Category: Misc Hardware

Yet Another Toy Keyboard USB MIDI Controller – Part 2

So this follows on from the first part and adds MIDI, some buttons to control the keyboard and gives it a voice of its own. https://youtu.be/NUaCPR0LRTM 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 microcontrollers, … Continue reading Yet Another Toy Keyboard USB MIDI Controller – Part 2 →

Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 7

Having built my adaptor into a small box, I've gone back to add a mode button so I can include all the different applications into a single sketch. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 - Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 - Decoding the rotary … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 7 →

Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 6

In this final (for now) post, I'm just tidying up the circuit and using a Pro Mini to embed all the electronics I need into a nice small box. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 - Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 - Decoding the … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 6 →

Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 5

In this post, I describe how to use my rotary phone as a simple random-note MIDI "sequencer" of sorts.  The triggering of the notes is driven from the pulses of the dial. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 - Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 5 →

Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 4

In this post, I describe how to use my rotary phone as a MIDI program changer. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 – Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 – Decoding the rotary dial from the Arduino. Part 3 – Rotary phone MIDI note controller. Part 4 – Rotary … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 4 →

Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 3

This is the first musical application of my vintage rotary phone.  I'm using it as a simple MIDI note generator.  Remember, I really wanted to keep this as a potentially working phone when not plugged into an Arduino. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 – Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 3 →

Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 2

This it the second in a series of posts looking at interfacing an Arduino to a vintage rotary telephone for musical purposes. Part 1 – Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 – Decoding the rotary dial from the Arduino. Part 3 – Rotary phone MIDI note controller. Part 4 – Rotary phone MIDI program … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 2 →