SID not working

MIDIbox SID
1

Hi! So I got my CORE running and tested my SID and all the voltages were about ok, so I mounted the 6581 chip, then connected a MIDI keyboard for testing but I got no sound. Then I uploaded the testone app from the MIOS download page and started hearing this 1 kHz sound. Then I realized I didn’t upload the SID V2 app so I did. SID application got installed and on my LCD I saw the first patch name which is called lead patch but I was still listening this 1 kHZ noise (with some hum). I tried using the MIOS Studio keyboard but nothing happened. I checked all the interconnections between the CORE and SID and they seem ok to me. The tip of the audio plug is going to the + audio output of the SID and the shield to ground of the power supply, so that seems ok. I tried using the interconnection test I downloaded from the MIOS downloads but just didn’t understand anything at all there.

Someone please help!

2

and tested my SID and all the voltages were about ok

You mean 5V and 12V for the SID, right?

The interconnection app allows you to check with a multimeter. When you press a note (for example from MIOSstudio) a pin on the SID socket will give 5V (you do this without SID stuffed ofcourse). You can see the names of the SID pins here. Check the readme.txt in the interconnection zip for full details.

I hope you will make this little baby work, so you can enjoy lovely SID sound :flowers:

3

Hey thanks a lot for the reply Flemming, but I think I still don’t understand how to do this test. When I press the C key, it means to check pin 15(D0) so I put the red probe there ? and what about the black one? Also where are the RC and the SC pins on the chip? I tried pin 28(red probe) to pin 14 and it reads 11.83 V. Also pin 28 to 15 and it’s also 11.83 V. Thanks!

4

For now, take out the SID chip until you are absolutely sure that voltage is all good. You might fry the little darling :shocked:

Black probe at pin14 (GND) and then use red probe to test around.

What app are you using?? I use mbsid_interconnection_test_v2.zip And the readme says:

C : Pin A0 = 5V

C# : Pin A1 = 5V

D : Pin A2 = 5V

D# : Pin A3 = 5V

E : Pin A4 = 5V

F : Pin RES# = 5V

F# : Pin D0 = 5V

G : Pin D1 = 5V

G# : Pin D2 = 5V

A : Pin D3 = 5V

A# : Pin D4 = 5V

B : Pin D5 = 5V

C (next octave): Pin D6 = 5V

C# (next octave): Pin D7 = 5V

D (next octave): Pin CS# = 5V

RC and SC are the jumper pins on core/SID modules. The Core and SID modules should be connected like this

Core:J10 SID:J2

Vd Vc

Vs Vs

CLK CLK

MU MU

RC RC

MD SC

SO SO

But let’s start all over, for safety sake:

  • Core and SID module are from SmashTV’s shop?

  • It is an MBSIDv2 you are building, right?

  • And you use MBSIDv2 app?

  • And MBSIDv2 interconnection test?

  • Are you sure the SID chip is working? You tested it in the C64 before you took it out?

Now, take out the SID chip and upload the MBSIDv2 app to the core.

Check SID socket between pin14 (black probe) and pin28 (red probe); You should get 12V

Check SID socket between pin14 (black probe) and pin25 (red probe); You should get 5V

(If you are unsure about the pin numbers, you can use the link i put in the last post)

If you get this right, the SID module is most probably okay and the problem can be the core/SID interconnection instead.

Upload the interconnection app that i linked in the top of this post. Play a note and check for 5V with red probe, using black probe at pin14. You should get 5V all over the SID socket, it seems; use the schema in the top of this post to see what pins on the socket to test according to the note you play.

If you don’t get the right voltage at the right pins on the SID socket while testing with the interconnection app, then your core and SID module most likely is not connected the right way. Use the schema i the top of this post to see what pins from core J10 should be connected to SID J2 - Fix the connection and try the interconnection test again.

If BOTH the MBSIDv2 app AND the interconnection app gives you the correct V at the correct places, then there must be an error some place else. Keep in mind that you made the testtone app work :slight_smile: but the SID can still be partially dead. Atleast something is working as it should, and you will eventually find the error and have lovely SID sound :tongue:

5

Sound finally! It sounds amazing! Thanks a lot for your patience Flemming. The problem was the MD from CORE was going to a nameless pin not to the SC pin, quite stupid. So I played a few notes but couldn’t change the patch because there’s probably something wrong with my DIN. I only connected one button and one encoder just to test it, but I can’t seem to make it work. I connected it like this:

CORE (J9) SID (J1)

Vs Vs

Vd Vd

SI S0

SC SC

RC RC

The button is in J3, connected to the VS pin on J3 and to D5 which is supposed to be LEFT button. The encoder is in J6, C pin to Vs, A pin to D0 and B pin to D1. It seems a pretty easy thing I don’t know what’s going on. Every other part seems fine to me, the kit (which is from Smash TV) was quite easy to assemble. I already have the banksticks formatted and recognized so the patches are there… please help!

6

Congratulations on a near-finished box :slight_smile:

CORE (J9) SID (J1)

Vs Vs

Vd Vd

SI S0

SC SC

RC RC

You mean CORE J9 to DIN J1, right??

The button is in J3, connected to the VS pin on J3 and to D5 which is supposed to be LEFT button. The encoder is in J6, C pin to Vs, A pin to D0 and B pin to D1.

I can’t remember the exact pin-layout used to connect controls to the DIN board. If you want to be sure, then you can take a look in the ‘setup_6581.asm’. Inside you will find all buttons and encoders, and which pins they belong to on the DIN.

I already have the banksticks formatted and recognized so the patches are there… please help!

So, when you turn on the box it plays a little ‘arpeggio’? This lets you hear if/how many banksticks are recognised by the core. I bet you could see on the LCD that they were being formatted too, right? All good, but: formatting means that they will all sound alike - Did you upload ‘vintage_bank.syx’ to bank A after the format?

You can easily check from any musicprogram or midi-keyboard - Connect the MBSID via midi and try to change patch from the software. You will see the patch change on the LCD, and you should be able to play notes from software/keyboard and ofcourse hear different patches… If this works, then your new box is fully functional, besides the DIN problem :smiley:

About the DIN; on DIN J1 you see two rows of pins, right? You are supposed to use the left row (the one closest to the board edge). When that is done, you can (atleast i did) use a small piece of wire to ‘short out’ the pins on the DIN J3/4/5/6. When you do that, you can see on the LCD what happens, and you can identify which pins to use for your button and encoder… The easy (and correct) way is ofcourse to look in the ‘setup_6581.asm’-file to see what pin numbers are set up for which controls.

All in all, it sounds like you’re VERY close to a full working homebuilt MBSIDv2 :slight_smile: i hope you will come back and tell us when it works so we can do the “it’s working”-dance together :thumbsup:

7

WOHOO! :smiley: Everything is working now! I hadn’t uploaded the bank actually,hehe, and I was connecting the DIN to the other row, not the one closest to the edge. And that was it! :rofl:

Flemming you’re the man! I appreciate a lot your guidance in these last steps. Now it’s time to build a decent control surface for it, but for now we can do the victory dance :frantics: yeah!

8

Very happy to hear that the little sweetheart is acting like it should :slight_smile: Any chance of seeing a picture of it in the forum gallery when it is finished??

But now it is indeed dance time!!

/me does the “it’s working”-dance :frantics: