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Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:27 am
by massimodacock
Hello,

Just bought a MD Kit and soldered all together.
Now i got Crosstalk on almost every Pad.
Now the first question: What ist the max. voltage for the Inputs?
My Piezos are doing up to 30V.


Next thing is: do i need midi enabled for sending or recieving the config files? Or is it just USB?

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:44 am
by dmitri
massimodacock wrote:Hello,

Just bought a MD Kit and soldered all together.
Now i got Crosstalk on almost every Pad.

You probably solder inputs not according the pinout described in 'MegaDrum kit - instruction manual.pdf'

Now the first question: What ist the max. voltage for the Inputs?
My Piezos are doing up to 30V.

Voltage on a piezo without a load and with a load at the time MUXers connect the piezo to internal load resistors are two different things. 30V without a load can very likely be under 5V under the load. MUXers can tolerate voltages much higher than 30V without a damage or crosstalk.

Next thing is: do i need midi enabled for sending or recieving the config files? Or is it just USB?

You can communicate to MegaDrum over USB alone.

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:18 am
by massimodacock
You probably solder inputs not according the pinout described in 'MegaDrum kit - instruction manual.pdf'


Pin 38 is connected to all Input sleeves,Pin 39 is HiHat Low Imp Tip and Pin 40 is both Pedals Ring. Is this correct? Maybe there is a problem.

Voltage on a piezo without a load and with a load at the time MUXers connect the piezo to internal load resistors are two different things. 30V without a load can very likely be under 5V under the load. MUXers can tolerate voltages much higher than 30V without a damage or crosstalk.


So i don't need to buy other? 30V seems a bit much. Which would be perfect for an E-Drumpad?

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:59 am
by dmitri
massimodacock wrote:
You probably solder inputs not according the pinout described in 'MegaDrum kit - instruction manual.pdf'


Pin 38 is connected to all Input sleeves,Pin 39 is HiHat Low Imp Tip and Pin 40 is both Pedals Ring. Is this correct? Maybe there is a problem.

According to the 'Pads connectors' table in the manual pin 38 is a "High impedance pedal" input, pins 15 and 16 are grounds. From "The example of wiring input jacks to the Pads connector 1" it appears pin 38 goes to the ground wire but it doesn't have a dot when crossing it so it is not connected to it.

Voltage on a piezo without a load and with a load at the time MUXers connect the piezo to internal load resistors are two different things. 30V without a load can very likely be under 5V under the load. MUXers can tolerate voltages much higher than 30V without a damage or crosstalk.


So i don't need to buy other? 30V seems a bit much. Which would be perfect for an E-Drumpad?

It will depend on the pads design. In worst case you will need "voltage dividers" to cool too "hot" pads.

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:17 am
by dmitri
I've corrected the manual so that pin 38 doesn't appear to be connected to the ground wire in the example diagram.

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:18 am
by massimodacock
dmitri wrote:According to the 'Pads connectors' table in the manual pin 38 is a "High impedance pedal" input, pins 15 and 16 are grounds. From "The example of wiring input jacks to the Pads connector 1" it appears pin 38 goes to the ground wire but it doesn't have a dot when crossing it so it is not connected to it.


LOL

Thats the Deal. Theyre not crossing. Just didn't noticed Pin 15 and 16 as Ground.

Big Thanks :D

It will depend on the pads design. In worst case you will need "voltage dividers" to cool too "hot" pads.


Maybe it will work without. Drumagog and my Tascam 144 mk2 are working great with them.

My Pad "Prototype"(Attachment):

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:24 pm
by massimodacock
dmitri wrote:I've corrected the manual so that pin 38 doesn't appear to be connected to the ground wire in the example diagram.


Thank you :)

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:36 am
by massimodacock
Seems like the piezos are way too hot. Should i replace them or make for every pad voltage dividers?
In my opinion replacing the piezos is less work.

What would be the best voltage for this purpose?
A second opinion would help me a lot.

Thx

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:15 am
by timekeeper
massimodacock wrote:Seems like the piezos are way too hot. Should i replace them or make for every pad voltage dividers?
In my opinion replacing the piezos is less work.

What would be the best voltage for this purpose?
A second opinion would help me a lot.

Thx


I use Murata 27mm piezos and they work great from the start with Megadrum even with the default settings. Personally, I would buy some cheap 100k potentiometers from ebay.

Cheers!

Re: Some issues with MD and Piezos!

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:48 pm
by massimodacock
The Murata Piezos are in my opinion very expensive. Potentiometers would be cheaper but will they do it?
Perhaps i should work on the pad design.

Today i am starting to build the rack from pvc pipes :-).