Receptor's new best friend ...
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- KVRer
- 3 posts since 5 Oct, 2011 from Calgary, Canada
The website update is also coming....sorry about that...I guess it is time to hire the web maintainer / developer....
iConnectivity - Musicians, make your connection...
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 690 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Hey everyone,
I got a chance to work with the iConnectivity folks and test out their iConnectMidi interface on my Yamaha S90. I know many of you Receptor users have posted that you like the feel of your Yamaha keyboards, and use them as master controllers for your Receptor. This interface now allows you to use the USB ports on your Yamaha and merge it in with other USB sources.
I also got a glimpse into a bit more of the device, and I wanted to post a bit about why I think this is an interesting device for Receptor - beyond it's basic capability as a USB merger. There is a set of filter functionality inside of the iConnectMidi, that can be accessed and configured by sending system-exclusive messages. This can be useful for doing things like filtering out types of midi controller data (for example, Midi-Clock, or Active-Sensing).
I've seen posts on this forum where people were looking for 'special-purpose' boxes (like Midi-Solutions midi-processors, which do work fine by-the-way) to accomplish things like filtering/merging/etc. So the benefit of the iConnectMidi interface is that it has some extensibility and configurability 'in-the-box' for multiple Midi Applications.
iConnectMidi will be posting their filter functionality at some point soon, I just wanted to point out the increasing value to it's marriage with Receptor.
Regards,
Kevin L
I got a chance to work with the iConnectivity folks and test out their iConnectMidi interface on my Yamaha S90. I know many of you Receptor users have posted that you like the feel of your Yamaha keyboards, and use them as master controllers for your Receptor. This interface now allows you to use the USB ports on your Yamaha and merge it in with other USB sources.
I also got a glimpse into a bit more of the device, and I wanted to post a bit about why I think this is an interesting device for Receptor - beyond it's basic capability as a USB merger. There is a set of filter functionality inside of the iConnectMidi, that can be accessed and configured by sending system-exclusive messages. This can be useful for doing things like filtering out types of midi controller data (for example, Midi-Clock, or Active-Sensing).
I've seen posts on this forum where people were looking for 'special-purpose' boxes (like Midi-Solutions midi-processors, which do work fine by-the-way) to accomplish things like filtering/merging/etc. So the benefit of the iConnectMidi interface is that it has some extensibility and configurability 'in-the-box' for multiple Midi Applications.
iConnectMidi will be posting their filter functionality at some point soon, I just wanted to point out the increasing value to it's marriage with Receptor.
Regards,
Kevin L
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- KVRer
- 3 posts since 5 Oct, 2011 from Calgary, Canada
Thanks Kevin - it has been a pleasure working with you to resolve the problem with the S90 - we were pleased it was just a missing identifier - quick fix.looneytunes wrote: iConnectMidi will be posting their filter functionality at some point soon, I just wanted to point out the increasing value to it's marriage with Receptor.
Thank you for your continued efforts to find and post about useful ways to use our product - we made it full featured and could only guess at the possibilities.
iConnectivity...
iConnectivity - Musicians, make your connection...
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 690 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Hi Everyone,
Back on this topic again. PADSB previously touched on an issue that can affect the reliability of a multi-USB keyboard setup - the USB hub.
Two particular issues can prevent USB keyboards from firing up - or handshaking correctly:
1.) low-power issues
2.) degradation and unreliability of the USB Hub
[1] Low Power issues:
Many USB keyboards (especially full-size keyboard controllers, not the mini-key ones) are high-power USB devices. The USB spec allows for low-power devices (things like USB mice and ascii keyboards, sometimes micro keyboard controllers) that can be driven from low currents across the USB bus. These devices can typically be powered from current originating from the computer itself. Then there are higher-power requiring devices (like hard-disks, etc) which can require (according to USB 2.0 spec, up to a maximum of) 500ma to power. You need a 'powered Hub' to supply enough current for these higher power devices.
Though many hubs are rated to supply up-to 500mA per USB port, they rarely have power supplies that can supply this much current to ALL of the ports simultaneously. "No problem, I can just connect a wall-wort rated for higher current to my USB hub" -- well, not really. Some powered USB hubs have current-overload protection circuitry (or simply use components that aren't rated to carry that much current overall).
The effect of this? If you have multiple USB keyboards - some of them may not power-up at all. Sometimes, the keyboard will only partially power up, but not handshake with the hub. Sometimes, you might see this (unreliably) during certain times when powering up.
[2] Cheaply designed, and unreliable hubs.
There are many budget priced powered hubs out there. Many of them work for a few weeks or months, and inexplicably stop working.
Learned Wisdom
1.) You get what you pay for with USB hubs
2.) consider hubs supplied with higher-current power supplies.
So far, the hub I've had the best luck with for multiple USB keyboards is the
Pluggable USB 2.0 Powered 7-port Hub. This one has been stable so far. This one has a 3A power supply - and it has successfully powered 3 (and more) USB keyboards.
2-3 others I have tried have been rather unreliable - working sometimes, and not others.
Kevin L
Back on this topic again. PADSB previously touched on an issue that can affect the reliability of a multi-USB keyboard setup - the USB hub.
Two particular issues can prevent USB keyboards from firing up - or handshaking correctly:
1.) low-power issues
2.) degradation and unreliability of the USB Hub
[1] Low Power issues:
Many USB keyboards (especially full-size keyboard controllers, not the mini-key ones) are high-power USB devices. The USB spec allows for low-power devices (things like USB mice and ascii keyboards, sometimes micro keyboard controllers) that can be driven from low currents across the USB bus. These devices can typically be powered from current originating from the computer itself. Then there are higher-power requiring devices (like hard-disks, etc) which can require (according to USB 2.0 spec, up to a maximum of) 500ma to power. You need a 'powered Hub' to supply enough current for these higher power devices.
Though many hubs are rated to supply up-to 500mA per USB port, they rarely have power supplies that can supply this much current to ALL of the ports simultaneously. "No problem, I can just connect a wall-wort rated for higher current to my USB hub" -- well, not really. Some powered USB hubs have current-overload protection circuitry (or simply use components that aren't rated to carry that much current overall).
The effect of this? If you have multiple USB keyboards - some of them may not power-up at all. Sometimes, the keyboard will only partially power up, but not handshake with the hub. Sometimes, you might see this (unreliably) during certain times when powering up.
[2] Cheaply designed, and unreliable hubs.
There are many budget priced powered hubs out there. Many of them work for a few weeks or months, and inexplicably stop working.
Learned Wisdom
1.) You get what you pay for with USB hubs
2.) consider hubs supplied with higher-current power supplies.
So far, the hub I've had the best luck with for multiple USB keyboards is the
Pluggable USB 2.0 Powered 7-port Hub. This one has been stable so far. This one has a 3A power supply - and it has successfully powered 3 (and more) USB keyboards.
2-3 others I have tried have been rather unreliable - working sometimes, and not others.
Kevin L
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- KVRist
- 68 posts since 25 Apr, 2009
For what it's worth, if you're using a sufficiently sophisticated environment where you have a multiport midi interface and a laptop as part of your rig, then the use of MaxMSP in conjunction with a library of patchers that I have been putting together will easily allow you to use multiple keyboards (and control surfaces) to talk to receptor, using multiple channels, same channels with splits, and anything in between.
You can read about it on my blog
http://deskew.com/blog/replacing-apple- ... art-1.html
and the latest snapshot of the library is freely downloadable there too. In the last 6 months or so since I first started working on it, it has been 100% glitchfree.
You can read about it on my blog
http://deskew.com/blog/replacing-apple- ... art-1.html
and the latest snapshot of the library is freely downloadable there too. In the last 6 months or so since I first started working on it, it has been 100% glitchfree.
David Jameson
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 690 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Hi again,
I was discussing Hub issues with Scott at iConnectMidi, and he brought up some interesting points about USB and static electricity. I thought I'd share his notes here:
1.) Midi Controllers
2.) USB Hub
3.) iConnectMidi.
Thanks Scott for passing on the info.
Kevin
I was discussing Hub issues with Scott at iConnectMidi, and he brought up some interesting points about USB and static electricity. I thought I'd share his notes here:
Scott also mentions that the order in which you restart devices can make a difference. He recommends wiring keyboards to hub and iConnect MIDI first (unpowered), then turning power on in this order:One other significant thing we've noticed with hubs is how they manage ground connections. USB has 4 wires that go through the cable (data+, data-, +5 volts, and ground). Plus there is a separate "shield" that connects to the outer metal shell of the USB connector. The shield and ground are normally connected together on both the Type-A and Type-B ports. But the shield and ground are sometimes separate between the Type-A and Type-B ports which can cause static discharge problems when connecting up equipment. We have lots of problems with static electricity where we live because it is so dry and we have managed to kill a number of hubs just by repeatedly connecting keyboards to them. Sometimes the static discharge doesn't kill the hub but makes it go into zombie mode. Hubs that have all the grounds and shields connected together work the best because any static discharge will get absorbed by the ESD devices in iConnectMIDI. But not all hubs are created equally.
1.) Midi Controllers
2.) USB Hub
3.) iConnectMidi.
Thanks Scott for passing on the info.
Kevin
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- KVRist
- 44 posts since 12 Dec, 2010
I'm using a similar set up with my newly acquired iConnect MIDI and the same Pluggable USB hub as recommended above. I can get my M-Audio Keystation 61es to work through the hub, but not my Novation Impulse 61. Has anyone had this issue with the Impulse series? The Impulse works directly into my Receptor 2.
