XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer

I quite like many of the XIAO boards, so when I got an email announcing the XIAO MIDI Synthesizer I went off to buy one and take a look. This uses the Dream SAM2695 MIDI device, which is a General MIDI instrument in a chip. I have a couple of devices that use this chip, … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer →

Arduino Atari MIDI Keypad

This uses my Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB and a pair of Atari 2600 keypad controllers to see if they can be used as some kind of MIDI controller. https://makertube.net/w/7VoDLuAWbiHuMr21XszyD4 Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! These are … Continue reading Arduino Atari MIDI Keypad →

Arduino MIDI Atari Paddles

Finally, I get to the point where I can do something vaguely musical with my Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB. This turns it into a simple MIDI CC controller using the Atari paddles. https://makertube.net/w/dgK7y73KfC1SWc5z2wsJ6x Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to … Continue reading Arduino MIDI Atari Paddles →

Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited – Part 3

Following on from Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited – Part 2 someone on Mastodon made the point that the reason they tended to use RC circuits to read paddles "back in the day" was due to the expense of ADCs. Which triggered a bit of an "oh yeah" moment. The whole point was not to … Continue reading Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited – Part 3 →

Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited – Part 2

This has another look at my updated Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB in order to attempt to read all four paddle controllers a bit more accurately and efficiently. Update: A much simpler approach is now described in Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited – Part 3. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment … Continue reading Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited – Part 2 →

Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited

As previously mentioned in my Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Build Guide the PCB doesn't work so well with paddle controllers due to the way they are wired up. This is an update to the PCB to allow the paddles to be used in a very similar way to the original Atari 2600. Warning! I strongly … Continue reading Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB Revisited →

Post 600!

Interestingly, it has been almost a year since I made my 500th Post! So what has happened in that time? Here is a summary of some of the main things I've been talking about: I've now done a fair bit with my Korg Volcas. I was just getting to know them this time last year, … Continue reading Post 600! →

MiniDexed 3D Printed Cases

I've used my modular Raspberry Pi 2,3,4 A+/B+ Synth Case to create a variant for the two versions of my RPi Zero MiniDexed IO Board PCB Design. There is also now a version for my MiniDexed Raspberry Pi IO Board V2 Design too. The OpenSCAD file should allow for a range of variants to be produced, but I've … Continue reading MiniDexed 3D Printed Cases →

ESP32 S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB Build Guide

Here are the build notes for my ESP32 S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB Design. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! If you are new to electronics and microcontrollers, see the Getting Started pages. Bill of Materials ESP32S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB (GitHub … Continue reading ESP32 S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB Build Guide →

ESP32 S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB Design

This a version of the ESP32 WROOM Mozzi Experimenter PCB for the latest ESP32-S3 DevKitC board I've found. For the background on the boards themselves, see my notes here: ESP32 S3 DevKit. ESP32 S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB Build Guide Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible … Continue reading ESP32 S3 DevKit Experimenter PCB Design →