X/Y Touchpad controller.

Parts Questions
1

Many questions looking for recent information!

Okay after looking aroudn for a few days now, did anyone get an X/Y touch pad controller to interface with their midi box?

Secondly did anyone figure out the definitive solution to the problem that occurs when you take your finger off of the membrane?

this thread provides only a little useful information!

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=5023.75

How difficult would it be to design a sample and hold circuit to get an one of these to work? If thats even the case???

has anyone wrote a ps/2 -> IIC or I2C whatever i’ts callled to get these working? (same as the VOTI.nl part)

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G1283&variation=&aitem=1&mitem=36

anyone ripped one of these apart? do they have a sample and hold circuit in them? can we steal a signal from anywhere on the circuit?

IF i need to make any circuits, to make this work i’d be willing to do a bulk PCB run for the whole community so everyone can have an x/y pad on their midi box…  cmon guys lets pull together and make these things work.. we’re soo close…

2

did anyone figure out the definitive solution to the problem that occurs when you take your finger off of the membrane?

Maybe this could be solution: http://misusage.org/wordpress/?p=19

3

does anyone have any idea if this woudl work? sounds like it woudl induce a latency… but woudl it work?

4

Maybe this could be solution: http://misusage.org/wordpress/?p=19

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=6279.msg38831#msg38831  :wink:

5

this thread provides only a little useful information!

well… have you seen that it’s 6 pages long?  :wink:

and it’s not the only topic about touchpads…

Secondly did anyone figure out the definitive solution to the problem that occurs when you take your finger off of the membrane? (…) How difficult would it be to design a sample and hold circuit to get an one of these to work

by code:

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=5023.msg46967#msg46967

by circuit:

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=5023.msg46541#msg46541

Resistance based X/Y Touchpads (0..5V) can theoretically be connected to any MidiBox, for other (resistance based) touchpads there is the ACSensorizer, which makes use of the first option (ReleaseDetect function). All other technologies have to be converted to output a voltage. I doubt you’ll find many touchpads that communicate via IIC (don’t think you’ll find PS2 touchpads either).

There are too many different touchpads / touchpad technologies to give a universal answer that fits them all. Especially if you’re not specifying if you want to use it in your own application or in eg. a MB64.

6

well… have you seen that it’s 6 pages long?  :wink:

and it’s not the only topic about touchpads…  thats the first problem i wasnt’ sure if the solutions carried over!

by code:

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=5023.msg46967#msg46967

didnt’ see any code in this post or where to put it?

by circuit:

http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=5023.msg46541#msg46541

Wilba said “I THINK THIS WILL WORK” not.. and a few posts down said he hasnt built it yet

Resistance based X/Y Touchpads (0..5V) can theoretically be connected to any MidiBox, for other (resistance based) touchpads there is the ACSensorizer, which makes use of the first option (ReleaseDetect function). All other technologies have to be converted to output a voltage. I doubt you’ll find many touchpads that communicate via IIC (don’t think you’ll find PS2 touchpads either).

I posted a link to a PS2 touch pad for $1USD in my original post… but how do i connect more then 1 to work as an absolute midi control?

There are too many different touchpads / touchpad technologies to give a universal answer that fits them all. Especially if you’re not specifying if you want to use it in your own application or in eg. a MB64.

Now im’ not lazy i’ve done alot of research in great detail.. i’ve been really reading but noone has CONFIRMED schematics or got one working.. so the fact is, now i will know that I have to be the one to try it all! All my findings will be documented and put on the WIKI.. with pictures etc.. so I am a community minded person and have spent over 400hours on here, ucapps, the wiki, and other various sites researching my options

I’m sorry that I forgot to mention the plan is to connect more then 8 x/y’s to an MB64 used to control ableton.

Would i be able to take the PS2 touchpads here http://www.voti.nl/shop/p/S-Touchpad.html and use the PS2 interface and control midi? in the mb64 platform?

are is there an appropriate part number for the spectrasymbol x-y pads because i see that people have been getting all kinds with weird diagonal x-y axis???

7

PS2 devices won’t work with MB64 because MIOS doesn’t support PS2. You could write a driver (I have the beginnings of one here if you want) but it would be too big to fit on MB64, you’d have to write a custom app too…

8

Hey Phil,

I posted a link to a PS2 touch pad for $1USD in my original post… but how do i connect more then 1 to work as an absolute midi control?

I get the impression you have an angry red face when I read this’ date=’ I hope I’m not the reason for this, just want to help:

Resistance based X/Y Touchpads (0..5V) can theoretically be connected to any MidiBox, for other (resistance based) touchpads there is the ACSensorizer, which makes use of the first option (ReleaseDetect function). All other technologies have to be converted to output a voltage. I doubt you’ll find many touchpads that communicate via IIC (don’t think you’ll find PS2 touchpads either).

That said, it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a USB or serial or PS2 TouchPad, you need to get this magical voltage between 0 and 5 V to make it work directly on the MB64. You must connect one axis like/instead of a potentiometer on the AIN module.

There’s no other connection possibility to use it without coding on the MB64.

For that reason you need to find the right touchpads, which is not easy, because the technology is normally not mentioned when you buy them. Once you have found touchpads (eg. with 2 times 10k resistance), you can connect as many as you like;

Again: there are so many different types around, and without having it here on the desk together with my multimeter, it’s just guessing around. I mean, they only cost 1$, why don’t you go and buy one and try it out?

Michael.

ps: AFAIK you cannot order Touchpads from spectraSymbol, they only have custom made types and send out samples which vary in size and type (and hope that you will order 10.000 pieces one day).

pps: when Wilba sais “I think this will work”, then I would see no reason to not try it. Of course you can use a breadboard for prototyping, so no harm is done here as well.

9

audio commander..

i wasn’t angry in my post at all.. i jsut typed my reply’s in red to be able to seperate them from the original quote!

I do plan on getting 30 of them and seeing if i can make em work… i have a tendency to make electronics into fireworks…

i will post my findings here…

about the PS2 pads, what about plugging into the PS2 interface in the computer and just bypass the midibox hardware all together?

10

… what about plugging into the PS2 interface in the computer and just bypass the midibox hardware all together?

… how do you want to map 30 PS2 devices in Windows?

Greets, Roger

11

i jsut typed my reply’s in red to be able to seperate them from the original quote!

If you use FireFox I would recommend CoLT and especially BBCodeXtra, they will help you manipulate the forum tags with ease, so you can break up the quotes :slight_smile:

12

… how do you want to map 30 PS2 devices in Windows?

Greets, Roger

well i only need 16 for absolute midi control, and 1 to actually control the computer :slight_smile:

also this is the problem..

but what i do want to see is if i can find anywhere on the circuit where i can “steal” a signal that i could use to drive midibox hardware..

i mean it’s either resistive or capacitive correct..

if not it’s only 50$ wasted.. and i still can use three of them for my own purposes :slight_smile:

13

i mean it’s either resistive or capacitive correct..

There are digital ones (grid of switches), but they’re very rarely seen.

14

PS2 devices won’t work with MB64 because MIOS doesn’t support PS2. You could write a driver (I have the beginnings of one here if you want) but it would be too big to fit on MB64, you’d have to write a custom app too…

What about using a PIC18F4620/PIC18F4685 and give the touchpads their own CORE module?

15

MB64 doesn’t run on those PICs.

It’ll definitely be a lot of custom work, give up avoiding it :wink:

16

i dont mind doing custom work.. i jsut have no electronics knowledge, and no programming knowledge… and i’m trying to implement what i want ANY way i CAN… but i’m still learning and therefor asking alot of questions..

17

Don’t sweat mate it was juts a joke, hence the smiley :slight_smile:

18

ok  :slight_smile: i’m glad because you’ve been alot of help steering me in the right direction!

19

Don’t sweat mate it was juts a joke, hence the smiley :slight_smile:

ha! told you them things was no good…

*whack*

20

hahahah I knew you’d chime in  ;D Can you imagine the future internet:

“Don’t sweat mate it was just a joke, hence the *whack*”

LOL