Ambika builders

nedavine · 2014-08-22T10:19:00.000Z

Just about to build two of these badboys. I’ve built a shruthi and it was a dawdle. Hoping this one wont be to hard. All the parts arrived today. Time to go slow and build it surely but steadily. I’ll also try and film/document it. I know the instructions are great but I thought it might be a handy thing to do for other future builders.

If you’ve built one, please share your experiences. I’d love to hear how it went or if there are any things I should be cautious about. Oh and feel free to spam your demo’s with ambika.

BLOKE · 2014-08-22T10:52:30.000Z

I have built two - both with 6xSMR4 cards. I cant remember any particular difficulties. Building 6 cards the same makes things easier/quicker. I put in non-standard displays (just different colours - not the VFDs) and had to do a bit of filing on the main PCB to fit. I just ordered a metal case from Adrian - i’m thinking i’ll sell one of mine but the one i keep i want in a better case than the plexi-glass. Its a very well documented build so i’m guessing you should have no problems. Oh yeah - watch for the spec of the CMOS 4050 which drives the SD card if you self sourced - this needs to be exactly as documented or you will get problems with the card reading.

Have fun!

Matthew

nedavine · 2014-08-22T11:27:47.000Z

Thanks for the reply. I got the reader from mouser, the one in the BoM so I hope it’s the right one. A huge thunderstorm kicked off here so I’m gonna put it on hold until morning.

Fuseball · 2014-08-22T12:59:01.000Z

I’m thinking of building an Ambika soon. I’ve done quite a bit of repair work on pinballs and classic '80s video game PCBs and monitors so I’m not too worried about the through-hole component soldering.

The only thing that worried me with the Ambika build was the surface mount SD card reader. How straightforward did you find that part of it?

I love the look of that metal case too.

Dogma · 2014-08-22T13:03:35.000Z

There are now more filters to choose from you know - theres the tubohm Ladder filter - which can do diode, transistor or LED, the Polivoks which i also really liked and the steiner parker which Ive not heard. Because of the architecture you can run them as 6 monos so mixed card set ups work really well - as well as the individual outs

chad · 2014-08-22T16:30:05.000Z

Hey Nedavine,

I’d be interested if you photo or document your experience building the Ambika. Let us know how it turns out.

The Ambika’s have always peaked my interest, especially interested in the Polivoks filter in their line of filter boards.

BLOKE · 2014-08-22T16:40:33.000Z

""Fuseball"":

I’m thinking of building an Ambika soon. I’ve done quite a bit of repair work on pinballs and classic '80s video game PCBs and monitors so I’m not too worried about the through-hole component soldering.

The only thing that worried me with the Ambika build was the surface mount SD card reader. How straightforward did you find that part of it?

I love the look of that metal case too.

Hey the SD card reader is no too hard to fit. There are some tabs on the metal body of the device that you tack to the SMD pads on the pcb - you can then line up the contacts by applying heat to the tabs. Once its in its proper position you just make a solder bridge by running the iron across the pins with some solder - maybe apply some flux first. Its not too bad really.

neilbaldwin · 2014-08-22T17:18:22.000Z

I think I’ve built 8 of them for customers now. Tremendous poly synth. Built one with a couple of those ladder filter boards but to be honest I wasn’t that impressed with them.

Take your time (you don’t have much choice, there’s plenty to do on a 6-voice one!) and be patient, check things twice before soldering. There’s not a lot to trip you up, the SD card slot is a little tricky as someone else said - a lot easier if you have a thinner iron tip.

Good luck!

nedavine · 2014-08-23T06:24:41.000Z

Thanks for the encouragement peeps. I’ve spent most of the afternoon just organising the parts. 2 motherboards and 8 voice cards split across 2 orders makes for a lot of packages.

nedavine · 2014-08-24T07:29:26.000Z

Is there a magic way to get these female header pins in straight. When I turn the board over they fall out.

nedavine · 2014-08-24T14:49:44.000Z

2014_08_24_23_27_55_1.jpg1566×886 229 KB

whet · 2014-08-24T15:10:50.000Z

Nice screen selection , wish you good luck … been debating with myself to source and build one of those for a long time aswell.

nedavine · 2014-08-24T15:17:58.000Z

""whet"":

Nice screen selection , wish you good luck … been debating with myself to source and build one of those for a long time aswell.

Yeah sourcing the parts was a bit of a headache as it was my first time to do something like that. All in all though, it wasn’t too bad. A mouser and a digikey order. And screws from the hardware store.

BLOKE · 2014-08-24T17:01:34.000Z

""whet"":

Nice screen selection , wish you good luck … been debating with myself to source and build one of those for a long time aswell.

I saw a facebook update from Oliver that indicated he will have some full Ambika kits ready for December. Self sourcing is kind of fun(ish) and rewarding but having all the parts ready to go in one hit is also good - you only pay one lot of shipping… I always seem to end up buying extra stuff when self sourcing and also you have minimum purchase quantities that can add up cost wise.

nedavine · 2014-08-25T08:42:02.000Z

Kits would have been much easier.

On a side note. The dip28 sockets I ordered were the wrong size. Anyone know if it’s ok to just use two dip14s?

nedavine · 2014-08-28T15:06:06.000Z

DSC4286.jpg1000×725 257 KB

chad · 2014-09-04T13:29:34.000Z

""nedavine"":

DSC4286.jpg1000×725 257 KB

This looks great! Excellent job.

nedavine · 2014-09-04T14:06:18.000Z

Cheers. My remaining 4 cards should be arriving tomorrow so that will be two complete builds under my belt.

If anyone is interested, here are the first few patches I made with the Ambika.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19771034/Ambika/Ambika%20Bank%20C.zip

nedavine · 2014-09-21T10:42:23.000Z

added some more patches

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19771034/Ambika/Bank%20C%20(17%20patches).zip