catskull
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NUMBSKULL
NoyzBotChip wrote:
catskull wrote:

Anybody want to climb aboard the hype train?

after gb303? no thank you lol

Hahaha, don't blame you there! I promise not to take anyone's money until They're totally ready to go.


I've been testing and it's looking good! I'm not able to get LSDJ to do midi out though, does anyone have any advice on how that's supposed to work? The led flashes when LSDJ fires a midi note, but I don't hear anything on the synth. Midi into mGB works great though!

What are people interested in as far as link cables go? DMG only (no power), DMG/CGB dual, or CGB only? It looks like the dual cables CGB port has power, but the DMG side doesn't. I assume the CGB only cables do power also, but I don't have one to verify.

Also, a bit of bad news. I underestimated shipping. sad By the time I get the envelopes and labels as well as the postage, it's looking like it will be $5 flat rate CON US. Is that a deal breaker for anyone? I'm really bummed that I already said it was included. I should have checked before I said anything. I hope nobody is too disappointed by that.

Also, if I do the dual link cables it's looking like it will be $5 for a half instead of $4. I guess if someone wanted to send me a link cable for me to build theirs with, I could just use one half of it for theirs and then give them a $5 discount to keep the other half.

error
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Didn't know how much I wanted midi out until just this moment. I was originally only thinking of mGB, but re-voicing some of my tunes sounds like a whole lot of fun. Still interested, but hope that can get sorted.

error
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Is the synth listening for the same midi channel that the arduino is sending? Most of my midi problems come from me overlooking something like that.

W4LKR
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Any idea on how much shipping to the Netherlands would cost big_smile?

catskull
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NUMBSKULL
W4LKR wrote:

Any idea on how much shipping to the Netherlands would cost big_smile?

I have no idea, but I could find out for you!


So I have some good news and some bad news:

Good news is that everything works! Midi out via lsdj works! I don't have nanoloop to try syncing with that, but the hardware is the same so there's no reason it shouldn't work.

The bad news is there is one tiny error on the PCB. I have a fix that's really cheap and easy to do though, so it shouldn't actually matter that much. All the rework is done on the bottom side of the PCB so aesthetically it will still look great! Here's a picture of the gory details:


I think where I'd like to go next is to get 4 "beta" testers. What I'm thinking is they will buy a fully assembled kit at the unassembled price. So with the extra shipping, it would be $20 for a shield with no link cable or arduino. You could still get those at the regular extra price ($5 each). If anyone is interested, PM me. If you think you have a better idea, let me know as well! What I'd be interested to know is your overall experience. Are you satisfied? Does it work? Did it break? Basically you'd be getting a discount and more direct support from me in exchange for your feedback. I'm open to non-US testers as well, but you'd have to pay the extra shipping.

If any of that doesn't make sense, let me know. If you have any qustions, feel free to ask!

Thanks!

NoyzBotChip
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Atlanta, GA

sent PM

Cementimental
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if it was cheap i'd get one, beats buying all the seperate bits and then not getting round to building it and losing them all again in my piles of electronic junk big_smile

catskull
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NUMBSKULL

Still looking for a few more beta testers.

$25 Assembled with Arduino and Link Cable
Shipping CON US is $5. If you're outside the US just shoot me a pm.

catskull
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NUMBSKULL

Nobody wants to snag one early?

Would it be cool if instead of cutting a link cable, you could just plug one into the arduinoboy directly? As in, you'd actually solder a link port onto the PCB? Or would people rather solder them right on?

herr_prof
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What about having terminal screw ports?

onewheeltom
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Sign me up for one.

error
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I really like the terminal screw port idea, so much that I would even like it for the female midi connections. Would definitely make it easier to break out to a more robust build.

zii.hrs
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Aarhus, Denmark
catskull wrote:

Nobody wants to snag one early?

Would it be cool if instead of cutting a link cable, you could just plug one into the arduinoboy directly? As in, you'd actually solder a link port onto the PCB? Or would people rather solder them right on?

I'm trying stuff out on a Raspberry Pi, and this is what I am aiming for. I have a broken board from which I can desolder the link port, but wouldn't this be quite expensive for a kit, unless the link port is some standard port that you can buy individually?

catskull
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NUMBSKULL
herr_prof wrote:

What about having terminal screw ports?

For the link cable connector? The current design actually has that, but I just soldered the cable in because I didn't want it to come out. Would that really be easier than a straight up link cable port? Then you wouldn't have to butcher cables.

onewheeltom wrote:

Sign me up for one.

PM'd

error wrote:

I really like the terminal screw port idea, so much that I would even like it for the female midi connections. Would definitely make it easier to break out to a more robust build.

This, in conjunction with what herr_prof said, has me thinking I would like to do two kits. One would be as small and cheap as possible, and one would be bigger and more versatile. The bigger one would be the shield style like I sent you. I'm thinking about having both footprints for midi jacks, as well as footprints for screw terminals. Cost wise, the midi jacks are among the most expensive components, so that's cool with me to cut that out. Having said that, if someone really wanted to put their kit in an enclosure, they could just not solder the jack and instead use a panel mount midi jack and solder the wires into the pads. But again, there's plenty of room so on the next version I'll add the screw terminals for the midi jacks.

zii.hrs wrote:

I'm trying stuff out on a Raspberry Pi, and this is what I am aiming for. I have a broken board from which I can desolder the link port, but wouldn't this be quite expensive for a kit, unless the link port is some standard port that you can buy individually?

I actually found a supplier of new GBC/GBA link ports! So it wouldn't increase costs much and you wouldn't have to butcher old boards!

zii.hrs
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Aarhus, Denmark
catskull wrote:

I actually found a supplier of new GBC/GBA link ports! So it wouldn't increase costs much and you wouldn't have to butcher old boards!

Ah, nice! But I take that you've had no luck with DMG link ports? wink

catskull
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NUMBSKULL

DMG ports are probably impossible. I'm pretty sure the only reason GBA ones are available is because of clones like the GB BOY and other SP style handhelds.

I feel like most cables around are the dual end style, so a GBC cable is totally acceptable for me. Does anyone else have an opinion on the matter?

zii.hrs wrote:
catskull wrote:

I actually found a supplier of new GBC/GBA link ports! So it wouldn't increase costs much and you wouldn't have to butcher old boards!

Ah, nice! But I take that you've had no luck with DMG link ports? wink