[addressed] DIY norns: sourcing a kit?

[takeout]

Hello! Apologies if my post is in the wrong location but I am new to the forum! I’ve been very interested in building a DIY Norns for the last few months, but have been unable to source a full kit. I don’t have much experience with electronics, so I’m wary of buying the parts myself. Are there any sources for Fates kits, or an active market for built Fates controllers?

Please let me know if this is in the wrong place!

Takeout

[takeout]

Should also note that I’m open to using the Norns board sold on the Monome market, if anyone can give me any insight into how to acquire the remaining parts and whether or not I’d be able to build it with limited electronics knowledge.

[dan_derks]

https://market.monome.org - the shield kits have all the parts (except the Raspberry Pi + power supply) and will be back in stock in the next week, apologies for the delay!

here’s how to build it: https://github.com/monome/norns-shield. it should take you 15 minutes tops

[takeout]

Hey thanks so much for the prompt response! This makes so much more sense—I was under the impression that only the board was available for sale! Will be ordering this next week and diving into the world of Norns!

Another quick question—is there any way to test the Lua code on my local machine so I can mess around before I build?

[dan_derks]

happy to help!

@takeout

is there any way to test the Lua code on my local machine so I can mess around before I build?

there’s no emulator or anything like that – but there are ways to get started poking around. depending on your goals, these might help:

Developing Supercollider Plugins For Norns- Where to Start?

ZIN(), ZOUT() are not for kr, they are used to set up the LOOP macros. this used to be required but now is not particularly recommended; you see it mostly in older UGen code. the frequency input can be different per sample. but yes, you can ignore this and just use the first in a block if you want. use IN(i) to get a pointer to the input block, or IN0(i) as a (sort of pointlesss) shortcut to get the first value. (equivalent to IN(i)[0].) oh, i do see you are calling set_pitch. sorry i missed t…

Norns: Running on a MacOS

it’s not trivially easy, and there is one issue that prevents metros from working at all on macOS. (POSIX clocks). crone works, but it’s a JACK application and setting up Jack is a minor pain. For supercollider, just install the standard macos package. The norns specific classes work fine.

studies

[takeout]

Awesome! I’m a software engineer by trade so interested in poking around in Lua.

One last question—do you have a recommendation for what Pi board to use? Planning on ordering one today (along with a solder kit )

[dan_derks]

@takeout

do you have a recommendation for what Pi board to use

yes! from the market and build guide:

raspberry pi 3b+ with power supply and SD card

• use a good SD card, not a cheap one. if you’re having trouble, try using a different card.
• be sure to use the correct power supply. the pi will not power well from a laptop and you’ll get confusing errors. get a dedicated 2A USB supply, or very high output USB battery.

[zebra]

@takeout

is there any way to test the Lua code on my local machine so I can mess around before I build?

links above not actually super relevant.

on linux, it should “just work” to build and run the norns stack. instructions here:

monome/norns/blob/master/readme-setup.md

like dan says, there is no screen or key/encoder emulation. (please develop one if you like!)
so there is no way to really test UI stuff.
but BL components can be built and tested in lua just fine.
interfacing with OSC is also an option.

[dan_derks]

@zebra

links above not actually super relevant.

couldn’t tell the need, apologies for diluting! thanks for sharing the good info

[spqr6510]

Yayyy the kits are back in stock next week
thanks @okyeron

[okyeron]

@dan_derks

and will be back in stock in the next week,

Posted above - next week

[robotfunk]

Not planning another batch of Fates?

[okyeron]

Nope. Shield is the diy solution now.

[takeout]

@okyeron @dan_derks happy to say that i’ve ordered a soldering kit and a RPI, just waiting for the kit to come back in stock! any way to pre-order or set reminders? very excited to join you all in this world

[Ben]

Does your NeoTrellis Grid work with the Norns Shield? I for some reason thought it was Fates-only…

[okyeron]

It can. read the top post in the neotrellis post for more info (just updated that post as well)

[Ben]

Awesome, thanks for the link! I for some reason thought it didn’t work.

Do you think your unofficial Grids patch will ever get merged into the main Norns codebase?

[okyeron]

@Ben

Do you think your unofficial Grids patch will ever get merged into the main Norns codebase?

Not as is. There will likely be a different official solution at some point, but it’s probably a low priority item.

[Ben]

Darn. Well, thanks for all you’ve done to make DIY monome-alikes a thing - a NeoTrellis “Grid” and Norns Shield are certainly much more accessible than the incredible amount it would cost to order an actual 128 Grid and Norns (thought they are absolutely gorgeous pieces of hardware).