Norns shield Eurorack housing

[outoftunewolf]

my practical brain goes towards modules that have multifunction but have learned recently that if most of your modules are like that, then you are constantly menu diving. For what ever reason, all the options make it hard for me to concentrate on what the patch is doing. probably my animal reptilian brain but still.

I’ve wondered why norns doesn’t have a eurorack version for awhile. at first i thought that was was teletype was. i’m not into the live coding thing.

[toneburst]

@outoftunewolf

I’ve wondered why norns doesn’t have a eurorack version for awhile.

I imagine the power issue is the biggest reason. Eurorack was designed for low-power analogue devices, originally. Of course, many modules are now run on relatively low-power MCU chips, but shoe-horning a Linux PC into your Euro rack might be pushing things a little far.

[outoftunewolf]

but isn’t the nebulae basically a PI? thats at least what i heard from someone

[Veiththepower]

I also don’t know why Im going through this idea. The Norns is so small I could easily put it beside the rack but somehow the eurorack idea kinda drives me. @ermina is the TT something like or exactly like the Norns. It seams to me its like a multitool like the Quitt Nebulae v2 just using its DSP with Csound or PureData?

[jacon]

http://www.northcoastmodularcollective.com/modules/under-development/little-traverse-bay-oled-for-terminal-tedium-eurorack/

There’s an expander for the Terminal Tedium with 2 OLEDs and 2 usb breakouts in case that’s of interest

[toneburst]

@Veiththepower

TT something like or exactly like the Norns

Neither, really. It’s essentially a Eurorack breakout board/shield for a Raspberry Pi, with Euro-level audio, CV and trigger i/o.

What you run on it is entirely up to you, though I imagine most will use it as a host for Puredata (pd) patches.

You could install Norns on it, but without a screen, it would arguably not be that useful.

[chenghiz]

Would a Norns with CV outs be more or less powerful than an ER-301? Bad comparison?

[Veiththepower]

Ah so you basically connect a rp3 with Norns to it at and you kinda have to believe in the force to know what you want it to do. Its kinda cool I must admit. Is there an YouTube link or more details on it?

[tehn]

i feel like there is a lot of speculation here without strong awareness of how norns actually works.

before further speculation, i’d suggest spending some time getting to know the norns ecosystem:

• without a screen, norns is basically useless unless you’re designing some other front end and UI, which hasn’t been suggested
• there’s been no mention of crow, which ostensibly provides CV integration for eurorack. the design philosophy being: a desktop sound computer which connects with one single cable to your rack. yes, you could embed a norns into a panel, but do not underestimate the engineering challenge there.

my recommendation if you want norns to live in your rack or pedalboard, is to low-tech solution it. a big electrical redesign will be a rabbit hole.

[Veiththepower]

@tehn

low-tech solution

Thank you @tehn but what do you mean with low-tech solution? How I understand it I just need enough space beside and above the Norns to be abled to get the usb/Audio Cables in/out and ad a power solution?! I saw the crow and kinda like what it does and almost bought it as well

[forrest]

You could mount a norns shield to a euro sized panel, run a set of USB headers from the PI to the panel, audio i/o to the panel… then cut a hole (in your case, or leave 1u/2u open) for the power cable, get one of those push button in-betweens and you’re on your way, (you’ll have to turn it off/on manually and not use euro-power) I think that would be the lowest tech version of doing this I can imagine.

[steveoath]

@Veiththepower

what do you mean with low-tech solution?

Velcro to the side, top, front of your case.

[Dewb]

I would think about what your ultimate goals are. Are you trying to reduce setup time, have fewer things to transport, shrink your table footprint, or just achieve a monolithic aesthetic? I’ve confronted this problem with a number of external devices on my videosynth, and I think spending 3U rack space on something not designed for it is rarely the most effective solution.

Velcro to the side of the case is a great strategy. (Or 3M command strips, which pick up less fuzz.) If that’s not slick enough for you, I’ve had success mounting 1/4” tripod attachments or hot/cold shoe camera mounts to the side of my case for giving non-euro gear a quick and sturdy mount point.

[Veiththepower]

@Dewb

I would think about what your ultimate goals are. Are you trying to reduce setup time, have fewer things to transport, shrink your table footprint, or just achieve a monolithic aesthetic? I’ve confronted this problem with a number of external devices on my videosynth, and I think spending 3U rack space on something not designed for it is rarely the most effective solution.

Its all of that. But I also like your other ideas.

[Veiththepower]

Thats actually kind of where I am going now. I think everything else seams to make no sense. I understand now that nobody else did this before.

[Veiththepower]

I can’t let go of this basic idea and found a work around for a really kind of easier approach for putting it inside the rack. (And maybe use a Crow or something else). Ill let you know as soon as its close to finished.

[Veiththepower]

This is how far I got until now. Still very much DIY cardboard stage I have to find some better cables for USB but I can connect to crow and grid very easy. I use the Ladik Amp for amping up the norns to eurorack level. Also the power is still external. I think Im going to solder something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/192724603361 At the moment Im using an old Ikea light switch to turn the NornsShield on and of. Next step would be to find a better usb solution and solder the power to the eurorack and then of course a wooden or lasercut plastic/metal housing

[Veiththepower]

This is the next step in my project. Still really DIY and needs a final makeover because of the different cables popping out, but at least it’s now safe inside the eurorack. I’m still figuring out If I want to connect/solder the Euroack power with a USB adapter I bought but I’m afraid that this will hurt the Norns.

[xor]

Any chance you have a template or file for the panel? And how did you end up powering it?

[Veiththepower]

Yes, I’ll upload it asap. I still use a usb cable because I’m still not sure if I should use the thing I bought.