www.megadrum.info

Hi megadrummers. I'm new to the forum and haven't even received my megadrum yet. However, I am doing my best to prepare my kit for the big day. I Bought a couple of kriggs and an intrigg for my new snare I'm building the super easy way. That's as far as my electrical abilities go. Dimitri suggested I ask one of you here if you would make and sell me a fully variable optical hi hat controller since my Yamaha RHH130 pisses me off to no end. I would be very very grateful. Please let me know.

Thank you!

P.S. I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place.

Easier and cheaper still, and you can even try to do it yourself as you don't necessarily need soldering skills: make a hall effect hi hat.

Materials needed:

- Hall effect sensor: http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=302_305&products_id=2083

- Magnet: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-x-Big-Super-Strong-Cuboid-Block-Magnet-Rare-Earth-Neodymium-N50-30-x-20-x/32654683324.html?spm=2114.30010308.3.10.A8XNlT&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_0,searchweb201602_4_10057_10056_10037_10055_10049_10044_10043_10059_10058_10032_10017_405_404_10040_10041_10060_10042_412,searchweb201603_8&btsid=09efaa5f-3d0b-4ad6-a7a1-5fb540824c30

- Terminal strip (3 contacts)

- Stereo TRS plug (male) with cable.

Insert the 3 legs of the hall sensor in one side of the terminal strip and the corresponding wires from the stereo cable (if you decide to do this I can tell you where each wire goes) at the other side. That's all the electronics done. Stick/attach the strip w/sensor to the hi hat pedal baseplate. Stick the magnet to the pedal board above it. Plug it into your module and configure it. That's it.

Thank you. I'm going to give this a shot. Please tell me, does it matter if I use a hall sensor with slightly different specs? I'm in the US so things seem a bit different.

Eg. Would something like this work?
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9312

Thank you

No, that's a latched sensor, meaning that it just turns on and off. You want a sensor with a linear output. Here's one on Digikey: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?keywords=A1302KUA

Thanks! What about the magnet? Do you happen to know where to find those I'm the US?

Aliexpress ships most things for free worldwide - the only problem being stuff can take 3 - 6 weeks to arrive. Otherwise, just google "neodymium magnet" and find one roughly the same size as the one I linked to. An alternative is to open up an old hard drive and use the magnets in there (I explained somewhere in this forum how to do that - it was a few years ago but it's in here somewhere...). I used those for a few years and they work fine.

I'm confused about the necessary magnet shape. Where does it go that it doesn't have to be a ring 12mm of and 9mm id like the original vdrums post shows?

Thank you

There's no shape requirement. People use circular magnets when they place the sensor and magnet in between the hi hat cymbals, so the magnet can go over the hi hat rod. I suggested putting the sensor and magnet under the pedal (much easier to do and just as functional), so a rectangular magnet makes more sense to compensate for any possible lateral movement of the hi hat footboard, to get a steady signal.

Cool. Can please post some pictures of an under-the-pedal solution?

Thanks again

Here you go.

The magnet is under where the chain attaches to the footboard, and the sensor is encased in a blob of hot glue to protect it and attached to a terminal strip. You can make it out as a black dot in the blob of glue. The terminal strip is screwed to a section of hard rubber jammed in the hi hat stirrup to get it to the right height under the magnet.