Liz's VPO Project

My new itsybitsy controllers arrived last week, and I naturally raced ahead to try to get as much done with as least effort as possible right away right now can't wait.  Right, you know how that goes.  So it wasn't quite working, and then we had to leave for Arisia, with my organ all taken apart and filling the living room with random parts again. We came home. Cons being what they are, Brian caught the flu, or near enough, then naturally I got it too and there things sat, taking up my living room, being unplayable.  So, I sez, I'm achy and feverish and likely to screw everything up, let's go step by step, very slowly, and test everything. Like I should have done in the first place. I built the electronics for the pedalboard in two pieces - a 1/4 proto board containing the metro mini only, and a 1/2 proto board containing the two port expanders needed to read 32 keys. This wasn't brilliant forethought on my part, it was just what I happened to have on hand. None...

I finished the pedalboard, with all the components screwed down and the wires taped together and stowed neatly, and installed it to the main console - with USB and power/ground/reset wires connected and dis-connectable to remove the pedalboard. The signal lines go into headers so they are easily inserted/removed.  There is some linen twine keeping each group organized and in order. I am regretting making the signal lines soldered at the sensor end. The reed switches are delicate and I've broken a few in my over-enthusiasm to get this all built. New ones I put in have female header to make replacement easier. I spent a nice hour or two just playing on Friday evening, and it was lovely. So, on to the manuals! Here are the electronics for the Great.  The controller is on the longer board on the left, along with two port expander chips and angle header connected to the input pins - 8 on each side of each chip.  The right has just expanders. I separated them this ...