Messages

1

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / preenfm3 Eurorack (maybe DIY retrofit?)

« on: November 18, 2021, 02:44:27 PM »

I will immediately get a preenfm3 once it is available in eurorack format.  Well, if it ever happens, that is.  I don't even care about having CV input sources, the midi functionality is great and i could just have a CV to MIDI converter for stuff like that.  All I want is the eurorack format (the formfactor).

I don't know if VanDaalElectronics has this planned (like with the preenfm2), in case there is some information on that, I would like to know.

I thought I could just retrofit it myself.  My first thought was that I could just make a custom front panel with inputs and outputs on the side or something like that.  I would reroute all the inputs to the side and to (mini) jacks and trs midi jacks.  Well that is a lot of cables.  At least 28 if I counted correctly.  So I thought I could just print a pcb myself, which i would mount on top of the section of the preenfm3 pcb with all of the connection points for all the jacks and midi and usb, with double male pin headers (or whatever they are called).  This pcb that I would print then has some ribbon cable attachment points, which I would then connect to another custom made eurorack module that just consists of the jacks for midi, usb and audio.  The only other thing I would have to worry about is handling the DC power conversion, but I would handle that on the same custom pcb.

The thing is, I would need the exact measurements of the preenfm3 pcb, so that the pins headers line up.  Afaik, David doesn't publish the files for the pcb of the preenfm3 (which is totally understandable).

Is my idea viable?

I am not very well versed in DIY stuff yet, so please tell me if this is a stupid idea.

[Check the attachment for a sketch of what I mean.  I misspelled "multiple" as "multuple" hahaha]

For those outside the forum that can't see attachments, here is the image:  https://ibb.co/pjfC0wt

2

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Feature request: Midi Note Scaling / Key Level Scaling Like DX7

« on: March 04, 2021, 04:18:27 PM »

The DX7 has key level scaling for each operator, meaning 6 in total.  This makes sense to me, Key level scaling should be available for each operator.  The preenfm2 has only 2 key level scaling sources, and you can't send them to multiple destinations, only to one.  You can send it to more destinations than the DX7, though (the DX7 will always apply it to the level).

It would be cool to have 6 key level scaling sources.  It would make the menu for the modulation sources a bit big, so I see why that would be difficult.

Another idea would be to add key level scaling parameters to the operator menu for each operator, sending it to the level (which for the preenfm2 would correspond to either the "IM1", "IM2" etc. or the "Mix1", "Mix2" etc.??).  What I mean is next to "Oscillator", Env A" and "Env B" to have a fourth menu "Note Scaling" or something.  The two free modulation sources for midi note scaling would stay, I guess.

I would love to try to fork the project myself, but I am afraid I don't understand the code well enough, but I might get there some day.

And yes, I know, the preenfm2 is not a DX7 emulator, but still, importing DX7 patches for basic preset starts is good, and I also just think it is a good feature just functionality wise.

3

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / How does DX7 conversion work?

« on: March 04, 2021, 04:00:05 PM »

I know that the preenfm2 is not supposed to be a Yamaha DX7 emulator, but still, the functionality of translating DX7 Sysex files into the PreenFM2 format is one of the attractive features.  What I would like to know is how this conversion works.

So I can try to get a bunch of patches, look at their values, import them into the preenFM2, and then look at their values to figure it out but it seems tedious for two reasons:  If I just download some DX7 patches, I need to import them somewhere where I can see the values, and ideally I want a script that can just convert them, but I can't find one, and I don't understand sysex enough to code it myself.  Dexed doesn't display values in a nice way, sadly.  Secondly, I can't get preenfm2controller to compile (I gues I'll manage someday), and I therefore would have to load the stuff onto the preenfm2 to see the values.  Tedious.

I tried to look at the preenfm2 source code to find where the DX7 sysex file conversion takes place.  I am too stupid to find it.

So my question is: How does the conversion work?  Can you document this?  Where in the source code can I find where this happens?

Furthermore, since there are only two key level scaling (midi note scaling) sources instead of 6 from the original DX7 can't possibly be respected, can they?

Some of the questions I asked can be answered by trying it out myself simply, I know, I still have to do that, sorry.

4

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: pfm2 Eurorack : DIY help, frozen screen

« on: February 21, 2021, 02:00:53 PM »

SOLVED!

There was nothing wrong I think.  I was using a bad power supply.  With a different power supply it works just fine.

5

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: December 24, 2020, 11:14:36 PM »

So I did everything you said.  I heated up all soldering points.  Still weird glitchy stuff happening.  The glitchyness was slightly different, I could go into detail.  But finally I got the idea to change the jumper from BUS to REG, so I get the 5V from the onboard regulator.  Now everything works fine.  I could have saved a lot of time and work if i tried that earlier.  I would still like to know why it acts weird when I set it to BUS.  I am guessing this just means that 5V from my power supply might be faulty (I have never tested the power supply with anything else before).  Maybe I should try a different power supply.  Or what else could be a possible reason?

6

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 28, 2020, 12:11:12 PM »

Look over the USB Drive connector, make sure there is no excess stress on it.

It is angled slightly upwards, as you suggested in your instructions, and you are right, it won't fit otherwise.  What do you mean by stress?  It seems like the connectors are soldered well, and the drive connector is stable, but I can still check that.

The stick has been formated from 64GB to 1GB and FAT32 so that PreenFM can read it.
Dont change it.

Hm... I didn't change the partitioning, I just reformated the (only existent) partition itself (vfat) and copied the pfm2 folder onto the root directory again.  So there should be no problems there.  Also, it did read the stick, it just froze again.

Is your 5V coming from your eurorack bus or from the onboard regulator?

The 5V is coming from the Eurorack bus, which I selected via the jumper.

7

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 28, 2020, 11:56:46 AM »

i would definitely start by just reheating all the preenf405 socket connections. remove the preenf405 first then reheat all the connections on the sockets, make sure they make good clean solder blops. do you have a multimeter?

yes i have a multimeter.  i thought i did have clean solder blops, i thought i paid attention but i will do as you say and try that.

did you solder the preenf405 headers on your own? this would be my next guess for failure.

no i didn't, the headers were presoldered by van daal electronics.  i don't know if they test it there (solder headers, then check with a socket of a working module etc EDIT: yes they do, see message by served).  but i did think about that too.

8

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 27, 2020, 11:06:57 PM »

i have p2_cv_2.12.bin, so that should be the correct version.

so apparently i need to check out the chip...  damnit... maybe i should check the soldering points of the socket for the chip?  or i should desolder and solder a new socket??  i hope i can work it out...

9

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 27, 2020, 09:18:22 PM »

Hm, I pressed on the chip, and then I was able to play around in edit mode a bit longer than before, but then as soon as I pressed "menu", it froze and then I saw the blank screen again.

I tried again, I wiggled around the chip (i put it in and out of the socket), tried again, but this time, i hardly did anything, and then it froze.

i am not sure if pressing "menu" was the reason, i think it was just random.

EDIT: yes indeed, it is random, i again had the situation that i got a blank screen just suddenly (i scrolled through algos).  it really seems to be random, because this time it happened after i did nothing.

EDIT 2:  And this time, I did the following: It booted, I was able to do stuff, then I did nothing, then I waited, and then I just tapped the module (the whole thing, I just tapped the chassis), and then it gave me the blank screen.  So apparently there is some faulty connection of the (or a) chip.

10

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 27, 2020, 09:12:34 PM »

I just think posting stuff in the forum is good because others might have similar problems so they can see how I fix my problems (that's what forums are for, right? ).


= = = = = = =
Xavier EDITED : Sorry i made a bad action with this message and remove 80% of it 
But i totally agree with what you wrote 

11

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 27, 2020, 08:23:10 PM »

Okay, I tried with multiple sticks.  one was a 128 GB, and one was a 4GB.

I got the following behaviour:  The 128GB didn't work at all, just like before (btw the stick I used before was actually 64 GB).  I tried the 4GB stick.  It booted, I was able to do stuff in edit mode for a few seconds, and then it suddenly froze.  And then, as soon as I rebooted, it gave me the fully lit blank screen again.  And this happens over and over everytime I reboot.  think if I wait for a longer time and I power on the module again, I can get to the edit menu again for a few seconds, but then it will freeze again (Or maybe I am just imagining stuff).  Could it be that some capacitor is wrong or faulty?  Is my USB reader broken or something?

Btw thanks again for your quick responses and thanks for your engaged help!

12

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Re: DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 27, 2020, 04:46:48 PM »

Ok then I guess I have it wrong in memory, or it glitched, I thought that once it suddenly got from the normal preenfm2 edit mode to the USB DFU screen.

I copied the pfm2 folder to my computer, formatted the stick (vfat), and then i copied it to the root directory again.  same behaviour.

i have other usb sticks, but they all have way over 4GB.  Does that make a difference?

Thanks for the help!

13

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / [FIXED] pfm2 Eurorack : DIY help, frozen screen

« on: October 27, 2020, 03:55:36 PM »

I just finished building my preenfm2.  I have the Eurorack version by Van Daal Electronics, but I do still hope you can help me with my problems.  See here https://vandaal-electronics.com/product/preenfm-eurorack-module-diy-kit/

Btw I have read the FAQ.

When I first turned on the module, I got the greeting screen, I got to the edit screen or something (i don't remember, but it looked like in the videos etc), and then it froze, and then it said "!STM32F4 USB DFU!" on the screen.

Whenever I reboot, I usually get a fully lit screen.  So I tried booting up again while holding a button to open the boot menu.  That works fine, but as soon as I boot or something, it starts freezing.  I reformatted the stick and copied the pfm2 folder onto it again, but still it is no better.  I also tried flashing the firmware etc, I still get either a blank fully lit screen, or when I do get to the normal edit menu etc it freezes.

Does someone know what could be wrong?  what should I try doing?  I do think I paid attention that all the soldering was done correctly, but should I check every soldering point again?  Can I do some measurements somewhere?  I hope you can help.

14

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / PreenFM3 Questions

« on: September 08, 2020, 11:37:45 AM »

I just found out about the PreenFM3, the only place I can find information about it is here: http://ixox.fr/preenfm2/preenfm3/.  The FAQ section is helpful, but I have more questions, I wonder if anyone knows (or if Mr. Hosxe will respond).

• When approximately will we be able to get the PCB?  When will we be able to (more or less conveniently) build the PreenFM3?
• Will there be a tutorial/kit/mod for a Eurorack format anytime soon?
• What can we expect approximately for a total price for all parts?

I have been wanting to buy a PreenFM2 Eurorack format for a while now, but now I am wondering if I should wait for the PreenFM3.

I have one concern with the PreenFM3 though.  The screen.  it looks like a normal RGB screen.  I just wish the screen were like the PreenFM2, or something like a screen on an MPC1000 or the screen of an Elektron device.  I don't want dead pixels and also in general it seems like RGB screens just break very easily.  Lower resolution black-and-white LCD screens also just look way better than higher resolution RGB screens.  But that is just a minor concern haha

Yeah so basically I am wondering if I should wait for the PreenFM3 or just get my PreenFM2 Eurorack and be happy with the nice looking screen.  The new features are not super crazy, but still, a good reason to get the PreenFM3, maybe...