Jaicen Posted February 7, 2008 Report Posted February 7, 2008 Just a quickie to let you know my OPL3 got to me safe and sound this morning. I was actually surprised how big it is, I was expecting more of a challenge ;) Thanks again Wilba! Quote
DragonMaster Posted February 8, 2008 Report Posted February 8, 2008 SOIC is quite easy to solder, unless you have a cheap 20W iron or a large iron tip. A WES51 soldering station with an ETP tip will do the job. I've done mods on a motherboard two weeks ago. The 0603 SMD resistors I soldered in didn't give me any trouble (using a cheap electronics tool set and wirewrap 30AWG wire). The hardest part was to get them out of the tape and reel packaging without losing them. ;D If bridging between pins becomes a problem while soldering, a flux pen will help. Quote
Enth Posted February 10, 2008 Report Posted February 10, 2008 Thank you! Arrived earlier this week :) Here in "Finnland" :P Quote
gpmacklin Posted February 11, 2008 Report Posted February 11, 2008 Thank you Jason. The chips arrived in Philadelphia, PA today. :) Quote
amp1ron Posted February 11, 2008 Report Posted February 11, 2008 Mine showed up in Geneva, NY USA today. Thanks! Quote
aeiou42 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Posted February 12, 2008 Mine just showed up last night!...They're TINY!! Does anyone know of any good SMD practice kits or something? Quote
eddieisnotmyname Posted February 12, 2008 Report Posted February 12, 2008 Thanks so much!!! Just got them today!To respond to questions about SMD soldering, here's a really great video that will shed some light on it. It really isn't all that difficult:http://curiousinventor.com/guides/Surface_Mount_Soldering/101 Quote
seppoman Posted February 12, 2008 Report Posted February 12, 2008 Thanks, not eddie, for that video link :) I've used the technique they call "drag soldering" a lot and with great success, but this video is very helpful to explain it. I added a link on the AOUT_NG wiki page - maybe TK wants to do the same on the OPL3 module page?S Quote
madox Posted February 20, 2008 Report Posted February 20, 2008 Hi,I do surface mount soldering every day at work, and I also think that video demonstration is pretty good. I find the drag method much easier than soldering pins individually. I find a really big, round (like hemisphere) nosed iron tip is best for drag soldering. As mentioned in the video, too fine a tip won't hold the solder as well, but can also catch on thin PCB traces or chip pins, and cause damage while dragging.The other method I use, which is not demonstrated in that video, is hot air soldering. Hot air works very well for small devices, such as SO8 packages. Just preload the pads with solder, apply flux, heat with hot air, place chip with tweazers, and heat just a little longer after placing chip. If this is done right, you can complete the whole process in just a few seconds. Surface tension snap down can also aid in device placement, so you don't have to be quite as careful with the tweazers. Hot air rework stations can cost a bit more than a good iron, but are useful if you do a lot of this stuff. It takes some practice though, and it is not uncommon for beginners to overheat chips this way, so don't start this method with any rare devices. Quote
Wilba Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Posted February 26, 2008 Please somebody tell me if these OPL3 chipsets actually work, I haven't had the time to test them. Quote
bugfight Posted February 26, 2008 Report Posted February 26, 2008 sorry, mb-fm is low priority for me, especially since i have to wait for cut resistor lead kits... Quote
Smithy Posted February 26, 2008 Report Posted February 26, 2008 ! :o >:( Not even one?Bit hard to test really.Unless theres some sockets which clip onto the pins from the sides that nobody knew about!And i dont think wilba has a midibox fm. or do you ould chap? Quote
reboot Posted February 26, 2008 Report Posted February 26, 2008 arrived today!again and again : thank you Jason :) Quote
DragonMaster Posted February 27, 2008 Report Posted February 27, 2008 Bit hard to test really.He has a spare OPL3 ISA sound card AFAIK, and SBTimbre ( http://www.midiox.com/jsoft.htm ) would be great to test some chips. I could test one with the sound cards I already have, but it won't be until June though (I don't have any time until then).Unless theres some sockets which clip onto the pins from the sides that nobody knew about!And there are SOIC ZIF sockets ;) Quote
Sasha Posted February 27, 2008 Report Posted February 27, 2008 sorry, mb-fm is low priority for me, especially since i have to wait for cut resistor lead kits... ;D ;D ;DThat post about special rare part really made my day. I have some NOS so if somebody need it I`ll give it for free ;) Quote
Jaicen Posted February 27, 2008 Report Posted February 27, 2008 Sweet, how much is shipping from Serbia? Quote
faton Posted February 27, 2008 Report Posted February 27, 2008 Please somebody tell me if these OPL3 chipsets actually work, I haven't had the time to test them.I will start my MBFM the next week... I'll say you if it works ;) Quote
kid versus chemical Posted May 15, 2008 Report Posted May 15, 2008 Just wanted to say that I got my OPL3 chipsets, thanks dude, you rock. They arrived on 5/12, and I'm in the US (New York), in case anyone was wondering. I'm havent been able to start mine yet becuase I cant figure out a good power supply solution, even after reading all the PSU related posts and the wiki I'm still confused... Maybe someone can point me to a good commercial solution, that can power the OPL3 board and the core (I'm just building a core+opl3 basic midi-only basic version, no panel for now)Sorry to go off topic...I can do a test of the chips when I figure out what to do for a PSU is what I was driving at....I actually tried to do a seperate post about it but something must have went wrong becuase it never showed up on the board...-Matt Quote
Sasha Posted December 18, 2008 Report Posted December 18, 2008 Anybody built MBFM with chipset from this bulk order?I did and failed. Interconnection tests passed OK but testtone app testing failed.First I build it with alternative 16Mhz oscilator and I waited for the 14.318 Mhz to arrive to be sure problem isn`t there.I`m pretty confident in my SMT soldering and I`m sure problem isnt there. Quote
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