Retrofan 64Mar 7

"The kit comes with everything needed to assemble the idun-cartridge"

Except for build instructions  

There is an interactive HTML in the repo, but it's missing component orientation for all but a few obvious things.

I'm not an electronics builder. I'd hoped this might be like other kits I built fovever ago where all this was laid out somewhere.

I'd also hoped for a more gentle learning curve. This is going to be a lot. I'm not keen on potentially screwing up hundreds of dollars of hardware I've waited months to get.

#iduncartridge

GitHub - idun-project/idun-cartridge: Hardware and software project for the Commodore C128, C64, and Ultimate.

Hardware and software project for the Commodore C128, C64, and Ultimate. - idun-project/idun-cartridge

GitHub
Show threadRetrofan 64Mar 7

So I have a few steps/options for building the Idun Cartridge..

  • Have a crash course in electronics building AND/OR
  • Have a crash refresher in reading a schematics AND
  • Have a crash refresher in reading the bands on resistors / identifying resistors AND/OR
  • hoping the blurry pictures of assembled units online are fit to get the gist (for 1 - 3)
  • Setting up a Discord account and barfing all the way.

    • I'd really assumed there'd be a bit more to go on (like build instructions).

    If anyone here knows of any online guides, or has done it before and can give a noob the 101 level intro, I'd appreciate it greatly.

    #c64 #iduncartridge #diy_electronics #pcbassembly

    Show threadRetrofan 64

    I am shamefully admitting that I've taken to asking an AI about this because it's easier to bullshit check an LLM than try and accrue all this information by hand.

    I would have rather learned this with a walkthrough that pointed me to resources for a deeper dive.

    That said, I'd also like to have a working cartridge within the next week or so 

    Mar 7 at 12:46amWeb
    Show threadRetrofan 64Mar 7

    This has all been pretty humbling. I also need to remember that getting all these parts and all this information together back when last did this 40 years ago would have required the help of several adults and trips to the library.

    That said, I still feel like there's ancillary things that I am losing by taking the "ask the AI" shortcut:

    • taking the time to learn principles (workaround: I've made notes in my notebook to circle back to areas of knowledge deficit)
    • making the effort to relearn electronics concepts that I knew well enough to pass all the ham radio license requirements
    • interacting with a social community of makers / Elmers to get my head screwed on straight.

    The TL:DR; is something I should have known - the component orientation of anything not an IC, a Diode, or Electrolytic Cap doesn't really matter. This build is mostly a few caps, bunches of resistors, and a few ICs and switches/jacks.

    The real lesson here is that I have been jumping back into a past to remember to slow the fuck down. This is certainly helping with that.

    Show threadarclightMar 7

    @retrofan64 I wish I had seen this thread when it was fresh; sounds like you made it through without extreme grief. Kits seem to vary widely in the quality of their build instructions. The best I've done were from Adafruit, long before they started self-destructing and going all-in on AI.

    Age, a lot of YouTube repair videos, and practice helped me a lot. I'm a lot kinder to myself, more patient, and with enough self-control that I can put things aside before they get frustrating - I'm in a much better place now to learn electronics than when I was a kid. The accessibility of parts, tools, and tutorials are so much better now but the biggest change has been in my attitude.

    Glad you made it to the end and turned the frustration into a post-mortem. I might need one of those cartridges...

    Show threadRetrofan 64Mar 7

    @arclight I don't know why I didn't think about cracking out a multimeter! Thanks!

    Here's the rogue's gallery with the values I've largely inferred from the BOM. 99% sure on the 4 bands, less so on 5

    Show threadarclightMar 7
    @retrofan64 The multimeter is your friend! :D
    Show threadRetrofan 64Mar 7
    @arclight lol, I actually responded on the wrong thread. I'm having a morning... sheesh