Search options (Page 78 of 87)

Sure thing. Normally I like to have it get as hot as possible without de-laminating the PCB, but in some cases you have very heat sensitive components which should not get that hot. Also, I use my iron for more than just electronics work, I also use it for doing stained glass leading, and there you really need to get accurate temp control to melt the solder but not the lead came. Gets tricky without the tem controller, for sure. Also, after you've used a temp controlled iron, you really begin to see how it comes in handy. Many times you simply don't need to have the thing running full blast, and if you keep the temps just right for the solder you are using etc, you can get more work time into the joints too without risk of burning your joints or components.

Um, an adjustable Hakko can be found used for very nice prices too. And with soldering irons, if you're looking at getting a nicer model, don't be afraid to get a used one. They don't typically just die, and if all you have to do is get a new tip then it's worth your while.

Yup, looks like typical electronics from the day- really simple basic circuits piled on top of each other to create something awesome. (and huge) I have done some restoration work on old organs, and it can be quite hairy, as there are just TONS of parts inside of these analogue synths.

Thretris, would you mind detailing how you did that? I have somewhat of an idea how you might have gone about it, but at least some pictures of it's insides would be cool!

And just so this doesn't veer off topic completely, I have actually got my first MMC1 dev board underway and am working on a little removable SRAM unit I can just drop into my EPROM programmer. It's a bit fragile now, but I think I have thought of a way to make it better.

Wow, now THAT is a challenge! I'll update the front page now.

That looks stonking cool. That could be incredibly fun to play with. It has a keyboard! YUS! As cool as some of these real-hardware synths are, I always value having a proper keyboard, or even one which just kinda looks like a keyboard. So much easier to experiment/improv with in my opinion, especially after 8 years of jazz piano training.

One lil problem with NES flash carts, and the reason why the powerpak is so darned expensive, is that the NES' cartridge hardware is very complex, as opposed to the GB, which has only one, very simple cartridge design for probably 90% of all games. The second problem is that different programs are actually written for very different cartridge hardware- it's the way you get around RAM and ROM limitations with the NES. So a one size fits all kind of NES flash cart is something which is unfortunately quite difficult to do, and requires a quite complex multiple mapper system running with its own microprocessor etc. So yes, while on other systems the dedicated cartridge could possibly be seen as a mere novelty, on the NES it honestly comes down to sheer complexity and price.

However, I do agree that the ideal cartridge will have a way of exporting and possibly importing the SRAM data. For my first cartridge(s) I won't be including that, since I'd have to actually design something for that purpose. In fact, my solution to the problem would be to socket the SRAM and piggyback the battery onto the chip so the whole assembly can be popped out and into an EPROM programmer for reading.