ChipMusic.org - DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-10T01:23:27Z

trash80 wrote:

Maybe adding a nice 5v regulator for the soundcard may help without causing much issue- I didn't spend too much time on it.

I've reread the thread and this just got me thinking... the Game Boy does have a nice 5V power regulator .... would anything speak against soldering the +5V and GND of the iMic and the USB MIDI adapter to that instead of the usb hub?

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-10T00:50:14Z

Phew, I have come pretty far today. I've basically wired everything up except for the capacitor trash80 talked about and I'm experiencing the same things he has, so what I've done so far is all good. That means so far if I don't connect the Game Boy's power to the USB hub the iMic and USB MIDI adapter talk to my computer. Only when I try powering the Game Boy via the hub does it draw too much power and the iMic and USB MIDI adapter seem to be left in the dark.

This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: Huge success! I could verify that my logic and soldering was sound (I counted 36 solder points) and I know how to fix the next problem because of trash80's helpful comment. Oh man I have to tell you the soldering was nerve wrecking. I'm definitely not very experienced with soldering, this was maybe my fourth or fifth session in which I soldered something. Those contacts are tiny!

I might also just take the easy route out if for some reason the cap doesn't work: A second USB cable just for power so in any event I'll get this thing up and running. Let's hope it's the elegant one cable way. Photos following soon, I'm exhausted now.

Edit: Oh yeah I ended up using a different brand's USB hub, from the looks of it it might have even been the same or very similar to the one trash80 used. it had proper cables and none of that coated stuff.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T14:58:33Z

lastfuture wrote:

xray303 wrote:
TeensyBoy is using USB Midi, that why i'm currently porting Arduinoboy on a Teensy (becoming a TeensyBoy).
Ah interesting. The nanoloop USB MIDI adapter is still my weapon of choice though because it is cheaper, preprogrammed and smaller, too.

You're right ... and i'm still working on ArduinoBoy code port for the teensy so it is not available right now ..

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T13:44:19Z

xray303 wrote:

TeensyBoy is using USB Midi, that why i'm currently porting Arduinoboy on a Teensy (becoming a TeensyBoy).

Ah interesting. The nanoloop USB MIDI adapter is still my weapon of choice though because it is cheaper, preprogrammed and smaller, too.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T13:31:33Z

lastfuture wrote:

Thanks for the tip with the arduinoboy but I want USB MIDI so I can use everything over one cable

TeensyBoy is using USB Midi, that why i'm currently porting Arduinoboy on a Teensy (becoming a TeensyBoy). When you plug Teensyboy usb port it is viewed by your computer as a midi device automatically.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T12:24:14Z

Thanks for the tip with the arduinoboy but I want USB MIDI so I can use everything over one cable

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T11:01:15Z

Yeah, though normally I just use a lighter and burn off the paint, takes 1 second, trick is to burn it for a quick second so it doesn't blacken up and need cleaning.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T09:17:23Z

Oh, about that wire. It's indeed a sort of coating. If you want to solder it, simple hold the tip in molten solder for a few seconds. The coating wil melt off and the solder wil stick to the wire.

No need to scrape it off or burn it off. Takes some practise tho.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T07:45:26Z

Hi,

you can even put a Arduinoboy inside if you have some place.. not exactly a Arduinoboy but a TeensyBoy (port of arduinooboy on a teensy) which use usb midi.
You can look here : http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/9337/ … teensy-20/
The code is nearly finished but just need to test livemap and midi out mode on lsdj (don't know how).

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T05:07:25Z

Buying another squid type usb hub and hoping that one will have different wire or at least uncovered soldering points

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T05:05:57Z

Not sure what kind of wire that is, but it's in every headphone I've ever fixed. It's AWFUL to solder.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T00:54:17Z

oh I get it the markings are mirrored along the horizontal axis ... that's no n and e, it's a V and G making them 5V and GND probably. That also explains why there are two G ... the unused one is probably for the sheath.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-12-04T00:50:22Z

Alright, I got the USB spider/squid hub and managed to take the casing off with a lot of force and sweat (it was an almost solid piece with 2mm wall thickness!) and what I found isn't entirely what I expected. I could need somebody's expertise on this. The leads going into each of the USB jacks are wire directly coated with something none-conductive that color codes them at the same time. How do I get it off or solder to it? I thought for a second to solder directly to the pads on the PCB even though they're fairly tiny but they are also coated with a clear coat (looks like a thin coat of glue) and don't conduct like that.

I have tried fire on one of the wires, making it glow hot orange, but I could only restore conductivity to a certain degree... any ideas?
also while we're at it, any idea on the markings near the solder points? D+ and D- are probably the data lines ... n stands for neutral aka GND? and e could then be +5V? As I said they're coated with a non-conductive clear coating of some sort and I can't measure anything.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-11-21T16:43:56Z

PS: The keyword search for these style of USB hubs is called a "usb squid" ... There are tons of them online- at least, it seems so anyway. I got mine on thinkgeek many many years ago when they were not so common. They seem pretty big but once the housing is peeled off they are quite small. I didn't have to modify any of the DMG housing for it to fit.

Oh another note is that I had issues with ground interference from external devices such as cellphones and the like. I used foil tape and made a grounded housing around the imic to get rid of the issue.

Re: DMG all in one USB for power, sound and MIDI ... is it possible?

2012-11-21T00:09:33Z

I got notice today that contrary to what the merchant's online store stated the usb hub I ordered is actually out of stock and will take one or two weeks to get to them first. Kind of a damper, since I was expecting it today.

Just wanted to let you all know so that you don't think I've abandoned the project.