Getting the Manta to work with Norns

emp · August 27, 2020, 7:45pm

I’m struggling to get my Manta to work with Norns. I have built MantaOSC according to the instructions on the GitHub page and added an udev file for it but it seems i can’t start it. I get:

-bash: MantaOSC: command not found

Running lsusb shows that it’s at least detected by the system:

Bus 001 Device 005: ID 2424:2424  
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:8176 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04b4:6570 Cypress Semiconductor Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Any ideas on what to test next?

murray · August 27, 2020, 8:21pm

I don’t have a Manta, but I have some general suggestions on where to start until someone with more specific knowledge can chime in.

For anyone looking, the Manta github page is here:

And I’m assuming you mean the instructions here:

github.com

ssfrr/libmanta/blob/master/MantaOSC/README.md

This is an example program using libmanta to build a simple OSC router, which sends OSC messages in response to manta touches and receives OSC messages to control the LEDs.

Prerequisites
=============

* cmake
* liblo-dev (linux/MacOS)
* libudev-dev (linux/MacOS)


Build Instructions
==================

## Linux and MacOS

1. git clone https://github.com/ssfrr/libmanta.git
2. cd libmanta
3. git submodule update --init
4. cd MantaOSC
5. mkdir build

This file has been truncated. show original

Did the build finish successfully?
Are you in the MantaOSC build directory?
Does the executable MantaOSC exist?
Maybe you’re missing the “./” in front of ./MantaOSC to tell bash to run the binary executable?

emp · August 27, 2020, 8:43pm

Ah, thanks. I forgot the ./ of course. Stupid me…
Now it starts and happily reports:

Connected to Manta
  Serial Number: 104
  Firmware Version: 2
Listening for OSC Messages on port 31417
Sending OSC Messages to port 31416

I need to run it as root though.

murray · August 27, 2020, 8:53pm

Is your user in the group uucp? You can check by running groups.
If not–try to run sudo usermod -aG uucp MYUSER with the norns user (I forget what it is).

If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to fiddle with the udev rules to get permissions sorted out, I’d help with that but I don’t have a linux machine with systemd/udev handy.

emp · August 27, 2020, 9:04pm

Yes, the user we is in the uucp group, but i still need sudo, it seems. Were can i read up on how to write udev rules?

murray · August 27, 2020, 9:07pm

My hot take on this wiki entry is that it does a good job, haven’t relied on it myself though:
https://wiki.debian.org/udev

emp · August 29, 2020, 7:53pm

So, now i have made an udev rule that automatically starts MantaOSC when plugged in and kills it when disconnected. This is in my 99-manta.rules file:

ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ENV{PRODUCT}=="2424/2424/1", RUN+="/lib/udev/manta-connect.sh"
ACTION=="remove", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ENV{PRODUCT}=="2424/2424/1", RUN+="/lib/udev/manta-disconnect.sh"

The “add” action works fine and the “remove” seems to kill MantaOSC, but it strangely restarts again after a 2 seconds or so, forcing me to run the script again. Maybe this is a bug in MantaOSC? Or should i improve something in my rules or scripts?

My connect / disconnect scripts are simple:

#!/bin/bash
/home/we/libmanta/MantaOSC/build/MantaOSC

#!/bin/bash
killall MantaOSC

emp · August 29, 2020, 9:12pm

After a little more fiddling around with the output of udevadm monitor --kernel --property this seems to be more stable:

ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEMS=="hid", ENV{HID_ID}=="0003:00002424:00002424", RUN+="/lib/udev/manta-connect.sh"
ACTION=="remove", SUBSYSTEMS=="hid", ENV{HID_ID}=="0003:00002424:00002424", RUN+="/lib/udev/manta-disconnect.sh"

Any input from more experienced Linux users on how to make this fool-proof (if it’s not already) is welcome.

Jonathan_Riley · October 6, 2020, 11:09pm

Did this end up working for you @emp? I just got a Manta and I’m jonesing to connect it to norns.

emp · October 7, 2020, 10:26am

Yes, it works! The main thing i didn’t have time to investigate yet is how to run the remove/add scripts when putting the norns to sleep and waking it up. As it is now, if put i to sleep with the Manta still attached it doesn’t get to the startup screen when waking it up again unless i unplug the Manta. The solution for now is to unplug before sleep and not plugging it in until boot is finished.

Another thing yet to be solved is that norns seems to kill MantaOSC after some time of inactivity. This might be a more general USB problem than just with the Manta though. I think i need help from someone more knowledgeable here…

On a side note, I noticed some erratic behaviour with randomly triggered pads/flashing leds on the Manta, which might be due to its high power consumption. I have seen similar behaviour with my laptop sometimes and it seems a lot more stable if i use a Monome Ext 5V to power it. I guess a powered hub should work too.