TK.

Hi Andrew, looking forward for your synth! Time to search for old Atari STs on Ebay before the prices rocket upwards! :-) Btw.: my next synth will be based on the YMF262/YAC512, also known as OPL3 (-> MIDIbox FM). Seems that a whole synth family based on nostalcic sound chips comes up Best Regards, Thorsten.

This is a Traktor Controller made by Martin. He built it into the case of a Denon double CD player - neat! :) Martin wrote (use http://babelfish.altavista.com to translate this german text):

Xanboroon brings up a point that is really thought-provoking. Where are the boundaries of DIY? Are premade PCBs already against the spirit of the unwritten DIY laws, or is etching only a job for lunatic fringes, who would also create their own resistors/caps/semiconductors if they would be able to do this. I think that the definition of DIY is a continuous process which will shift more and more into the direction of a macroscopic/modular approach in future. Some years ago each MIDIbox was totally handmade: built on breadboards, boxed in selfmade cases, decorated with selfmade panels... getting the parts was always a challenge, and bringing up the PIC was mostly only possible for experts. Today we've reached a status where the majority of people prefer to buy premade PCBs, they buy premade panels, they buy premade housings. And a trend can already be regognized for ordering complete kits or special parts from single sources, although it costs some extra money (or not if the availability is bad). People are mostly like electrons... they prefer the least resistance So, how will be the progress in the next years? When you watch closely to the latest microcontroller developments, you will notice that the handy DIP package slowly disappears from the market, new developments are mostly provided in a SMD or BGA package. There are a lot of charming solutions available in the meantime (e.g. ARM or TriCore based 32bit controllers, or huge FPGAs) which could bring us so much --- with the disadvantage of increased costs for equipment and a higher demand on solderings skills. The fact is that the demand for ready assembled modules comes once the industry has totally switched to SMD, and the distributors starting to discontinue the DIY friendly chips. Open question: is the possibility to buy assembled modules good the the community or not. I'm not sure yet. Currently the restriction that only PCBs or kits are available limits the number of users - from my point of view this is favorable for the support effort as well as for the infrastuture (e.g. the costs for the webservers) On the other hand it could bring new people into the community who are experts in other areas, like software customization/programming, testing, sound design, documentation, etc. Maybe it would only shift the support effort to another direction. Less issues with a non-working PIC programmers, wrong connections, bad soldering joints, missing MIOS upload request, but more questions about software or customization problems - the propability to get an helpfull answer increases with the number of people who are working with the same stuff. It's really a difficult decision... Best Regards, Thorsten. P.S.: reg the MBHP license - I don't like so much rules, they make the world too complicated

Wilba has programmed a java based MIOS upload application which runs on Win/Mac/Linux. I want to do some small modifications before releasing it in order to avoid an immense support effort, but if somebody would like to test the current version, feel free to contact me. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, the less documentation is required, the better. I think it's better to enhance SysExBox, so that it resets the core module automatically before uploading MIOS. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hallo Stefan, gehe ich recht in der Annahme, dass Du eine uralte MIOS Version verwendest? Dieser Fehler mit dem Running Status (der von Deinem Keyboard genutzt wird, um den MIDI Traffic zu minimieren) war mal ein Problem in MIOS V1.4 und MIOS V1.5 im zusammenspiel mit ein paar (wenigen) Applikationen. Der Fehler wurde in MIOS V1.5b gefixed (siehe http://www.ucapps.de/mios_changelog.html) Ich wuerde empfehlen, grundsaetzlich immer die aktuellste MIOS Version zu verwenden, um ein grosses Raetselraten zu vermeiden. Seit Februar wurde kein Bug mehr in MIOS gemeldet, deshalb ist davon auszugehen, dass diese Version wesentlich unproblematischer laeuft als die aelteren. Gruss, Thorsten.

Made by Martin - check also his homepage, it contains some additional pictures of the modules and a demo song. A description about the construction details and used components is planned. http://www.navisto.ch/midibox_seq/

I guess that the only change is the device ID, which is 0x10 for Logic Control, and 0x14 for Mackie Control. The emulation ID can be defined in main.asm of the MIDIbox LC application. If there are any other differences, we should always be able to add this to the firmware. Remember the Sonar fix - I found the required extension within 10 minutes by testing the MIDIbox LC with a demo version of Sonar. So - there is no real danger ;-) Best Regards, Thorsten.

The fix for sonar is part of MIDIbox LC v1.5 At least for Logic there are still a lot of people who are using this software (at least myself ;-) ) --- the possible interactions between Logic and Logic Control are the best I've seen so far. The Mackie Control drivers which are part of Nuendo/Cubase and Sonar are poor compared to the implementation from Emagic. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, are you able to monitor the SysEx strings which are transmitted from ProTools with MIDI-Ox? Maybe this software uses a different (undocumented) format, but it shouldn't be a big problem to add this to the MM application. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Rednas, PullUps will work in the range between 10k and 100k without problems, but please inform Claudia about this error. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Jef, one possible reason why the DINs are not captured correctly could be a short between SCLK and RCLK - the RCLK triggers the load input, and the SCLK (shift clock) shifts the pin states through the shift registers. If for example the SCLK is not working, you will always see the status of the first DIN. How to check this - it's difficult without a scope. But you could do a simple electrical check: remove all ICs from the DINX4 modules as well as the PIC18F452 from the core module. Then switch your multimeter to "ohmmeter" (or however it is named) and measure the resistance between the CLK and the LD pin of each 74HC165 socket. It should always be "high impedance" (no connection between these pins). If you measure 0 Ohm, then you know that there is a short, and this means that you have to visually check your PCBs at the bottom - maybe the two tracks for RCLK and SCLK are to near together. For reference the DINX4 schematic: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_dinx4.pdf The MIDIO128 application is nice for testing the DINs and DOUTs. You can upload it without any danger. Each DIN should trigger a MIDI event. Best Regards, Thorsten.

I don't know why this should happen, anyhow - it makes sense to update java to >= 1.4.2 due to the better MIDI support Best Regards, Thorsten.

Very good progress! :) Yes, now you can stuff the SID and upload the setup_6581_with_cs.syx file - although the filename could imply that this .syx is only for control surface option, it will also work without the appr. hardware. So: after the upload, send some notes to the core module. You can use the virtual keyboard of MIDI-Ox for this test. It can be activated via Actions->Keyboard. Then press some keys (Q W E R T) to play the notes. If you don't hear any sound, we have to continue with the mbsid_interconnection_test... Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Jeffry, could it be that your multimeter is not working? Which kind of measuring instrument are you using, do you have to calibrate it? Because: 6.7V instead of 5V makes ca. 30% error 15.6V instead of 12V makes ca. 30% error 11.6V instead of 9V makes ca. 30% error so, you always have an offset of ca. 30% Do you have a 7805 and a second PSU? Solder the 7805 to the core module and power it from J1, which value do you measure at J2, 5V or 6.7V? Best Regards, Thorsten.

...for the new, alternative patch mode which has been implemented on a very cold and rainy sunday. I had to made a lot of changes in different files and now would like to know if the old, "common" bank mode as well as the new patchmode is working in all cases. It would take me at least one week to check all usecases, so it's maybe better to ask you for support ;-) In difference to the common mode, in patch mode each BankStick contains one bank configuration (means: pot/encoder/motorfader/button events and lables) and 128 snapshots (64/128 pot/encoder/motorfader/button positions + patchnames). It allows you to prepare the bank configuration for one (or more) MIDI/Analog/VST instruments and to store/recall/morph up to 128 scenes. So - patch mode will be the favourite option for everybody who not only wants to control his instruments, but who also wants to store as much as possible instrument settings in the MIDIbox. :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, not MIOS, but the MIDIbox SID supports a Wavetable sequencer. It works a little bit different from SIDstation, with the pleasant side effect that it is more powerfull. You can control any CC (-> see http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid/sid_cc_implementation_chart.txt) in 3 tracks. So, not only the waveforms and note frequencies, but also the LFOs, EGs, Modulation matrix, Filter, etc...) You can also trigger notes (directly selected or derived from the chord which is currently played) to realize full customizable arpeggio textures (-> http://www.midibox.org/midibox_sid/mbsid_v1_5_wt+arp.mp3 all notes are controlled from the wavetable sequencer, this is preset #65) The MIDIbox SID FAQ (-> http://wiki.midibox.org) gives you some examples how to create drum sounds with wavetables) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Twin-X, very good idea! I'm sure that we can clarify all issues when debugging the modules step-by-step. +5V: for the original C64 PSU it's normal that the output voltage is a little bit higher if no load is connected. The voltage should drop to the nominal value once the core module (especially when a backlit LCD) is connected. Could you please try the following: remove all ICs from the core module, connect only the LCD (+backlight!). Then connect the +5/ground output of the PSU circuit to J2 of the core module and measure the voltage. The result should be in the range between 4.5V and 5.5V 14V: so long the voltage at pin 28 (Vdd) of the SID is less than 12V, the internal audio amplifier won't work correctly, and you won't hear anything. So, your first goal will be to bring this voltage (behind the 7812 of the SID module) to 12V. Here the same: remove all ICs from the SID module. A certain load is not required for this test. Connect the ground and +14V output of the PSU circuit to J1 of the SID module and measure the voltage between ground and pin 28 of the SID socket. Which value do you see? Measure also the voltage at J1, is it still 11.06V, or higher? If this doesn't help, following input would be interesting: the voltage between pin 1 and 2 of the 7809 of the PSU circuit the voltage between pin 2 and 3 of the 7809 the voltage before the rectifier of the PSU circuit (note: it's AC, you have to select this at your multimeter) is your PSU from an old C64 or from a C64 II (which contains the 8580 instead of the 6581) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Benedict, the modules are correct, and for the power supply circuit I would suggest the original C64 PSU, a schematic can be found at the MBHP_SID page. The audio outputs of my SID modules are directly connected to the soundcard (Hammerfall DSP Multiface) which gives me the freedom to apply different effects to the channels and to mixdown them seperatly. For other usecases I cannot provide schematics, but I guess that good working VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) and mixing circuits can be found somewhere in the web. Controlling pan: thats possible if you add a MBHP_AOUT modules, which gives you 8 analog (CV) outputs. They are part of the modulation matrix, so you cannot only control them with all 6 LFOs, but also with the 2 envelope generators. One of the CV output can control two VCAs which balance the output between two audio channels. Schematics -> search in the web 12 part polyphony: currently possible with a little effort if you assign the SIDs to different keyzones. However, a real polyphony will maybe be provided sooner or later, but from my experience this will be just a "nice-to-have", but no real useful feature, since each SID only provides one filter channel (which means: complex sounds with filters are not made for polyphony). I myself never needed something like this, so: "low priority" Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Twin-X, don't panic! We can help you via remote, you only need to explain more details about your observations so that it's easier for us to give you more explicit tips. So, your SIDs are working, you are able to play sounds, but there is no response from the control surface, right? Best Regards, Thorsten.

Pro Tools doesn't support the LC/MC protocol, therefore the Motormix emulation is better - the hardware is similar, but you have to left out the second display (only one 2x40 LCD required), the LEDrings and the meters See also http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=concepts;action=display;num=1086542547 Best Regards, Thorsten.

to give you some more technical backgrounds: in mios_bankstick.inc of the MIOS source code you will find the MIOS_BANKSTICK_Write_Poll loop with the note "memo: time out counter should be inserted here!" This is the only point where a BankStick transaction can hang, and the reason for this is either a damaged EEPROM, or an unstable connection. So, definitely a hardware failure (which is not handled by MIOS yet, but for which I don't see a strong requirement) Another point of interest: mb64e_bank.inc, search for "MB64E_BANK_WriteBankStick" you will find following comment "reset core if bankstick not available anymore (just for debugging)" This case can happen if the BankStick is disconnected during a write operation, or when you've a bad junction. So - both cases explain what you've noticed, therefore no bug, but a deterministic behaviour (from the software point of view) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Yes, each button can be reassigned. Only restriction: the general purpose group (2 shiftregisters/16 buttons to select the step/pattern/menu) has a fixed direction. In other words: if you connect it in an alternative direction, the step buttons are not aligned to the step LEDs (and with the step events of course...) Best Regards, Thorsten.

You can upload SysEx data, otherwise the LCD wouldn't show the dummy message of MIOS (READY) which appears only when no application has been uploaded thereafter. So, it seems that you were able to upload mios_v1_7.syx, and you should also be able to upload any other SysEx dump once you found out what is wrong with your configuration. Reg SysEx ID: at power-on the core sends an upload request which contains the device ID of the core. Which device ID do you see, still 1, or 0? You never wrote how you are trying to upload code, are you using MIDI-Ox? Have you regenerated the .syx file with hex2syx.pl? Or are you using vsysexbox? In this case it's easier, you only have to select the correct device ID in the selector box Best Regards, Thorsten.

yes - but you need to select the PIC16F877A type in IC-Prog (and not the PIC16F877) because of the different programming algorithm Best Regards, Thorsten.