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I think I've done my homework...


woozle
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I may have run into a problem. Before I got started with the faceplate design, I had asked in this thread if the DINs for a 64e could be used for 128 buttons, 64 encoders, or a combo adding up to a max of 128 digital inputs. I went forward with the notion that this was indeed true. However, according to the 64e tutorial:

Note that MIOS allows to connect up to 128 buttons, but the MIDIbox64E application only handles with 64 buttons maximum to keep the SysEx dump compatible with the old PIC16F implementation.

If I've counted correctly I've got 102 DINs in use. 32 are devoted to 16 encoders. That leaves 70 devoted towards buttons. If what I was originally told was correct, I'm fine and I may add 12 PCB mounted switches for menu controls to the big blank space between the encoders and the arcade buttons. If I'm wrong I'm going to have to trim out 6 buttons from the current design which will make me unhappy. Please let me know which statement is correct so I know how to proceed.

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Voltage should always be within 7-10V, no exception, this is what the voltage regulator needs to produce nice and clean 5V. The voltage specified is an is value, which doesn't change. Current (amperage) is a can value, it tells you how much current the PSU can supply. More is better, and you can pretty much not have a PSU that can supplies too much. The box will only draw as much current as it needs.

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Anyone have any input on the >64 button question for a 64e? I'm wiring stuff up right now. Everything is going smoothly, but if I need to cut buttons out of the equation I need to decide which ones they will be before I get too deeply into the wiring process.

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  • 1 month later...

EDIT: First problem fixed. Too late at night + too long staring at Midibox modules = mistakes. Funny how long I can puzzle over something and remain clueless, finally throw in the towel and seek help in online forums, and upon posting my question almost immediately realize the error of my ways. Maybe I should just type my question out in notepad whenever I'm stuck.

However one problem remains- the one that has put the completion of my midibox on hold.

I need to connect more than 64 buttons to this midibox. In the forums I'm told it's possible, in the documentation I'm told it's not. Tonight I figured I'd do some experimenting to try to figure it out on my own and here's what little I've come up with... Upon chaining my DINs together it appears that each module alternates between switch inputs and encoder inputs. Is there a way to change this?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Am I asking a really dumb question, does no one know the answer, or is it simply that no one cares? I'm on the verge of completing this project but I really need to figure out if I can implement more than 64 buttons or not. It looks like I can maybe use a few of my leftover encoder inputs as makeshift buttons (ie switch between values 126&127) but that's a hack and I'd prefer not to do it if theres a better way. If the answer is no, that is fine... I just need to know one way or the other. Input please! I want to finish this thing and put it to use!

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  • 1 month later...

So the matrix is too complicated for the amount of time I've found myself with lately. I've managed to cut out 4 buttons from the controller which leaves me with exactly 64 (yes, I miscounted initially). My work on the box has slowed to a crawl, but I'm so close to being done with it that I'm shirking other responsibilities to try to get it finished up. Hopefully within a week or two it will be functional. Here's something to chew on in the meantime...

While I was brainstorming a way to enable more than 64 buttons on the 64e it occurred to me that with a little tweaking of the app code any unused encoders can be used as buttons by only using one of the encoder's inputs. This simply requires an option to turn the resolution of the encoder to digital, ie 0 open, 127 closed. This would keep things inline with the sysex format I believe. If the 64e app was written in C I could probably fumble my way through doing this myself, but I've done so little assembly and it has been so long that I just don't understand what I'm looking at anymore (read: someone else would have to implement this).

Does this feature sound feasible/useful to anyone else?

I'll have new pics up soon of a hopefully finished midibox!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hey Woozle and everyone else around here,

Brand spankin noob here!

I just found MIDIBox and have decided that it's the way to go to build what's in my head. I'm basically in the position you were in at the start of your build (minus the programming experience), and reading through the thread has given me a better grasp of what's in store. How did the rest of it go? How does it end? Does he get the girl and catch the villain, or does the evil doer get away in the end?

Cheers!

bz

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  • 2 months later...

Hey Woozle and everyone else around here,

Brand spankin noob here!

I just found MIDIBox and have decided that it's the way to go to build what's in my head. I'm basically in the position you were in at the start of your build (minus the programming experience), and reading through the thread has given me a better grasp of what's in store. How did the rest of it go? How does it end? Does he get the girl and catch the villain, or does the evil doer get away in the end?

Cheers!

bz

Good questions. Life got busy and the midibox which I invested a ridiculous amount of time and money in never got finished. It seems silly because it's absurdly close to being finished. I'm going to try my best to make time for it in the next little bit. I'll hopefully let you know your answers in a week or so.

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One final question before I have a fully functioning midibox. I need to turn off the menu buttons on my 64e so that they can be dedicated to midi. I read that this can be done but there was no indication of how. I went through the assembly setup file and found nothing, I'm assuming it's not hardcoded. I need someone's help please! This thing is very near completion and I've got a lot of mapping to do.

The end is near! Everything is soldered and wired, the only thing left from a hardware standpoint is to finish mounting the components and boards. As soon as I've got it together I'll post the details of the build process and some pictures of the final product.

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I was looking for the same option for my Midibox64 recently.

The only thing I found was I think in the mk_syx .ini files it said somthing like "can be deactivated in the main*.asm" (not 100% sure).

I didn't find any entry in the .asm files.

Finally, I went for the dirty solutions and connected the affected four buttons to my second DINX module, since I had some open inputs left.

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