#586

I’d be happy to take the plunge into the norns world but can’t wrap my head around some things. Would be happy if someone answered a couple of questions:

  • what are the basic use cases for norns shield?
  • can I use it without grid or arc?
  • what do I need for it to communicate with modular?
2 Likes
#587

hi vladimir!

norns shield has the same functionality as norns. if you’re looking for ready-made uses, i’d recommend this detailed list of community scripts. these are just the start :slight_smile:

clicking through each script will land you on the lines thread which details arc/grid requirements. norns does not require arc or grid to function, but a particular script might. details will be in the threads.

if there’s a use not covered, the studies will outline the basic building blocks for writing your own scripts.

as far as modular goes, most any class-compliant USB midi-to-cv dongle/interface will work – to keep it “in the ecosystem”, see crow.

#588

@dan_derks thank you for fast and informative reply!

How does norns shield compare to original norns in terms of audio inputs and outputs? Currently I see a usecase for myself in using norns shield as a looper/delay of modular material. But am worried if it can handle signal levels and routed conveniently

#589

Both shield norns and norns won’t like seeing raw 10V modular signals – they’re line level.

That said, they’re identical in that they’re unbalanced line level (I’d assume consumer line level, but could be wrong). The only difference is TRS 1/8in (the almighty aux jack) versus two chunky TS 1/4in (like a guitar). The norns does have a headphone circuit, but I’ve found that my norns shield drives headphones just fine :slight_smile:

1 Like
#590

You might want to invest in one of the many Eurorack < > line level-converter modules.

Ladik do a cheap bi-directional level-converter.

http://ladik.ladik.eu/?page_id=1417

1 Like
#591

Yeah, i have some already :slight_smile:

#592

What do you have, out of interest? Need something like that myself (especially now I have DIY Norns).

#593

For those in the UK and EU, you can reduce your international shipping bill by ordering all the parts in stock from Mouser, via Octopart. That leaves the OLED header and the switches.
The OLED header can be ordered from Bitsbox:
SIL header on Bitsbox
and the switches can be ordered from RS (although you’ll have to buy 5):
Switches on RS UK

2 Likes
#594

I have knob.farm ferry and 4ms listen.

#595

Very useful info, @barrford

That header may not be as low-profile in practice as the specified one.

That’s a funny one. They say the MOQ is 5, but I was able to order 3, anyway.

#596

Well i ordered a kit, will see how it goes :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#597

I have both in front of me and the Bitsbox one is taller by less than 0.5mm! They look almost identical.
Let us know if RS ship just 3 switches. Also, are you sure you haven’t ordered 15? :slight_smile:

#598

They already have. Thinking back, it was actually just a single unit, I ordered. It’s now installed on my Fates build (I had forgotten to order the optional 4th encoder, initially).

The issue with the alternative part from BitsBox is that it’s designed to work with round-pin headers, rather than the more common square-pinned variety.

You might find you have to file or sand down square-profile pin headers to fit.

#600

joining in to the discussion… finally got a norns shield (thanks @tehn!). Soldered everything, screen is working, but get a repeated error: SUPERCOLLIDER FAIL, also after power-cycling. Updated via eth to newest version without any luck. Checked and resoldered header pins…

I’m on a rpi 3b (no"+"). Any hints much appreciated…

cheers!

… and then I loaded a patch (Awake), plugged some headphones and it worked. why is that?
… [edit] strangely, the mixer page (out in mon eng cut tp with graphical sliders) is not updating its graphics… is this related to my difficulties?
… [edit] discovered that I do not get audio input…
… [edit] a reset (System>reset) seems to have settled all my problems.
… [edit] however, rebooting it makes the error reappear… !?

#601

this is typically an issue with bad sd cards or bad flash procedure. might suggest using etcher to flash the image, or just try reflashing and maybe try a different card.

#602

Thanks, switched to a proper card, used etcher, and everything is

  1. much faster
  2. working as it is intended.

wonderful.

1 Like
#603

would you be able to tell us what sdcard flashing instructions you were originally referencing? trying to spot the bad information.

#604

oh, I just roughly followed the top-post of this thread, downloaded the provided img, grabbed a random card and flashed it with ApplePiBaker (I am kindof sure that it was the card rather than the flashing program). So, not much instructions used, just standard tools…

I do think, though, that I did not wait long enough when power-cycling the pi for system to write changes the card… (it was a sloooow card…)
Also, I had a faulty power-adapter; could possibly be related to that as well.

1 Like
#605

For security reasons (a device exposed to wifi should IMHO not have a widely-known password), I wanted to change the norns passwords.

Since I could not find information on this topic, I have a suggestion for the Norns (shield) documentation:

Change passwords for norns

For security reasons (a device exposed to wifi should not have a widely-known password), one may want to change the default password for the we user.

login / ssh

Change the login/ssh password for user we by help of

sudo raspi-config

and follow instructions in Change User Password

Samba

The smb:// remote login password does not automatically change with the raspi-config method and, although Samba is a low-security, local network project, it makes sense to set its login credentials to match the newly set user password. This can be done with

sudo smbpasswd -a we

Re-type your new password and you should be all set!

Feel free to adapt/use/integrate whereever you like :slight_smile:

1 Like
#609

Thanks for sharing the RS link.

Mouser seemed to get the headers into stock today, so I went with that instead. Might be worth noting for anyone else in Europe.

I can’t wait to build this up.