DragonMaster

About the same thing here, :-[ $15 for a chip and no PCBs to Canada. Add $7 for each chips. I won't order I guess, to build two interfaces I'd need two chips and PCBs shipped ($33) + parts ($15) + boxes ($10) + jacks ($12) + shipping for parts ($25), I'd rather solder the MIDI in and out pins in my laptop's sound chipset and just buy a commercial USB interface for my other computer.

Sorry, forgot to tell which language it was ;-) (Location in user profile provides an hint as well) Windows was likely translated in France, they use a lot of English words over there. Vista calls "Program Files" "Programme" instead, but that's a fake folder name, just like "My Documents" which is really named "Documents". (By the way, My Documents, My Music, etc. are translated in the French version)

Same set of variables as the others... ALLUSERSPROFILE=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users APPDATA=C:\Documents and Settings\------------\Application Data ClusterLog=C:\WINDOWS\Cluster\cluster.log CommonProgramFiles=C:\Program Files\Fichiers communs COMPUTERNAME=------------- ComSpec=C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe FP_NO_HOST_CHECK=NO HOMEDRIVE=C: HOMEPATH=\Documents and Settings\---------- LOGONSERVER=\\---------------- NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS=2 OS=Windows_NT Path=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\system32\WBEM;C:\Program Files\AT I Technologies\ATI.ACE\Core-Static;C:\Program Files\Mozart\bin PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE=x86 PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER=x86 Family 15 Model 35 Stepping 2, AuthenticAMD PROCESSOR_LEVEL=15 PROCESSOR_REVISION=2302 ProgramFiles=C:\Program Files PROMPT=$P$G SESSIONNAME=Console SystemDrive=C: SystemRoot=C:\WINDOWS TEMP=C:\DOCUME~1\-------------\LOCALS~1\Temp TMP=C:\DOCUME~1\--------------\LOCALS~1\Temp USERDOMAIN=-------------- USERNAME=--------------- USERPROFILE=C:\Documents and Settings\------------- windir=C:\WINDOWS

Out of my head, Avel Lindberg and Plitron make good transformers. EDIT: A few more mfg's: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1278098#post1278098

Just to clear up some confusion : "Creative Music Synth" is simply the MIDI device name you see in Windows. You can name it whatever you want if you modify the driver's INF file before installing it. Creative's drivers have a fixed "General MIDI" sound bank you can't change the sounds. If you decide to make your own sounds with a stock ISA card, you can go on MIDIOX's website (http://midiox.com/) Go in MIDI Tools and download "FM Synth", "SBTimbre" and "IBK". SBTimbre allows you to make your own sounds for the OPL3, it saves them as banks in the IBK format. IBK is a collection of custom sound banks. FM Synth is a Windows 9x driver that replaces Creative's driver, and is allowing you to use the sounds you saved in IBK files.

Well, if you use the transistor crosspoint solution, it'll only cost you $250 worth of transistors and $160 worth of resistors. There are just 16384 transistors and 32768 resistors to solder that way ;D (I wonder how much it would cost to get this board built with automatic PCB assembly, it wouldn't be too long though, there are machines that place 13k components per hour.

Well, the MT ones seem to have good crosstalk specs when you keep the impedance low. Also, the X and Y lines are I/Os, there's no assigned input and output pin. They say you can connect the crosspoints in any way you want. It seems more flexible than the 8113. Also, it's not only available as an LQFP package. The only disadvantage I see is an higher THD. Buffers on the inputs and outputs? Yikes! That starts to be complicated, and you need components around the relays to prevent pops... Otherwise, I guess one could use a 100kOhm resistor grid with "muting transistors" between every crosspoints.

That's the only known way to use samples on a SID, I even think I read only 6581s can do this. When's OSC coming to the MIDIbox?

It's not that expensive when you get your relays on the surplus market (there's a store around here selling small signal relays for $0.50 ;D ) Otherwise I don't know if it would be easy to make reed relays out of reed switches to be sure to get something reliable... ($0.30 each + magnet wire)

:o The only problem with matrix chips is that they have quite high crosstalk levels. Relay matrix anyone? ;D

He means "4 remaining parts" ;-)

Le MIDI ne peut fournir que quelques mA à travers un buffer, pas plus. Il faudra attendre que la midiBOX fonctionne avec le MIDI over IP (En utilisant du Power-over-Ethernet en même temps) ;-)

Bonjour Jules, je crois que le code devrait ressembler à quelque chose comme ça: évidemment, le code devrait être traduit en C, et utiliser while, else et if à la place de goto, et il faudrait une table dans la mémoire qui associe le # de pin à une note, etc. Le code utilise une variable par note pour savoir si elle a changé d'état ou non.

Modify a C64 emulator to send MIDI to the MBSID rather than using software emulation?

Hi, I don't want to add an LPF, but to bypass the one on the current OPL3 module.

Pretty much --> BS to sell expensive products. Deeper low, cleaner highs, better stereo image, depth, etc. This is not the effect of better components but the effect of willing to hear something different. You have to do ABX blind tests to see if there's really a difference if someone just replaced a component without comparing directly and said it sounds better, then don't trust it (most audiophile mags, for example). However, different capacitor types have different characteristics on an oscilloscope, but the difference is so small (you won't hear it in a blind test) that it doesn't make a difference.

Oh, by the way, is the LPF absolutely necessary, will the module sound too raw without it? (Trying to simplify things)

You saw the price tag at Farnell? ;D The MKT polyesters will work fine. By the way, polypropylene caps are said to sound better (probably an unnoticeable difference anyways / totally subjective), but they fail after a shorter time, so the polyesters are better.

Hi all, I think I'm going to have a bit of fun making another layout improvement for the OPL3 module, to be able to fit SMD opamps (less holes to drill). ;D Unfortunately, I can't stand EAGLE, so I can't just edit selfservice's PCB. :'(

Hi, styroflex is simply another name for polystyrene capacitors. Local shops rarely carry them, but a decent online store should have some (Farnell, for example has 22nF polystyrene caps. They're far from cheap though.) By the way, if you don't need a specific type of capacitors, polyester and polypropylene capacitors (they are much more common) will replace them without problem.

They could maybe damage the PSU IMO, but not the AIN. An ADC draws a bit of current to measure voltage, it doesn't provide power to the sensors, which are arranged in a voltage divider fashion and pull power directly from the PSU. The hardware side of the project is working, but the remaining part is the software. Pressure is not related to this, but the way the keys/FSRs are placed allow you to do this. What I mean is that he can't just buy a keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch as the key layout isn't the same at all. (See attachment here : http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,10271.msg78167.html#msg78167 for a basic view of the key disposition. )

It's the Opcode MusicQuest 8Port SE. Drivers here: http://8portse.earthvegaconnection.com/index.html It's quite common on eBay for about $40-$80 http://www.harmony-central.com/Events/WNAMM96/Other/midi-solution.html As I said, it would probably be easy to clone it as it uses commonly available parts (if it ever becomes hard to find, for example). The interface isn't that well known. Opcode was bought by Gibson and dropped a few years after, an invididual made the driver.

Hi, Jules has a thread about this "keyboard" 's development in the French forums. What he needs is polyphonic aftertouch. He's going to use a core with AIN modules to monitor the sensors. So far, he got the sensors to give an input voltage of 0 to 4.5V to the ADCs, but the problem is the software part. The code would ideally monitor every sensors, send a note on/off signal over/under a certain ADC input value, and output individual aftertouch signals for each notes while they're pressed. The fact is that it's an unusual keyboard design : It's made to be able to play chords with two fingers.

It works well with Windows 9x, but someone took the time to make XP drivers for it (not free however) so there are no compatibility problems (except you need a parallel port).

I have an Opcode patchbay providing 8 ins and outs through the parallel port, and it has a lot of standalone features, it's impressive, considering it's 100% made of easy to find parts (software is on ROM chips ;-) ).