Newbie here... going for a simple, monophonic MBSID (photoblog)

[swoki]

Hello there!

this is Dinos, hailing from Athens, Greece... :)

...so, I found this beatiful community, spent lot's of time reading the wiki, the forum, and ucapps.de... I ordered  everything I needed (from Mike's shop) for a simple monophonic, MBSID (also, using a 2x20 LCD, some buttons and an encoder, as a control surface). I must admit that I had never, ever soldered a single joint in my life, so... this whole project is a challenging task for yours truly. I got access to a probably malfunctioning C64 (no PSU... so, I couldn't even test the SID chip...), and cannibalized an 8580 chip.

Last Saturday, I started soldering the DIN module (it seemed ideal as a starting/experimenting point, since, even if I completely ruined it, I would be able to get sound out of my MBSID... I would just be left without a control surface). I think that I made it... :) (I don't have a way to test it at this point, though...)

The next step was the CORE module, which I started soldering today... this is what my messy desk looked like before starting working

Well... problem is, that I messed the bridge rectifier placement, soldering it a little bit on the right hand side of where it was supposed to be...  :-[, and lacking a desoldering pump, or something, I just stopped working on it until I get to buy one...

I will keep everyone updated... :)

cheers!

(wish me luck!)

(sidenote: as I said, I actually DON'T HAVE a C64 PSU, so, I'll have to figure a way out to power my thing... I've spent some time reading all relevant threads, feeling lost in subjects I have inadequate knowledge of, but I'm confident I'll work this out... :))

[Wilba]

Welcome!

For a total newbie, that's great soldering.  ;D  A tip: when you get your desoldering pump, try sucking up some of the excess solder from those joints. A good soldering joint is a neat cone shape, not a blob.

I strongly recommend a C64 PSU, this will save you a lot of time and is a "known good solution".

Good luck!

[moebius]

Welcome!

If You don´t have a desoldering pump - I´d rather say, get a solder wick (braid) instead. The work You have done is excellent, don´t let people destroy what You´re doing.

Didn´t Your board have a proper solder tap?

Moewbius

[tarzan boy]

I 3rd the kudos. My newbie solders a year ago were shit compared to this, although by the time I got to my DINs and DOUTs the solders were looking a little better  ;)

You're in Greece, I'm in Italy, and I have 6 extra C64 PSUs. I hope you find one your ways, I would offer to ship one for cost but the problem is that 'cost' for shipping from Italy is rather outrageous-- you're better off finding one there.

[swoki]

moebius: what's a soldering tap supposed to be? (I can sense a weird joke in the air... but I thought I should still ask...) ...and what's with the capital Ys? ::)

thanks anyway, people... :) although, the rest of the day was a disaster... I started working on the SID module, mixed some capacitors, misplaced them, desoldered them without a pump/braid, had solder spread all over the place... and on top of that, I managed to break off the corner of the core pcb... (don't ask me how :-[). I think that I got it back together succesfully though... (and I also think I'm an idiot...)

as far as the PSU goes... I think I'll follow your advice, and if all else fails, ask for tarzan boy's help (thanks in advance! :))

I'm off to buy a pump... or braid... I don't know...

cheers!

[moebius]

Hi ya!

Sorry for me bad enklish.

Solder taps are the spots to solder on.. Usually round and with hole in the center :D I´m sorry, I´ve made a board with previous layout and the legs for the rectifier needed bigger drill. There wasn´t much space to solder there.

Cap Ys are for life.. Plain and Simple; "How Do You Do" :D

I hope You´ll get the Braid.. :D

Moebius

p.s. You are doing fine!

[swoki]

:)

hehe... ok... no prob...

I went for the pump... and it worked like a charm... the core module is fully soldered... BUT...

for testing purposes, I used a wall adapter to power only the core. It's a 9V/1A one (I use it for a Boss stomp-box), so, I guessed it would be fine. well.... it wasn't... the wall adapter's output showed something like 8.5V on the multi-meter, but I was getting only 1.1-1.2V everywhere on the core, plus the 7805 was getting too warm (being plugged for less than a minute, and touching it for a single moment almost got me a nice burn). any suggestions?  ???

ps: I should probably check for short-circuits, since the core actually came up rather messier than the DIN...  :-\ ...is there any chance that a short would 'cause what I'm describing?

edit:  I also tried with a 12V/1A adapter (being ultra fast, to avoid burning the 7805), and it still gave me 1.1-1.2V

[Jaicen]

That's a simple one, you've got the regulator the wrong way around! We've all done it (some of us more than once  ;D

[swoki]

That's a simple one, you've got the regulator the wrong way around! We've all done it (some of us more than once  ;D

hmmm... I really wish this is it... but, it definitely looks right... (it looks like here http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp_core.html)... the metal thing is on the side facing the little bridge, the resistor and J4...  ??? ...do you think I should solder it the other way round?

edit: being the impatient lad I am, I tried soldering it the other way around... I got the exact same measurments... hmmmm... doesn't sound bright...