Hi all,
I found an eBay seller in China selling sammichFM and sammichSID kits. Are these legit, or should I avoid them? It doesn’t look quite right… a bit fishy.
(Not linking here so I don’t break any rules, but if Wilba or TK pm me, I can send links.)
These are probably fakes/clones, there have not been official kits available for a while now.
Many greets,
Peter
It’s strange, the board which are shown are the Wilba and Nils version with their name on it !
Strange.
Maybe they bought the PCBs in one of the old group buys?
Yeah, or somehow got a hold of the board files and just made them as-is?
…or the photos were made from the first “legit” PCBs used for cloning… 
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This looks like one of them.
apparently some issues with them ;)
I had been wanting to build a sammichSID for a while, but I couldn’t find any PCBs or kits.
Finally I found a listing on eBay for a full kit which I’ve ordered, but now I’m wondering whether it’s a bootleg…
In the attached image you’ll notice that the label near the SID jumper shows 6 580/6582, as opposed to 8 580/6582.
Perhaps a bad copy?
Unfortunately I can’t check this so easily, because I would have to unmount the frontpanel PCB - but I don’t think that such a typo would indicate a bootleg. The PCB color looks identical to the original one.
Best Regards, Thorsten.
Well, I’m building it now.. The kit seems to include all of the required parts. Nicely packed, labeled and separated, etc.
Hopefully it will actually work!
Cheers
Well, I’m done with the build now and I can confirm that all the voltage checks worked out, so the PCBs seem OK…
I did have a problem with the 7809 voltage regulator and the LCD screen, but as a newbie, these were most likely my own fault.
I used MIOS to upload the v2_044 firmware, although my family has become impatient with me, so I need to break away for now.
More testing and hopefully final status tomorrow (expecting a second 6581 in the mail tomorrow as well).
OK, I finished off the last few fiddly bits of the build, so now I can officially say that “It’s Done” and more importantly “It Works!”
Full N00B disclosure of the areas I struggled with, include:
-Soldering ANYTHING with a larger ground connection (example voltage regulators) made a solder blob mess, until I adjusted my iron heat setting to ~750 F.
But, honestly everything else was really straight forward and it’s been a very rewarding experience to work on and play with the results.
I can’t say enough about the collective efforts hat went into the design, documentation, PIC programming, etc. a real community effort (wow).
As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m already working on a big brother MB-6582 project, so I can have multiple instruments playing at once. I know my experience with the sammichSID will come in handy…
…I am left wrestling with an ethical question though…
If I did actually buy a set of Chinese knockoff PCBs, is anyone getting cut out of their commission on them (i.e., Wilba, TK, nILS, etc.)? …or are the volumes they’re selling on eBay likely to be so low that it’s not really a big concern?
Thanks again everyone…
Cheers!
Hi Dwestbury,
Thank you for sharing! I have 10 original SID’s laying around here and I love to play with them in a nice synth
After I have found out that I “missed the boat” for ordering the orignal sammichSID kit, your info is very value for me
I have a question I have multible versions of the SID, I have 8 X 6581 and two 8580R5
Can I place them all without problems in the Hong Kong sammichSID?
I have to following SID’s:
6581 CBM
6581 CBM
6581R3 4885
6581R3 4885
6581 CBM 4184
6581
6581 R3 0686
6581R4
8580R5
8580R5
No, just 2 of them 
or buy 5 Hong Kong Clone’s and use them all…
what I mean is whether the jumper system works properly on this hong kong clone, from 9 to 12V, and how exactly it works.
I am a bit insecure and afraid that I will mess it up
Ok, this is a question.
You have 1 7809 v regulator and 1 7812 (12v for 6581) by using the jumper you choose.
You always should measure your voltage after soldering your pcb (and test the jumper), so than you are save.
However, I recommend using a SwinSID if you are a Beginner or want to be on the really save side and protect your SIDs as long as you are in the soldering/building/testing progress. And care about the advice I gave you about 6581, they are old, they are rare. It’s better to use just 2 or 1 instead of them all because they are old and rare and they are kind of fragile now.
Thank you very much for your advise and don’t worry I will take good care of them, and follow your advise and start with SwinSID first, I order just one Hong Kong SID clone, to try.
Hoping that maybe later I can order real sammichSID kit when there will be a new batch?
another question: does a copper of aluminium cooling block on those old SID’s be a solution to keep them cool and therefore longer life span?
I say yes because those cooling blocks are not very expensive and a lot of C64 User - use them. It’s better than nothing but will not protect them.
I received my sammichSID from Hong Kong yesterday, It’s looking very good, nice metal case, and even jumpers
I will carefully open it tomorrow and post the pictures, I ordered the black one with blue LED’s , I’m very happy!
