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Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

Building organ consoles for use with Hauptwerk, adding MIDI to existing consoles, obtaining parts, ...
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Romanos

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Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostThu Feb 25, 2021 2:07 pm

Greetings all,
I just purchased two OSI keyboards (new stock from 2016 that were never used). They are pre-wired to the contacts with a cable tail. I now need to purchase some scanners/encoders to midify them, so I'd like to know what people would recommend. I'd also welcome any advice others may have about how best to go about this project. I'm reasonably handy and not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I also don't have all the requisite knowledge right out of the gate. My plan is to take these two keyboards, build a housing for them, and then a continuo-style box so I can tote the rig around, particularly to church. (Something akin to what Richard McVeigh did on his channel but double-manual.) Any help / thoughts would be appreciated!
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larason2

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSun Feb 28, 2021 4:07 am

If you’re handy, the cheapest way would be to use an Arduino Mega like I do here:

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/La ... _&offset=3

You can also buy a board that does what you need out of the box, for instance from MIDI Boutique. There are also US based solutions such as those by John Kinkennon. Either way, you would need to interface the contacts coming from your keyboard to the contacts on the circuit board, which you could design a board to do, or wire manually.
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engrssc

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSun Feb 28, 2021 7:49 am

Are the contact wires connected one wire to each contact or more likely connected as a matrix? How many wires from each keyboard?

Rgds,
Ed
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Romanos

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSun Feb 28, 2021 9:04 am

engrssc wrote:Are the contact wires connected one wire to each contact or more likely connected as a matrix? How many wires from each keyboard?

Rgds,
Ed


I'll have to get back to you on this. They've already shipped and should arrive in a few days and I'll report back. It looks like there is one wire but four contacts per key.
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Romanos

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Mar 13, 2021 2:14 pm

To loop back, it is one wire per key (4 actual contacts) with what appears to be a common ground and one other wire. In other words, 61 white wires (one per key, as stated) and a one green and one blue wire that are separated from the rest. So this definitely is not matrixed.
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rayjcar

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Mar 13, 2021 6:39 pm

I have used DTS Midi Systems encoders for a couple of projects, and they have been very reliable.
http://www.dtsmidisystems.com/midiencoders.html

You have your choice of positive common (MIPC-1AHV) or negative common (MIPC-1A). The encoders are simply programmed using DIP switches to choose the midi channel and starting note number. The same encoders can be used for stop tabs and pistions.

There are auxiliary inputs, as well as four analog inputs per card (5000 ohm linear potentiometer.

If you have SAMS or solenoid-operated draw knobs, the IDC-24 and IDC-48 encoders/drivers will encode the stop switch and also drive the on/off solenoids. It even has an auto-test feature to operate all stops sequentially.

If you go with DTS cards, purchase the Molex crimp tool for making the connections. If you opt for the MIPC-1A, the board has two 32 pin ribbon connectors as well as Molex headers.

Ray
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Romanos

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Mar 13, 2021 6:50 pm

Ray, thanks for this recommendation. I’ve been eyeing this exact card. It might just be the ticket. Appreciate the tips about the tools too.
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larason2

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Mar 13, 2021 11:54 pm

You could also use an arduino mega and put together a 61x2 matrix. You would just have to wire a diode to each key, and adapt the code I posted above.
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magnaton

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSun Mar 14, 2021 10:35 am

Romanos wrote:To loop back, it is one wire per key (4 actual contacts) with what appears to be a common ground and one other wire. In other words, 61 white wires (one per key, as stated) and a one green and one blue wire that are separated from the rest. So this definitely is not matrixed.


Look at the Artisan instrument's uMidi products. Their input boards offers plunge connectors to easy any wiring woes. These boards are very durable having been in production for over 20 years as a proven track record.

http://artisanorgans.intartists.com/ArtisanOrgans/Home.html

If you are going to wire the boards in a discrete fashion as their video demonstrates, I recommend using a 25 pair cable to aide in keeping your note sequence intact.


Danny B.
Last edited by magnaton on Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Romanos

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostMon Mar 15, 2021 9:29 am

Danny,
I'm so glad you mentioned this. I had not discovered them, despite all my googling. I think this might work the best for me. Seems very easy and their system is meant to daisy-chain more than one keyboard together. Their daughter boards are also cheaper than some of the competition. I'm grateful to you.
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magnaton

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostMon Mar 15, 2021 5:13 pm

Romanos wrote:Danny,
Seems very easy and their system is meant to daisy-chain more than one keyboard together. Their daughter boards are also cheaper than some of the competition. I'm grateful to you.

Correct, their uMidi controller board can handle 4 Input boards which each have 64 inputs. So the 3 inputs left over from a keyboard implementation can be used for any other input that needs MIDI (stop, piston, toe stud, etc.). I converted an older Rodgers 330 last year using their uMidi controller system.

You are very welcome Romanos.

Danny B.
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Romanos

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Apr 17, 2021 12:41 pm

Greetings all, the illustrious Drew is creating some custom key cheeks and a bespoke enclosure to mount my OSI keyboards. This is an excellent development and I'm indebted to him. This is also propelling my project forward and soon I should have them back to begin wiring the contacts up. As previously indicated in this thread, I was really attracted to the artisan system, however, Drew mentioned that he's used midi boutique stuff for his projects which prompted me to check them out again. I noticed that MB sells this board: https://www.midiboutique.com/MIDI-Encoders/mkcv128sn which accepts 128 inputs. Am I correct in my understanding that this single board could take the inputs from two keyboards rather than just one (and parse them out as two keyboards)? I know it's 128 inputs, but what I have yet to decipher is if that means it can accommodate two keyboards rather than 128 random controls. Does anyone have any experience with this board or know if I'm correct in my understanding? I'd come out ahead financially if I could use this single board rather than the three required by the artisan system.
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larason2

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Apr 17, 2021 2:45 pm

You’d be able to wire both keyboards to the Midi boutique unit, but they would send their notes on the same channel. You could get this to work in Hauptwerk, but I would say it isn’t ideal. Also don’t forget to factor in the expensive shipping from Bulgaria! My first shipment from Midi Boutique only cost 20 CDN in shipping, but it took it 2 months to get to me. The second shipment came in a few weeks, but I paid 75 CDN for the shipping! The Midi boutique website wouldn’t let me choose a cheaper shipping option the second time around, but maybe they would if you asked them. On the other hand though, I’ve finished the coding for the 61x4 Arduino Mega encoder with three expression pedals, and will soon post it on my Arduino Hub page. That will definitely be a cheaper option if you are willing to wait!
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engrssc

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Apr 17, 2021 10:01 pm

Have you looked at Midi Hardware?

Would need one BBS-1K scanner per keyboard:

https://www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=prod_info&product=BBS-1K&R2=USD

plus a single MRG2 Master Controller which accommodates up to 5 scanners:

https://www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=prod_info&product=MRG2&R2=USD

BTW, that note re temporarily not available is due to Covid delivery issues and will soon be resolved. I have found all of Roman Sowa's (Midi Hardware) boards to be easy to install, reliable and very cost effective. Plus they arevery easy to program. :)

Rgds,
Ed
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engrssc

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Re: Favorite midi scanner for wiring keyboards?

PostSat Apr 17, 2021 10:01 pm

Have you looked at Midi Hardware?

Would need one BBS-1K scanner per keyboard:

https://www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=prod_info&product=BBS-1K&R2=USD

plus a single MRG2 Master Controller which accommodates up to 5 scanners:

https://www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=prod_info&product=MRG2&R2=USD

BTW, that note re temporarily not available is due to Covid delivery issues and will soon be resolved. I have found all of Roman Sowa's (Midi Hardware) boards to be easy to install, reliable and very cost effective. Plus they arevery easy to program. :)

Rgds,
Ed
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