Hawkeye Posted December 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 (edited) @Futureman: :-) Thanks, there are 240 + 18 wires (with VFD control lines), we have to keep the prices for copper up somehow :-) Step 20: Populating the Central CS Boards with LEDs and Rotary Encoders Parts used: * Central CS Boards and epoxy vector board cut-off pieces from step 19 * 16pcs ALPS STEC12E rotary encoders (with push button) (Reichelt STEC12E08) * 16pcs 10mm diameter rotary encoder knobs (Reichelt KNOPF 10-150E) * 32pcs Kingbright Duo LEDs 2x5mm Area LED (Reichelt LED 2 RG-3) * 14pcs M3 10mm standoff (distance spacer to the aluminum frontpanel) * 14pcs M3 8mm screw (temporary for installation) * A dremel tool with cutting wheel * Flat nose pliers * A few centimeters of tape (e.g. tesa tape) Description: * Bend the LED legs with flat nose pliers as shown in photo 1. The longest leg is in the middle, the second-longest leg is on the left, the shortest leg is on the right side. * Insert the LEDs as shown in photo 2. Use tape to temporarily attach the LEDs to the button caps before soldering (photo 3). * Photo 4 shows the desired installation depth of the LEDs, they should be a aligned to the top horizontal edge of the button caps (the caps are slightly taller than that, as the concave mould for the finger is added on top). The tactile switches only have a short push travel length, so the LEDs won´t get in the way when you push the buttons. I was concerned about this installation method at first, but now I am glad, that this way was chosen - the LEDs increase the surface area of the button caps slightly, which improves the tactile feeling. * When you have installed 8x2 step LEDs, the result should look like photo 5. Take your time aligning the LEDs, it is worth it. * Now prepare the standoff vector board stripe cut-off piece from the last step and use it to raise the encoder level by around 1.7mm. Look at photo 6 to see how long the upper vector board stripe should be cut with the dremel tool. * Mark more drill holes as shown in photo 7. Drill the lower vector board with a 2mm and a 3mm drill and the upper vector board stripe with a 6mm drill to allow for equally levelled hex-spacer installation. Install 10mm hex spacers with temporary 8mm screws from the back (photo 8). * Now add the rotary encoders as shown in photo 9. Take your time aligning the the rotary encoders properly (photo 10). You can remove the side stabilization metal hinges (no further drilling necessary) and solder the five pins also to the top of the vector board stripe. The two-sided soldering from the top and the bottom increases stability to a very good level. * Repeat this step and populate the other central board as well. Edited December 10, 2010 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 (edited) Step 21: Connecting Tactile Switches and LEDs Parts used: * A roll of enamelled copper wire (0.35mm diameter - Reichelt CUL 100/0,35) * Enamelled copper wire insulation removal pliers (Reichelt KN 15 11 120) * Flat nose pliers * Your favourite soldering equipment Description: * This step is really fun, but it is quite time-intensive. We strive to avoid cable spaghetti in the case and use enamelled copper wire (contains an insulation layer of transparent laquer) threaded between upper and lower layer of the vector board to wire control surface components. * Choose the best way of routing the cables for yourself, avoid getting too close to the hex standoffs and stay clear of the cutout zones for the VFD components. * When routing cables, you can use flat nose pliers to tighten the cables everytime you change from the vector board top to the bottom and vice versa. Use special enamelled copper wire insulation removal pliers to remove the laquer layer before soldering. * Connect the tactile switches to the eight data lines of "i3". Photos 1 and 2 show the common ground cabling of the tactile switches. Photos 3 and 4 show how the two switches on the right of the control surface board are connected to i3. * The nice thing is, that you can test connections instantly. Consult the DIN wiring diagram to see which DIN wire is connected to which function by default (we will adjust the mapping later on). Photo 5 was taken after a button, that was still mapped to "play" was pressed. The update speed of the VFD is absolutely stunning. * When you have tested all eight buttons, wire the LEDs. First create a common ground interconnection link wired to every middle pin (photo 6). Then wire the data pins of "o2" to the right pins of the LEDs (viewed from the top), connecting a pair of LEDs with every data pin. You can test the functionality for every LED pair soldered by connecting an "out" cable from the sequencer core (photo 7). After that, connect the data pins of "o1" to pairs of the corresponding left pins of the LEDs (viewed from the top). Note: * When looking at the DOUT wiring diagram, we see that the LEDs 1...8 are inversely wired to data pins 8...1 of the shift registers. To fix that problem, we can either rewire the control surface boards (not nice) or change the data wire order in the o1...o4 crimp connectors, which is very easy to do. For your LED testing convenience, I have added a MBSEQ_HW.V4 (remove the .txt extension), which is tailored to the two central control surface boards (no other buttons configured!), so that you can test the step LEDs by pushing the corresponding step buttons.MBSEQ_HW.V4.txt Edited December 12, 2010 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) Step 22: Connecting and Configuring the Rotary Encoders Parts Used: * Enamelled copper wire (from step 21) * A few centimeters of two-pin ribbon wire * A multimeter or connection beeper * Your favourite soldering equipment Description: * First, let´s create the common encoder ground line. It is the middle pin of the three encoder pins (photo 1). Wire the middle pins of the four left rotary encoders to i1/i4 ground and the middle pins of the four right rotary encoders to i2/i5 ground (pin 10 on the crimp plug). * For the leftmost encoder, connect the lower of the three pins to the first pin on i1/i4, and the upper to the second pin of the i1/i4 crimp plugs (photo 2). * Follow that scheme and wire the first four encoders to i1/i4 and the second four encoders to i2/i5 (photo 3). * Let´s create the parallel push-button cable for encoder value entry acceleration, when the encoder buttons are depressed. This will be connected to the other step encoder control surface board and the menu dial control surface board (which we have not built yet). Solder a short 2-pin ribbon wire cable to the right side of the central control surface boards for interconnection to the other boards (photo 4). The other central cs board and the menu dial control surface board should have an angled two-pin interconnection socket on their left side to receive the push-button cables. * Now parallely-cable the push button encoder pins for every step encoder as shown in photo 5 (in this photo, the wires are layed down, but not all connections are soldered, yet). Pushing any rotary encoder switch will short the cable when using this wiring method. * Using your connection beeper or your multimeter in resistance measurement mode, test all push buttons as shown in photo 6. Notes: * With a soldering iron set to a high temperature (above 400° celsius), it is possible to melt the laquer of the enameled copper wire. Using this method, you can easily create linear connections (e.g. the ground connections of the encoders) by just properly heating the wire above the to-be-soldered connection points and then pushing the wire down into the solder blob using a screwdriver. * Credit, where credit is due. If you understand german, have a look regarding step encoder modes and configuration. For the ALPS STEC12 encoders, a setting of DETENTED3 in the MBSEQ_HW.V4 file is perfect. Thanks to avogora for the work on this matter! Edited December 17, 2010 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) Step 23: Attaching the VFDs to the Central CS Boards Parts used: * VFDs * M3 nuts * M3 washers * 8mm M3 screws * 12mm M3 screws * 5mm M3 hex standoffs * 10mm M3 hex standoffs * A roll of electrical insulation tape * A few centimeters of 9-pin ribbon wire * The temporary construction base from step 18 * A bench drill or a hand drill and a 2mm and a 3mm drill * Your favourite soldering equipment Description: * Using enamelled copper wire, create a 90-degree turn of the upper nine d1 display pins as shown in photo 1. * Solder connection pads for the display cable (photo 2). * Solder a short 9-pin display ribbon cable to the connection pads (photo 3). * Use electrical insulation tape to mask the upper part of the CS board to avoid any contact between the VFD contacts and the CS board (photo 4). * Arrange the VFD and CS board on the temporary construction base, so that the VFD is close to the center line (but does not overlap it) (photo 5). * Mark drill holes with a pen (photo 6) and pre-drill with a 2mm drill, then drill with a 3mm drill. * Install the CS board by inserting 12mm M3 from the underside of the construction base and fixing them with a M3 nut (which is about 2.5mm thick). Install 10mm M3 hex standoffs to fasten the CS board (this is the distance to the aluminum frontpanel). Using M3 washers and 5mm hex standoffs, create four elevated display standoffs with a height of approximately 7.5mm (photo 7). * Cut the display cable as short as shown in photo 8. * Cut away unnecessary VFD connection pins, then bend and tin them as shown in photo 9. Splice and tin the display cable ribbon wires. Create five shorter and four longer tinned ribbon wire ends. * First solder the short ribbon wire ends to the right-side display connections as shown in photo 10. * Then solder the long ribbon wire ends to the left-side display connections as shown in photo 11. * Turn over the assembly and install with two M3 screws, using washers if the M3 screws are too long (photo 12). The Futaba VFD drill holes are not exactly in the 2.54mm raster, so only fasten the upper left and the lower right screw. Our final aluminum base will have the correct screw spacings, so that all four screws can be fastened, of course. * Photo 13 shows the slimness of the control surface. The whole assembly including two 3mm aluminum panels will only be 20mm thick! Edited December 17, 2010 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 (edited) Step 24: Creating the Display Cables and Performing Initial Testing Parts Used: * A length of 16-pin ribbon cable (only 9 pins used) * 2 pcs 16-pin IDC connectors (plugged into the display ports of the Core32 module) * 2 pcs 10-pin crimp housings * 18 pcs crimp connectors * A multimeter Description: * Crimp the IDC connectors onto the 16-pin ribbon wires. * Create two different display cables with pinouts as reported in step 12: J15A DISPLAY1 WHAT 1 -> 1 GND 2 -> 2 VCC 5V 4 -> 4 RS 5 -> 5 RW 6 -> 6 E 11 -> 11 DB4 12 -> 12 DB5 13 -> 13 DB6 14 -> 14 DB7 ------------------------- J15B DISPLAY2 WHAT 1 -> 1 GND 2 -> 2 VCC 5V 8 -> 4 DB1 -> RS 9 -> 5 DB2 -> RW 10 -> 6 DB3 -> E 11 -> 11 DB4 12 -> 12 DB5 13 -> 13 DB6 14 -> 14 DB7 * Use your multimeter in resistance mode to measure the proper connectivity - if something is wrong, simply change the crimp connector order. Photo 1 shows how i performed testing - the cable was already installed in the core case, led through the floppy door and was held by a clamp (upper middle part of photo 1). I checked the 1:1 connectivity on the bare VFD pins (lower middle part of photo 1) using a multimeter. If you are confident, that your connection is right, you can cut off the unneeded 7 ribbon wires directly at the IDC connector which is plugged into the Core32 module. For this type of Futaba VFDs, the cable for the right display needs to be different, as other data pins are used to drive the control lines - see the wiring table above. * Photos 2 and 3 show the installed and connected left central control surface module including the VFD. I just received a yellow color foil today, which I tested. Photo 4 shows, that it does a good job in shifting the VFD color hue towards the LED green - that was the desired effect. * Using your favourite synth, you can now play with a half-pattern of notes - see photo 4. You can use MIOS studio to virtually "press play" and change the first half of the pattern notes by turning the encoders and pushing the switches. Currently, the sequencer just sends notes over the virtual MIDI ports (not MIDI OUT 1), which is probably due to the midi port routing not being set up yet correctly (which we cannot do just yet without menu access). But using a software MIDI forwarding tool, we can send these commands received on the USB port to another MIDI-out port on your audio interface, and you can control your synth :-). * If you haven´t done so, build and install the right central control surface board now, re-doing steps 19 to 24. Notes: * I will sign off for some time now, as I need to build the right step sequencer board and holidays are nearby. Have a great Christmas time! * Later on, we will continue with the "menu" control surface module, which allows us to change the sequencer configuration. Edited December 18, 2010 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 (edited) Step 25: Creating and Installing the Right Step Sequencer Control Surface Board Parts Used: * See Steps 19-24 * Three additional "Beat" LEDs * One 2-pin board interconnector plug and socket * A few centimeters of ribbon wire Description: * Build the right step sequencer board as described in the steps 19-24, but: * Instead of building the elevated step encoder surface identical to the left board, create a protuded area and use a second piece of vector board to elevate the rightmost two encoders (photo 1). * Use the additional surface area and install a two-pin board interconnector plug for the encoder switch line from the left central surface board (photo 2). * Add three "beat" LEDs and wire them in a color as you please (green, red or both (yellow/orange), if you connect the outer pins). * Connect all step encoder switches as before and attach them to the 2-pin board interconnector plug, so that the interconnection cable is shorted when any encoder push button on any step sequencer module is depressed. * Lead the encoder push button interconnection cable and the LED power cable to the right side of the vector board and solder a 4-pin cable to it (2 pins for the beat LEDs, 2 pins for the step encoder switch function) (photo 3). * This 4-pin ribbon wire will be plugged into the "menu" control surface module, which will be located right of the step sequencer modules. * When finished, test and enjoy (photos 4 and 5) :-) Edited December 28, 2010 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) Step 26: Creating the "Menu" Control Surface Module Parts Used: * 1 pcs stable (epoxy) vector board 16cm x 10cm with soldering pads on both sides (same as in previous steps) * 13pcs tactile switches and button caps (same as in previous steps) * 12pcs duo leds (same as in previous steps) * 1pcs ALPS STEC12E07 rotary encoder (without push button) (Reichelt) * 1pcs ALPS large rotary encoder jog wheel (45mm) (Conrad) * 4pcs 10-pin pcb interconnector plug and angular socket * 12mm M3 screws * M3 nuts * A bench drill or a hand drill and a 2mm and 3mm drill * Enamelled copper wire (same as in previous steps) * Your favorite soldering equipment * A hot glue gun (optional) * A label maker (optional) Description: * As with the step sequencer modules, cut the vector board to a height of 82mm. 32 inner vertical grid points must be fully available. * Let´s plan the layout of this control surface module (photo 1). * I´ve attached my current MBSEQ_HW.V4 for your reference, in there you also find the corresponding pinouts of the DIN/DOUT cables from the core. * Click the tactile switches into the vector board and test component placement (photo 2). * The rotary encoder shaft is a bit too long, cut away about 1mm of the 6mm shaft (photo 3). * Solder the components and the LEDs. You can use a bit of hot glue to fasten the encoder a little bit better. Use a label maker to label the two DIN ports (i7 and i8) and the DOUT port (o5) (photo 4) * Mark the drill areas and drill the vector board and the temporary construction base with a 2mm and 3mm drill (photo 5) * Insert 12mm M3 screws into the temporary construction base and fasten them with M3 nuts (photo 6) * Crimp all interconnection plugs - i7, i8, o5 to the sequencer core and the left-sided 10-pin plug which goes into the right step sequencer cs board. See photo 1 for the cabling pinout of this plug. * Wire as planned in photo 1. The STEC12E07 encoder is wired just as the STEC12E08 encoders (use DETENTED3 mode in MBSEQ_HW.V4). * When all is done, turn on and enjoy. I´ve made a quick video which shows the power of push-accelerated encoder buttons (at ca 00:25) and the insanely quick update speed of VFDs compared to cheap LCDs and yes, my leg still hurts because of what happened @ 00:13 :-). MBSEQ_HW.V4.TXT Edited January 2, 2011 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) Step 27: Creating and Installing the "Command" Control Surface Module Parts Used: * 1 pcs stable (epoxy) vector board 16cm x 10cm with soldering pads on both sides (same as in previous steps) * 22pcs tactile switches and button caps (same as in previous steps) * 44pcs duo leds (same as in previous steps) * 12mm M3 screws * M3 nuts * 5pcs 10-pin board interconnector sockets and plugs (for connecting to the core) * A 5 pin board interconnector socket and plug * A length of 5-pin and a length of 8-pin ribbon wire * A label maker (optional) * A bench drill or a hand drill and a 2mm and 3mm drill * Enamelled copper wire (same as in previous steps) * Your favorite soldering equipment Description: * Let´s start with a plan (photo 1) - if things look too confusing, don´t panic ;-). Just wire all buttons to i* ports and all LEDs to o* ports, observing that we are interchanging some pins with the "command" module on the right and the "transport" module which we yet have to build on the left. Actually I may have switched a few pins (also on the "Command" module from the last step) in comparison to the plans, so I´ve attached a current MBSEQ_HW.V4, it lists all DIN/DOUT mappings so far. * Lay out and solder the tactile switches and solder the 10-pin board interconnector sockets as shown in photo 2. * Mark some drill points on the veroboard and drill the board and the temporary construction base with a 2mm drill, then with a 3mm drill. Install M3 screws into the temporary construction base and fasten them with M3 nuts as shown in photo 3. * Label the IN/OUT ports and start to bend and solder two duo-LEDs for each tactile switch (photo 4). * Install a 5-pin board interconnector socket on the right of the control surface board and wire the pins as shown in photo 1. I only soldered the "green" pins of the duo LEDs. When all components are installed, compare with photo 5. * Build a board interconnection cable coming from the "command" module. Splice the ribbon wire and make one ribbon wire a little bit longer, so you can use it to twist and stabilize the cable (photo 6). * Install an 8-pin ribbon wire for interconnection to the transport module on the left side of the board (photo 7) and wire as shown in photo 1. * When all is finished, install the new board and have fun - it took me quite some time to figure a good key mapping, i´d suggest you experiment a little (photo 8). * I could not resist to capture an "at night" shot (photo 9). The SEQ rocks - I currently find myself playing with the unfinished unit (attached to a keyboard and the mb6582) more than finishing it, it really is powerful!MBSEQ_HW.V4.TXT Edited January 22, 2011 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted January 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) Step 28: Creating the "Transport" Control Surface Module Parts Used: * 1 pcs stable (epoxy) vector board 16cm x 10cm with soldering pads on both sides (same as in previous steps) * 9pcs tactile switches and button caps (same as in previous steps) * 6pcs duo leds (same as in previous steps) * 12mm M3 screws * M3 nuts * 2pcs 10-pin board interconnector sockets and plugs (for connecting to the core) * An 8 pin board interconnector socket and plug * A length of 8-pin ribbon wire * A label maker (optional) * A bench drill or a hand drill and a 2mm and 3mm drill * Enamelled copper wire (same as in previous steps) * Your favorite soldering equipment Description: * Ok, before things get too boring, let´s quickly finish the final "standard" control surface module... * Create a plan first (photo 1) - as usual, I´ve attached the current MBSEQ_HW.V4 file * As this is a small "edge" module, cut the vector board to a width of 116mm (instead of 160mm) and install and label the i12 and o8 connectors (photo 2). * Add the tactile switches just as shown in photo 3. * Now it´s time to choose drilling locations for the hex standoffs and drill the cs vector board and the temporary construction base accordingly. I´ve installed M3 screws to avoid soldering cables or components too close to the drill holes (photo 4). * Install the LEDs for STOP, PLAY and RECORD (the RECORD LEDs will be wired to use red instead of the standard green color) (photo 5). * Install an 8-pin board interconnector socket and wire all components as planned (photo 6). Photo 7 shows the underside of this CS vector board. * Create a short interconnector cable using an 8-pin crimp plug attached to 8 very short ribbon cables on the left of the "command" module. * Ok, I promise to not publish any more "christmas-tree" night shots :-) (photo 9). Notes: * Now this is a completely functional MBSEQ V4, all buttons, LEDs and encoders are working, I like the keyboard layout so far and already can´t imagine to sit at the keyboard without a SEQ on my knees :-) * But we are not finished yet... the control surface needs a proper "case" and there is some space left on the right side of the construction base - we have 32 DOUT pins still available, let´s see, what we can do with them :-).MBSEQ_HW.V4.TXT Edited January 23, 2011 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristal= Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 last pic: the spaceship has landed! really like it! wouldn't put yellow foil on the vfds, the multicolor atmosphere is just great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashikoma Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 AMAZING work , GREAT topic :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted August 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Thanks a lot, although the build is not yet 100% finished, I find myself playing with it every other day or so :-). Step 29: Adding an Ebony Wood Frame to the SEQ Control Surface Parts Used: * A piece of hard wood, e.g. tropical wood (please buy from a certified importer) * Woodworking tools (band-saw, belt sander) * A 2mm drill and 10mm wood screws Description: After many hours of playing the SEQ (which is simply the most awesome piece of music equipment, I own :-)), I decided to improve the installation below my master keyboard. The basic idea is, that its buttons should be very close to the keyboard, for live-playing and quick mute/unmute action. * I ordered a nice piece of ebony wood (photo 1) from designholz.com, but you can get it in many places. It is not as expensive as one may think, the depictured piece of wood cost around 50€, but please make sure, that it is harvested ecologically. * The first step is to sand it with a belt sander (quite hard work with that kind of wood), then use a band saw to cut out a "u-shape", which should contain the control surface (photo 2). If you don´t have access to these tools, a local woodworker can surely help you for not too much money (cutting the u-shape takes about 10 minutes). * Also, I decided to reuse the "temporary construction base" as a permanent one - it is invisible anyways - therefore I shortened it to about 8cm height and screwed it to the backside of the wood frame. I pre-drilled the wood with a 2mm drill and then installed normal wood screws (photos 3-5). * You can sand the hard wood at any time with a fine sanding paper (K240) to achieve a polished look (photo 6). * After installation below the keyboard, the SEQ now looks really fine (and is still missing a frontpanel, I know, but have grown used to it by now :-)). Edited August 5, 2011 by Hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbeat Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 hey great job, im brand new to this and really excited to get started. i wish someone would do a photo tutorial like this for the Wilba PCB version. im really having a hard time with all the different parts lists and revisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted June 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Only three years late :-)... for the records: here is the Wilba PCB version photo tutorial: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASKII Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 What a great build! I'm equally inspired AND terrified to build one for myself. Your music is great too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted September 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 Thanks, man! :) This build still needs some acrylics frontpanels, but I was too scared to order them yet, there is lots of room for mistakes, because the layout is a bit chaotic :-) Many greets! Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjonas Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 This thread should be pinned, along with the newer one! Either here on in the Tips & Tricks forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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