This is a simple MIDI project, utilizing the Miduino design, to detect an incoming MIDI signal and light the LED on pin D13 of the Miduino board. The MIDI signal is also re-transmitted to the MIDI OUT socket. This allows the unit to be used inline between MIDI OUT and MIDI IN sockets.

 

Anyone who has ever tried to connect various pieces of MIDI controlled equipment together will understand the difficulty of not knowing when MIDI data is being transmitted down a MIDI cable. 

 

However a portable detector would be  most useful when connecting up unfamiliar equipment in an external environment, so this design, utilizing the Miduino kit is a  battery powered, stand-alone, microcontroller unit.

    

 

	MIDI DETECTOR ITEM#: MIDIDETECT PRICE:  €35.00

The MIDI Detector unit utilizes:

• A Miduino kit including a suitable pre-programmed Atmega168,
• A 2.1mm power socket, and associated LED, 
• A MIDI 5-pin DIN input socket,
• A MIDI 5-pin DIN output socket,
• The circuit schematic is available,

 

 

The MIDI Detector unit also requires:

• A 9v battery or equivalent DC power source

 

Operation:

The unit detects either MIDI System messages or Channel Messages. Complete MIDI data information is available here.

 

Assembly:

The assembly is straightforward and well documented. This design does not include a USB chip, it is designed to use a FTDI USB 232-TTL cable to program the microcontroller.  However since the cable plugs directly into the Miduino, you can use one cable for multiple projects.

   

MIDI Wiring:

The MIDI IN and OUT connectors use  5-Pin 180 degree DIN sockets. Note that the MIDI IN/OUT wiring is polarised and the correct pins should be used.

 

Download:

Open the  source code file and copy and paste it into the Arduino programme and save it as a .PDE file.