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

MIDIbox SID
1

Hello there!

this is Dinos, hailing from Athens, Greece… :slight_smile:

…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… :slight_smile: (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… :slight_smile:

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… :))

2

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!

3

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

4

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  :wink:

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.

5

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? ::slight_smile:

thanks anyway, people… :slight_smile: 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!

6

Hi ya!

Sorry for me bad enklish.

Solder taps are the spots to solder on.. Usually round and with hole in the center :smiley: 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” :smiley:

I hope You´ll get the Braid.. :smiley:

Moebius

p.s. You are doing fine!

7

:slight_smile:

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

8

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

9

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…