Trevor

Johnc, the console really isn't as nice as it looks in the picture, lol. All but 3 ivories are cracked and the finish is original. Anywho, tonight I started hooking the keyboards up to the DINs. I used one of my COREs from my last project to save having to load midio128 onto a new core and all that. Unfortunately, I can't get it to work! When I press keys, no MIDI messages are created. I know the CORE is good, and I tried two different DIN boards. The common on the keyboard is ground (0V). [iNVERSE_INPUTS] is enabled. Any ideas why this isn't working? Thanks in advance! Trevor

Eric, You don't use MIOS Studio to upload the syx file. I used SysEx Librarian (on a Mac). Not sure about PC.

I ordered the Cores and DINs for my console! Has anyone experienced latency with jOrgan running pipes? Also, can the same Core operate 4 DINs and 4 DOUTs at the same time? and has anyone here used jOrgan to run SAMs?

The MIDIO128 app should work just fine for your piano. Positive/negative pressure doesn't make any difference electrically. Look into this-

I have the original relay, but I don't really have the room for it, and the WHOLE thing would need to be rewired. I will, of course be keeping the relay (in storage) to keep the organ from being broken up. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Hey everyone, it's been a while, but I am now about to attempt a larger Midibox project. I am planning to midify my Wurlitzer console and have jOrgan act as the relay for the 7 ranks, chimes, xylophone, glock, chrysoglott, and traps. I will post regular progress updates.

StentorVox, Is your player mechanism purely pneumatic, or does it have have electromagnets? If it is not electrified, Organ Supply sells player piano magnets.

Okay, I see what you're doing now. You're doing borrowing/shared bass. I'm trying to say that you should use one 8 channel ULN for 8 notes (one channel/pipe). What you need to do can easily be done with a diode matrix if jOrgan can't do it.

John, Why not just build a diode matrix relay? You can have all the unification you want but have only one ULN output for each magnet. They work great with my midibox. If I understand correctly (and assuming you meant "Dout" instead of "Din"), I don't see why you wouldn't be able to unify through MIDI. I think jOrgan has an option that lets you do that. If I were you, I'd use jOrgan. It's cheaper and easier. Trevor

The ULN2803 is plenty to drive a 50ohm magnet

I have finished building the rest of my midibox stuff! I do have one question though. Is there anything special I have to do to program the second PIC (0000 0000 0000 0001)? -Trevor

Most LCD's have a single row of 16 for the connection, so they need to be soldered. Your LCD has two rows of 8 which is what the IDC connector is. So yes, one IDC on each end of the ribbon cable. Just don't forget to check the datasheet to make sure the pins match up. The pin headers are soldered to the boards and are what the IDC connectors plug into. You can buy a #24 or you can use leftovers from your CORE kit if you decide not to solder all the headers. The CORE comes with the midi jacks. You'll need to solder both.

Hey everyone. I've been searching around the internet and I came across a neat little RF Link that may be of interest to some people here. http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=872

I'd also order #33 x2 so you can connect your LCD and #24 so you can put a header on your LCD. Don't forget to check the LCD datasheet though to make sure the pins will match up.

I'd suggest a 9V that can handle at least 500mA. That seems to be the general consensus when using an LCD. I have a 9V 500mA and a 9V 850mA and they both work just fine. The voltage regulator will probably get hot if you go any higher than 9V. If you order the Core kit, it comes with a crimp connector and pins that are soldered to J1. Here are two pictures of what I have done so far. I am using DOUTs, but they will be wired similarly to what you are doing.

welcome! I'm thinking what you need is a Core kit, a DIN kit, and LCD, ribbon cable, connectors, etc. If you're in the US, SmashTV has almost everything you need here http://www.avishowtech.com/mbhp/buy.html. I can't remember the other one, but the wiki will hopefully be up and running again soon. The Core is the brains of the project and each Digital IN board has 32 inputs so you'll only need one. You'll also need basic soldering supplies and some practice if you never soldered before. That should be a good start for you. I'm sure there are a few things I am forgetting though. -Trevor

I actually did end up using the ULN because my console keying does have positive ground. My Peterson combination action does have a negative ground (I think) so I will still be able to use those UDN's. For the ULN and the UDN, the INVERSE_OUTPUTS should be set to ENABLED. In the youtube video I was using Finale. In the latest video (below) I just downloaded a midi file, opened it in Finale, and assigned all the staves to channel 1 since I only have the Great playing so far. The adapter interface on the floor is my USB midi adapter. Also, I picked http://www.midi-store.com/M-Audio-MidAir-25-midi-keyboard-p-16161.html <- that up yesterday. (Got it for $89.99!!!). Now I can tune right in the chamber instead of taping down keys at the console and running back and forth. Also, I can now play the organ from anywhere in the house. No wires! 8) So far, this whole project so far has been surprisingly simple; even without a working LCD. I just ordered another Core kit and 6 more DOUT kits from SmashTV this afternoon so I can get the rest of the organ midified! -Trevor (who is glad to see the forum is back up and running :))

nevermind, johnc. IT WORKS!!!!!!! ;D

oops! Trevor made a boo boo! ::) so, my console doesn't have positive keying after all! So now it's back to the ULN's. I probably still need those diodes (now reversed) between the ULN and the key contacts, correct? I was so close last night! Maybe tonight I'll have this thing finally playing.

well, I went ahead and soldered the +12V onto the pins I pulled out and bent up. Then I made the solder bridges and sure enough... it worked! (at least for the time being) Johnc, I have the latest DOUT that SmashTV sells (R3)

hmmm now that I look at the datasheet for the UDN, it looks like I'm going to have to switch pins 9 and 10. What would be the best way to do this? I'm thinking I can just make a solder bridge between the Vs and the unlabled pin and the pin that would go to the COM on a ULN. Then, can I bend up the Vs pin on the UDN and and solder it to a wire without damaging it? It wouldn't look pretty, but I think it'd work. http://www.allegromicro.com/en/Products/Part_Numbers/2981/2981.pdf ^that's the UDN datasheet^

YAY! I did a little messing around it kind of works! ;D The shift register outputs on the DOUT are actually working!!!! They read +5V when no notes are on and the correct output goes to 0V when I press the corresponding key in the MIOS Studio keyboard. So, I guess that's progress! Now, what do I have to do to get this to work with my positive keying? I have ULN2803's (just for testing) and UDN2981's that I'm actually going to use. I tried changing the INVERSE_OUTPUTS to enabled in midio128.ini. That caused all outputs on the shift register to read 0V, but when I sent the correct "note on" message, the outputs still read 0V. One last (simple) question. What is the best place to connect the +12V to the COM on the ULN/UDN's? Thank you everyone for your help so far. I've gone from knowing nothing to having a somewhat working midibox! You all are great! :)

Johnc, When I boot the thing up while MIOS Studio is running, I do get the single upload request in the monitor. I can't run Midiox because I don't have a PC. I configured the ".ini" file then converted it to ".syx" then used SysEx Librarian to put it on the PIC. I can't really find anything on the wiki about what to do next. Do I have to load the MIDIO128 application main.syx next or something? Sorry, I'm clueless. ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

so, this evening I realized that I wired the whole darn LCD backwards (wired 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, etc.). I rewired it correctly tonight, but it still doesn't work. The contrast pot works now, but still nothing comes up on the LCD. Did I most likely kill my LCD? Maybe even my PIC too? or is there something else I'm doing wrong?

hey all, I am once again back to this project. Last night I connected my LCD and powered up the core for the first time. I got it communicating with the MIOS Studio and SysEx Librarian. Here's what I have I have a couple issues though. First, the LCD always has all of the pixels on while the power is on. I checked, re-checked, and re-re-checked the wiring and the contrast pots My LCD datasheet is located here- http://www.purdyelectronics.com/pdf/AND491GST.pdf Second, I have no idea what I need to do next. My PIC has MIOS on it already. Do I just have to upload a MIDIO128 syx file and I'm good to go, or is there more to it than that? I would like to test my completed DOUT (with ULN2803's for testing) driving soleniods.