#1

I’m posting this here, as simonvanderveldt asked me about this sequencer in another thread and I didnt want to divert the other thread.

This is a great and versatile sequencer, its also pretty intuitive to use and have just scored a Launchpad mini to pair with it - anyone else using one?

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#2

Oh, yes - it’s awesome. (Using a launchpad here as well)

(Ps if anyone builds one, I think it’s worth adding a supervisor ic to ensure it boots up reliably - mine would only boot about 30% of the time - the rest of the time it needed power cycling. After adding the supervisor, I havent had a failed boot. It’s trivial to add one as well…)

#3

Great sequencer, i build two. Not using the launchpad though.
@forestcaver i never had this issue? Power supply type maybe?

#4

Yes - definitely power supply issue. A couple of my psus were ok. But the Performer seems very sensitive to the slew rate of the power on rise. Quite a lot of people have had similar issues.
On a lightly loaded PSU3, PSU2 and DIY linear I had lots of problems. I tried all the firmware hacks I could think of eg Brown out Reset levels etc but could never get it 100% reliable. (I spent quite a bit of time hacking around at a low level). So I just added the supervisor chip - which worked perfectly - not had a failed boot since - dunno how easy it is to see these piccies though:

494-modular_performer 495-modular_performer

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#5

Great timing! I’m just about to order parts. The transistor is just any old NPN? Any trouble soldering the button switch after adding these components? (I am also having trouble locating SW08 on the schematic for some reason :thinking:).

#6

No - it’s a mic803 (supervisor) - pick whatever hold time and voltage you like (that is appropriate) eg I used a 2.6v threshold and a 1100ms hold time as I had one spare (but you’d probably be fine with Vth <3.08v and you may as well go for a long hold time like 1100 ms as personally an extra second on boot up doesnt bother me :slight_smile: ). The idea is that the supervisor holds the mcu in reset until the voltage passes a threshold and then for a specified period of time.

I soldered it slightly raised off the soldermask in case there was any deficient mask to avoid shorts to gnd. It’s like a tripod with a cutoff resistor leg… The cap is an 0805 100nf which fits perfectly across the legs of the mic803.

I didnt need sw8 as I use jtag for programming (you only really need those two tact switches if you use ftdi). SW8 will likely be near the stm32 on the schematic… SW8 was just handy for me as it had easy access to the pullup resistor and the NRST, +3V3 and GND lines.

If you want the moouser part number, I’m pretty sure it was this one - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Microchip-Technology-Micrel/MIC803-26D4VM3-TR?qs=Y3Q3JoKAO1TOJ8JoTmavJw==

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#7

Ah! Ok great, thanks for the explanation- this also reminds me, this’ll be my first non-teensy or Pi digital builld and need to do some research on how to program this sucker! :slight_smile:

#8

You may (or may not !) find my blog useful (???) - have a look in modular->diy_modules, modular->tools and modular->notes

www.batguitars.co.uk

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#9

Sorry Mark - I’ve hijacked this thread a bit - sorry! It wasnt my intention - I know you meant it for how good it was to use !!! It wasnt my intention to mention the diy bit !!! Sorry !

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#10

It’s fine, dont worry about it FC! :slight_smile:

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#11

It’s a great sequencer! I’ve been using it since last summer I think, and though I also got a hermod a few months ago, which is currently sitting right next to it, I keep coming back to the performer, and will be removing the hermod soon.

I made a few stabs at demoing some of it at the end of this video - sorry you’ve to wade through some crap before it starts. https://youtu.be/uTVE36UgAvI?t=360 (I was hoping to embed this, but can’t figure out how)

And forestcaver’s fix is a really elegant one, for a problem that might not happen to some/most people. For instance, in my Make noise shared system case, I never have the power on problem, but in my large cabinet at home I typically have to start the system twice to get the performer to come on. Before he came up with his solution I had already found this - the WMD Soft Start module - https://wmdevices.com/collections/modular-accessories/products/soft-start-module - which also fixes it.

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