midibox sid - what does a good, basic control surface consist of?

MIDIbox SID
1

My Midibox SID will mostly be computer controlled, but I would like to have some external controls and display. What is a good mix of displays and rotary encoders for a basic unit? Some standalone operation would be nice, but not required.

Thanks,

Tom

2

my box has has 11 buttons and one encoder, but i’m using a 2x40 display.  if you were to use a smaller display you could get away with 5 buttons and an encoder, probably.  you might even be able to get it to work with less, but a 5-button, 1 encoder, and 2x16 lcd would be perfect for your needs, i think.

3

Since the DINX2 board supports 10 buttons, I think I’ll go with 10 and 1 encoder. If the 40 col display is not significantly more expensive, I’ll probably go that route.

Are certain buttons switches reccomended? Also, what is the advantage  for having a switch built into the rotary decoder? Since I have never built anything like this, this is not obvious to me…

Tom

4

as far as i know, the dinx2 boards can handle more than 10 buttons.  i’m only using 2 ICs on my dinx4 board (equivalent of a dinx2 board) and it can run my 11 buttons and 1 encoder.

where are you located?  i got a 2x40 display with led backlight for $6 in the usa (www.bgmicro.com).  the advantage to having a switch in the encoder is that it saves space on the front panel and it’s one less button to purchase.  any switches and encoders will do just fine.  i prefer tactile switches and detented encoders.  just look for the cheapest ones you can find.  make sure that the switches are the normally open type though.

5

DINX2 can handle up to 16 buttons or 8 encoders or 14btn./1enc. or 12 btn./2enc or… ;D

6

Are there certain controls on the SID  that would more appropriately be mapped directly to a rotary encoder, rather than having to

-scroll the display

-press the menu button

-turn the encoder

Having separate encoders for some of the functions would also allow multiple parameters to be adjusted in real time.

I saw the 40x2 col display at BG Micro, though  I’m thinking if I add more encoders, I might stick with the 20x2

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, but what  is the switch built into the encoder usually used for?

Thanks,

Tom

7

Hi Tom,

yes, all seperate encoders of StepC are useful, I don’t want to miss any of them :slight_smile:

Best Regards, Thorsten.