c0nsumer Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 After a few months of on and off work, I'm ready to announce the latest project I've been working on, the MIDIbox SID-NUXX.The MIDIbox SID-NUXX is a single-board MIDIbox SID which has a power supply and the Core, DIN, BankStick, LTC, SID, and IIC_MIDI modules all on one board, along with MIDI jacks, Audio In/Out jacks, power jack and power switch. The board has been designed to either mount via pre-drilled holes or slip cleanly into an aluminum enclosure. (Front and rear panels for the enclosure are still being designed.)All together, this puts everything needed for a PIC18F4620-based MIDIbox SID with hardware MIDI data indicators, eight digital inputs, and patch storage all on a single PCB.All documentation related to this project, including EAGLE files, Gerbers (so one can have their own MIDIbox SID-NUXX boards made), and such is freely available to be used for non-commercial purposes. As an enclosure for the board designed is completed, all information (Front Panel Designer files, cable diagrams, etc) will also be made available.For more information including the aformentioned files, Bill of Materials, LCD cable pinout, etc, take a look at the MIDIbox SID-NUXX page itself.I'll probably also post updates here from time to time, but (of course) if you have any questions about it, don't hesitate to contact me directly.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lall Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Hi Steve,Wouaw, great job!I wanted to do such a thing in the past and also the combination of a slave Core + SID but never really started seriously.I think I'll come to such a concept when I'll start with my Step-C Quad-SID, my current Step-A Mono-SID is using separate boards as usual and I quite like the elegance of a stand-alone single board doing it all. It's less flexible but quite clean with much less wiring...Best regards,Lall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Lall,Thanks very much. It's coming along nicely... Last night I ordered the remainder of the parts needed to finish building the five boards I ordered. I also placed an order for for the rear panel. It should look like this paper mockup, with only a slight change to the wording. Also, the white angled marks at the top will be cut-out vents.Next comes work on the front panel... This will be interesting. I've got about 147mm x 46mm in which to fit the LCD, five pushbuttons, two LEDs, and a rotary encoder. Plus needing to layer everything nicely so that the pushbuttons stick out far enough, etc.At this point I'm thinking that the front panel PCB will end up being manufactured by PCBFABEXPRESS as well, but at $13/piece(quantity five) the cost rivals the time/materials needed to etch them myself.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilba Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Great work, I like it.I noticed this on eBay - cheap PCB manufacturing service:http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250010384030&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:2Maybe you might dare give them a go and let the forum know if they're any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Great work, I like it.I noticed this on eBay - cheap PCB manufacturing service:http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250010384030&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:2Maybe you might dare give them a go and let the forum know if they're any good?Hmm, thanks for pointing them out to me. London, ON is only about three hours away, but I'd still have them shipped.That said, a quote from them is for about US$50 for five pieces (not counting customs charges, if they are applied) with a bit longer turnaround. I may give them a go for the front panel PCBs, but PCBFABEXPRESS has been pretty reliable thus far. That said, I'm probably going to need a piece with a large cutout for the front panel, and I'm not sure PCBFABEXPRESS can / will do it.First comes the design of it, though.-SteveUPDATE: Their site is a bit odd... fcpcb.com returns nothing but a directory index, although this page supposedly listing the equipment available to them is in there. I can't get a shell right now so I'm unable to dig a bit further, but they look really questionable... Unless something with their online presence changes quite a bit within the next few weeks, I'll probably stick with PCBFABEXPRESS. The risk of not getting my boards / whatever isn't worth the $25 savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docbrown Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Great job Steve!! Thanks for sharing the information... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Great job Steve!! Thanks for sharing the information... ;)Thank you, and you're welcome. :) I've got some working info about the enclosure, including front and rear panel design posted now, too: MIDIbox SID-NUXX - Enclosure.With any luck I'll have the front panel PCB and panel layout nailed down tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinnsyk Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Perhaps it's an idea to ask SmashTV to sell this PCB's. Almost everyone uses his shop, and this design is brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 Perhaps it's an idea to ask SmashTV to sell this PCB's. Almost everyone uses his shop, and this design is brilliant.Thanks for the idea, but it's not possible for me to allow these PCBs to be sold for-profit. I'm designing the PCBs using the non-profit version of EAGLE, and the license for this software dictates that it is to be used for non-profit uses only. If SmashTV were to sell them at any profit, I would be legally obliged to spend an additional $350 or so on software licenses.If he were interested in selling them non-profit (I'd presume he could continue to profit from the PICs and such -- just not the PCBs), I think this would be allowed. I'd imagine he and I would have to discuss this, though...That said, for now it's remaining a non-profit project with all my designs being released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 In case any of you are interested, I've got the front panel design mostly nailed down. I just need to finish working on the PCB / display-mounting hardware (screws and spacers, mostly) and make some paper models of it all to ensure tolerances are good.You can see the PCB either up above there or here (300dpi).Here is the current front panel design. I've moved to yellow logos and buttons, too. The reason for this is I'm now planning on using a OLED instead of the previously-figured LCD, and this has a green/yellow look to it.Thoughts / comments / suggestions?-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaicen Posted July 26, 2006 Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hey man, that's some nice work! Is there any chance you could make up a .pdf or something with your LCD design on?? (Parts layout and PCB artwork). If you don't mind, i'd like to incorporate it into my StepA+ design along with encoders for ADSR, Filter etc. Could be a useful addon for your NUXX project perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hey man, that's some nice work! Is there any chance you could make up a .pdf or something with your LCD design on?? (Parts layout and PCB artwork). If you don't mind, i'd like to incorporate it into my StepA+ design along with encoders for ADSR, Filter etc. Could be a useful addon for your NUXX project perhaps.Thank you. :) I just need to confirm that it aligns with the front panel and will all fit within the enclosure before I can call it done.After I'm done with the layout and confirmed that it's ready for production I'll be making the EAGLE files themselves and Gerbers available. I can export some top/bottom PDFs for you too, if you'd like, or you can export them yourself. (The EAGLE CAM processor doesn't have any size restrictions on it.)With my whole MIDIbox SID-NUXX project I'm releasing all documentation and works created during the project, so everyone will have it all available to them to use. I'm just not releasing the files until I know things are good, because it does no one any good to have inaccurate, mis-aligned files floating around.With regards to the extra things you are wanting to add: It shouldn't be hard for you to expand the PCB and add additional encoders, if you'd like, but the free version of EAGLE won't handle a board of this size. The rotary encoder footprint seen there is for the Alps EC12E24204A9, which works great with MIOS.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaicen Posted July 26, 2006 Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 I don't use eagle, hence the request for the PCB being exported as a PDF. Basically, I figured you could save me a little time since you've already laid out the tracks for everything, it means I don't have to! The PCB i'm designing is going to be pretty compact as it is, probably somewhere in the region of 10x3". The idea is that it will fit underneath the existing keyboard cutout. That way it will retain more of a C64 look and be nicely recessed. I might square the cutout up a bit though, not sold on the offset sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 I don't use eagle, hence the request for the PCB being exported as a PDF. Basically, I figured you could save me a little time since you've already laid out the tracks for everything, it means I don't have to! The PCB i'm designing is going to be pretty compact as it is, probably somewhere in the region of 10x3". The idea is that it will fit underneath the existing keyboard cutout. That way it will retain more of a C64 look and be nicely recessed. I might square the cutout up a bit though, not sold on the offset sides.I'll try and remember make one for you... If you aren't using PCB CAD software, though, you're going to have a real hard time laying out a board. It will be expensive for such software, though. :\ Although I guess you could tile some smaller boards... But that'd be hard...By the way, my board will be rather difficult to make by hand, if that's what you are planning on doing. Because it is double-sided it requires you to either somehow plate the holes yourself or solder each part on both sides of the board. With the design of the DINPUT / LED headers and LEDs, this will be pretty difficult.That said, you can make usable files yourself, just download the EAGLE demo, grab the files, and run them through the CAM processor and dump out some PostScript / whatever. I'm assuming you are using Illustrator (or something else which can open PDFs) to draw this, and these can also deal with PS rather nicely.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 There are a few totally freeware and unlimited PCB CAD apps out there.... No need to spend money or muck about with illustrator (which is also expensive, warez are bad mkay)sf.net is your friend :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaicen Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Actually I use ExpressPCB to do all my layouts. It's free and it works. Ok it's not brilliant but it's good enough for what I need. Mostly I make guitar effects layouts, but I think it's more than adequate for my needs in this case. c0nsumer, don't bother making up a pdf, it'll only confuse me ;) I'll do it the old fashioned way. Hopefully i'll be able to do it all on a single sided board too, since size is less of an issue for me. Thanks anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 There are a few totally freeware and unlimited PCB CAD apps out there.... No need to spend money or muck about with illustrator (which is also expensive, warez are bad mkay)sf.net is your friend :)I had a really, really hard time with the free PCB offerings. Well, all except for Eagle. I wanted something which did bigger boards than the free version of Eagle, and the non-profit version fit the bill nicely.And not all of us have warezed copies of Illustrator.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Actually I use ExpressPCB to do all my layouts. It's free and it works. Ok it's not brilliant but it's good enough for what I need. Mostly I make guitar effects layouts, but I think it's more than adequate for my needs in this case. c0nsumer, don't bother making up a pdf, it'll only confuse me ;) I'll do it the old fashioned way. Hopefully i'll be able to do it all on a single sided board too, since size is less of an issue for me. Thanks anyway. Ah, yes. :) Them... Okay. I had looked into them at first, but with the software not making anything but their own format, I was a bit stuck when it came to if I wanted larger runs. For those they aren't so cheap. :\I can still get you PDFs if you'd like... Just let me know. PM me or find me on AIM or something. I'm actually taking a short break from making the paper mockups for the front panel and front panel PCB to finish validation that everything is good. It appears that things will be, and if so, I'll hopefully be ordering a set of PCBs and a first panel tomorrow. (Going to be making a total of three or four of these, I think...)-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 And not all of us have warezed copies of Illustrator.What do you mean "not all of us"? I think it might just be the language barrier and an unintentional thing, but that statement implies that some of us do.Anyway, you missed my point.... If you're talking about a cheaper alternative to buying $300 PCB software, and you mention a $600 graphics package, then clearly you're not talking about buying the graphics package, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 What do you mean "not all of us"? I think it might just be the language barrier and an unintentional thing, but that statement implies that some of us do.Ah, yeah... It's probably due to the inherent problems of communicating online. I initially thought that you were implying that most people who have Illustrator have pirated copies. This morning (after some much-needed sleep) I'm thinking that you were saying otherwise...Anyway, you missed my point.... If you're talking about a cheaper alternative to buying $300 PCB software, and you mention a $600 graphics package, then clearly you're not talking about buying the graphics package, right?Actually, I wasn't really speaking of alternatives to PCB CAD software. I've heard of people doing PCB layout with Illustrator, and because of the request for PDFs (which Illustrator will open) I inferred that Jaicen was using Illustrator to do it. It's possible, if one makes a group for each type of part, copies them, then manually draws in traces... It's the only decent, widely available vector graphics package which I could see being used instead of CAD software. But it's (also obviously) not a good tool for that.Just so you know, Eagle is available for a lot less than US$300, if you will only be doing non-profit things. Sure, it still has a board size limit (100m x 160mm, if I recall correctly) but that's generally plenty usable. I think the cost is somewhere around US$140 after shipping. Also, I believe Illustrator can be had as part of the Student version of Creative Suite 2, which costs something like US$299. If one qualifies for student pricing, that is. Or if your workplace has it available... Not that I'd recommend Illustrator for PCB layout, though. Panel artwork and some mockup work, yes. Layout, no.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted July 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 In case anyone is interested, I finished the design of the MIDIbox SID-NUXX's front panel PCB and metal panel. I also ordered all the parts to make the first box. If everything goes as planned, I'll have the first one complete not long after I return from vacation, in about three weeks.All the parts used for the front panel can be found here: http://www.nuxx.net/wiki/MIDIbox_SID-NUXX_-_EnclosurePanel / PCB / whatever images can be found here: http://www.nuxx.net/gallery/v/stuffivemade/midibox_sid_nuxx/enclosure/Off the top of my head, estimated cost for assembling a MIDIbox SID-NUXX, in quantities of five, is around US$200/each. This is for enclosure with custom panels, Organic LED display, controls, powersupply, everything. A breakdown will be posted later after I'm sure of all the costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therezin Posted August 2, 2006 Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 Awesome looking project, and I love the OLED screen. I just thought to myself "I gotta get me one of those"... Til I saw that Crystalfontz want to charge me $58 shipping. On a $30 display. I think not, somehow :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted August 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 Awesome looking project, and I love the OLED screen. I just thought to myself "I gotta get me one of those"... Til I saw that Crystalfontz want to charge me $58 shipping. On a $30 display. I think not, somehow :PTo where? Maybe you can find someone friendly in the States to re-ship one... I would, but I just placed a final, big order with Crystalfontz for the last three displays I needed.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Well, it's coming along... I've got the enclosure and front panel design finished, and everything works. Just need to finish ordering parts for the couple of them I'm building and it'll be done.Please excuse the quality of the photos. I was pretty tired when taking them and left the sensitivity of the sensor really high, resulting in all the grain.I'll have better ones once everything is done.-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 damn. looks sharp as hell. Nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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