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jsdecarli

MIDI TRUMPET 3.0 Update

So after a bit of a hiatus I’m back working on this project. I completed the V3 hardware some time ago and recently I’ve made quite a bit of progress on the software. Hardware Details Here’s some pictures of the V3 prototype as well as the schematic Side View showing Thumb Joysticks View showing valves and display Schematic Observations on the Hardware Design The thumb joystick for pitch selection is a definite fail. There isn’t enough travel to give accurate… Read More »MIDI TRUMPET 3.0 Update

Midi Trumpet 3.0 HW Design

Although I haven’t posted recently ideas have been burbling around in my brain and I’ve purchased some parts for the 3.0 design. I’ve made the following hardware choices: Component Selection I went ahead with the Adafruit Feather M0 Bluefruit LE ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/2995) Using two of these thumbsticks: https://www.adafruit.com/product/444 The 3.3V NXP pressure sensor: https://www.nxp.com/part/MP3V5004GP For now I’m using some cheap pushbutton switches Electrical Design 11/19/2019 Update: need two more pins for the display 1/3/2020 Update: Changed DIO assignments I’ve assigned… Read More »Midi Trumpet 3.0 HW Design

Midi Trumpet 3.0 Planning

While 2.0 is a big improvement over 1.0, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Here’s my goals for the next iteration: More compact form factor. I’d like to be able to throw this in a backpack or squeeze it into my suitcase so I can work on SW or play it when I’m on the road. Better valves, the micro switches are pretty delicate, which contributes to the portability problem. Improve pitch controller. The bike throttle is cool, but… Read More »Midi Trumpet 3.0 Planning

Headphone Amplifier

This doesn’t have much to do with Trumpets, but I wanted to post this headphone amplifier I built. I’m not using it in a very demanding application (it’s for watching TV with headphones), but it works really well, it’s totally superior to the FIIO E6 I was using, more gain and less noise. It’s based on a TI TPA6021A4N, which has some nice features: digital volume control, a shutdown mode which prevents pops at startup and shutdown, and most importantly… Read More »Headphone Amplifier

MIDI Trumpet 2.0

I’ve finally completed a second hardware platform. It now features: 128×64 Monochrome display Much more ergonomic design Here is a side view showing most of the mechanical elements: The bottom handle is the top of a cane. The pitch control is attached to the handle, it’s a throttle for an electric bike. On the side is a joystick which provides 2 continuous controls and a push button, along with two additional push buttons. On the top are four switches representing… Read More »MIDI Trumpet 2.0

Making a Arduino programmer

So to get USB midi working I needed an in-circuit programmer for an Arduino. It’s very easy to make one from an Arduino, I used a nano I had with a DB9 connector since I have a lot of those laying around. There are a lot of descriptions on how to do this, the key thing I learned is that to use the nano you definitely need the 10 uf cap between reset and ground. Here’s what my programmer looks… Read More »Making a Arduino programmer

USB Midi with Arduino Pro Micro

UPDATE The USB Midi library now works out of the box.. Just include the library in your project, load the sketch, and your device will show up as a midi usb device in both Linux and Windows. Woo hoo! -————————————————— So the first challenge is getting the Arduino to work as a USB Midi device. Extensive googling reveals several options: – Buy a teensy, which I probably would have done had I done this research before I bought the pro… Read More »USB Midi with Arduino Pro Micro

MIDI Trumpet Next Steps

The first prototype works OK, but there are a couple things I’d like to address: – The form factor is pretty awkward. The push buttons don’t feel very much like real trumpet valves and it’s hard to hold a rectangular box and manipulate the slider. Some additional controllers would be nice as well. – USB midi would be preferable – I’m not sure if the filter for the BC helps or hurts. Here’s my plan: – I’ll replace the Arduino… Read More »MIDI Trumpet Next Steps

MIDI Trumpet Software

There’s obviously been a gap in activity, but I’ve picked it back up lately and I wanted to finish off the documentation for the prototype I build and lay out the next steps. First of all, here’s the software: MidiTrumpet