Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Something different....the Midibox SID

Though I administer computers and write software for a living, I have alwaye enjoyed working with electronics. Among my accomplishments....transplanting the logic board from a 5 gig iPod into a 20 gig iPod. And it actually worked. But I digress....

I recently started reading online about the SID chip. This was the chip that generated the sound in the Commodore 64. There is a Midibox SID project.

The Midibox SID project uses the SID chip as a sound generation device, but operates it under computer control from a dedicated microcontroller. This allows sounds to be generated that were never possible with the original SID.

It consists of a core processor board, a SID module and a DIN module, which provides for digital inputs to the SID, either rotary encoders (like a digital volume control) or switches. Combine this with a 24 character, 2 line display, this provides the ability to control the SID in real time interactively from the front panel.

I recieved the parts a few weeks ago and have started assembling the boards. More fun to come

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