You probably won't read a thread about that though ;-)

edit: Beaten. Dammit. Nice to see that me and buhler agree though. See, we both say build the optimized PSU ;)

[XTheWoodX]

Dear Buhler and Nils Podewski,

And here is a million dollars for you, and a million for you.  Well, they may not be dollars, but for now, I can give you a million "thank you"s. ;D

My father is an expert engineer (Naval, Mechanical, and Industrial) so he offered to be an integral part of the construction process.  It will be a very pleasant experience to share with him.  As much as I would love to build the MIDIBox because it will bring an entirely new dimension to my music, I see this as a great project for the both of us.

If Thorsten Klose and everyone who has worked so hard to design this machine and its software are reading, and those of you who have helped me so far, provided reassurance, and answered my questions can view this post, thank you for providing me with a project that I can share with my father and for assisting me in its successful completion.  This is more a labor of love than anything else.

Cheers to you, gentlemen.

Best regards,

XTheWoodX.

[buhler]

hey man,  i feel pretty honored to even be involved! ;D  good luck!  (i'm sure you won't need it but i'll say it anyway! ;))[me=buhler]gives everyone a hug...[/me]

[frailn]

Wow, a father and son midibox project, that's great! When you were asking me questions about the Prophet64, Wood, I knew you needed something much more interesting by the nature of your questions. I'm glad I was able to introduce you to Thorsten's projects. Now, you've inspired me to work on a midibox project with my 17 year old son! He plays electric bass and acoustic guitar....maybe an effects switcher. Hmm...much to think about and explore along this track. Thanks for the idea, Wood!

[stryd_one]

Wow, a father and son midibox project, that's great!

Totally, that's awesome!

[XTheWoodX]

Dear Buhler, Nils, Frailn, and Stryd,

Indeed, it will be a great experience for the both of us.   :)

Frailn, I am quite humbled... and pleased to see that you will work on a project with your son.  My father was very poor when he was growing up, and never could afford a radio.  The son of a silversmith (my grandfather was a great artist), he enjoyed working with his hands and building since he was very young.  So, in his desire to own a radio, he used his dexterity to build one out of an old telephone.  He would spend many a night listening to episodes of Boston Blackey and The Shadow on it.  Too bad he doesn't have it anymore.

He went on to build ham radios on his own and today he enjoys a fine career as an engineer.  Now, he is designing and gradually implementing a project here in Miami to convert abandoned co-generation plants into bio-diesel plants and to build brand new ones as well.   I admire him a great deal, and it is an honor to sit at a table and build a machine with the man who, as a child, once built a radio out of an old telephone.

Thanks again, gentlemen.  We will talk more as time goes by.  I am sure that I will have a few more questions for you; and Buhler, thanks for your last post.  I am truly grateful for the time and help that you and everyone else has provided to this project so far.  Mr. Thorsten Klose's ideas live on because of people like you, who dedicate time, through this forum and in other ways, to ensure that his machines continue being built.  Everyone who has built, or is building, a MIDIBox owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to all of you. 

Cheers! ;)

Best regards,

XTheWoodX.

p.s, by the way, Frailn, thanks for answering all of my questions back when we communicated through Ebay.  Your candor and time are much appreciated.

[XTheWoodX]

You can't really judge how easy/hard something is by troubleshooting posts. Most people succeed in building it right away. You probably won't read a thread about that though ;-)

Dear Nils,

Good point.  A friend of mine is a cop, and a few of us were talking one night about life in New York City.  He worked there for a few years, and said that NYC was an awful place to live.  The part of your reply that I quoted above reminded me of a friend's response to the cop's comment.  She told him that of course life in NYC seemed terrible and violent to him.  He was a cop, and no one ever calls the cops because everything is going just great!  ;D

Indeed, you are absolutely right.  Comments regarding the ease of a project's completion would be hard to come by in a troubleshooting post.  I'm sure that everything will work out quite nicely.  In fact, when I finish in a few months, I will create a post on how my father and I succeeded in completing the MIDIBox SID V2.  ;)  I will include pictures of the completed piece as well.  So far, the plan is to make the casing out of a very opaque, glossy, black plexiglass/acrylic.  The case will be black and the side panels will be white plexiglass/acrylic, and the knob(s) will be short, white plexiglass/acrylic rods.  Lastly, the LCD screen will be black (well, as dark as possible) with white lettering.  This is quite a project!

Cheers,

XTheWoodX.

p.s, I checked out your web site a little while ago.  That is some tuner!  Very nice!  Did you create that yourself?

[nILS]

In fact, when I finish in a few months, I will...

That seems like a reasonable dead line  ;D I wish everybody were so relaxed about it.

The tuner wasn't entirely created by. Some of the frequency detection code is by Matthias Wientapper, and the schematic is based on a lot of schematics available on the net. I just put everything together and made a nice UI for it ;)