Having waited what felt like an eternity (and reluctantly giving money to a sour faced post-woman for import tax) I finally got my hands on all the circuit boards and parts for the MIDIBox project. I’ll do a quick overview of what each module does to give beginners an idea of what they’ll need.

I decided to go for the kits from Smash TV as they were screen printed, double sided boards which meant I wouldn’t have to run bridges around the place like on a single sided board, making my life that little bit easier. If you’re in Europe it might be easier to just go with Mikes MIDI Shop and avoid the import tax and long delivery times; Both sets achieve the same results.

MIDIBox Core

The Core

This is the brains of the operation; Based on a PIC18F452 microcontroller, this unit sends/receives data from the other modules and handles all the MIDI data as well as distributing power to everywhere else. In short it’s the boss.

Both SmashTV and Mikes send the chip to you with a bootloader already on it, so it’s easy for you to get up and running.

GM5 USB Module

GM5 USB Module

This board will give your controller a USB interface so you only need the one cable. It supports the “USB MIDI Protocol” so there is no need for any drivers etc and connects straight to the MIDI IN/OUT on the Core.

You’ll have to surface mount the chip, which isn’t as hard as you may think. With a bit of liquid flux and copper braid it’s a really quick job.

DIN Module

DIN Module

The DIN module receives button presses and passes them onto the core. It detects a button has been pressed when it completes a circuit and receives a current on one of the pins.

It can handle up to 32 buttons per module and you can use 2 per core for a total of 64 buttons.

DOUT Module

DOUT Module

The DOUT module handles LEDs which you can use as status displays for visual feedback. It receives information from the core telling it to turn a certain LED on and gives then gives it some juice.

It can handle up to 32 LEDs per module and you can use 2 per core (same as the DIN) for a total of 64 LEDs.

AIN Module

AIN Module

Lastly, the AIN module handles potentiometers (Knobs, Pots). When you adjust a pot, it adjusts the voltage going back to the AIN for that one pot, which is then used to work out what the value is.

Same as the other two, this board can handle up to 32 pots per module and you can chain 2 together for a total of 64 pots.

Complete Set

Complete Set

This is a full set of boards for my project consisting of 1xCore, 2xDIN, 2xDOUT and 1xAIN as well as a GM5 to make it all USB.

Having completed this I’ve done some preliminary tests with the new MIOS Studio and seem to be able to communicate with the Core perfectly. So now I just have to connect all the modules together with cables and stuff the IC Sockets (then the real fun will begin).

I hope this might inspire someone to go and do their own projects as I barely knew how to wire up some LEDs before I started! But the guys over at UCAPPS are really helpful and the wiki is invaluable!