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Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 10:25 pm
by Narbicus
I'm getting constant midi notes being sent. Have tried with Ableton and Superior drummer and Addictive drum standalone and problem persists. Its as if every single pad is being hit so i get a machine gun barrage when i open the software.

I have a new minimal kit, received a few days ago, main atmega board and positional sensing board (sitting on a piece of cardboard).

- Connected to my PC via USB cable, the power switch, led and usb are the only things plugged in (header for the pads is unplugged as well as the switches).

- Can connect to Megadrum Manager and can load and save to slot etc. (I loaded and saved the files for Angr77's ad2 megadrum basic and advanced setup as a test and configured the software as megadrum ad2 map window).

- I set the midi options to Midi IN - 'Megadrum USB MIDI', Midi OUT - 'MIDIOUT2(Megadrum USB MIDI) and ticked 'Save options on exit'. LED is constantly lit.

I've used 3 different usb cables with the same results so the cable is not the culprit.
Is this the way megadrum should behave? Is it simply because the buttons, lcd or pads are not connected?
I've tried searching the forum, the results i found suggested grounding issues. Does the usb connector need to be earthed/grounded ?

Could it be computer issues, Windows 7 (sp3 64-bit) not installing it properly?

My chassis is half built, i've soldered the 1/4" jack grounds and the snare as i was going to begin testing pads individually but encountered this problem and have been unable to progress.

I'm no electronics expert so is there something really obvious that i've overlooked? Apologies for being a complete newb!

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 10:52 pm
by dmitri
1. Is it constantly triggering with default settings (AutoloadConf is No and you have not sent any settings from MDM to MegaDrum) ?
2. Is the Positional board connected to the main board as it was when it was shipped?
3. With only MDM running (i.e. without Ableton and Superior drummer or Addictive drum or any other MIDI software) and with default MegaDrum settings what is MIDI Log in MDM showing?
4. Does it start triggering only when using non-default (Angr77's) settings? What is MIDI Log in MDM showing in this case and what settings did you load?

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:52 pm
by ddropski
what kind of triggers are you using ... also what is the gains set to?

i would try unplugging every trigger cept 1 and get that 1 to work
then plug in the next one so on and so fourth


im kinda a noob but im trying to help :)

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:21 am
by Narbicus
1. Is it constantly triggering with default settings (AutoloadConf is No and you have not sent any settings from MDM to MegaDrum) ?
I did not make .mds of the default settings so i will have to connect and wire up the lcd and buttons to restore default settings within the onboard menu. Unless there is way in MDM to restore defaults without a .mds file?
2. Is the Positional board connected to the main board as it was when it was shipped?
Yes. Hasn't been unplugged.
3. With only MDM running (i.e. without Ableton and Superior drummer or Addictive drum or any other MIDI software) and with default MegaDrum settings what is MIDI Log in MDM showing?
4. Does it start triggering only when using non-default (Angr77's) settings? What is MIDI Log in MDM showing in this case and what settings did you load?

As i said, I can't test with default but with Angr77's 'MegaDRUM Advanced_32.mds' i took some screenshots. Sorry if thats no use. I won't be able to answer properly until i've sorted the lcd and buttons.

Thanks very much for the help.

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 3:11 am
by Narbicus
ddropski wrote:what kind of triggers are you using ... also what is the gains set to?


I haven't got any pads plugged in currently. This is just the boards connected via usb to my pc. The gains are set according to angr77's advanced 32.mds which i have loaded.

Cheers :D

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:20 am
by dmitri
1. You have to connect buttons and an LCD to restore AutoloadConf to No now.
2. What inputs have Notes set to 65, 67, 69 and 77? What are the settings on those inputs?

I'll download the default settings from my dev Atmega board tonight and will post it here.

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 4:12 pm
by Narbicus
1. Ordered a LCD from China 4 weeks ago which still hasn't been delivered yet - hence why i haven't got it wired up. Ordered another this afternoon from within UK to get things moving.

2. With Angr77 RomMaps v100 'MegaDRUM Advanced 32.mds'

65 - 12 Tom 4H
67 - 10 Tom 3H
69 - 8 Tom 2H
77 - 14 Cymbal 1

Took some screenshots.

with 'MegaDRUM Basic 32.mds' it has similar behaviour but with different notes.

41 - 4 Snare H (3rd Zone)
45 - Unknown
48 - Unknown
49 - 2 HiHat B

Thanks :)

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 4:16 pm
by dmitri
Are these settings as you pushed them from MDM to MegaDrum? If so, pull all settings from MegaDrum to MDM and show settings you got.

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:13 pm
by dmitri
These are default settings from an Atmega based MegaDrum:
default_settings_20140809_atmega.mds.zip

Re: Constant midi problem

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:33 pm
by Narbicus
Yes, they are the same and match angr77 'advanced 32.mds'. If i press 'get all' the settings remain the same as they are when i first open MDM.

When i first flashed the .mds i opened the file in MDM and used 'send all'. After that 'save to slot' for all 3 slots - so they matched.

As i said, i was stupid to do this before making a copy of the default.mds beforehand so i could revert back easily. I was just trying to familiarise myself with how the software worked. I wasn't aware of the problem at that point.

Cheers