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From: fredc@petsd.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: RE: MIDI I/F
Message-ID: <878@petsd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Nov-86 21:41:51 EST
Article-I.D.: petsd.878
Posted: Wed Nov 26 21:41:51 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Nov-86 02:07:28 EST
Organization: Perkin-Elmer DSG, Tinton Falls, N.J.
Lines: 43

>
>
>I want to stick a MIDI interface on my Amiga.  I don't want to pay the
>40 or so dollars people want for what looks like a cable.  So, does
>anyone have either 
>
>	a recipe for making a MIDI interface (just a schematic or so
> 	 would do nicely), or
>
>	a source for the above.
>
>Reply either via the net or by mail.  If I get lots of interesting mail
>responses I will post a summary.  Thanks a lot.
>
>	David Hendler
>
>
 
  I was under the same impression you are, that the MIDI was just a cable
  but I decided to buy one anyway.  I'm glad I did!  When I got the 
  package it came in a 15"x10"x6" cardboard box.  Not having any idea what
  I bought, I opened the box and expected some kind of hardware about the size
  of an external drive.  What I found was lot's of packing popcorn (and I 
  mean lots) and a seemingly trivial RS-232 cable.  I moaned and groaned a
  bit until I opened it up.  There's a mini-circuit board inside with what
  I think is a uart and some other stuff.  I'm not a hardware type at all
  so buying something that works is better then taking a chance on frying
  my $1300 dollar Amiga!  I use the MIDI with a Yamaha DX-27 and it works
  great.  I've tried to write some programs that read/write to the synth
  using the serial port but I haven't had a lot of luck.  I can read from
  the synth keyboard and display hex MIDI sequences but they don't always
  seem to be what the MIDI protocol describes.  When I try to write to
  the keyboard it just laughs at me by displaying a DATA ERROR? on the
  LCD.  I think the problem is that MIDI is defined at 31250 baud and
  I'm writing directly to the SER: device.  I'm not sure if it can handle
  the speed.  The interesting thing is that software like Music Studie works
  great, so they must be sending Ok.  I assume that they program the port
  directly so there is'nt any driver restrictions in there.
  
   I know this is more then you probably wanted to hear but I'd be interested
   in hearing about any tales of MIDI and the Amiga.

                                            -Fred Cassirer