#23

FWIW - norns display uses SPI with the linux screenbuffer. But - you can use any display that has a driver for fbtft - for example, I’ve got a $5 sh1106 1.3inch SPI OLED working on RasPi with norns.

#24

Also FWIW - USB power for modular - pretty good for running just a simple module or two - esp if the mV ratings are low

Perfect for your lunchbox modular rig

https://modularaddict.com/manufacturer/mmi/mmi-usbpower-pcb
or
https://c1t1zen.com/presta/home/9-usbpower-kit.html

(I use one of these for my DIY module build testing rack)

#25

I wish those folks would post specs to the store website so you didn’t have to go hunt and peck for them…

#26

that MMI uses this DC/DC converter:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/MEAN-WELL/DKM10E-12?qs=%2Fha2pyFaduj%2bGVVRbVEvXcyGin%2FM1U0gfAmAe4tf9K%2FLsDQL%2brCFbQ%3D%3D

416 mA

#27

oh, that’s nice! I seem to remember the c1t1zen version provides 250mA

#28

Have a look at the endorphins shuttle control cv module. It can be self powered and programmed to do many midi to cv duties. It supports USB host and devise. It has 16 cv outs. No ins unfortunately.
I’m hoping to use my with Norns connected directly to it. And hopefully someone can expand the kria app to 8 tracks.

1 Like
#29

Did this ever work? Also thinking of connecting my norns shield with a shuttle controller, Expert Sleepers ES-8, or at leaset a crow.

#30

I honestly cant remember if i ended up try out the shuttle control with my Norns. I ended up getting crow as it seemed to be the most logical choice within the Monome ecosystem. I do still have a shuttle control and es-8, so if you’d like me to test them out I could over this weekend. I may do it just so that info is out there for everyone. But crow is a fantastic addition to Norns especially if you own a Just Friends.

1 Like
#31

tldr; not without upstream norns hacks, since it’s an audio interface

anything that speaks USB-midi is all well with norns though and already compatible with many existing scripts

1 Like
#32

Hi y’all. Here’s my update with the results of my experiments since I made this thread (two years ago now…).

  • Stemtera— I mentioned this in my 2018 post, after the post I got one of these and I LOVE it. It’s small, it’s cheap, it doubles as a breadboard, it’s made of LEGO, pick up some trim pots (knobs) and some thonkiconns (3.5mm jacks) and you can make your own little trigger-based eurorack modules in a minute. The only downside is you can do analog in out of the box but can’t do analog out unless you can make a simple Resistor-Capacitor filter (and I failed at this when I tried). Here’s me controlling my Minibrute from the Stemtera (the Swing knob on the Minibrute means I didn’t need the RC filter for this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJCk2IcAwVE

  • Rebel Technology Magus - Someone in this thread recomended the Salt. I looked into that and it turned out the Salt was a limited-edition kinda thing you can no longer get. Apparently there are only like 30 in the world or something LOL. However! The Magus, OWL and Wizard (3 different form factors but a single common technology platform, they run the same patches, also I think both Owl and Magus come in both desktop and eurorack forms) are Rebel Technology’s NEW products and the successor to the Salt, there was a kickstarter and stuff. The Magus is basically exactly what I’d hoped for when I first posted here. Buncha CV in/outs, knobs, screen, MIDI USB host and client modes. You can upload C++ or PureData and share patches from a website (the website compiles C++!). I’ve got a video here https://www.twitch.tv/videos/517152224 of me controlling a detuned-saw drone patch I wrote and feeding it into my eurorack, and a much more horrifying :smiley: version of the same patch here https://www.twitch.tv/videos/519847988?t=00h09m14s Problems: When I last used Magus it was still kind of a construction site. There were problems with the knobs and the MIDI input, and I got the strong sense that the OWL was Rebel’s highest priority (some of the fancier features of the Magus as compared to the OWL, like use of the screen or full use of the huge row of bottom cv in/outs, were not yet fully exposed to the C++ API). It was also at the time taking them a long time to make enough units to meet demand. However once the platform has time to mature (as much as products like the Norns already have) I think it will be killer. Possibly some of the problems I encountered have already been fixed in the firmware upgrades since I last had time to play with it. Also I believe I will be able to do a LOT of weird stuff if I start installing fully custom firmware (not to go too far in the weeds but the bottom two rows of Magus CVs run at a lower sample rate than the top rows in order for reasons related to patch API compatibility with Wizard/OWL, but the hardware has the potential to run all 24 CVs at full speed), this is possible because of the open source nature of the Magus but I have not had time to explore this.

  • Dada Machines Doppler - I almost hesitate to mention this but I did play with it. This is an Arduino board almost identical to a Teensy, same form factor and about the same price, but in addition to the Arduino (Atmel) CPU it has an ICE40 FPGA onboard. I got it cuz I want to experiment with learning FPGA coding. Unfortunately I’m having problems with some of the Arduino API not being fully implemented in the current version of the software. I guess I keep buying beta stuff! :frowning: However I did make this video of it generating an oscillation signal and an envelope, the eurorack driving a eurorack filter and timing a pocket operator on a trigger channel. In this video I am not using the FPGA and am just using it like a Teensy. (The… timing doesn’t work in this video, I got that working after that but I haven’t uploaded the final video, I just thought the “incorrect” timing was an interesting effect.) This device is +/- 3.3V but that turned out to be not so much a problem, which makes me think maybe the Teensy is not useless for Eurorack after all.

  • Winterbloom Sol - This is maybe something to watch but it’s not out yet, the developer is a friend and I beta tested it, it’s basically CircuitPython on a eurorack module, it has MIDI-client input (ie, you’d connect it to a computer and drive it from Ableton or something) and some CVs and triggers as output (not sure yet how many will be in the final release). CircuitPython is seriously great, it was the nicest programming experience of any of these four, but it’s obviously a more limited device than some of the other things discussed in this thread (I believe the intent is to be a “drive eurorack from MIDI” module and the point of the CircuitPython is to allow very fine control over how the MIDI is converted into CV/trig (like, depending on which converter script you select it can be monophonic or polyphonic or you could write your own arpeggiator with custom rules, etc). I would LOVE to show you the video I made of testing this out but Twitch deleted it :frowning:

Maybe I will make tutorial youtube videos for some of these devices at some point.

3 Likes
#33

This is brand new but ive been following sonic smith for a while but this just blew me away https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/electro-smith/daisy-an-embedded-platform-for-music

So much potential

2 Likes
#34

This is awesome. Thank you

#35

Great input. Thank you so much!!!