#1070

I just finished soldering the PCB – all went well, thank you for all your effort and instructions.

I recently ordered an rpi 3b plus from amazon but unfortunately it was broken (constant red light) so I have to send that back. However, whilst troubleshooting the issue I plugged it into an old rpi2 to see what would happen and from what I can see so far it works! I’ll be ordering another rpi 3b plus but for the meantime would there be any issue in using Fates with my rpi2?

#1071

No idea what to expect from a pi2. I’ve got an older 3 (A?) but haven’t ever tested with it.

#1072

@disquiet; FWIW, I’m able to connect using Windows 10 via “\\norns.local\dust”, but not using only “\\norns.local”, due to the way samba is configured on the norns side.

2 Likes
#1073

Hi,

finally managed to get my Fates build. As I am not an experienced solderer it took some time and sweat but almost everything seems to work now. A BIG “thank you” to @okyeron; this must have been and must still be an awful lot of work!!

Silly me … but I thought I did not solder the 3rd encoder correctly because it didn’t do anything, until I realized that obviously for norns scripts there is no function attached to it because it is a Fates-only-feature. So I guess the 3rd encoder comes into play once I create my own scripts, right?

I did not manage to get the Wifi working. I tried to add my network and typed in the password several times but I could not get it running. The hotspot does work (although only every 3rd or so time).

As I do not have the right cable I have not yet attached a screen to the Rasberry but once I can: Any suggestions of how to start debugging on the network issue?

2 Likes
#1074

AFAIK Fates does not have i2c but would I be able to use a crow over USB with it?

#1075

Yes! Norns (fates) has several scripts that are plug and play with crow via usb.

Check out this crow thread, there is much useful info there: ^^ crow help: norns

1 Like
#1076

Interesting. Thanks for that. I’m gonna keep an eye on how my system is working. I just heard back from the VPN company about a possible fix.

1 Like
#1077

Be sure you’re sing side to side enough to get both upper and lower case letters if your password uses both. Some people have gotten caught only entering upper case letters.

If you have Ethernet on a computer (or your router), that’s very quick and easy to get network connected.

Once connected you can try using nmtui to manage network connections from a terminal

The extra (4th) encoder will not work with norns software at all (without some deeper code changes). It’s for use with ORAC or other DIY software solutions.

#1078

Thanks for the feedback. Meanwhile wifi behaved and connected. I did not do anything different so I don’t know what happened.

Anyhow: one or the other way I can connect. I will also check out nmtui…

And yes, it is the 4th encoder I meant. Looking forward to check out ORAC … but for now I have enought to do with the norns side.

1 Like
#1079

I’ve got the case open in Fusion 360 and was intending on adding screws to close the case up…

But I think I’m going to need to redo the USB-C and extra encoder hole in Fusion before I can screws. The original author of that work only uploaded the stl files and hasn’t responded to my message asking for his .f3d file: https://github.com/coreyker/fates3d_case/pull/2#issuecomment-575926368

I’ll poke at that a bit today…

1 Like
#1080

Nice one! I prefer no screws on the lid so might find a semi-permanent solution to fix them together, if I feel confident enough that I won’t need to rebuild anything on the board :grimacing:

1 Like
#1081

If the press fit works for you, great! I just used tape around the outside until I can print an updated version. :slight_smile:

When I printed the existing case design on a Prusa i3 MK3S in PLA (a bit of a gold standard to some) I found that the top was flexed too much to make a press fit work well. In a recording environment the noise of a case flexing around isn’t great. Also, if you’re taking it on the road, I’d be worried about a press fit.

Honestly, adding screw might increase the overall size because the case is already pretty packed. It might be possible to adjust the encoder holes a bit so washers and nuts can hold the case together, but I haven’t explored that much.

I’m almost done re-adding the USB-C hole back to the .f3d file…

Edit: Done re-adding the USB-C and 3rd encoder holes to the Fusion 360 file. Untested, but the PR is here: https://github.com/coreyker/fates3d_case/pull/4

1 Like
#1082

I got everything built and running, but I’m not getting audio out of the scripts. Running the troubleshooting steps plays audio out just fine, but running say Awake or Earthsea, the screen responds but no sound is produced.

I should say that I did reboot once and get sound, but then after another reboot, it stopped working again and subsequent reboots are not solving the issue. In the system Levels screen the VU doesn’t show anything, either.

Any guesses?

edit: the nc01-drone script is playing sound, so maybe it’s something to do with synthesis vs playing samples?

#1083

With Awake, in the parameters menu check to see if it is set to output audio or midi only. Also check that the engine audio is turned up in the levels menu. The meters have only been showing input and output levels live in the recent updates, so don’t worry if the softcut/engine/tape vu aren’t drawing if you’re getting output.

#1084

Awake is set to audio output and the engine level is all the way up. Someone else pointed to the power source being a potential cause which I’ve also read in this thread - right now I’m using an Apple charger with the micro USB port which outputs 5.2V/2.4A so maybe it’s not quite sufficient. I have an official power adapter coming in a day or two so I’ll be able to rule that out, hopefully.

edit: restarting sc through maiden seemed to get it working (;restart in the sc REPL).

#1085

Ah, if it was first install of a new engine, norns needs a restart to recognize new sc engines.

#1086

Is a norns restart different than a power cycle (unplug, re-plug) after choosing SLEEP from the system menu? I went through several of those without success.

#1087

SYSTEM>RESET will restart the norns software stack. (Not actually sure if it does everything - I should check)

;restart from maiden will restart matron or supercollider depends on which tab you use

Sleep shuts down the entire pi.

#1088

Wow, what a day!

After playing with a few ideas, mounting the Pi to the back and the Fates PCB to the front (with nuts and washers on the encoders and screws around the top edge of the board inside the case) came out on top. In theory, this will allow the case to be split along the Pi header.

internal-bracket-test
internal-bracket-test1073×747 235 KB

While just using the friction of the header might be enough, I hacked together an internal bracket that can be used to secure the two halves together with 5 additional screws through the back. I don’t really like having a third piece, but there are really only two straight shots through the inside of the case that pass through holes in the Fates PCB.

internal-bracket-test-front-with-pcb-and-bracket
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This means the assembly order will be:

  • Fates screws to the bracket with 3 screws
  • Fates screws to the top half of the case with 5 screws (one passing through the bracket), and using 3-4 nuts+washers on the encoders
  • Pi screws to the bottom half of the case in 4 spots
  • Top half and bottom half mesh together with the Pi header, and 5 screws through the bottom of the case and into the bracket.

A bit of a mess, honestly. I’m guessing the internal bracket will just be a nicety and could be left out, but Fusion 360 is fun so it was fun to see how far I could take it.

Once I validate the design works, I’ll upload the STL files and the modified Fusion 360 f3d file.

Let me know if you have other changes you’d like to see and I’ll see if I can get to them!

And, again, thank you so much to everyone that contributed to the original case design as well as posting the files. I’ve had a blast working on this so far!

7 Likes
#1089

How did you get the PCB into Fusion? Did you use the png file from okyeron ? I tried this but didn‘t get it to the right size.

I‘m working on a case too. Will post it as soon as it‘s finished.