The Little Drummer Bot kept getting new modes. In Setting Mode, the tempo could be sped up or slowed down at ten and fifty-millisecond intervals with four buttons. I tried to add a relay output that would close each time the loop started over, but I didn't use one with adequate isolation, so the coil injected a lot of noise into the microcontroller and was scrapped. Two panic buttons were programmed, which would sequentially turn off all notes.
The last mode was a metronome that played a single instrument according to the tempo. In this mode, the instrument was not limited to the eight referenced on the labels. The same buttons responsible for changing the speed in the Settings Mode worked the same way in this mode.
All the programming was supposed to be done for the LittleDB so it was connected to the Electronic WindChimes project and it was plain to see incoming data, but it was not what I expected. The columns of numbers should have been 99, 60, 45, which translates to activating middle-C on channel 10 with a velocity of 0x45. While the data was consistent, it was not usable.
I made a laundry list of what could be wrong with the data connection. A different data cable was swapped in, the metal case was bypassed, and a clean power source was run to the power pins. None of this resulted in improved data reception. It was frustrating.
The next test was using a different controller. A few different Arduinos were considered, but I picked the Arduino Mini because it worked for the first Electronic WindChimes and I had plenty to spare. Another reason was that all but three of the pins lined up with the microcontroller socket and those three were jumpered with test wires.
Receiving MIDI was supposed to take a half-hour, but it took all week. I finally got it to work by plugging the serial lines directly into one another and bypassing all the interposing hardware. This removed the 220Ω resistor on the output and the optoisolator on the input. Since this worked, I hypothesized that the optoisolators could not keep up with the baud rate.
The rest of the summary posts have been arranged by date.
First time here?
Completed projects from year 1
Completed projects from year 2
Completed projects from year 3
Completed projects from year 4
Completed projects from year 5
Completed projects from year 6
Disclaimer for http://24hourengineer.blogspot.com and 24HourEngineer.com
This disclaimer must be intact and whole. This disclaimer must be included if a project is distributed.
All information on this blog, or linked by this blog, is not to be taken as advice or solicitation. Anyone attempting to replicate, in whole or in part, is responsible for the outcome and procedure. Any loss of functionality, money, property, or similar, is the responsibility of those involved in the replication.
All digital communication regarding the email address 24hourengineer@gmail.com becomes the intellectual property of Brian McEvoy. Any information contained within these messages may be distributed or retained at the discretion of Brian McEvoy. Any email sent to this address, or any email account owned by Brian McEvoy, cannot be used to claim property or assets.
Comments to the blog may be utilized or erased at the discretion of the owner. No one posting may claim property or assets based on their post.
This blog, including pictures and text, is copyright to Brian McEvoy.
(1:06) Setting Mode can change tempo on the fly
The last mode was a metronome that played a single instrument according to the tempo. In this mode, the instrument was not limited to the eight referenced on the labels. The same buttons responsible for changing the speed in the Settings Mode worked the same way in this mode.
(0:49) Instruments and tempo changes in metronome mode
All the programming was supposed to be done for the LittleDB so it was connected to the Electronic WindChimes project and it was plain to see incoming data, but it was not what I expected. The columns of numbers should have been 99, 60, 45, which translates to activating middle-C on channel 10 with a velocity of 0x45. While the data was consistent, it was not usable.
Unusable serial input
I made a laundry list of what could be wrong with the data connection. A different data cable was swapped in, the metal case was bypassed, and a clean power source was run to the power pins. None of this resulted in improved data reception. It was frustrating.
Getting power as clean as possible
The next test was using a different controller. A few different Arduinos were considered, but I picked the Arduino Mini because it worked for the first Electronic WindChimes and I had plenty to spare. Another reason was that all but three of the pins lined up with the microcontroller socket and those three were jumpered with test wires.
Ill-fitting Arduino Mini
Receiving MIDI was supposed to take a half-hour, but it took all week. I finally got it to work by plugging the serial lines directly into one another and bypassing all the interposing hardware. This removed the 220Ω resistor on the output and the optoisolator on the input. Since this worked, I hypothesized that the optoisolators could not keep up with the baud rate.
Rx and Tx pins connected directly
The rest of the summary posts have been arranged by date.
First time here?
Completed projects from year 1
Completed projects from year 2
Completed projects from year 3
Completed projects from year 4
Completed projects from year 5
Completed projects from year 6
Disclaimer for http://24hourengineer.blogspot.com and 24HourEngineer.com
This disclaimer must be intact and whole. This disclaimer must be included if a project is distributed.
All information on this blog, or linked by this blog, is not to be taken as advice or solicitation. Anyone attempting to replicate, in whole or in part, is responsible for the outcome and procedure. Any loss of functionality, money, property, or similar, is the responsibility of those involved in the replication.
All digital communication regarding the email address 24hourengineer@gmail.com becomes the intellectual property of Brian McEvoy. Any information contained within these messages may be distributed or retained at the discretion of Brian McEvoy. Any email sent to this address, or any email account owned by Brian McEvoy, cannot be used to claim property or assets.
Comments to the blog may be utilized or erased at the discretion of the owner. No one posting may claim property or assets based on their post.
This blog, including pictures and text, is copyright to Brian McEvoy.
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