[moebius]

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(Just for correctnes: Ideally bypass caps should be placed between Vdd pin and GND pin(Vss) of every IC.)

Now - that's it. Minimizing "Equal Series Inductance". The whole point of bypassing is to take transient loads off the "power busses".

By the way - small axial ceramic caps fit nicely between machined IC sockets and the PCB.

Bye, Moebius

[kokoon]

Quote

thnx kokoon for spotting this.. you are absolutely right, the pin 15 bridge to ground is not connected on the back..
its connected on the front.. under the placeholders.. i found it to work and it looked cleaner.. so the connections ARE there.. just not in the usual place :D
that would mean that i HAVE made the right connections.. and its not gonna blow up in my face  ;D

that is a good thing to know..

then it's okay i guess... just not sure why you didn't solder the cap between pin15 and pin16 like it's meant and like raphael and moebius wrote. but if it's close enough to pin15 then it's probably allright.

note that i don't know shit about how electronics work and that the mbsid i'm building right now is my first venture into the world of electronics. i'm just playing smart  :)

[Wisefire]

hmm, i dont know why.. i just connected it to ground.. itll work probably.. i dont think it mathers that much.. its only for surges and i dont think ill be seeing much of those :P

well now for some good news and some bad news..
bad news first?? ok.. your choice..
i spent the better part of my day traveling to e-parts and when i got there i bought buttons.. pushbuttons from mec.dk.. they are a reseller.. in big quantities though.. thats why i went there.. so we could do this with cash.. so whats the bad news.. i bought 42 of those.. and they are 1.04 euro a piece.. and i had only 35 in my wallet.. luckily he was in a good mood so he let me have them for that price.. but still.. pretty expensive for some push buttons.. BUT imagine them on my mbSID.. would look pretty cewl now would it not.. but im actually pretty much running out of cash right now.. and thats very irritating.. im pretty much broke.. right now i dont have the money to buy another core and another sid module.. so those will have to wait.. as well as the rotary/pushbutton.. but i just have enough money to buy the knobs for on the rotary encoders..
whats that you say??? you wanna see the buttons.. ok here ya go..:

you have to admit.. they are nice.. and will look even nicer in a laser cut UI..  and here is the first c64 i got.. but opened..

i took the chip out..

yeah.. i know.. im still busy.. .. hmm? what? oh the PICs.. yeah.. well.. what?? why are you constantly interrupting me?? because you can.. :-\ right.. ok well.. what were you trying to say?? oh the good news.. yeah i did have that too, didnt i.. well the good news IS..... drumroll please *tadarrrrrrrrrr*

I HAVE RECEIVED MY FSCKING PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!.. isnt that good news.. it was for me..


nice ey.. and plz dont bash me if you figure out where i got them from..plz dont.. i know it isnt that hard to figure out where these came from.. but dont be a n00b basher just because you ca... WHAT??? oh oh.. you wont? thnx thats good to hear.. :P

the plan for the time beeing is: getting the jdm programmer to work.. im gonna try an old pc with 98 or 95.. first gonna test ALL of the voltages.. if they are off.. ill post them here.. if they seem to match im gonna try to upload the bootloader.. if that fails ill come here and read some more.. if that fails ill ask for help.. if that fails.. ill try to insert the pic through my skull and program it with my mind.. ;D nah.. if that fails ill try the other programmers..

if it any or all doesnt fail.. im gonna get it running without CS first.. and without lcd probably.. get some sounds.. record them.. let you guys listen to some.. then ill be getting on with it and building the CS.. but thats future music..

[kokoon]

DON'T bother with the JDM just build the broccoli18. it's like 1 cap and 1 resistor programmer and it worked for me after JDM nightmares (and for other people too)
i really advise anyone that wants to program PIC18x to do it with the broccoli18.

[Wisefire]

well..guess what.. didnt work.. the voltage stays steady as a rock.. on 5.25 volts when mclr# was enabled.. higher or lower delay doesnt affect it..

im gonna try the brocolli thing.. allthough i hate the vegetable.. i may like the programmer :P its really cheap.. and i can probably find the stuff for it in house.. but not tonight :D

[Wisefire]

the broccoli18 thing didnt work either.. and furthermore.. i may have fried one of my PICs..
the broccoli18 programmer doesnt have a list to go through to check the voltages etc..
so when i thought i built it correctly i tried to plug in my pic.. checking the temp with my finger on it when i inserted it. it inmediately rose to a very high temp but not as hot as to really scorch my finger.. so i disconnected everything.. and pulled out the pic.. checking the voltages i found out that i had misplaced my  "- wire" of my 9v battery.. so i put it in correctly and tried it again.. again it ran very hot..pulled the proverbial plug again..

i am not happy about this.. not happy at all.. any and all help is appreciated.. i have no fucking clue what im doing and quite frankly im quite pissed..
i just spend my last money on the part to make this thing.. and it bloody well doesnt work..  on top of that i may have killed one of my PICs..

PLZ.. help.. me...

[Wisefire]

sorry for the bad language.. im calmed down now..


the broccoli18 programmer..

still i would really appreciate help :)

but for now im going to bed..

[kokoon]

have you read the thread about the broccoli18? i got everything i needed to get it working there,

[Wisefire]

yup.. read it.. didnt say anything about pics on which you can cook an egg though.. ( if i remember correctly )

[illogik]

Quote

yup.. read it.. didnt say anything about pics on which you can cook an egg though.. ( if i remember correctly )

check for (more) shorts, (check supply voltages if you can figure out). I never had a egg-cooking pic while programmin with JDM, and although broccoli should not be eaten raw this is probably a hardware error.....

no seriously, i know from experience that this isn't a fun stage of midiboxing; spending hours and at the point your nearly finished it bloody doesnt work.  >:(
but this stage is allso the stage where i get impatient (wanna finish WANNA TRY IT OUT!), and make small mistakes.
Now if you have time drink some coffee, and check the broccoli again, with multimeter and you probably find it... 

good luck<
marcel

[kokoon]

let's continue this in the broccoli thread shall we? i can give you some advice there.

[janvanvolt]

Hi,

i was also ordering stuff from SmashTV as well as from Mike; i don't get your issues regarding the IC's being on PVC and non-protected.
I see that all stuff i ordered was good packed, no miss of parts and the quality of the PCB is fine (even for a beginner like me the soldering
is _really_ easy and the irioning tin is floating nicely.

As i understand something about electronics, but i don't see any bad quality neither defective stuff on either orders.

just my .2 cents.

--jan

[smashtv]

Quote

i was also ordering stuff from SmashTV as well as from Mike; i don't get your issues regarding the IC's being on PVC and non-protected.

It's all about static electricity, the kind of foam in the pictures self-generates static.  Static is known to kill chips.  The correct foam to use is conductive (and always black in color), so it passes a static charge to any better ground potential than the chip.
Or you can lose the foam completely and use cut tubes and anti-static bags like me and the chip manufacturers do.... ;)

Quote

I see that all stuff i ordered was good packed, no miss of parts and the quality of the PCB is fine (even for a beginner like me the soldering is _really_ easy and the irioning tin is floating nicely.

Thank you!
But can you mount Mike's board (correct mounting holes?)  or do you have to drill some new holes?  I sell pro made boards ready to use, and that's the way it should be.  When I buy a kit I like to spend my time putting it together, not finishing the kit producers work so that I can get ready to put it together.....

Quote

As i understand something about electronics, but i don't see any bad quality neither defective stuff on either orders.

Right, but that does not mean you are not just lucky.  Would you buy a SID chip simply stuck on a styrofoam packing peanut?  The same caution applies here.  I put on a wrist strap to transfer and handle my chips with anti-static equipment on grounded mats, just like the manufacturer does.  The idea is for you to get brand new parts with some pulled from each lot and tested, not to have a question about whether a chip was already dead when you got it or if you killed it.....

Not trying to start a flamewar or anything like that, but anti-static is the only accepted way, any other is wrong, and you won't see any pro electronic companies packing any static-sensitive parts this way.  (20+ years in electronics has shown me this many times.)

You guys are paying good money for these boards and kits from Mike, you should not have to ask for good quality!

Best!

Smash

[Wisefire]

funny that mike and jörg dont reply!..
but thats as funny as smashtv not saying anything about the price difference (when ordering a COMPLETE mbsid synth package with CS modules)

</obnoxious>


ordered the knobs for on the rotary encoders.. now figuring out how to pay :D

[smashtv]

Quote

funny that mike and jörg dont reply!..
but thats as funny as smashtv not saying anything about the price difference (when ordering a COMPLETE mbsid synth package with CS modules)
</obnoxious>

Well, I'm not really sure what to say about the price difference because I truly don't understand....Are you sure you are not comparing my price for a CORE kit with PIC vs. Mike's price without the PIC?

From Joergs Midi-PCB-Kitsshop:
[tt]MIDIbox SID 8580 + CS
contents these module kits:
1 x MBHP_CORE
1 x MBHP_SID 8580
3 x MBHP_DINX4
2 x MBHP_DOUTX4
Art.-Nr.: Set-007
65,00 EUR[/tt]

65.00 EUR = 79.7546 USD

From my shop:
[tt]1 x CORE Kit W/O PIC  $15.00
1 x SID Kit   $15.00
3 x DIN Kit   $30.00
2 x DOUT Kit $20.00
$80.00 USD[/tt]

I know there are other differences, I sell MIDI jacks separately and Mike includes them with the CORE kit, differences in shipping costs based on location, etc.
If I'm missing something here please let me know (I misunderstand quite easily, I am frequently not so bright....)  ;)

</meanwhile back at the ranch>
If you want I can test, burn, and run test your '452s, but there might be someone closer to you who could also do this. 
As always I'll put the bootloader on a PIC for anyone at no cost regardless of where you bought the chip, but you pay postage (cheap for shipping just chips).

I want to see you finish this box man!  and I'm trying to </hijack topic>..... :)

Getting the bootloader on to the chip is a major hurdle for many, it's such a pain vs. the relative ease of the rest of the build.....

<topic derail>
I wonder if an burner could be designed to use an old-school style data to tape interface instead of a PC driving a port.....Would be super easy to burn a special mp3 to a cd, plug a disc player into the burner and press play. 
Anyone know of any tape drive designs that use easy to find parts?  Was that FSK that Commodore used? (been waaaaay too long...)
</topic derail>

Best

Smash

[kokoon]

Wisefire  where did you order the knobs and what do they look like?

i'm searching for the perfect knobs myself and i'd like them to be rubber-coated and withouth the mark...

[Wisefire]

wow you are right smashtv.. i appologize.. sorry.. you are absolutely right.. and i feel very stupid right now..
i REALLY appreciate the offer of testing my PICs.. and really appreciate your help, and everybody elses for that matter.
and i do agree on the fact that the PICs are a mayor payne.. i may take you up on that offer.. ill first find out how much
its going to cost me.. maybe voti.nl would be so kind.. but i dont think so.. so you may hear from me..

kokoon.. the knobs for the rotary encoders where really cheap! and really good.. ill post a picture when they arrive..
but they are soft touch (rubber) and grey with light grey (the indication line) and D shaft 6mm.. and where about 25 cents
a piece.. or about 5 euros for 20 knobs.. but 6 euro cost extra for ordering them..  found them at http://www.rs-components.nl/
im dutch so its kind handy for me that its a dutch company.. but the've got a german website as well.. and an english and
an italian.. australia.. so check out google to see what you can find..

[Wisefire]

well got another package.. nothing spectacular.. just a big knob for my primary rotary encoder..
i sampled it from OKW..

some pics


the whole is too big.. but im just gonna fill it so that its nice and snug.. dunno with what though.. but ill see. thats not the hardest thing..
as for the PIC programming.. if you arent following the other topic.. im kinda stuck but the fact is that ill probably wanna make some other midibox things so its kinda handy for me if i get it working :D

[listen202]

Looking good. Hope you get your PIC sorted out.




finally got power to mine tonight! 

[Wisefire]

that looks really nice.. 40x2 lcd?