Tanstaafl

ok, you guys are just jerking my chain at this point..... right?

Some ( 2 year old) preliminary pix are at my website.... but, the Gizmo has changed in the last couple of years. I commandeered an old KORG UniVox to put the stuff into. However, I have not made photo's since moving to the new box with the integrated PC. If I get enough requests, I'll make new photos. But..... you can get an idea of what I have been doing with MB, go to: http://www.ggbnet.com/picstuff.html that shows the MMV and MidiBox CV (with mods). As stated, if there is an interest in seeing the new setup, I will photograph and post. c ya gb

Being a pseudo-geek, I get Analog Devices newsletter. This thread brings back a memory of 3 or 4 years ago. Yes, laptop drives were (and continue to be) perfected by IBM, Seagate, Fujitsu with accelerometer chips built into 2.5 inch drives to prevent data loss. These AD chip driven drives will move the heads to a safe area whenever the 'G' force detected is more than an acceptable value. And it seems that noise levels are getting better by the month. I agree with theProf..... for performance and multi-tasking SCSI is the only way to go.... too bad nobody makes Micro SCSI drives. I'm holding my breath over solid state drives....... I have had to REALLY shield my portable MoogModular-Midibox. Housing for the hard drive, Baffles for the CPU fan. Various electronic shielding for noisy bits. (sound card(Audigy), and Ferrite cores for all of the major wires. The box has a miniATX motherboard running a dual core 2.x CPU, built-in video -Audigy card on a vertical riser -ASIO drivers I think in the next few years we will get CHEAP/reliable/fast solid state drives so....... my 2 cents worth gb

oops, sorry suck up bandwidth.

got my kits on Friday, all assembled and tested by Saturday a.m. Smash, ur the greatest ! (really nice boards!, I can not see making my own from now on.) gb

This man was truly inspired! All midiboxers should download "nice , nice, very nice' from itunes. the sleeping drunkard... up in central park or the lion hunter in the jungle dark... it's worth a listen... Long live KURT!!! requiescat in pace!

Answering my own question...... I have experimented with rotary switches coupled with 2k resistors between the poles. It works! MB64 reads the values (and locks on the values repeatedly). Now I am debating whether to build my own boards or use Smash's kits. Seems to be cheaper to use his stuff than fabricate my own. (I have an MB64 test bed I use for experimentation, and I dont want to use those parts to build this new MidiBox). I am certain I can not fabricate my own AIN module for less than 12 bux! Smash, how do you do it? I know, volume fabrication. Pix to follow shortly. gb

Well, I am back in midibox land... starting work on my new project which will be an MB64 based controller for Arturia's MiniMoog V. Not really sure how familiar the users are here with the minimoog, but.... The frequency and waveform controlls are rotary switches, with either 6 or 7 positions. I am not sure if I want to use an DIN module for these or just AIN with 2K resistors between the poles. Any suggestions? TIA, gb

Guten Geburtstag !!!

Yes, the Soundlab uses modified modules from Ray Wilson's site. It is V/Oct. not sure of the price if you buy a kit. I had good luck with all of the modules I built (DIY) which he designed. Paia has the Fatman, it's V/Hz. It cost 150 USD. I have built a couple of these (DIY) not the kits, and have been happy with thier performance. The rest of my gear is V/Oct, so I built an extra MidiBox CV to control the Fatmen. Good luck, gb

go check out this guy's website. I have built quite a few of the VCO's, VCA's VCF's and Envelope generators. They work very well with MidiBox-CV. http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/analogsynth.php?page=ANALOG good luck, gb

I had an old Paia keyboard from the '70s, 37 keys. I took 1 - DINx4 and 1- DINx1 and hooked a wire from each key to an individual DIN input. Not as efficient as a matrix, but I did not really have a use for many buttons on my project. You add assignments in your midibox application for DIN/note-on events and the midi note number you want. I am not sure how the matrix option handles multiple keys pressed, but using the above system is as polyphonic as I need to get with my MoogModular V. good luck gb

Geez Stryd, My computers are not on my work surface, so years ago, I downloaded all the webpages and keep them in a binder for quick ref. I update as needed. I can put this binder anywhere I am working. It has served me for years. c ya gb

the DIN idea works, I did it with my OLD Paia 2700 series keyboard. No velocity, just note on / note off. but it works fine. good luck gb

gizmo is a simple description for something complex... easier to say than "C64 User Port to RS-232 Converter" However, what I was saying about using the C64 as it is, and using that 'gizmo' to interface to a midibox, this would be a monumental task. A lot of programming on the C64 side, and I am afraid you probably could not get any help on that from this forum. There might be old Commador users here, I am, but I really don't program them (at least not down to the hardware level) I use mine with an old Sequencial Circuits keyboard that plugs into the game controller port. The keyboard came with a program that allowed you to use the screen and computer keyboard to program the aspects of the SID. It is kinda cool, but what I have heard from MidiBox SID units is far superior. Good Luck gb

the Maxim chip in the schematic is a line level converter. It takes the TTL signals from the user port and converts them into + / - 12V voltages needed to talk to the RS-232 (NON) standard. here is a link to the datasheet: http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/1798 With a midibox, midi-2-com, and the gizmo from the schematic, you will have the hardware to do what you want. BUT.... You would need to write a program on the C64 to read the data coming in from the user port, and turn it into useful information that the SID could use. I don't think it would be possible to get any kind of REALTIME use out of that sort of setup. If your C64 is not used for anything productive (gathering dust on a shelf), dissect it for the SID chip and build a midibox SID. So much easier than reverse engineering/coding. Just about anybody can build the SID module, if your going to build (or have built) a midibox CORE then you have the skill to SIDify. Good Luck, gb

Looks like you built this in my soundlab !!!! Great work, welcome to the world of functional midiboxing !!!! gb

Hey Sebo, PAIA makes an add on board that will turn the V/Oct to V/Hz. 9700vhz midi2cv8 Volts/Hertz Option includes all components and circuit board with mounting hardware .............. us$14.25 (5.00) the above from thier website at:http://paia.com/midi2cv.htm gb

I could see this turning into the next digital synth if all of the lines can be multiplexed. One CPU for midi, one for sequencer, one for A/D (for older modules) etc, etc, and of course, ETC..... :) Yes, all of the analog would need to be developed, but the chips and tools are available. Since this thing seems to be a speed demon, I would think many functions could be incorporated into a box that would make amazing sounds. This is not to say it would be a MidiBox ala TK. I am sure we will see something for us musician/geeks in the next couple of years based on this architecture. cheers, gb

Nahh, he and the midibox project were referenced in Nuts-n-Volts over 2 years ago, by a guy that made an animated musical water fountain.... lemme go find that issue and I'll put a link. dang... i can't find it... but I think it was called "H 2 Opus" and was in the June 2003 issue. http://www.nutsvolts.com/toc_Pages/jun03toc.htm# is a link that gives minor details and a photo. cheers, gb

Kewl, looking forward to pricing. I burn my own PICs / etch my own PCBs also... forgot to mention that. anyway, been thinking about building a MidiBox SID since I have most of the parts, but a prefab would save a week or two of dev time :) gb

As to PCB or Kits, I guess it is our respective locations. I am in the U.S. and have access to many parts vendors locally. So a PCB would be my best bet if you are located outside of the lower 48. I have 4 old C64 systems so don't really need the SID's or power supply. On a complete tangent..... I also have a few Amiga's.... did they not have a kick butt sound chip also? I wonder.....? TK? ;)

ditto !

Howdy ! On the DIN webpage, the file mbhp_dinx1.pdf, is about as close to a diagram you can use on a breadboard as you can get. I have a pcb layout 1:1 that is a CORE module and a dinx1 module on a 3" X 5" single sided pcb. I just need to find it. When I do, I will post a link here. good luck, gb

yes