Connecting multiple cores with DOUTs

[eionmidi]

Hi

I have had quite a long look at the previous posts but cannot find a definitive answer.  I am midifying an organ console and will have around 150 SAMS and 128 lighted buttons.  I will need four cores connected to DOUTs to drive the leds and DOUTs with ULN2803s to drive the magents.

How do you physically connect up the cores so that the MIDI messages get through to the correct core.  I have seen hints of daisy chaining and thru, but no one seems to have described it.  I am using the kits from Smash TV

Eion.

[stryd_one]

Welcome aboard :)

Have a look on the ucapps.de page for MB-Link (and search for same)

[eionmidi]

Hi stryd_one

Thanks for your reply.  I have had a look at the link information.

It may be that because my system is straightforward, that a very simple solution is possible.

I will use say four cores as MIDIO 128 which will have only DOUTs connected to them to give me around 400 outputs to operate leds and magnets. 

Can I simply use the MIDI out to MIDI in connections?  eg with two cores

PC MIDI out -> Core1 MIDI in : Core1 MIDI out -> Core2 MIDI in

In other words, does each core transmit incoming MIDI messages on to the next core from the MIDI out.

There will be no possibility of feedback because I will not use the MIDI out of the last Core.

Eion.

[jimhenry]

Can I simply use the MIDI out to MIDI in connections?

Yes. Enable the MidiMerge setting in the MIDIIO128 .ini file to merge the MIDI In with what is generated on the board.

[John_W._Couvillon]

dionmidi,

You are correct, provided that you have midi connectors on the cores and you have activated the midi merge on the midio128 ini file, and all the PICs have different id numbers.

Use short midi cables and daisy chain.  The midi in on the first core goes to the midi out on the computer or source device, then the midi out on the first core connects to the midi in on the second core and so on. Works great!

I am also in the process of applying SAMS to my organ with the same methodology as you describe.  What pc software will you be using? 

Johnc

[eionmidi]

Hi Jimhenry and Johnc

Thank you for confirming my guess.  The problem is that at the moment I have only one core so until a delivery comes from Smashtv, I cannot experiment.

Johnc - the most immediate way I can see to run the SAMs is to use jOrgan.  With its messaging it should do the trick.  There is no pulse timing available, so the current sink stays on as long as you hold the combination piston.  I am using original 1930s SAMs but they do have the advantage of switching off once they flip.  This might cause other problems but it should reduce the current flow if you hold the piston for too long.

Eion.

[John_W._Couvillon]

Eion.

With 4 cores you could have 128 douts per core which is in excess of 400 outputs.

To review.

When the cores are daisy chained and midi merger is activated, the incoming midi message will go through all 4 cores.  When you setup the .ini files for each core, you define which incoming midimessage will activate each output pin on the douts for each core/dout group.  the setup includes the type message, i.e. note on/note off etc.,  the midi channel and the midi note.  So thats message type, midi channel, midi note.  You can assign one midi channel to each output pin on core 1,  a different channel to the outputs on core 2 and so on.  So if dout pin 12 on core 4 was programmed to respond to  a note on/note off message on channel 1, with midi note 36, a midi message sent from the pc would pass through cores 1,2,3 without activating any outputs until it reached core 4.

With midio128, you can even mix up the channels withing an individual core ini file.  As long as there are no duplicates, only one of the dout pins will be activated at a time.

if you use all 15 channels with 61 pipes per rank, two ranks per midio128/core  you could run 30 ranks of pipes, or a combination of stops, pistons, pipe magnets, swell pedal, etc.

This explanation is brief, but hopefully understandable.

Good Luck

Johnc