Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 5

Ok, ignore my last comment about Part 4 being my last post on this topic. I thought I ought to pull together all the hardware notes on how to build one as I haven't really written that down anywhere. So this shows the connections required between the Pico, I2S DAC and MIDI IN. Part 1: … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 5 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 4

I was going to leave things at Part 3 blog-wise, and just get on with filling in the gaps in code now, but I've come back to add a few more notes. But this is likely to be the final part now. Recall so far, I have: Part 1 where I work out how to … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 4 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 3

The story so far... In Part 1 I work out how to build Synth_Dexed using the Pico SDK and get some sounds coming out. In Part 2 I take a detailed look at the performance with a diversion into the workings of the pico_audio library and floating point maths on the pico, on the way. … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 3 →

Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Build Guide

Here are the build notes for my Arduino EEPROM Reader 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 Arduino, see the Getting Started pages. Bill of Materials Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB (GitHub link below). 2x … Continue reading Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Build Guide →

Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Design

This is a PCB version of the Arduino EEPROM Reader/Writer as described here: https://github.com/beneater/eeprom-programmer but with slight adjustments to support reading of 27Cxxx style ROMs often found in vintage equipment. Build Guide here: Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Build Guide. Update: Since developing this board, I've found a much more comprehensive DIY board here: https://github.com/TomNisbet/TommyPROM. The documentation … Continue reading Arduino EEPROM Reader PCB Design →

Building my Oskitone Poly555

This isn't really a post like my usual blog posts. This isn't a project of mine as such or a build guide or anything. It is simply a few comments and photos of my building my Oskitone Poly555. https://makertube.net/w/a8SsXP33nymrRqNxXnbbNA I've always liked the idea of the Oskitone. I've used it as the inspiration for some of my … Continue reading Building my Oskitone Poly555 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 2

Now that the initial elation at getting a reasonable sounding, er, sound from my Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed has worn off, I've been seeing what I can do about the performance. TL;DR: this is all analysis and measurements, working out and attempting to understand how it all currently works. I haven't fixed anything or improved it yet. I'm … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 2 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed?

For a while I've wanted to get Synth_Dexed up and running on a Raspberry Pi Pico. This is the library written by Holger Wirtz for use with the Teensy microcontroller, and the core synth engine used for MiniDexed. This is how I got everything up and running although it is too early to know if this … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? →

Diagnosing and attempting to fix a Yamaha DX100 – Part 1

I was very lucky to be offered a non-working Yamaha DX100 from Simon Walters. On arrival I can see it attempts to boot but apart from the odd character on the screen, I wasn't really getting anything useful happening. My thinking here is that as it is a pretty nice synth with most of its functionality … Continue reading Diagnosing and attempting to fix a Yamaha DX100 – Part 1 →

RPi 400 MIDI and Audio PCB Build Guide

Here are the build notes for my RPi 400 MIDI and Audio PCB. https://makertube.net/w/tMyv2KC5D9zFLqs32MEjQa Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! In this case - inserting this pcb incorrectly (which unfortunately is possible with the RPi-400) could damage the … Continue reading RPi 400 MIDI and Audio PCB Build Guide →