Hello,
I’ve had 2 “mute” SMR voicecards (with leds working) for a while and would like use some free time to finally fix them and unleash the full power of my Ambika. :)
The issue is likely to originate from poor soldering but I’m a bit struggling – to say the least – with reading the schematics in order to identify probing points so I’d be really happy if someone could provide me some guidance about that.
Thx in advance,
I only found a Voltage Regulater for 500mA not 1A.
Is this ok or will it get too hot?
thanks
Hey,
I’ve just mailed out an Ambika to a guy called David in France.
He’s having trouble getting sound out of it. It was working when it left England. I’ve had it set up the same way for ages using my Octatrack to control it.
Could someone please help me, help him set it up.
The voice lights seem to be flashing but he is getting no sound from his soundcard.
I’m gunna run through the manual when I can get to a computer, but in the meantime any help would be massively appreciated.
Cheers
Charlie
I’m a moron.
I accidently named the Ambika controller firmware binary VOICE1.BIN and did (attempted) a firmware upgrade of a voice card via SD card. Now, this sound card seems to be bricked, i.e. it does not accept an install/upgrade of the correct voicecard firmware (via SD card) anymore.
Does anybody know if there’s some way around this, or is the only option disassembly, and flashing via ISP?
Thanks,
B
Hello all,
I finally started building an Ambika and I just got on to the voltage testing phase. I was under the impression that I could use an 1SPOT as a power supply, but after getting absolutely no voltage readings from the instructed spots with my multimeter, I started researching the matter and found out that the 1SPOT is not an AC adapter after all… So the question is that did I fry precious components? Will the board now only make nice burning material for a fireplace? Please answer so I can decide if to go berserk or not!
After months and months of pushing it back, I finally started building my second Ambika voice card which is a SVF card. I bought all the components from Mouser and before continuing with the build, I’d like to make sure if the parts for C20 and C21 are correct ones on the SVF BOM. The capacitance value is the same, but the voltage rating value and lead spacing values don’t match, so those are making me unsure. Should I be after something like this ?
I have had the ambika for about a year now and it is one of my favorite synths. I bought it 2nd hand and am unsure of who the builder was.
It is not in a metal case (thanks Adrian) but I now have 2 of the encoders which are quite loose. They still work but I wanted to replace them with more solid feeling encoders (the others that are not loose still don’t feel super strong either.Is there an alternative anyone can recommend? and if not is this the equivalent of the original pot for the ambika. I’m in AU so mouser is best avoided for parts due to the expansive shipping options.
http://au.element14.com/alps/rk09k11310kb/pot-rotary-10k-17mm-20/dp/1191725
Thanks in advance for any assistance, I just wanted to add that my repair and build skills are rudimentry so aso wanted to ask if this will be a fairly complicated process also.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Hi all,
the fact thatI I lurve my Ambikas goes without saying. I have two of them, SMR4 and SVF. The only thing that irks me a bit about them is that on the stock voice cards, there’s no way to get the filters of different voice cards in tune with each other — the scale is adjustable but not the offset. So you cannot play proper chords with a self-resonating filter patch. The TubeOhm SMR4-Plus version has this, and it would be a great great addition indeed.
From the schematics, it looks like it’s as simple as putting a 50k trimpot between VRef and the TL074 pin… is this correct? If so, it’s an easy fix.
Regards
Björn
Hi guys.
I recently built my Ambika, but I wanted to make the case myself. I found a SVG master file and made a EPS file for formulor.de (size P3 – 790 x 348 mm). Be free to use it. But be sure to use 3mm Acyl, because the layout only works with that thickness.
The second file (P2 – 348 x 348 mm) is for an alternative version of the top, with a hole for the display.
Today I received the lasered Acryl case and it fits perfectly!
Best,
Simon
HI. I like Shruthi-1 Lp2+delay filter so recently moded SMR4 voicecard to that it can be switched between smr4 and lp2+diode mode.
It required quad channel analog switch so I used MC14551. Has anyone else had the experience with this MC14551 switch ?
I’ve wired up everything without IC and it works but I will order batch of PCB’s and just wanted to make sure is MC14551 right for audio applications.
I used smd package because through hole is obsolete.
Switching between smr4 and lp2diode mode is done by changing lp > bp mode in AMBIKA menu.
I’ll appreciate any comments and feedbacks.
I ordered this display from the BOM from Mouser: 763-NHD-0240AZ-FLYBW Now I’m wondering if I got the wrong part. I was expecting Green characters on a black background, like the Ambika photos on the main Ambika page. However the picture on the mouser site shows a greenish background with black characters.
Can anyone clarify which is which? (and point me to a picture if possible).
Thanks!
Hi,
I’m having an issue with the Ambika Polivoks. IC2 (4052N) got super warm to the touch and started emitting a smell.
I had measured all the supply voltages before plunging it in and there were no issues.
When I removed IC2, the socket pins at 12 thru 14 looked discolored.
Any ideas?
I picked up a new 4052N from Mouser, and I didn’t want to put it in until I was sure this is ok.
Also, instead of the bipolar transistor for Q4, I used a FET like recommended in another post. Should I have a resistor on the gate?
Voice card Problem: I can’t get the board stacking connectors to go all the way into the female header/socket, despite exerting considerable force. This is an issue as it makes it 14-15mm between each board which is too much to fit into adrians case.
The assembly manual says not to the trim the connectors so I’m not sure what I should do here.Could it be I got the wrong female header?
Hi Y’all,
I just finished assembling and testing my Tubika MOBO, everything checks out electronically and I’m getting ready to start assembling my voicecards. I have the instructions for the mechanical assembly of the MOBO and voicecards, but I don’t have any for the chassis. It seems pretty straightforward but I don’t want to just “assemble from pictures” in case I might miss an important step along the way. Does anyone have instructions for this? I couldn’t find any on the Tubeohm site.
Thanks!
Javier Guerra, McAllen, Texas, USA
Hi everyone,
I just finished assembling a SMR4+ for a Tubika kit purchased from TubeOhm. It sounds great and is responsive to the controls, but I can’t seem to get it to self-resonate as per the assembly instructions. I just hear a pop when I play a note, no tone after setting the oscillators to none and filter and resonance to 64. Anyone else come across this and solved it?
Thanks!
Javier, McAllen, TX
Hi everyone,
I’m a noob in this great community. I recently bought an assembled Ambika a month ago with six Polivoks voicecards, and it sounds terrific. It was working well last week and went in the box each time it was unused – no drop nor shock, never.
But today i’ve put it off the box and it’s stuck like this. I tried with and without the SD card, and plugged with the sold power supply. Does someone know what this lit leds and stuck screen mean? Thanks!
For your intention, I did the YAM firmware and it was working well the couple of days I played with last time.
Best regards,
Thomas
Hey guys,
I sadly damaged my beautiful Optrex white on black LCD. They have been discontinued and I can’t find a replacement anywhere.
I’m looking at some alternatives but most are of inferior quality. OLED is an option I’m looking into. (but not a lot of choice and I’m reading here about those noise issues)
But before I give up hope I wanted to ask the community if someone might have one of these still laying around or know where to get one ? It would make my day … week, year ! :)
It’s the Optrex (Kyocera) C-51850NFQJ-LW-AAN
thanks
I have an smr-4 card where everything works except filters.
Turning the filter does nothing. Trimpot does nothing.
Where to start troubleshooting.
Hello all!
I recently attempted to build an Ambika, and I was able to confirm that my motherboard build passed the power rail tests in the “Testing” section listed here: http://mutable-instruments.net/ambika/build/mobo
However, only two out of the six SMR-4 voice cards seem to be working on my build; 4 of the voice cards do not light up a DATA LED when stacked into the motherboard. I’ve tried all the possible permutations of voice cards and motherboard slots, and I can confirm that the two functional voice cards work in all the slots, but none of the other four; it appears as though that the problem is on the voicecards themselves.
I’ve confirmed that the diode (D1) and the four transistors (Q1-Q4) are in good condition on each card by using the method described here:
http://www.electronics-radio.com/articles/test-methods/meters/multimeter-diode-transistor-test.php
I’ve also traced through the Scematic of the Ambika SMR-4 and I can confirm that all the ICs appear to be getting power from the power line on the header pins, so it’s curious to me as to why the DATA LEDs would not be lighting up on these boards. For what it’s worth, the DATA LEDs also appear to be soldered in as expected.
I’ve resoldered the IC sockets, but I’m still not seeing any progress.
Is there anyway I can get feedback from the Ambika itself about what sound cards are available? How would I go about testing if the ATMEGAs on the SMR-4s are in good shape? Does anyone else have any pointers as to how I can further test out the voice cards? In general, I’m pretty stumped as to what to debug next.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
thinking of replacing my LCD in ambika will this work? I didn’t like the one I originally got. I just put this one in my akai s900 and it looks amazing.
http://www.buydisplay.com/default/display-40x2-lcd-module-character-datasheet-pdf-ks0066-white-on-blue