Jidis

Thanks for the tips! I've gotten really good with wood and cabinetry over the years, but my metal skills suck. I use a similar layout technique, but with regular paper and a can of spray adhesive. It's probably more messy. I'll try to track down the sticky paper for my next one. I'm also using Canvas (v3.5-old) for my layouts, but I have to work on the Mac or one of my Win98 machines. I've been using it for over a decade, so it's hard to leave. The sizing is pretty accurate. I'm wondering if anyone has had decent results with the "Gootee" PCB transfer technique to move toner onto metal. I did a headphone amp on aluminum like that years ago and it seemed to work, but the metal box probably wasn't the best substrate. It wasn't perfectly flat on the sides and was hard to hold the iron to. I'm thinking with a nice flat panel, of the ideal type of metal, you should be able to get the same results as the PCB transfers (which have worked very well here). For those that haven't read it, Gootee's page is here- http://www.fullnet.com/u/tomg/gooteepc.htm He's also swearing by a new type of paper from Staples. I've got some, but haven't used it yet. The toner has been all or nothing here. My first attempt was printed at a local shop, and nothing transferred correctly. I found a copy machine that used the right type and it was smooth sailing from then on.                -George

Indeed it was! - Thanks again I hadn't noticed the Emagics. I've checked periodically for the older MTPAV's. It's hard to find any users in the Steinberg forums recommending any of them though. I don't even think they like the Midex there. I think there are a couple with old MTPAV's, but I've also read of a couple problems with them. I had one on a PC at a studio I was working at and I remember it being sort of flakey as well. Like I mentioned in the other post, my MIDI setup is fairly "modest". I also have *two* 8x8 patchbays here, so a 1x1 or 2x2 connection to the computer can suffice most of the time. I may try the soundcard MIDI for a little while and see if it gets me by and then just keep an eye out for something better. I wish old parallel boxes could work with some standard current driver for XP/2K. I've got a MIDIPort parallel here and there's an Atmel based circuit by the MaxMIDI guy, but it's from way back in the 3.1/Win95 days. (I take that back--- the MaxMIDI is actually serial - just checked)               -Take Care George

Stryd_one, I've got a thread a couple notches down asking about the different types of MIDI interfaces. Nobody actually recommended the game port thing, it was more a recommendation *against* USB, and I've been having a crap time with the particular USB interface I use, having it disappear on me, etc. As for the ASUS circuit, it was a "good" night (just too long). I got MIDI happening. Their pinouts evidently were correct, but I was only able to get it working after running almost a straight path between the MB header and the devices. I think I had a couple 270ohm resistors in there for flavor, but that was it. It doesn't seem to agree with the 15 pin to MIDI circuit I had been using (which works great with many other cheap soundcards). Nothing seems to make it through the optocouple or the inverter/buffer chip. No IN or OUT. I even tried an external power supply for the adapter to make sure their 5v power was OK. I don't get it. I thought those buffered adapters were the correct way to interface MIDI, and remember reading that some of the cheap adapter cables just ran straight through instead. If anyone knows the safest form of "passive" 15 pin to MIDI adapter, I'll be looking over the next day or so. I'm also constantly looking for an up to date DIY solution (other than game port). BTW - I think this link is the same 4N35/7407 circuit I use (it may have a minor pinout error from what I remember, but mine was corrected) http://www.harmony-central.com/MIDI/sbmidi.zip              -Take Care George PS- The machine sent a stream of SysEx and received a bunch of note messages to test the i/o. Other than that, I won't know how well it does for a few days.Â

After the recommendations here, I'm trying to switch my MIDI over to my motherboard's built-in MPU401 circuit. I'm running an ASUS A7N8X-E, which uses an optional PCI panel for a 15 pin Joystick/MIDI port, two additional USB ports and sometimes an extra COM port. I had a Sub 15 on a panel anyway, so I decided to wire it to a ribbon, but I'm not getting anything in either direction. I was wondering how most of you guys would go about troubleshooting such a problem. Details- I'm using a homemade 15 pin to MIDI adapter, which I built years ago from a web schematic. I think it includes a 4N35 optocoupler and a hex buffer along with a couple caps and resistors. I've gone back and checked it again on another machine to make sure it still works. Going by the ASUS manual, there are a total of 3- 5v pins on the MB header and two ground pins. All 5v pins they list are tied together, as are the two ground pins, so I don't guess it matters which ones I use for supply. I read 4.8 something volts at my 15pin, so I guess my supply and wiring are OK. The other two connections have been double checked at both ends, so their wiring is OK as well I've tried a wide variety of NForce chipset software, I've switched the BIOS settings from the default 10/330, I've used a few different MIDI apps, and I've most recently done a clean Win2Ksp4 install, replacing my XPPro OS (not just for the MIDI problem). I also tried reversing the MIDI in and out pins in case they made a typo. Both versions of Windows detected and installed an MPU-401 driver, so I guess it's turned on properly. I'm thinking tonight I may put a full ribbon on the header and try some of the other (joystick) pins to see if they are carrying the MIDI, but I doubt it. Out of curiosity, I checked the voltage at the two MIDI pins and had the full 4.8v supply at one and something in the high 3v range at the other, but I don't know what to expect from a constantly changing signal or what it should read in it's idle state. There's a scope out there, but I really only use it for setting tape heads. Can anyone think of anything else to check?                    -Thanks George PS- I'd throw in a cheap SB clone, but I'm clogged up with PCI junk, including two UAD cards that keep my case nice and hot :(

SCSI ISA SoundBlaster looks like it has both the YAC and OPL chips here. Card is a CT1770 SB 16 SCSI -Take Care

stryd_one, Thanks for all the info! I think I actually remember that EM article. I never really trusted USB either for some reason. The USB interface was something I was forced into when Apple killed the serial ports (and my Opcode box). It moved to the PC after I could no longer run my Parallel Portman (MIDISport predecessor, I suppose). That one stops at 98 and Nuendo is now XP/2k only. I may try some different ones this week and see what I get. My requirements are quite modest and the timing (sequencing) issues may not be as much of a problem for me. The bandwidth and the different interfaces ability to disturb the rest of my system is important, as is the security of knowing that the device won't disappear in the middle of a session. Nuendo 3 is using a USB dongle (excessively, I might add), so turning it off wouldn't work here. My next project will most likely be a MIDIBox64. I may go with the direct COM interface. I'm anxious to see what turns up in the near future for DIY MIDI interfaces. The only one I ever found was the MaxMIDI circuit and I thought it was too dated to build now. I'd have no problem trusting something from here. Thorsten, thanks for the tip on the MIDISport. I guess that's another reason to try to find something better. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -George

How big of a difference is there between the common MIDI interface standards? This would be for a rig with probably a single device, streaming controller stuff in and out. How about for other purposes, like real time note messages, multiple devices, etc.? I've never seen a definitive answer to this. I'm running a 2x2 USB MIDISport on an A7N8X-E board and have had it disappear on me a few times for no obvious reasons. I replaced the cable with a brand new one the other night, but I somehow doubt that's the problem. I've always been afraid of USB and I do have built in MIDI on the 15 pin here. -Thanks!

Hi, I'm getting ready to mount a new MIDImon in an enclosure and had hoped to re-use the existing momentary tact switch to power it off and on. I found and tested a transistor circuit from here- http://www.edn.com/article/CA472837.html It works OK, but it powers up in the "on" state, which I don't believe it's supposed to do. I'm running with a 12V supply (dropped to 5 by the regulator), and my resistor values came out to: R1-Â 10M, R2-Â 470k, R3-Â 2.3M, R4-Â Â 1k, R5-Â Â 50k, R6-Â 2.3M, R7-Â 5M, R8-Â 500k, R9-Â Â 5K. I was using BC 547's and 557's for the transistors. I was also only using an LED for the test load. Hopefully, the switch will function the same with the PIC, etc. I'll probably throw a 120VAC DPDT slide on the back to kill the power to the transformer completely. Does all this sound like a reasonable on/off setup for this, before I commit it to copper? Also, would inserting such a circuit after the filtered 7805 output pose any problems for the PIC circuit or ruin my nice, clean supply? And lastly, does anyone with a better understanding of transistors or this switch circuit know why it would be starting off latched, and what to change? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Thanks! Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â George BTW- The 10M resistor at R1 started at 2.3M, but it would switch back on if you held the button for a second while turning it off.

Yeah, I asked about adding MIDI clock display to the MIDImon a long time ago, and he had it in the next firmware update a week or two later. Wish some of the big developers were that responsive :) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Thanks!

Thorsten, Thanks! I'm not sure I'm looking at an up to date schematic. I've got 6 RB pins going to the LCD and 3 others from RD 5-7 (p28-30). Which ones are the R2,R9,R10 you refer to? And pins 2-10 of the PIC (RA0-5,RE0-2) all take a resistor to 5v, except the grounded filters at pins 4 and 5 (RA2,RA3). Does all that sound right? -Thanks Again! PS- How about MIDI clock with the old code (other than the 99 bar limit)? I mainly want to use a 16f to see if the unit is working. The 18f will take me a little while till I can put together a worthwhile digikey order. Also, the display board appears to be wired perfectly, despite the fact that I got 4 dual segment LEDs, the 3 shift registers and the 16 resistors on a single sided board measuring about 38mm x 115mm (1.5"x4.5").

Hello, I've just finished the MTC (LED) circuit for a MIDIMon, and was wondering what to do about all the "LCD related" PIC pins. All I'm making it for is MTC and MIDI clock. I guess I won't be needing the push buttons either. Looks like I need the resistors on p2-10 regardless. Is there something in particular that needs to be done to the LCD pins (28-30,33-38) or do I leave them open? How about the other empty pins in the diagram? Also, should I ground the two filter pins (4&5) since all I want is time code? If Thorsten K. reads this-- Just how bad off is the original 16F874/77 code for my purposes? I saw your mention of it being unreliable. I can socket the PIC and put in an order for the new chip, but I've already got two of the old ones. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â - Thanks for everything! George

Some of us even have to climb over such devices to reach some areas of our houses ;) Thanks for the hot air tip! I've got a Wagner heat gun (for paint) here, and some propane and mapp gas which did a rather crappy job at brazing metal. I'll try them as desoldering tools and see how it goes (if all else fails....use fire) -Take Care

toniodod--- Unfortunately 'this' may be a problem. You may want to check through SX2's mappable generic remote functions first hand, and maybe try them with another MIDI device as a controller before you make plans around them. Steinberg yanked a whole slew of features from the generics when SX and Nuendo went into v.2. They are supposed to be doing a major code rewrite, which will affect most controllers, but this has been promised for a while and they are now sort of "side tracked" with implementation for their new ID controller. I too have been anxiously awaiting the return of the generic stuff for N2. Right now, there are some basic functions in there, but most of the stuff's gone. If you've got a minute, go inquire about it on the Cubase hardware forum, or maybe email them directly. It won't hurt to have more of us "nagging". They need to be aware that not all of us can afford the high end remotes. - Take Care George

Yeah, I just broke down and grabbed a Dremel a couple weeks ago and don't know how I got by this long without it. I already had a small bench drill press. By the way, Dremel had a pack of 5(?) bits that I bought with the intention of breaking, and was never able to break them. They are a 32nd of an inch or something, and they actually have a pcb in the picture. I had to drill probably a few hundred holes for an EPROM programmer, and they were perfect for everything but the regulator and the D-Sub pins. For those, I used a Dremel "ball tip" burring bit, which was a bit larger. I see those recommended as pcb drills a lot. The real ones are for dentistry or something. I'm sure my Dremel bits are dull as crap now, but they didn't break. I'm going to start keeping a bunch of tubes of them. - take care all, George

Emanuel, I use that technique here with good results, but I was afraid to do my MB64 board, so I sent it off. The text I learned most of it from was here: http://www.fullnet.com/u/tomg/gooteepc.htm It may have a bit more detail to it, if you're interested. The JetPrint paper they mention wasn't hard to find. There's probably a bunch that will work. One catch I did find, was the toner. On my first try, I ran my copies and some of the paper up to a local Kinkos (print shop) to be printed onto the photo paper. They looked fine, but the image barely came off the paper when I heated it. I ended up with this fuzzy, useless transfer, which wasn't dark enough to block the etchant. Just out of curiosity, I took my next one to my father's work, and had them print it from a standard copy machine, onto my photo paper, and it was perfect! The image peeled neatly off of the paper after just a minute or two in the water. With practice, I was able to get nice clean lines and readable text labels. It may be worth checking a different machine, if your results are discouraging. The ironing and etching procedures were the ones which required the practice. I've done a couple small amps, and am going to try to start on a board for an EPROM/Atmel/PIC programmer tomorrow (the board layout is frightening). - take care, George

For anyone interested- There was a guy near me in the US selling batches of the 10k linear 100mm slides for pretty cheap on eBay. He seemed to have them for a while and not many bids. I would guess he's still holding some. Don't see any up now, but here's a link to one of his current auctions with his contact info in it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1787214165 He's a good guy, and everything was dirt cheap. -take care George