A couple of switches on the faceplate would not respond reliably. They were both connected to analog inputs. When I viewed the analog values, they were interfering with one another and resting close to zero when they should have maxed out. I was able to fix the problem in software instead of adding more components. The trade-off was that the switches did not respond as quickly as other inputs.
Feedback from switches
The next hardware issue was the addressable LEDs. I added filtering components, transmitted on analog pins, digital pins, and data pins. Nothing worked, so I decided this project doesn't need lights.
I tried all reasonable solutions to get the LEDs working
More important than the lights, I had to get MIDI working. Unlike LEDs, this was core to the purpose of the project. Reading data has always been a tricky hurdle on my projects. Fortunately, I have used this protocol before, and it is robust and well documented. Earlier, I soldered the MIDI connection to the first available pin, but I learned this would not support hardware interrupts, so it was a time-gamble to test on this pin. On my first attempt, I received data, but I had to convert it through the calculator to make sure it was MIDI.
MIDI, trust me
I bought a converter to use my USB MIDI devices with the old-style DIN port. I could have purchased an older controller, but this should give me the flexibility to use more instruments. When I connected everything, I was able to play the glockenspiel directly from the piano. Eight of the notes worked, and I had to designate them directly in the code.
(0:14) MIDI controller in action
I could play the glockenspiel manually, so the next course was to add some self-playing capability. Since the instrument was tuned to a scale that didn't have discordant notes, I could play them pseudo-randomly with no regard for a sour sound. I have a few more modes that need programming after this.
(0:35) Prandom notes
The rest of the summary posts have been arranged by date.
First time here?
Completed projects from year 1
Completed projects from year 2
Completed projects from year 3
Completed projects from year 4
Completed projects from year 5
Completed projects from year 6
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