TK.

Hi Dimitris, I changed the mapping in v1.5, and the new one matches with the diagram. I made this since it's more useful for my own hardware. You can always change the mapping in lc_io_table.inc if you want Best Regards, Thorsten.

See http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=troubleshooting;action=display;num=1097358846 Please don't spread the questions to a certain issue over different articles, it makes it impossible for us to gather all informations about a problem, and it makes the maintenance of this forum difficult. Best Regards, Thorsten.

See http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=troubleshooting;action=display;num=1097358846 Please don't spread the questions to a certain issue over different articles, it makes it impossible for us to gather all informations about a problem, and it makes the maintenance of this forum difficult. Best Regards, Thorsten.

See http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=troubleshooting;action=display;num=1097358846 Please don't spread the questions to a certain issue over different articles, it makes it impossible for us to gather all informations about a problem, and it makes the maintenance of this forum difficult. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, midio128.syx or relay.syx doesn't contain the application code, but only the configuration data. You've to upload the main.syx file of the MIDIO128 application package first (-> see http://www.ucapps.de/mios_download.html). Thereafter the DINs will send MIDI events, and the appr. LEDs will light on a pressed button (and they are also controllible via MIDI) With the .syx files of the mk_syx package you will be able to change the MIDI events which are related to the buttons/LEDs Best Regards, Thorsten.

Welcome back, Sly! :) Ich kann nur von meinen Erfahrungen mit Frontpanel Designer berichten: zunaechst einmal sollte man die Masseinheit auf Zoll umstellen, und die Rasterung auf 0.1 Zoll. Dadurch wird das Partitionieren erheblich einfacher, da der Abstand zwischen zwei Gitterpunkten einem Loetpunkt auf der Lochrasterplatine entspricht. Nun kann man die Encoder/Buttons/LEDs, usw. schonmal auf die Platine stecken und muss nur noch Loecher zaehlen. Manchmal, bspw. bei LEDs, macht es Sinn, die Aufloesung auf 0.05 Zoll zu stellen, da sie sich zwischen zwei Loetpunkten befinden. Den Durchmesser der Bauelemente ermittelt man am besten mit einem Messschieber, so etwas gibts im Dreierpack fuer 3 EUR beim Praktiker (oder bei Obi...) LCDs: mit dem Lineal ausmessen, im Frontpaneldesigner eine neue Flaeche und die dazugehoerigen Bohrungen erstellen. Ja, es ist ziemlich schwer. Ich drucke mir ein fertiges Layout aus, klebe es zusammen (falls es sich ueber mehrere Seiten verteilt), schneide die Loecher und Flaechen mit einem scharfen Messer aus, und lege es ueber die Bauelemente. Diese habe ich bis dahin bereits fix und fertig auf die Lochrasterplatinen geloetet. Meistens stellt sich dann heraus, dass sich das eine oder andere spaeter nicht montieren laesst, oder nicht in das Gehaeuse passt. Dann muss nachgebessert werden. Nach 3-5 Iterationen klappt es dann meistens. Danach noch mindestens dreimal ueberschlafen, und dann erst bestellen (oder selber machen)! Gruss, Thorsten.

Of course, I don't want that users get ripped off, but independent from the terms in any license, people will always find a way to bypass the rules. The circuits of MBHP are small and common, they can be easily modified to create something which is not covered by the license. It's only a question of knowledge and effort. So, how can people be protected from such "bad guys"? We have to keep an eye on public platforms like forums, ebay, etc... and we can warn the potential customers if possible. The guys won't get support from us - thats all we can do. On the other hand: if somebody is able to sell assembled MBHP PCBs for a reasonable price, if he works together with Mike and/or SmashTV (in order to keep up the existing infrastucture), when he spends the same effort in customer support like SmashTV, then a collaboration is possible. As I mentioned before: in some years we possibly rely on such a service. And a inexpensive alternative solution is a good protection against overpriced ripped designs. Yes, it's a field programmable gate array. Don't be afraid of being triggered with such a new wanna-have in the next 2..3 years - I think that the current platform is sufficient for my own plans until then. But once I feel frustrated enough about the limitations of a 8-bit microcontroller, and once I see that the use of state-of-the-art technology for non-electronic experts is feasible, I will switch. A FPGA has the advantage that it is a very generic device, which allows to do a lot of very different things with the same hardware. It's so flexible, that very dedicated units can be implemented without much effort, which are doing tasks with best execution time (nanosecond accurate), e.g. functions for scanning buttons/encoders/pots, serving LED matrices, etc... but also complex waveform generators (-> synthesizers), audio processing units, sequencer engines or just serial interfaces (you want to have 256 MIDI In/Out Ports? no problem ;-) ). Even a customized CPU could be programmed into the array, but due to the implementation effort and number of required gate functions/memory, it's mostly easier to use a seperate microcontroller connected to the FPGA. The current disadvantage is, that development environments for FPGAs are very expensive, but this could change in the next years once FPGAs get more populated. My dream solution is a FPGA with integrated CPU, clocked with 100 MHz minimum, low-cost programming interface and free available verilog or VHDL compiler/simulation/synthesis tools - let's see... we are young, we have time :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Andrew, looking forward for your synth! Time to search for old Atari STs on Ebay before the prices rocket upwards! :-) Btw.: my next synth will be based on the YMF262/YAC512, also known as OPL3 (-> MIDIbox FM). Seems that a whole synth family based on nostalcic sound chips comes up Best Regards, Thorsten.

This is a Traktor Controller made by Martin. He built it into the case of a Denon double CD player - neat! :) Martin wrote (use http://babelfish.altavista.com to translate this german text):

Xanboroon brings up a point that is really thought-provoking. Where are the boundaries of DIY? Are premade PCBs already against the spirit of the unwritten DIY laws, or is etching only a job for lunatic fringes, who would also create their own resistors/caps/semiconductors if they would be able to do this. I think that the definition of DIY is a continuous process which will shift more and more into the direction of a macroscopic/modular approach in future. Some years ago each MIDIbox was totally handmade: built on breadboards, boxed in selfmade cases, decorated with selfmade panels... getting the parts was always a challenge, and bringing up the PIC was mostly only possible for experts. Today we've reached a status where the majority of people prefer to buy premade PCBs, they buy premade panels, they buy premade housings. And a trend can already be regognized for ordering complete kits or special parts from single sources, although it costs some extra money (or not if the availability is bad). People are mostly like electrons... they prefer the least resistance So, how will be the progress in the next years? When you watch closely to the latest microcontroller developments, you will notice that the handy DIP package slowly disappears from the market, new developments are mostly provided in a SMD or BGA package. There are a lot of charming solutions available in the meantime (e.g. ARM or TriCore based 32bit controllers, or huge FPGAs) which could bring us so much --- with the disadvantage of increased costs for equipment and a higher demand on solderings skills. The fact is that the demand for ready assembled modules comes once the industry has totally switched to SMD, and the distributors starting to discontinue the DIY friendly chips. Open question: is the possibility to buy assembled modules good the the community or not. I'm not sure yet. Currently the restriction that only PCBs or kits are available limits the number of users - from my point of view this is favorable for the support effort as well as for the infrastuture (e.g. the costs for the webservers) On the other hand it could bring new people into the community who are experts in other areas, like software customization/programming, testing, sound design, documentation, etc. Maybe it would only shift the support effort to another direction. Less issues with a non-working PIC programmers, wrong connections, bad soldering joints, missing MIOS upload request, but more questions about software or customization problems - the propability to get an helpfull answer increases with the number of people who are working with the same stuff. It's really a difficult decision... Best Regards, Thorsten. P.S.: reg the MBHP license - I don't like so much rules, they make the world too complicated

Wilba has programmed a java based MIOS upload application which runs on Win/Mac/Linux. I want to do some small modifications before releasing it in order to avoid an immense support effort, but if somebody would like to test the current version, feel free to contact me. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, the less documentation is required, the better. I think it's better to enhance SysExBox, so that it resets the core module automatically before uploading MIOS. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hallo Stefan, gehe ich recht in der Annahme, dass Du eine uralte MIOS Version verwendest? Dieser Fehler mit dem Running Status (der von Deinem Keyboard genutzt wird, um den MIDI Traffic zu minimieren) war mal ein Problem in MIOS V1.4 und MIOS V1.5 im zusammenspiel mit ein paar (wenigen) Applikationen. Der Fehler wurde in MIOS V1.5b gefixed (siehe http://www.ucapps.de/mios_changelog.html) Ich wuerde empfehlen, grundsaetzlich immer die aktuellste MIOS Version zu verwenden, um ein grosses Raetselraten zu vermeiden. Seit Februar wurde kein Bug mehr in MIOS gemeldet, deshalb ist davon auszugehen, dass diese Version wesentlich unproblematischer laeuft als die aelteren. Gruss, Thorsten.

Made by Martin - check also his homepage, it contains some additional pictures of the modules and a demo song. A description about the construction details and used components is planned. http://www.navisto.ch/midibox_seq/

I guess that the only change is the device ID, which is 0x10 for Logic Control, and 0x14 for Mackie Control. The emulation ID can be defined in main.asm of the MIDIbox LC application. If there are any other differences, we should always be able to add this to the firmware. Remember the Sonar fix - I found the required extension within 10 minutes by testing the MIDIbox LC with a demo version of Sonar. So - there is no real danger ;-) Best Regards, Thorsten.

The fix for sonar is part of MIDIbox LC v1.5 At least for Logic there are still a lot of people who are using this software (at least myself ;-) ) --- the possible interactions between Logic and Logic Control are the best I've seen so far. The Mackie Control drivers which are part of Nuendo/Cubase and Sonar are poor compared to the implementation from Emagic. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, are you able to monitor the SysEx strings which are transmitted from ProTools with MIDI-Ox? Maybe this software uses a different (undocumented) format, but it shouldn't be a big problem to add this to the MM application. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Rednas, PullUps will work in the range between 10k and 100k without problems, but please inform Claudia about this error. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Jef, one possible reason why the DINs are not captured correctly could be a short between SCLK and RCLK - the RCLK triggers the load input, and the SCLK (shift clock) shifts the pin states through the shift registers. If for example the SCLK is not working, you will always see the status of the first DIN. How to check this - it's difficult without a scope. But you could do a simple electrical check: remove all ICs from the DINX4 modules as well as the PIC18F452 from the core module. Then switch your multimeter to "ohmmeter" (or however it is named) and measure the resistance between the CLK and the LD pin of each 74HC165 socket. It should always be "high impedance" (no connection between these pins). If you measure 0 Ohm, then you know that there is a short, and this means that you have to visually check your PCBs at the bottom - maybe the two tracks for RCLK and SCLK are to near together. For reference the DINX4 schematic: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_dinx4.pdf The MIDIO128 application is nice for testing the DINs and DOUTs. You can upload it without any danger. Each DIN should trigger a MIDI event. Best Regards, Thorsten.

I don't know why this should happen, anyhow - it makes sense to update java to >= 1.4.2 due to the better MIDI support Best Regards, Thorsten.

Very good progress! :) Yes, now you can stuff the SID and upload the setup_6581_with_cs.syx file - although the filename could imply that this .syx is only for control surface option, it will also work without the appr. hardware. So: after the upload, send some notes to the core module. You can use the virtual keyboard of MIDI-Ox for this test. It can be activated via Actions->Keyboard. Then press some keys (Q W E R T) to play the notes. If you don't hear any sound, we have to continue with the mbsid_interconnection_test... Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Jeffry, could it be that your multimeter is not working? Which kind of measuring instrument are you using, do you have to calibrate it? Because: 6.7V instead of 5V makes ca. 30% error 15.6V instead of 12V makes ca. 30% error 11.6V instead of 9V makes ca. 30% error so, you always have an offset of ca. 30% Do you have a 7805 and a second PSU? Solder the 7805 to the core module and power it from J1, which value do you measure at J2, 5V or 6.7V? Best Regards, Thorsten.

...for the new, alternative patch mode which has been implemented on a very cold and rainy sunday. I had to made a lot of changes in different files and now would like to know if the old, "common" bank mode as well as the new patchmode is working in all cases. It would take me at least one week to check all usecases, so it's maybe better to ask you for support ;-) In difference to the common mode, in patch mode each BankStick contains one bank configuration (means: pot/encoder/motorfader/button events and lables) and 128 snapshots (64/128 pot/encoder/motorfader/button positions + patchnames). It allows you to prepare the bank configuration for one (or more) MIDI/Analog/VST instruments and to store/recall/morph up to 128 scenes. So - patch mode will be the favourite option for everybody who not only wants to control his instruments, but who also wants to store as much as possible instrument settings in the MIDIbox. :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi, not MIOS, but the MIDIbox SID supports a Wavetable sequencer. It works a little bit different from SIDstation, with the pleasant side effect that it is more powerfull. You can control any CC (-> see http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid/sid_cc_implementation_chart.txt) in 3 tracks. So, not only the waveforms and note frequencies, but also the LFOs, EGs, Modulation matrix, Filter, etc...) You can also trigger notes (directly selected or derived from the chord which is currently played) to realize full customizable arpeggio textures (-> http://www.midibox.org/midibox_sid/mbsid_v1_5_wt+arp.mp3 all notes are controlled from the wavetable sequencer, this is preset #65) The MIDIbox SID FAQ (-> http://wiki.midibox.org) gives you some examples how to create drum sounds with wavetables) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Twin-X, very good idea! I'm sure that we can clarify all issues when debugging the modules step-by-step. +5V: for the original C64 PSU it's normal that the output voltage is a little bit higher if no load is connected. The voltage should drop to the nominal value once the core module (especially when a backlit LCD) is connected. Could you please try the following: remove all ICs from the core module, connect only the LCD (+backlight!). Then connect the +5/ground output of the PSU circuit to J2 of the core module and measure the voltage. The result should be in the range between 4.5V and 5.5V 14V: so long the voltage at pin 28 (Vdd) of the SID is less than 12V, the internal audio amplifier won't work correctly, and you won't hear anything. So, your first goal will be to bring this voltage (behind the 7812 of the SID module) to 12V. Here the same: remove all ICs from the SID module. A certain load is not required for this test. Connect the ground and +14V output of the PSU circuit to J1 of the SID module and measure the voltage between ground and pin 28 of the SID socket. Which value do you see? Measure also the voltage at J1, is it still 11.06V, or higher? If this doesn't help, following input would be interesting: the voltage between pin 1 and 2 of the 7809 of the PSU circuit the voltage between pin 2 and 3 of the 7809 the voltage before the rectifier of the PSU circuit (note: it's AC, you have to select this at your multimeter) is your PSU from an old C64 or from a C64 II (which contains the 8580 instead of the 6581) Best Regards, Thorsten.