TK.

Yes, an USB hub will help The advantage of seperate IOs: higher bandwidth (as MIDI events can be sent out in parallel to multiple MIDI outs), and you don't need to merge the inputs, resp. chain the IOs Best Regards, Thorsten.

Yes, we have to solder the chip by ourself - but don't panic, it's a nice inexpensive project to get some practice, especially because TQFP32 has only 8 pins at each side Best Regards, Thorsten.

+ $400 to extend your AppleCare contract ;) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hallo Gody, ja, mit einem zweiten MIDI Out Port geht das problemlos. :) Leider ist es nicht damit getan, die entspr. Buchse einfach parallel zur Ersten anzuschliessen. Man muss ihn Buffern, damit ihm (umgangssprachlich) nicht der Saft ausgeht. Deshalb gibt es das MBHP_LTC Modul: -> siehe http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp_ltc.html Wobei Du fuer Deinen Anwendungsfall auf den zweiten 74HC00 und den MAX232 verzichten kannst. Gruss, Thorsten.

Apparently I don't understand my own jokes anymore ;) Best Regards, Thorsten.

No, there are no group selection buttons at the frontpanel of my own MBSEQ - to which buttons are you refering exactly? (just give me the link to the .gif file) > Have i told you that this page is very impressive? It is! Thanks! :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Interesting, this is a definition error in the encoder table, because the "OSC Release" encoder should be assigned to SR4, Pin 0 (and 1) Due to some magic 3,8 leads to the same assignment as 4,0 (ok, replace "magic" by "sr*8 + pin" ;-)) I changed the source code to: [tt] ENC_ENTRY 4, 0, MIOS_ENC_MODE_DETENTED2 ; Osc release/pulsewidth/assign #5 [/tt] Best Regards, Thorsten.

Optimized Windows Driver: it's bundled with the firmware and our vendor ID. We don't need to pay extra money for it. In other words: for us it's free! :) Schematic: more patience please! I've already access to the schematic, but it's confidential. I already got the permission to publish an own schematic, but I won't do this before I tested the current chip configuration. I will get the evaluation board in 1-2 days, and a schematic can be expected this weekend. Don't worry, it's a very simple circuit, I just don't want to break the rules! However, the cheapest solution is to re-use the Ploytec PCB, and to add the MIDI IOs externally (e.g. soldered on a veroboard) if required. The MIDI I/O sockets are not required if you connect the GM5 IOs directly to the MIDIbox Link port J11 of your core modules. If somebody prefers an individual solution, he will get all sources which are required to layout the board... soon! Best Regards, Thorsten.

Update: Ploytek will also provide PCBs for 2.50 EUR pp.! They are prepared for one MIDI In and one MIDI Out Socket, the remaining 4 IOs are available on junctions, and can be directly connected to MBHP_COREs, or alternatively to external MIDI IO sockets (+ optocouplers) Please add the desired PCB quantity to the third column Best Regards, Thorsten.

Yes, there is an advantage: inside configuration pages GP buttons/LEDs are used to control soft functions (parameters displayed on the LCDs). With "DEFAULT_SRM_BUTTONS_NO_UI 1" all BLM rows display the trigger layers, and you are able to change the triggers with the BLM buttons, whereas with "DEFAULT_SRM_BUTTONS_NO_UI 0" the upper BLM row is used as GP button/LED replacement, which means that you have to go back to the edit page in order to change the triggers of the upper track. In other words: with "DEFAULT_SRM_BUTTONS_NO_UI 0", you won't get direct access to track 1/5/9/13 inside configuration pages no No, these are different functions. Track buttons allow you to select one or more tracks inside a group, whereas the group buttons allow you to select track 1-4/5-8/9-12/13-16 So, with 2x4 = 8 buttons you control the selection of the 16 tracks Best Regards, Thorsten.

Could it be, that J2 isn't 1:1 compatible to MBHP_SID:J2 and MBHP_CORE:J10? (10 pins instead of 8 pins) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Razmo! :) Please note, that the most current version (with corrections, etc...) can always be found here: http://svnmios.midibox.org/trunk/apps/synthesizers/midibox_sid_v2/doc/ Best Regards, Thorsten.

Addendum: you are allowed to re-enter the quantity of chips you are planning to buy to give over people the possibility to join the first batch order. Please only take care, that the n x 250 pieces criteria is fullfilled Best Regards, Thorsten.

Ok, after a phone call I got some very good news: 1) each GM5 chip provides 5 physical MIDI IO ports! (means: 0.70 EUR per IO port - compare this with commercial interfaces! :)) 2) an external EEPROM for storing the vendor ID won't be required - and we will get our own vendor/product ID (I will use one of the IDs which have been sponsored by voti.nl) 3) the windows driver will be multi-client capable No need for virtual cable/router workarounds MacOS is multi client capable w/o additional driver 4) They consider to sell PCBs More infos (especially about the prices) soon Best Regards, Thorsten.

SMD != SMD - there are differences between package formats and pin pitch... To give you an impression: this is the pitch which is good for DIY, and which can be expected for GM5: And this is the pin pitch of a FTDI chip: (sorry, but my camera had problems to zoom this properly ;)) Best Regards, Thorsten.

I would use a PCM1725 instead of TDA1543 - availablility and quality are significantly better Best Regards, Thorsten.

Ploytec doesn't sell PCBs, the evaluation boards are provided - as the name says - for evaluation only. Outdated info: they consider to sell PCBs Best Regards, Thorsten.

OSC is cool, but my primary focus is on MIDI, therefore you won't find alternative solutions from my side. This doesn't mean, that a skilled programmer wouldn't be able to build other protocols into his MIDIbox firmware. With MIDI, a MIDIbox can easily talk with any MIDI compatible device without firmware changes. For example, it doesn't matter if you control a MIDIbox SID directly from your MIDI keyboard, from your hardware sequencer, or from your computer. You can especially control it from all these devices the same time with the same protocol, and without baudrate adaptions. Or a MIDIbox SEQ can not only send data to your computer, but to any MIDI device without firmware changes. Today, OSC is still only useful in conjunction with computers. So, why not using a Proxy which converts MIDI into OSC instead of OSC (or any other plain serial stream) into MIDI? From the functional point of view, it's the same, you only need to find a clever MIDI event coding. Yes, OSC has also advantages, but just compare them with the possibilities already given by MIDI, and decide by yourself which advantages are stronger. We could also say: it's a different philosophy. Example: go to youtube, and watch my stribe demo (keywords: "stribe ucapps"). Search for other stribe demos, and tell me, which solution is using MIDI as transfer protocol, and which one is using OSC. Do you see any function, which cannot be realized with MIDI? As mentioned above, most firmwares have been tailored for MIDI baudrate. However, a generic device like a x*y button/LED matrix could also run with a much higher baudrate, but most MIDIbox firmwares are "a bit" more complex than a minimal application like Monome... anyhow, it's the same: a skilled programmer should know, how to change the baudrate, and what it means for his application. Btw.: do we really need to talk about such technical topics in a "bulk order" thread? Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Juergen, it would be interesting, if the transistor amp stage is working. The mbsid_testtone application provides a special testing feature for this: In addition, a 1 kHz pulse will be generated on the CS lines to the two SIDs. This feature allows you to test the output amplifier of the SID module (unplug SID, connect socket pin #8 with #27) [/code] So, after connecting pin #8 with #27, you should hear a 1kHz pulse sound Best Regards, Thorsten.

Just ask them, and please let me know about the reasons. Yes, TK has considered this several times. There are at least three reasons why I don't find them suitable for MBHP: - SSOP package, you are not able to solder this with a soldering iron - expensive (because you need an additional adapter board SSOP->DIP (or similar) format) - MIDI protocol not natively supported, a proxy is required which makes the usage complicated and error prone whenever you upgrade to an operating system which isn't supported by the proxy Both: standard USB-MIDI and dedicated driver for windows (which hopefully fixes the known flaws which are documented at my website - I will test this) You don't need a programmer, the closed-source firmware is already programmed into the chip. We will see... ;) As mentioned in my initial posting, I won't order the first batch before I tested the chip under Windows and MacOS You will see multiple devices - the max configuration I ever tested was 3 MBHP_USB and 1 MBHP_USB_PIC module. I guess, that for the GM5 chips it will work the same way... Best Regards, Thorsten.

If you would have mentioned this earlier, I'm sure that the discussion would have gone into a different direction. I think, that there is no need to continue the discussion (therefore the thread has been locked). Looking forward to get inspired by your creations, and I hope that one day you will share your experiences (regardless if good or bad ones) that you made during the re-implementation in this forum. :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Ich habe die beiden Postings zusammengefuehrt Ausser der MIDIbox LC gibt es auch die MIDIbox MF Firmware. Sie bietet die gleichen Features wie MB64/MB64E (also bspw. mehrere Configurations-Baenke, On-Screen Editierung, bis zu 64 Taster, MIDI Learn, Parameter-Morphing, alternative Konfiguration via SysEx, etc...), ist jedoch auf die Verwendung von Motorfadern zugeschnitten. Du findest die Firmware in der MIOS Download Section unter "midibox_mf" Gruss, Thorsten.

Ich programmiere auf einem MBP, und verwende meinen PC mittlerweile nur noch, um PICs mit dem MBHP_BURNER zu brennen. Da via SVN nur die Source Files uebertragen werden, muss ich sie vor dem Brennen auf dem PC assemblieren - deshalb ist mir das Problem bisher noch nicht aufgefallen... Gruss, Thorsten.

Schade, dass wir das Problem nicht loesen konnten. Ich befuerchte, dass auch andere in Zukunft darueber stolpern werden. :/ Welche Windows-Version verwendest Du eigentlich? Im Anhang die aktuelle MB808 mit Ext Trigger mod und Swing-Poti aktiviert (falls Du keins angeschlossen hast, muss zumindest PIC Pin #2 an Masse geklemmt werden, ansonsten wackeln die Sequencer-Timings) Gruss, Thorsten. setup_808_with_swingpot.hex setup_808_with_swingpot.hex

In theory yes. In practice it can affect the architecture of the firmware. E.g., required MIDI In/Out buffer size, maximum allowed CPU load, interrupt priorities, etc... MIOS and most main applications have been designed for MIDI baudrate. Using higher baudrates can lead to failures. Best Regards, Thorsten.