I personally would not ignore the optical isolator for two reasons: first, I'm not familiar enough with the protocol to just hook it up to serial in on the 328p (since I'm pretty sure current flows both ways on the lines I don't think it would be easy or robust), and second, it serves as a protector, isolating the entire ArduinoBoy circuit from the MIDI input, protecing your gear from a potential frying. Omiting the MIDI out/thru is a simple matter of not installing the output DIN connector. You can also omit one LED and an entire section of the ArduinoBoy code that handles MIDI sync and out from LSDJ.
2 Apr 10, 2011 5:27 am
Topic: A different kind of GameBoy music (12 replies, posted in General Discussion)
3 Mar 18, 2011 10:00 pm
Topic: A short article by the BBC (13 replies, posted in General Discussion)
Just what it says in the title.
4 Jan 18, 2011 4:23 am
Re: ArduinoBoy PCBs (9 replies, posted in Trading Post)
Shipping costs are fixed at $2, regardless if you buy 2 boards or 20. Packages are going out First Class mail within the US, and First Class International everywhere else. This time, all packages will be listed as gifts on customs forms on the recommendation of a certified, and possibly disgruntled, postal worker.
5 Jan 18, 2011 4:10 am
Re: ArduinoBoy PCBs (9 replies, posted in Trading Post)
There are now 49 boards left.
Flopps wrote:
Little confused about P+P costs to the UK
P+P costs?
6 Jan 17, 2011 7:03 pm
Topic: ArduinoBoy PCBs (9 replies, posted in Trading Post)
Selling off all my extra ArduinoBoy printed circuit boards from my ArduinoBoy building and selling days. Boards are US$3 each with a flat US$2 shipping fee regardless of quantity or destination. You will still need parts to build your ArduinoBoy, but I have a bill of materials, complete with part numbers, here. Buy as many as you want. As soon as all 59 boards are sold, that's it.
As usual, you can find the boards for sale here.
7 Nov 9, 2010 7:48 am
Re: MAKE Bare Bones Amp (2 replies, posted in Other Hardware)
Batsly Adams wrote:
Nice man!
I had a great experience with BatchPCB - it's really great to see a finished board with your name on it - even better if it works on the first try!
At 20 to 50 dollars a board, I'd consider it to be a minor tragedy if it didn't work the first time.
Anyway, got the amp wired up for a test and let me tell you it sounds great! Unfortunately, I'm getting a little bit of noise, most likely from a ground loop. Even with the background hum, however, I am loving this amp! Can't wait to get it fixed and inside a proper enclosure.
8 Nov 7, 2010 1:07 am
Topic: MAKE Bare Bones Amp (2 replies, posted in Other Hardware)
Not necessarily a chip music exclusive item. Really, anyone with a pair of speakers and no amplifier to drive them could use this. The design appears in MAKE Magazine issue #23. I've been working off and on on it for the past few months. I made a couple changes over the version presented in the magazine. I replaced the perf board with a printed circuit board I designed myself and had made by BatchPCB. I also did not need the switch for two inputs or the volume control (I'm just going to use the volume control on my computer). Soldered up the board last weekend. Just need to make something nice to store it in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_DVLNO-Rxs
You can find out more at my own website, gilberti-industries.com, or at makezine.com/23/chipamp.
9 Oct 31, 2010 4:42 am
Re: FS: Last Call for ArduinoBoys (40 replies, posted in Trading Post)
That's the same cable I used to program each one. It will definitely work. Just be sure to line up the black wire with the GND label on the six pin header.
10 Oct 29, 2010 4:45 am
Re: FS: Last Call for ArduinoBoys (40 replies, posted in Trading Post)
herr_prof wrote:
Am I correct in assuming that the pin headers there are for an ftdi cable? It can be used to update the software in the chip?
Indeed. All you need is the 5V FTDI cable or equivalent. For instance, I just had the pleasure to use one of these on a senior design project, and I have to say they work beautifully. Of course, if you are the type who looses small things, this model may be a bad idea.
11 Oct 6, 2010 8:12 am
Re: FS: Last Call for ArduinoBoys (40 replies, posted in Trading Post)
When I had originally started this project, I had only meant for these to be bought by those who had not the time, skill, or money to do it themselves. I love making things myself and I bet 90% of the people on this board share the same passion for making things. It was never my intention to make people feel that the only way to get an ArduinoBoy was through me. I suppose I just did too good of a job. I'm thinking that 68 ArduinoBoys brought into this world by my hand is more than enough, and I consider it highly unlikely that I will ever build one to sell again. Experiment, maybe, but not sell on such a massive scale as before. Of course, that leaves me with a little over 75 left over printed circuit boards I really don't need. Good thing they make great coasters. 
12 Oct 4, 2010 8:30 pm
Re: Arduinoboy, Am I doing something wrong? (3 replies, posted in Other Hardware)
MIDI channels 1 and 2 are square wave generators, channel 3 is a much more flexible wave generator (it can also serve as a third square wave generator), channel 4 is noise, and channel 5 combines channels 1, 2, and 3, so that if you set all three to the same square wave pattern, you can play three note chords without having to split the chords across multiple channels.
EDIT: Trash80's on top of things, as usual. Beat me to it and offered a much more comprehensive explanation.
13 Oct 3, 2010 4:17 am
Re: [Wanted] DIY LSDJMC2 Tutorial (5 replies, posted in Tutorials, Mods & How-To's)
I don't think threads are deleted around here. They just sink to the bottom, either when people ignore the thread or shortly after they are locked.
14 Sep 21, 2010 3:15 pm
Re: FS: Last Call for ArduinoBoys (40 replies, posted in Trading Post)
All ArduinoBoys have been sold and, barring a major disaster on my part, will be shipped out tomorrow. I would like to thank everyone for the support they have given me on this project over the past year (I can't believe it has been that long), and I look forward to making plenty of other things, not just for the homemade music cloud, but for the do it yourself community at large.
15 Sep 21, 2010 1:10 am
Topic: Our Ever-Evolving Tools of the Trade (3 replies, posted in General Discussion)
Saw this on YouTube and just could not help but share.
Oh, to get my hands on one of those older sound cards and somehow make them work with my iMac. A man can dream, right?
16 Sep 20, 2010 8:36 pm
Re: Selling Dino's MidiNES (11 replies, posted in Trading Post)
Koatl wrote:
I'm a firm believer that an artists tallent is imbued energetically into his equipment.
Then we must squirrel it away in Warehouse 13 before some soul becomes infected with an internal, constantly looping chip album that drives them to dance in the most inappropriate of places!
If only I had both an NES and musical composition talent. I would have bought this thing in an instant.