Doug Wellington

Not sure I follow you there? I assume you're talking about the cost? I'm charging less for MIDIbox cases than I do for other projects. I can save you a lot of money if I make it from MDF instead of hardwood... :D Sure, local to a country/continent is usually cheaper... I've milled the wood and have cut slots for the panels. Next will be assembly... (Of course, I have a lot of projects going at the same time, so it will be some time before I get back to it.) :-[ Doug

I've been working on a wood replacement case for the x0xb0x and mb-6582 - is that something you guys would be interested in? Doug

I got one of these in for repairs last year. (Some bad caps and a bad regulator and a couple blown CEMs.) It was originally a 220v unit that made its way here to the States. Anybody know where I can get a 110v power supply for this thing? Doug

Yet another reason I like the monome buttons... I might have to experiment with RGB LEDs with these things... Doug

I hope Smash doesn't hear about that! :o Agreed, but hey, more power to them. I'm waiting for someone else to come along and make a better mouse trap... ;) Sure... A couple thoughts: 1) I bought two monome kits and some bare monome buttons. While I'm building one monome with its USB interface, the other one is going onto my MIDIbox! And I'm designing a pcb to use the bare buttons in a 4x16 configuration that connects to a MIDIbox core. 2) The monome buttons have an advantage over the Sparkfun ones - they are smaller and the spacing is perfect for using them under a 2x40 lcd. 3) I'm building a sequencer with everything - including a built in 4x16 matrix. http://www.analognotes.com/mbmatrixseq If I can work at deal with the monome people, I'll make it with their buttons, otherwise it's lit tact switches... 8) Doug

It's hard to define "better" - I wouldn't rate something as being better purely because some dev tools are free... An FPGA can be better than a DSP because it is much more flexible - it's like an empty container that you can turn into anything (including a DSP). At the same time, an FPGA is worse than a DSP because it is an empty container! You have to do a lot of work to get an FPGA to do anything, whereas with a DSP, it already does what it does, you just write code for it... Doug

I ordered the uclinux blackfin stamp board once I saw that it was used in the original Looperlative. Since I work with linux during the day, it was/is a relatively easy learning curve... There's also a bare pcb available for $70 - check out http://www.blackstamp.net I'm also interested in a next-generation chameleon type of device... Doug

OK, I have the sample power supply here in my hands! This particular version comes with four pins in the connector, including pin 5, but not pin 4, for 5V. Please refer to the C64 PSU Pinout Problem thread for more info on that: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,9775.0.html This supply is fairly heavy at 3.5 pounds, but I should be able to ship up to six of them in a USPS Flat Rate box for $8.95... If you're interested in joining this group buy, please add yourself to the list at: http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/dougwellington_bulk_orders Doug

Alright, the other info I asked for has arrived. Are you sitting down? Shipping for 100 supplies is $320! That means each supply with cost $7.20 plus shipping. I think I can use Priority Mail, so that will be $8.95, and that will cover shipping for more than one supply. I've set up a wiki page for the bulk order. If you're interested in joining this group buy, go to: http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/dougwellington_bulk_orders Doug (EDIT: clarifying the shipping cost.)

OK, I'm still waiting for the final info, but I wanted to let you guys know that I have a sample on the way to make sure it's the one we need - I should have it next week. Looks like these things are going to be about $4 each plus whatever shipping will be... Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Wowsers, I just got word that the better P & G motor faders are $100 each unless I want to buy 100+ of them and then it will be $85. Ouch. Guess I'll stick with Alps then unless somebody here has a better source... Anybody else currently working with motor faders? Doug http://www.analognotes.com

I've gotten the preliminary info back on these power supplies, and I think it will probably be worth doing a bulk order. I am requesting more info about them - are they individually packaged or in bulk, what will the actual shipping cost be, etc. I'm also trying to get a sample from them to make sure it's what we need. More info when I have it. Happy holidays, Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Since I don't have a power supply for my MB-6582 yet, I am very interested in this, assuming it is indeed the correct power supply. I contacted the guy and asked for a quote on 100 of them... Doug http://www.analognotes.com/mb808

Interesting... It does seem like a steep learning curve... The reason I started looking at the Blackfin is because I took apart my Looperlative LP1 and found one, so I know it can be done... Doug http://www.analognotes.com

I noticed a post elsewhere that talked about the PowerCore DSP card, and a comment was made about developing DSP synths. (Figured this would be a better area to post rather than to hijack that thread.) Does anyone else here use the Blackfin Stamp card with uclinux? I did a search at the top of the forum, but there were only two hits... Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Do you change between patches a lot? Do those patches have different values assigned to particular knobs? With pots, you'll have to decide what happens when you move them. Does the setting immediately jump to where the pot is? Or do you have to move the pot until you find where the setting is before you can change it? Encoders are a lot easier when you change patches - you just get an increment or decrement signal, without worrying about where the current setting is... EDIT: FWIW, I much prefer encoders except for one place: Volume! (What happens if your setting is too loud when you turn on your device?) With a pot for volume, you know that you can turn it down before powering up... Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Interesting to see this thread pop back up. Everyone I've talked to about it really likes the MB-Seq, but none of them wants to build one unless there's a better control set up... Now, I've thought about doing a modular sequencer, but after dealing with the MB-808, I'm a big fan of putting everything on as few boards as possible! I started to design a sequencer with one board, but it seemed limiting, so I split my design in two - the 4x16 matrix and all buttons are on one panel, and the lcds, step leds and encoders are on a second panel, which I'm mounting into a separate box above the main panel. Preliminary renders are at: http://www.analognotes.com/mbmatrixseq I've also been working on a wood case for the MB-808, so I think I'll try making one for this sequencer too... Stay tuned, Doug

Did you login to the wiki? I found I had to login to edit even though I was already logged in here on the forum.. Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Hey, if it's already in, why not just turn it on and see if it works? (EDIT: There's nothing "wrong" with soldering chips in - soldering chips in is actually more reliable mechanically...) Doug http://www.analognotes.com

I wondered what happened to my post... [sNIP] Ouch... Dang, why didn't you tell me all this before I bought those parts??? :o It's OK, Smash, worst case, I'll rip out the MIDIbox DIN/DOUT circuitry and sell the keypad on ebay... "Ultra Rare, Collectors Item, Low Reserve, not Moog!" ::) Doug P.S. Umm... Did you just imply that I'm normally sane? :P ;D http://www.analognotes.com

I just ordered a 40h Monome keypad and I'm going to try to do up a DOUT/DIN interface to it. Has anyone else worked on this? Is this the right place to post about it? /edit: EEEK, just found out where my original post went... I'm gonna re-evaluate this idea... (Check the Miscellaneous area if you want more info.) Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Well, I decided to buy a 40h Monome keypad kit to attach to my MIDIbox. I'm glad I placed my order early, as all 100 kits are sold out already! :o Doug http://www.analognotes.com

There are lots of sequencers out there, ranging from the Mobius ($400) to the Schrittmacher, Zeit and Octopus... (I have some of them listed in the sequencers section of AnalogNotes.) If you don't have time to build a Midibox SEQ right now, what about using software? Do you have a Mac? If so, I'd recommend Numerology http://www.five12.com/numerology.html. I've also seen links to Nortron http://www.dspaudio.com/, but I don't know anything about it... Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Nice video, but it scares me that I don't see a lubricant/coolant spray... That tool won't last as long without it, and the quality of the machined surfaces won't be as good... Doug http://www.analognotes.com

Here's my guess... You're off by 3mm, right? And your cutter is 3mm, right? How did you define the hole locations and the cutter path? Does your CNC program require a tool path and bit radius offset or do you have to calculate the actual path yourself? In other words, if you define a path and run the 3mm cutter centered down that path, the metal will be actually cut 1.5mm off to the side of that path. If you then go to the opposite side of the material and go down the path, the 1.5mm will be cut off in the other direction, compounding the error. Depending upon whether you're doing an inside cut or outside cut, you'll end up with the metal either 3mm too small or 3mm too big... Doug http://www.analognotes.com