DIY: norns shield

[shambolic]

thanks so much for the reply! i’ve now just taken a closer look at the BOM and can see the corresponding schematic reference on the PCB that you mention. so that’s good!

next step is to get the right quantity of everything – clicking through to DigiKey from the BOM gives me quantities of 500 and 1000 for certain items, so i guess i will build the list by hand. wondering if anyone else had that experience?

also been thinking hot air and solder paste might be the easier way to go, as it just looks neater.

anyway, really appreciate the feedback. good luck with your projects!

[shambolic]

thanks for the reply! by ‘stick vice’ do you mean one of these?

while i know i will have to do some iron soldering i have been thinking i might go hot air and paste for the smaller bits…just seems cleaner…

[wheelersounds]

Here is what I’m referring to, looks like I misspelled it. It just holds the pcb and lays flat on your table.
I only have a little experience using hot air for placement so others probably have more to say, seems like a good plan as long as the tiny parts stay put.

[ldezem]

Each supplier has a different online system but generally they provide a search tool for finding the same value components from different manufacturers. For example you can toggle checkboxes in the Digikey “Product Attributes” tab and then “View similar” (Resistance / Capacitance, Package / Case etc.). Some times it is cheaper to buy 10 units then 5 five (I guess this is down to the machines which pack the components) but having extra is good in case of mistakes.

[clarke77]

I kinda prefer the more minimal look of the previous version. Any chance the simple acrylic backplate is still available?

[beenome]

I updated my Norns Shield after just having received it from Canada from a guy that builds and pre-installs them.

And straight after that, I lost audio in the list of devices. So I did a restart in Maiden and got the following message. Is that bad?

BATTERY: FAIL.
ERROR (i2c/hp) failed to write
*** WARNING *** The program ‘matron’ uses the Apple Bonjour compatibility layer of Avahi.
*** WARNING *** Please fix your application to use the native API of Avahi!
*** WARNING *** For more information see http://0pointer.de/avahi-compat?s=libdns_sd&e=matron
OSC rx port: 8888
OSC crone port: 9999
OSC ext port: 57120
starting lua vm
running lua config file: dofile(’/home/we/norns/lua/core/config.lua’)
MATRON
norns version: 0.0.0
git hash: 8946533
running startup
start_audio():
norns.startup_status.ok
last file loaded: /home/we/dust/code/bounds/bounds.lua

script load: /home/we/dust/code/bounds/bounds.lua

cleanup

script clear

ERROR (i2c/hp) failed to write
including /home/we/dust/code/bounds//lib/tlps_bounds.lua
including /home/we/dust/code/bounds//lib/hnds_bounds.lua

script run

reading PMAP /home/we/dust/data/bounds/bounds.pmap
m.read: /home/we/dust/data/bounds/bounds.pmap not read.
network connections:

---

1 SFR-c8a8_2GEXT
2 SFR-c8a8
3 SFR-c8a8_5GEXT
4 SFR-c8a8_5GHz
5 Wired connection 1
6 halfhidden
7 nnnnnnnn
8 nnnnnnnn 1
available engines (21):
Glut
Showers
Rudiments
PolySub
Grendy
Greyhole
KarplusRings
Ack
Phyllis
MGlut
SimplePassThru
MollyThePoly
Decimator
R
PolyPerc
Passersby
Pools
TestSine
Why
None
Gong
Engine.register_commands; count: 0
___ engine commands ___
___ polls ___
amp_in_l
amp_in_r
amp_out_l
amp_out_r
cpu_avg
cpu_peak
pitch_in_l
pitch_in_r

script init

ERROR (i2c/hp) failed to write

[markel_m]

It’s normal, the shield doesn’t have the headphone out that the original norns has, so the software fails to find it and reports that error. But it shouldn’t affect anything.

[xmacex]

@beenome

ERROR (i2c/hp) failed to write

This is normal on the shield and can be ignored, i remember reading from People Who Know.

[tehn]

i’m working on a software update that will appropriately hide all non-applicable errors and give better direction re: powering down after updates, etc.

this is due to shield hardware differences.

[beenome]

Yes however the audio subdirectory disappeared completely from my devices directory

[beenome]

Anyway, thank you so much for your answers…

[beenome]

Thing is my audio mixer disappeared from my “devices” menu when I updated…

[distropolis]

I’ve experienced very low audio output randomly over the last several boots. Rebooting the unit resolved the issue. The mixer page shows normal functionality and the meters display a level that I’m used to being good, but the actual output is low.

I’ve tried swapping cables and plugging into different powered speakers and mixers and had the same issue.

I do have an OP-Z plugged into the USB port and looped into the audio in.

Any known issues?

Edit:

This was moved from “questions”, but I don’t think my issue pertains specifically to the shield. I’m interested to find out if others on the latest OS have had intermittent audio output issues.

[threedaymonk]

Did anyone else order a CS4270-CZZ from a vendor called littlediode_uk on eBay? Someone posted a link further up the thread. I have some suspicions about them. I ordered one which they claimed to have in stock, but they say it must have got “lost in the post”. I can’t remember the last time that happened to me, but I suppose it might happen.

They offered me a refund or replacement, so I asked for a replacement. They claim to have shipped it today with 1st Class post. Should be here by the weekend, then. Will it turn up or will it also be “lost in the post”? Place your bets now!

[Lemmy]

I described something similar in posts further up the thread. It does seem to be a shield thing – at least I haven’t heard any off-the-shelf Norns owners complaining about this. It is actually some time since I’ve had this problem, so I haven’t done any further troubleshooting.

[Jonny]

I’m seeing some noise on my fft scope using a MOTU M4 (which is pretty low noise) and was wondering what should one expect in terms of noise floor with the DIY Norns? It’s not super loud and I know @zebra mentioned to expect more noise on the diy version verus the built Norns from Monome. I got the pcb with SMD already done and am pretty sure my soldering is solid.

I’m using a 2500 ma 5v adapter which seems to be the recommended one for my Raspberry Pi 3. Would it be worth trying a 3000ma power adapter?

Here’s what the noise looks like without any pre gain. The low end periodically pops up to about -84.

[Whatwatt]

Hi everybody,
I am very new to all this, but i thought it would be fun to try making this Norns Shield as a first project. I am based in Sweden, so the taxes and import charges starts to add up as soon as you order outside of EU.
I think i know how to find the parts for everything, based on the BOM-list, but are still trying to find the PCB. Does anyone have any tips on where to find one in Europe? I found this Norns PCB. Anyone who has bought it and know if it’s good?
Thank you!

[fblang]

I would try to compare this to other gear if you have any. I am not sure but this looks quite decent.

[Jonny]

Good idea – the op-1 I have seems to be sitting around a flat -120 with the levels on it cranked, so I guess that’s not too bad. Just wanting to make sure I am getting the best noise levels out of this thing, I suppose. Also, curious how it compares to factory Norns.

[zebra]

looks pretty normal to me.

i’d guess that the spikes come from clock leakage (subharmonics of OLED driver clock or something.) not sure about low freqs. factory norns is more like -120db across the spectrum.

-96db incidentally is same noise floor as 16 bit digital audio. it does mean you want to be a bit more careful about gain staging than you would need to be with another 20db of headroom.