Jaicen Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 I'm sure there's an obvious reason this hasn't already been done, but hopefully someone can tell me. I didn't know anywhere else this could be posted so it's here ;)I personally rarely use synths and drum machines outside my home studio (back bedroom ::) ), usually using a PC based sequencer as my skills are somewhat lacking in the actual playing field. Anyway, tonight i've been looking up DIN sync and it occured to me that it would be a really nice idea if somebody could write a plug-in for a VST or something that would send control voltages from a PC serial or USB port. I figured it would be a relatively easy task to write code to convert a MIDI clock signal to the correct Sync24 pulses.Failing that, maybe something could be added to the MB firmware to allow a Dout module to send Sync pulses.What do you guys think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jidis Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Jaicen,You may be interested in this, if you haven't seen it:http://www.colinfraser.com/m2d/m2d2m.asmI don't do any of that sync, but used to carry that doc., and a few others around when I was first getting into PIC MIDI code. It uses a 12F629. I think it sends and receives the clock.That clock plug does sound usable. I had thought about software FSK/SPP as well. A while back, I was also asking someone about a plug-in for DBX NR. It would be cool to have a software bundle for all of it, with many of us now struggling to archive our old analog recordings and interface our DAW's to vintage hardware. I'd like to see something which could bring in a raw track from tape,etc., compensate for various tape speeds or directions (like for playing back 3.x ips 4-track cassette stuff on stereo consumer decks), and then simulate various NR and even bias/level/EQ processing to get an optimal sound from unknown tape sources. I know that's not an exact recipe for retrieving the tracks, with all the electronics and head types involved, but it may be close enough for some of us. I've had to insert EQ's here en route to a stereo DBX unit, because the playback deck sounded nothing like whatever I made the tape on. Seemed like it helped.Take Care,George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el-bee Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Alternatively there'shttp://www.angelfire.com/geek/srlabs/diner.html ..Slightly more options with clock outputs etc. Haven't tested this myself since Colin Fraser's converter has been more than enough for my use. And really simple to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaicen Posted February 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Yeah I've seen both of those, and a few other variations on PIC based sync converters. Thing is I don't really know a lot about PIC, certainly I don't have any facilities for programming them. I just thought it would be nice to have a VST to do all the leg-work for me ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jidis Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Thing is I don't really know a lot about PIC, certainly I don't have any facilities for programming them.I'm guessing that 8 pin one he used would be one of the types you could blow with one of those "minimalist" programmers (like a handful of passive components stuck to a com port plug ;D)I was wondering last night why he doesn't give any brief info comments, before the source starts, on what it's for or how to wire it (ala Thorsten). I guess if you're building one, you already know the pinouts and junk.A plug does sound more convenient, especially since VST's already got tempo links and crap for delays,etc. Old timecode might be a worthwhile "tool" bundle. Nuendo already comes with a batch of scope/generator plugs.When I get a minute, I'll throw a post in the Nuendo forum for you. There may already be something out there, plus Aleksey from Voxengo, and some other plug writers seem to frequent there. It may even be something Steinberg would consider adding to their bundle, but I'm afraid some of the bundled plugs are linked to their software somehow.Take CareGeorgePS anybody- Assuming the frequency and waveform specs are all within digital audio's range, is there anything about those type of signals which can't be electrically reproduced by a standard analog output like SMPTE/FSK can? (seems it does have more lines than those) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 DIN Sync is just a positive DC pulse, not a particular waveform. You might have some luck with a parallel port if you have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaicen Posted March 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Sorry for the delayed reply, I lost this thread! Yeah I do have a parallel port which is not being used, I just don't know how to access it. Anybody got any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 There are lots of resources out there on the net for "interfacing and programming the PC parallel port" - Google? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raphael Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Yeah I do have a parallel port which is not being used, I just don't know how to access it. What version of Windows are you using?Windows NT, w2k and XP doesnt allow the direct access to the parallel port. You`ll need something like porttalk or cracknt:PortTalkhttp://www.beyondlogic.org/porttalk/porttalk.htmCrackNThttp://www.it.fht-esslingen.de/~zimmerma/software/start.shtml (German)http://www.it.fht-esslingen.de/~zimmerma/software/crack.htmOr you write your own driver which is not easy.Raphael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jidis Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 I wonder if that's what screws up MOTU's parallel interfaces in 2K/XP so badly. ???Or you write your own driver which is not easy.Homer Simpson once said something along the lines of "If something is difficult to do, it's God's way of telling you that you're not supposed to do it".I wouldn't be surprised if MOTU's Windows guys shared some of his work ethic.BTW- Wasn't it one of those PIC/Flash apps that required another such driver to run on 2K/XP? (not one of the two you listed)Thanks!George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 I wonder if that's what screws up MOTU's parallel interfaces in 2K/XP so badly. ???Well that's the fault of the driver they write (parmidi.sys, if memory serves...) that gets around that feaure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 I don't clearly understand what din-sync does. I know that a C64 running Prophet-64 can be controlled with din-sync. Now if you connect a keyboard to a C64 through a midi-to-din converter, are you now able to trigger notes on the C64? Or is din-sync only good for syncronizing to clock pulses? ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jidis Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 Davo,"Clock only" from what I remember (definitely not note data --way too lo-tech). Don't suppose it could carry any type of song position pointer crap either. Probably like the original old FSK tempo sync. BTW- I grew up with an Oberheim DX, with no MIDI, and all that "old-timey" clock junk. Had it for years, and eventually ran into someone selling the MIDI one in a local paper. I think I explained the situation, and offered them fifty bucks or something (maybe even less back then), and traded them mine, so they could sell that one. Back then they were only good for practicing guitar and stuff, and I explained that anyone who bought it wouldn't give a crap about MIDI. The "synthy" drum machines were just starting to get "collectible value", and the DX wasn't one of them. Still got it, but the PS or something seems to be acting "fishy".@ Stryd_One,PC Driver + MOTU = yes, perhaps a possibility. ;DAre you saying a "properly" written parallel MIDI driver for XP is not affected by the issue Raphael mentioned? (parallel MIDI is a favorite subject of mine ;))One of the things I recall reading while I fought with my MOTU, was a programmer who mentioned signs of antique driver code somewhere in that or another "current" driver, which pointed to a way back OS (like 95 or 3.1). He sounded like they made some sort of wrapper for it, to keep from having to develop a new one (not surprising). They have a thing with "dropping off" the parallel port, or having Windows boot up without seeing them, and MOTU even supplies some funky "port detect" app, to go out and try to retrieve the interface (...well, bless their hearts :'(). They're also known to jump ship while apps are running, and you have to run some prehistoric looking patchbay utility behind your space-age modern DAW app to keep anything from grabbing the port out from under the MOTU. (any of that make any sense to you?)Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 (any of that make any sense to you?)I own a MIDI Express XT Parallel... Need I say more.Originally, there was no win2k or XP driver... I suspect that they killed driver support for parallel interfaces, in order to migrate existing customers to the new (at the time) USB interfaces. Problem is, apparently the market was more clued-in than MOTU gave us credit for, and users complained that USB was too unstable for professional use, which, at the time, it was, and also, users wanted to upgrade to 2k for the better features for audio, but were trapped running 98se. Some spoke of switching brands. Eventually, after much pressure, MOTU made a modified version of the old win9x driver work on 2k/XP, and released that. It was a beta forever too...I doubt that they'll ever fix it up, because USB2.x is fast enough that it doesn't have such terrible timing problems as the old interfaces had, and a great deal of users are newer to the market and not accustomed to the superior timing that was available on parallel, so the USB interfaces are selling now. The demand for the parallel interfaces is fading, and the interfaces themselves will surely fade too.... Shame :(There's always eBay. Me, I'm trying to find another nice Atari and some more MIDI interfaces :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 DIN Sync article at Wikipedia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.