Practical Usage

Category: FCB1010

  • Alesis Vortex: Testing remote Patch switch

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    The Alesis Vortex, using firmware 1.20, can now receive and act upon Program Change requests. This means that you can select a Vortex Patch remotely. I tested the new feature using my M-Audio Oxygen keyboard, but this will work with any Midi input that can send Program Change Request (PC). I am also using a…

  • MRe-2: A demo

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    I have decided to try the MRe-2 in a real setting. So I hooked up my keyboard and recorded a demo. It was done using Ableton Live 9. The trick was to setup 2 midi loops (using clips). The first one is used to loop the riff that plays after the intro. I had to…

  • VC-1: More impedance control

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    In the previous post, I described the circuit that I’m using to emulate a potentiometer using a couple of opto-isolator (or opto-couplers?). There is one small problem with the circuit: the input impedance has to be quite low. If you just plug a guitar in the circuit, which generally has a high impedance output, it…

  • VC-1: Digital/Midi Volume Control

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    A user asked if I could design an FCB1010/PU-2 volume control. I love challenges… It took me weeks to get one working properly. The are two main parts to this: the analog side and the digital side. The analog side A potentiometer will generally be connected between ground and signal as: In this case, the…

  • PU-2: SD card capacity

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    I have just written a new version of the software that is used to convert a .CSV file into a Sysex file that the PU-2 can process. This version uses the SD card. Preleminary tests show that 2000 midi commands require about 16KB of storage. So, my (very) old 16Meg SD card can store approximately…

  • SD Card reader: No Voltage required!

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    While testing a slight modification on the PU-2 prototype, I decided to test the current draw of the SD Card reader described in the previous post. I placed my multimeter in series with the 3.3 volt pin and measured 11 milli-Ampères. Even while reading data, the current draw was constant. I then decided to measure…

  • PU-2: Data on SD card

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    Just in time! I received the SD card readers the day that I had planned to ship the first PU-2 Beta. I re-opened the boxes and fitted the card reader in each prototype. This is the SD card reader that I chose: It’s a generic card holder, that has the advantage of working with both…

  • FCB1010 vs PU-2: Why do it?

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    While waiting for parts (I do have to get a better inventory “system”) to complete the Betas for the PU-2, I went through a short period of discouragement. It’s hard to stay fully motivated when the project is bogged down by unforeseeable delays (or is it bad management?). But yesterday, I read an entry on…

  • PU-2: Meet Beta!

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    The PU-2 made it to Beta. As you can see in the picture above, the PU-2 is an external module, linked to a connecting board inside the Behringer FCB1010 with a flat cable. The reason for the external module  is that I wanted Beta testers to feel totally safe about their FCB1010. Since the current…

  • PU-2: Version 0.093 – ALPHA is ready

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    Phew! The hardware is now ready to be converted for Beta. This means that Beta testers will have a unit within a week or two. The hard part was the programming. I had to freeze the specifications and develop Alpha code. Here are the specs for Alpha: Hardware Based on standard Behringer FCB1010 pedal board…