Category: Misc Hardware

Diagnosing and attempting to fix a Yamaha DX100 – Part 2

At the end of part 1, I've established that the basics all seem ok (PCB, interconnections, power) and that basic digital logic stuff is happening. I rounded off my write-up with the following ideas for what to investigate next: Get some proper triggering from the chip enables to check for valid data signals. Check out … Continue reading Diagnosing and attempting to fix a Yamaha DX100 – Part 2 →

Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Build Guide

Here are the build notes for my Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Design. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments.  I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! If you are new to Arduino, see the Getting Started pages. Bill of Materials Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB (GitHub link below). 2x … Continue reading Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Build Guide →

Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Design

This is a PCB version of the Arduino EEPROM Reader/Writer as described here: https://github.com/beneater/eeprom-programmer but with slight adjustments to support reading of 27Cxxx style ROMs often found in vintage equipment. Build Guide here: Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Build Guide. Update: Since developing this board, I've found a much more comprehensive DIY board here: https://github.com/TomNisbet/TommyPROM. The documentation … Continue reading Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Design →

Building my Oskitone Poly555

This isn't really a post like my usual blog posts. This isn't a project of mine as such or a build guide or anything. It is simply a few comments and photos of my building my Oskitone Poly555. https://makertube.net/w/a8SsXP33nymrRqNxXnbbNA I've always liked the idea of the Oskitone. I've used it as the inspiration for some of my … Continue reading Building my Oskitone Poly555 →

Diagnosing and attempting to fix a Yamaha DX100 – Part 1

I was very lucky to be offered a non-working Yamaha DX100 from Simon Walters. On arrival I can see it attempts to boot but apart from the odd character on the screen, I wasn't really getting anything useful happening. My thinking here is that as it is a pretty nice synth with most of its functionality … Continue reading Diagnosing and attempting to fix a Yamaha DX100 – Part 1 →

Simple Square Wave Oscillator PCB Build Guide

Here are the build notes for my Simple Square Wave Oscillator PCB. https://youtu.be/1vpDoPMgUWA Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments.  I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! If you are new to electronics, see the Getting Started pages. Bill of Materials Oscillator components: Simple Square Wave Oscillator … Continue reading Simple Square Wave Oscillator PCB Build Guide →

Atari Punk Console PCB Build Guide

Here are the build notes for my Atari Punk Console PCB Design. https://youtu.be/OP9pHC1lsGw Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments.  I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! If you are new to electronics, see the Getting Started pages. Bill of Materials Atari Punk Console PCB (GitHub link below) … Continue reading Atari Punk Console PCB Build Guide →

Tactile Button Keyboard PCB – Part 2

Here are the build notes for my Tactile Button Keyboard PCB. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments.  I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! These are the key tutorials for the main concepts used in this project: Open Music Labs: Input Matrix Scanning Arduino Nano MIDI … Continue reading Tactile Button Keyboard PCB – Part 2 →