Status
May 17, 2012:
I'm not supposed to be reading anything for another few days, but I wanted
to give you guys an update...
I had laser surgery earlier this week. As if I don't have enough to deal with already. LOL!
April 26, 2012:
- Well, the nice thing about business trips is that you get time in the
hotel to edit web pages! Sigh...
- I had successufully ordered prototypes, but then the main order of pcbs
got lost somewhere. I gave up after a month and filled out the paperwork
with my bank to get my money refunded. I have now ordered prototypes from
a different board manufacturer. Hopefully they will be at home when I get
back from this trip on Friday, May 4th.
- I checked the rest of my list and all the other parts are in. I got
the replacement 2SC945 transistors two days before I left for this trip,
so as soon as I get the prototypes and confirm that this manufacturer is
making the boards correctly, I'll order the main batch and we'll be ready
to go.
- I received my cell phone and I've been impressed by the picture quality.
When I get back, I'll take a bunch of pictures and get them published.
February 29, 2012:
- Sorry guys. Business trips from hell. I was gone 14 of the last 18
weeks of 2011, and I've been on three trips this year so far. Looks like
I'll be gone all next week too, but we're almost out of funding for this
project, so I think the travel will be slowing down after next week.
- Three of you have asked for refunds. I'll get to that as soon as I
can.
- I want to solve the forum issue once and for all. I may
just create an entirely new forum to get the conversation going until I
can come up with a permanent solution.
- My charge card has been billed $1600, but I haven't seen the pcbs yet. I
think there was some kind of holiday in China recently and my order got
stuck there. I have requested a tracking number.
- I just upgraded my wireless service, so I'm getting a new phone that
has an 8MP camera in it. Stay tuned for some assembly pictures!
December 9, 2011:
- I'm on yet another business trip. Got here Tuesday and will get back
home next Thursday the 15th. Sucks when my boss won't wait until I'm done
with something before sending me out to deliver, and then he complains that
we weren't ready. Can't win. Sigh, well, at least I have a job...
- While I'm whining, I've got to say, Hilton sure is sucking lately. I
thought the Internet speed was bad at the Hilton Garden Inn in Idaho Falls
last month, but this DoubleTree in Key West is making Idaho Falls look
turbo-charged! Took ten minutes to fill out my time sheet.
November 17, 2011:
- I was asked in email how soon I would be requesting final payments.
I understand that this is a tough time of year, in tough economic times.
I hope to request payments some time in December, but don't worry, there
is no time limit on when you have to pay me. Everyone who has given me
a deposit will get a kit. It has taken almost two years to get to this
point, so I won't complain if you guys take two years to send me payments...
November 16, 2011:
- Yay, Moogah straightened out the web hosting payment, so we didn't go offline.
Thanks Jeff!
- At this point, I'm happy with the prototype, so I'm going to place
the order for the final pcbs! Tomorrow is payday anyway, so everything
is lining up well.
November 3, 2011:
- Sigh, looks like 1and1 didn't take the payment like they promised.
I'll try to call them and straighten things out, but it's hard when I'm
this business trip and I'm out of touch during business hours. I sent
Moogah an email and have offered to buy the domain from him. In the
mean time, I've made a complete copy of the web site, and I'm uploading
it to my own web server.
- Also, I'm starting to update the MIDIbox wiki. You can find links
there to this web site and the backup. That page is:
http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=mb-808
Please bookmark the wiki page and go there if this site goes offline.
October 31, 2011:
- Happy Halloween! Today is always a good day around our house - my wife
was born on Halloween...
- Everything is looking good except for one thing. The day job is sending me
on a another business trip starting tomorrow morning at 7:30AM. I should be
back on Friday, November 11. Sigh...
- Looks like 1and1 hasn't charged my card for the hosting fees, and the card
expires today. I called to make sure they're going to charge me, but due to
the big storm, apparently their office is closed.
October 17, 2011:
- Back from the business trip. We worked 14-15 hours per day every day we
were there, seven days a week. Man am I tired! It may take me a couple days
to get caught up on email. Please be patient, I'll get there...
- I didn't finish the prototype before I left, so I still have a bit of work
to do before I order the final pcbs.
- I have two pending requests for refunds. This is good news for the next two
people on the waiting list. I'll process the refunds as soon as I can (tonight
or tomorrow) and contact the next two people.
September 24, 2011:
- I exported a picture of the board with the parts values. Eagle is a little silly with its "smashed" values, and the value
labels were sometimes located on top of the wrong part. I went through and moved each label to the proper part and placed it
in a readable location. You can find it at: Parts values.
- I regenerated the two pictures that I uploaded on the 20th. All three of these pictures are now shown in the context of
the front panel that is 12.2" tall and 17" wide. (See below for links or you can go to
http://www.eight-oh-eight.org/Rev3/Pics/.)
- I leave tomorrow on my three-week business trip. I haven't finished the entire prototype, so I'm a bit hesitant to order
the complete batch of boards. I'll keep working on everything, but worst case, I may have to wait until after the trip to
finish the prototype and order the final pcbs.
September 20, 2011:
- I exported pictures of the silkscreens on the revision 2 board. You can
find them at:
(Sorry about the size, I exported the full 11x16" board at 300dpi...)
September 15, 2011:
- As expected, my business trip has kept me busy and away from the net.
- I finished updating the firmware and will send a copy of the changed files
to TK so he can include them in the next release.
- I documented the shift register pins and created two new pages here on the
web site:
September 8, 2011:
- I'm far enough along on the prototype that I wanted to start testing.
So, I plugged in the PIC, and things didn't quite work the way I expected.
I forgot that, since I rearranged the shift registers, I had to reconfigure
the firmware! Why am I telling you this? I already had SmashTV burn the
first set of PIC chips, and they have the old firmware. That means that
you'll have to update the firmware right away when you get things set up.
I'll put this in the install docs. If I don't get to it before then, I'll
modify the code on the plane Sunday. (Did I mention they scheduled me to
fly out at 7:20AM? Ugh.)
September 6, 2011:
- Sorry guys, hope you'll forgive me if I took two days off this last weekend
for the US holiday.
- Work progresses on the second prototype. So far, I have found no issues
with this build. (There must be *something* wrong with it...!) I'm hoping to
order the final boards before I go on my business trip, so that when I get back
in the middle of October I can start shipping. It's looking good...
- I'll be gone the week of September 12-16, and then from September 26 to
October 14. I don't think I'll have much access to email during while I'm
there, so if you send me a message during those times, please be patient and
I'll reply to you when I am back. Thanks...
August 28, 2011:
August 23, 2011:
- OK, I now have a complete backup of the site. Yay! I'm going to make a duplicate site on my other web server in case we lose this one again.
- I was involved in an accident two weeks ago, and really damaged my ribs, but in the last couple days, I've finally been able to lift my arm up onto the table and get back to soldering the second prototype!
- Next time I take a break from soldering, I'll try to deal with the old forum. I'll either get it back online using the old software, or I'll continue to pull out the information and put it into the build documentation.
August 22, 2011:
- Sorry, the hosting fee didn't get paid, that's why we were offline. I took
care of the payment, so we're good for at least three more months.
- I built the first prototype of the new board. Well, I didn't complete the
whole thing, but I got far enough to realize it wasn't going to be good enough
to ship. I corrected the design and ordered another set of prototypes. I'm
building one now, and if there are no problems, I will order the final set of
pcbs!
- I have a business trip the last week of September and the first two weeks
of October. I am going to try to get everything taken care of before then, but
because the pcbs take about two weeks to make, I may not be able to start
shipping until after I get back.
- I'm going to concentrate my efforts on getting this project done, so I won't
be available for questions in the MIDIbox chat any more. If you want to reach me,
please use email. (doug at midibox addict dot com) Thanks!
May 14, 2011:
- Sigh, OK, I'm past the latest round of emergencies (business trips, April 15 tax day, losing my
best friend, dealing with a bad home repair contractor, and now needing a new air conditioning unit
on the house. We live in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and it gets a bit warm here in the summer)...
- I have a fairly long waiting list now. Sorry to not reply to each of you individually yet. I
learned my lesson already and I won't be taking any more deposits until the current batch is completely
delivered. I have enough switches and potentiometers to make at least 100 more kits so there should
be enough for everyone who has shown interest.
- Please check the MIDIbox.org wiki
for more information on this project. It's just a place-holder for the moment, but I'll get things
uploaded there over the next few days. Since this is a MIDIbox-based project, it really should be
kept with the other MIDIbox projects.
- As always, if you have questions or concerns about why this project has taken me so long, please
contact me at doug (at) midibox addict (dot) com. Please bear with me, I have been on several business
trips this year and I don't have Internet or cell access there. When I'm in town, I try to stay
connected to the MIDIbox IRC channel. If you have Chatzilla, you should be able to click on this link: irc://irc.mibbit.com/midibox. I'm not on any email lists,
and I haven't had time for forums, so I won't see anything that you don't send me directly. I hope
that you'll understand that I'd rather spend my time working on this project rather than trying to
track down every place on the Internet where there is a question or concern..
March 28, 2011:
- Sorry guys, my 75 year old mom fell and broke her arm. (At least it wasn't her hip!) Then I came
down with the flu and that took me out for two weeks. I'm back at work now, but I still have a cough.
Even better, my mom is back at her own house!
- Good news: I ordered the first batch PIC chips from SmashTV! I'm getting closer to packing up kits
and getting this stuff to you!
- Most of the potentiometers are here now. I'm still waiting for the last batch, but I have enough to
get started on kits. Hopefully I'll get through the first batch of kits and then get the rest of the
potentiometers...
- I'm updating the install manual, and I started uploading everything to the wiki. This will be a lot
better than wading through the forum trying to find the info.
January 21, 2011:
- YAY!!!! The potentiometers are *finally* on their way to me!!! That means I'm going to be
able to ship kits! Wowsers, what a relief!!!
- I am very glad that 2010 is over. In 2010, I had a lot of problems. My father-in-law died from
pancreatic cancer. My teenage daughter acted out in big ways ($11,000 of medical bills), but is now
in a different city going to college. I was plagued with shipping problems - parts were back ordered,
some for over eight months! I also sent a shipment to Germany, but it was crushed in transit. Luckily,
after waiting what seemed like forever, I got a check for the full amount of the insurance. Strangely,
2011 started off rather oddly as well. My congresswoman Gabby Giffords and many others were shot at the
Safeway where I shop, two miles from my house. My mom had planned on being at that very event, but
stopped by my house instead. Eeek! And I was going to celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary on January
11th, but my day job sent me on a business trip! Oy vey...
- Because of the business trip, I wasn't able to get to email for almost two weeks. I promise, I'll catch up on Monday, January 24. (I'm taking the weekend off to be with my wife since we missed our anniversary.)
November, 2010
- FORUM: They *assured* me that forum upgrades were painless. Not so much. Sigh...
- BUILD DOCUMENT: In the mean time, I got back to working on the build document. It's not ready for prime time, but I
hope you'll find that it's at least as good as combing through the forum trying how to build this thing!
You can find it at:
http://www.eight-oh-eight.org/Assembly.
June 2010:
- KITS: Preordering for the third batch has been closed.
Confirmation emails have been sent to everyone who sent in a deposit.
If you didn't receive a confirmation, please contact me at doug (at) midibox addict (dot) com.
- CASES: Along with putting together the third batch of kits, Doug is working on several case options.
The first run is going to be the front and back panels with a wooden case. After that batch is complete,
we'll be working on the 909 voice expansion and the mixer/effects add-on panels.
NOTE:
Since this is a MIDIbox project, I am moving everything over to the MIDIbox wiki so that there
will be one source for information. Also, I hope that will help introduce all of you to the other cool
MIDIbox projects. Check out MIDIbox.org.
I put this page together as a favor for Moogah, since he's done us all the favor of making the MB-808
in the first place! If you have any comments or questions about this page, please contact me via email
at doug (at) midibox addict (dot) com
![Parts values](http://www.eight-oh-eight.org/Rev3/Pics/partsvalues.png"){kind=link}
![Control side](http://www.eight-oh-eight.org/Rev3/Pics/frontsilkscreen.png"){kind=link}
![Parts side](http://www.eight-oh-eight.org/Rev3/Pics/backsilkscreen.png"){kind=link}