#121

For battery power - something like this + a LiPo might work:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465
https://www.adafruit.com/product/328

4 Likes
#122

I will second this. My first DIY norns build runs off of this module and battery. I connected a physical switch as well. It’s fun to use! But when you have the LED’s or a grid and potentially a midi control surface attached, it’s going to only last so long, similar to an actual Norns.

But I will second these as being completely operable and a really cool solution. Tried and tested.

I think the best, if you’re running a whole set up of 2 or 3 midi devices and some incoming audio, it’s best to have a USB external battery capable of some REAL juice.

#123

I’d just go with one of the Talentcell packs, they are well-proven:


etc.

2 Likes
#124

makes me wonder if you could use that board with an 18650? there’s some with up to 5000 mah, that would give great capacity.

#125

it’s not the amp-hours you need to worry about - it’s current. Ideally you need reliable 5V, 2.5A with a pi3b+

#126

This battery pack has been an excellent choice for me. I’ve been able to run a Pi based norns on this without issue, and it has the power 3A on the USB-C to keep up with a Pi4.

I’d give a thumbs up for this device. It also having USB hub mode (obviously not a norns type usage) has meant it can use it with my OPZ, iPad Pro and MacBook combo, which has been helpful for portable music making

#127

cool to see this coming to life!

just a side note that i’m still planning to release a “norns shield” which is similar to this but perhaps more minimal (it is barely larger than the pi itself) and also closer to the original norns (same audio codec). it’ll be open-source, DIY, maybe run some SMD-finished versions. we’re almost done messing with the disk image so i’ll post details soon. the goal is not to have a heavily modified install or branch in order to get a working norns ecosystem quickly.

that said, we’ve been discussing the norns 3.0 milestone which is looking to integrate basically any external audio software (pd is an immediate target, along with custom dsp). since there are a few people here interested in pd and custom dsp i’ll start a new thread for more discussion and perhaps a few people want to help with code!

58 Likes
#128

Well crap, I didn’t know that there was going to be an official Norns shield. I expressed interest in fates, unaware of this… So I kinda… Want to… Take back my interest… Ugh sorry :disappointed:

#129

I mean, why not both? :man_shrugging:t2:

They all chat together, daisy chaining the Norns family is awesome, and it just expands the number of opportunities to create live, generative, highly personalized music!

Not to mention the Orac 2.0 options on the FATES board!

3 Likes
#130

No take backs! :laughing:

FWIW…

  • fates is about 3 weeks away (if everything goes as planned)

  • fates runs the master branch of the norns software. It’s only linux that’s been customized - and mostly that’s just the display driver to support rotation.

  • I’ve also worked pretty hard to make the install process mostly painless. Hoping to get a disk-image solution working soon (before boards go out)

  • we’ll need to wait and see what the dimensions/form-factor are like on @tehn’s board.

15 Likes
#131

So what I really liked about Fates was that it is a way to expand the Norns community by lowering the cost of entry. The more people working on and with the platform the better IMO. Is having two different shields a good thing? I literally don’t know, seems to me it’s all going to depend on if fates and monomes Norns shield go down different forks. I’m so sorry my option sounds critical! I’m a fan of your work and admire your talent okyeron.

1 Like
#132

my hope is that fates can work with the norns environment without drifting too far so we can preserve a high degree of collaboration. the point of the norns shield is to be pretty tightly coupled with the norns disk image, so they can be basically interchangeable. lowering the cost of entry to all of this software is the goal.

which is why i was suggesting some increased energy into some of the 3.0 proposals, as pd could be integrated without making an awkward workflow or alternative fork.

28 Likes
#133

I’m excited of the prospect of getting more folks in to the environment and opening up the range of possibility to the Norns family with pd.

In fairness, I’ve been running Norns on a Pi with a similar structure to what the FATES will be, just more… deconstructed… using a different audio interface.

If anything, I’ve seen this build work basically exactly like Norns that I’ve interacted with. I’ve done some development with it and more. I feel as if keeping these all in a similar structural and programming flow shouldn’t be too tough.

I guess I’m only bringing all this up to illustrate that the value of the current work has done such a good job of bringing down the point of entry and broadening the scope of available participants.

I am very excited for both builds (and plan on procuring a Norns as well!) so, I’d be curious and excited to see them all stay in tune!

3 Likes
#134

This is such great news all round. Lowering the entry price is always good news with the benefit of potential software developers to help the platform. I’ve been playing with some ideas that are too CPU intensive and cumbersome to develop using the axoloti so really looking forward to this. Can’t splurge on a norns right now :frowning:…

2 Likes
#135

I think it is possible to remove all TH components from the PI (usb ports, Ethernet, HDMI and audio jack) and add just 2 USB ports. it will get much thinner. but is it worth the effort? I dont mind being thicker. And for battery you could use a old cellphone battery and add some cheap chinese 1S charger and 4 amp 5v booster but you can use a power brick as well and i`m fine with that too.

IMG_2493
IMG_2493.JPG1080×1920 482 KB

Made this power brick to power my digitone and digitakt. it lasts for ~3H of continuous play. Used a pololu step-up / step-down 12v regulator 6amps and a Chinese 4s charger :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#136

IMHO I think that’s a huge amount of work with very little pay-off for thinness.

I think it could be easy enough to get a lipo and boost converter inside a case. I’ll probably try this at some point in the future.

A USB power brick is a very easy solution for the moment (albeit external)

1 Like
#137

I built a version of the Pi Norns with the adafruit battery and 5v booster. It works really well, if albeit does quite quickly. The batter and the converter are both a tiny profile, so it’s a cool option for the case. Pretty easy to squeeze in there. Just a little extra soldering.

But then you get in to the issue of a needed button or switch for it and the amount of work and redesign begins to outstrip it’s usefulnees. With a grid attached I was maybe get 30 min or so of life and that was with the largest capacity battery offered by Adafruit

1 Like
#138

Are you using the powerboost 1000c? I was guessing the 2amp max on the switch wouldn’t be enough to run the thing, it’s good to know might work.

If anyone has any alternate boost (or buck, tho I’d rather go up then down) chip suggestions I’m happy to hear them.

#139

Thats how i`m gonna power it. USB brick. and the thickness… i dont mind it. Thanks for your work. Specially the image files :smiley: cant wait for this build

#140

Work is well underway for Orac on Fates :slight_smile:

IMG_0111
IMG_0111.jpg4032×3024 3.19 MB

this is a real screen, orac running, and parameters change when turning encoders…
just now a few hours work of doing the UI interactions which are a bit different from organelle.
but the main tech work is now done…

then its just a bit of packaging, which Ive already started on :slight_smile:

not bad for a few of hours work :wink:

37 Likes