manual typewriter midification

[jdutcher]

hi everybody,

so i'm doing an installation piece for my senior project at my university and i need a little help with some midification.  i'm trying to find a way to have keys of a manual (not electric) typewriter trigger midi note values and on/off info.  basically, i want to turn a typewriter into a midi controller.  i only need about 1 octave or so.  i've done a bit of research on the forum, but haven't been able to find a definitive answer.  obviously, i'll need a DIN module and a CORE...i'm guessing that it's just some MIOS code that needs to be created, but I'm not sure where to start.  any help would be much appreciated, as the semester is halfway over already!

thanks in advance

james

[jdutcher]

aha!  just revisited the MIDIO128 page and i think that's probably the best way to go.  i'm gonna go ahead and do some more research but if anyone has any input, please let me know.

[jimhenry]

Yes, the MIDIO128 project with a CORE and a DIN will handle conversion of a switch closure into MIDI.  Quite easy once you get your head around how MIDI Box works.  Once you have working boards it will probably become clear.

Your big job is to figure out how to get reliable switch closurs from your manual typewriter.  You might look at the possibility of having a metal part on the key assembly short out a pair of phosphor bronze wire contacts.  Pipe organ keys generally work that way.

[jdutcher]

thanks for the response, jim.  MIDIO128 it is.  i've decided to use keyboard pushbutton switches placed underneath the metal legs of the typewriter keys.  i'll let you know how it goes.  as for the mios coding, i may be back with a few more questions before this is over.

thanks again,

james

[jimhenry]

There shouldn't be any MIOS coding involved.

[jdutcher]

??? ??? ???

no mios coding?  then how will it know what info to send when a button is pressed?

[raphael]

no mios coding?  then how will it know what info to send when a button is pressed?

Just customize the .ini file for your needs and send it to your MIDIO128 via SysEx... ;D

Yes, it's that easy!

Raphael

P.S.: You find the .ini file and the script for the SysEx-File generation on the MIDIO128 page:

http://www.ucapps.de/midio128/mk_midio128_syx.zip (a readme is included).

[jdutcher]

ahhhh, ok.  yeah, i knew about that, i guess i just mixed that up with mios in my head.  anyway, thanks for the clarification!

P.S. that system is absolute genius...thanks thorsten!

[shed]

you will also need some sort of host aplication to get the output into word  ;)

[jdutcher]

you will also need some sort of host aplication to get the output into word  ;)

huh?  sorry, not exactly sure what you're referring to.

anyway, just a quick update: i finished the typewriter at the end of last week and it works perfectly!!!  thanks for all the help.  i'll try to post some pics soon.  i ended up grounding the typewriter itself and having the hammers touch wires that are mounted underneath to trigger midi notes.

[stryd_one]

Glad it's working well :)

I think that thing about MS Word was a wisecrack at the typewriter thing heheheh

[shed]

sorry i tend to have a bad sense of humor

[stryd_one]

Well, Sh*t, I guess I do too then, cause I laughed  ;D

[shed]

well i should have said geeky sense of humor or something then  ;)

[levon]

you will also need some sort of host aplication to get the output into word  ;)

when i read that i cracked up laughing, so does that make me a geek? :D

[stryd_one]

Perhaps yes, I think it does :) it's a badge of honour mate  ;D

[jdutcher]

ok, so i've got everything working pretty much, but it turns out that i need to also control a relay for part of the project.  i can't seem to get it to work, however.  i took a look at this post: http://69.56.171.55/~midibox/forum/index.php?topic=3413.0, but the link to the thread with the answer doesn't work (post server move...).  here's a few quick details for people who have a minute to help me out:

-DIN pins 1-20 are switches that send midi notes (this works perfectly)

-DIN pin 21 is a capacitive touch switch that i want to use to toggle the relay.  i know that the switch works, but i don't know how to get it to toggle the relay.

-the relay is a 5v microrelay that i'm driving with a uln2003 chip.

do i need to used both the midio128 AND the relay sysex files?  i've tried configuring pin 21 to send the C0 00 signal to trigger the DOUT pin 1, but it doesn't seem to work.  assuming everything is wired correctly, what needs to be changed in the sysex file(s)?

thanks so much.  if you need more info, please ask.

james

[jdutcher]

one last question:

is it possible to implement inc/dec encoders into the midio128 design?  basically, i'd like to add an encoder that would increase or decrease the value of the pulse width or transposition on my sid synth.  i know a thorough study of the mios language would probably solve my question, but i'm hoping to finish this project for an installation in the near future.  i'm guessing this wouldn't be too difficult, but i'm not quite sure where to start.  if someone could give me a few quick tips in response to this question (and the above question) it would be GREATLY appreciated.  i hope to get started on some serious (and self-taught ;)) mios coding this summer when i finish school.

thanks so much

james

P.S.  once this project is completely finished, i'll try to post some pics for everyone (and pics of my other midibox projects).    ...maybe an incentive to give me a few bits of code here?  ::).... ;)

[stryd_one]

First off, I'm sure this is possible. I even think it might be really simple. TK has a way of making it so :D

I've actually never even looked at the MIDIO128 code before, and I thought this seemed like a good excuse to lose some more sleep ;) so I've taken a quick look at it... But it was a -really- quick look, so I could be miles off here... It's very late, so I'll work on this more in the days to come, however I am moving house this weekend so it could be a few days before I can respond properly.... Sorry about that... The good news is, the new house has a carport which will become the electronics lab, and I have saved up for new equipment to kit the lab out like crazy :D I can hardly wait!

All that should need to be done, is to define a register to hold the encoder's value, and then write a small section of code to tell MIOS how to handle the encoder's movements. it would be a handful of lines of code at most I'm sure. In fact, the code could be stolen from the MB64e code :) hehehehe

I'll post more later on, if TK doesn't beat me to it. He could probably do this off the top of his head, but he's uber genius  :)

[jdutcher]

hey todd,

thanks so much for your reply.  first off, congratulations on the new house/lab/equipment....i'm sure it's gonna be a lot of fun!  anyway, haven't had much of a chance to solve this one on my own yet, but i'm hoping to be able to get it working before next tuesday (when the project is due).  per your recommendation, i'll take a look at the mb64 code/register idea.  i've also been browsing the sample apps which might hold the key.  in the meantime, no one else has any ideas?!  :'(

[stryd_one]

I assume you've got everything working except for the encoder?

If so, maybe you'd like to send the ASM files my way and I'll have a go at it for ya ... No promises I can do it by Tuesday of course, but I'll sure try!

[jdutcher]

hey todd!

thanks again for the help.  my midio128 is simply sending midi notes at this point, so the code is pretty much untouched (i.e. what's in the zip that i downloaded from ucapps.de).  if you do have a chance to take a crack at it, that would be great.  if not, i understand completely and thanks again for your help! :)

jamie

[stryd_one]

yo man.

shouldnt be a biggie, but they've put me on call and im working like 16+ hour days.... So I'll really try, I know it's a project and an important one, but you might want to get some backup bro!