Quantcast
Channel: Assembly and troubleshooting - Mutable instruments' users community
Viewing all 56 articles
Browse latest View live

Ambika voicecards go mute

$
0
0

Every once in a while, once per session or so, my Ambika voices go silent. The LEDs still flash indicating notes are being received and played, but not sound.

If I go to the screen where you assign voicecards to Parts (where you see [1] [2] [3] etc) and “unclick” a voice and the “click” it again they come back on.

It doesn’t seem to ever happen within the first 30 minutes, but nothing feels warm enough to be a concern. And hours may go by before it happens again.

Not a good thing during a performance :-P

Any ideas?

thanks, Drew


Ambika - Voicecard data leak

$
0
0

Hi all, my first post here after completing my first MI build. First off I apologize if I am breaking any kind of forum etiquette, since I know the Ambika is no longer supported by MI. I’m posting here simply in the hopes of getting some advice from other Ambika owners/builders.

Ok – so I built an Ambika with 6 smr4 voicecards. 5 of the 6 work exactly as expected, and the 6th one works about 90% as expected with one slight difference from the others- there seems to be a bit of digital noise leaking into the audio signal. On the initial attack and then also on the release of a note there is a subtle and short (but clearly audible) burst/blip of digital noise. If the (vca) attack or release get too long it goes away, and if the attack or release is very short it’s hard to discern from the normal “fast envelope” sound. My best guess at this point is that it is some type of data signal from the 328 that is leaking into the audio path, but I can’t figure out where from. My first thought was that it was the VCA signal, but I later realized that the noise is affected by the filter cutoff (and the vca happens after the filter), so it must either be leaking in somewhere before the filtering, or is perhaps related to the filter cv input?
I have swapped both the 328 and mcp4822 with known working ones and it made no difference, so I assume that it must be something related to the voice card itself. I thought maybe the filtering on the PWM signals wasn’t working, but I have double checked the value of all those components and everything is correct. Can’t find any bridges or other soldering weirdness, the filter tracks (about) 1/v oct fine, and the scaling isn’t off from any of the other voice cards. The A/B jumpers are all set correctly, and everything else works as expected. At this point I’m a bit stumped, do any of you have any thoughts on where to look next?
Thanks!

Ambika retrigger behavior VCA (LFO3) envelope when voice stealing occurs.

$
0
0

Dear all,

just a quick question, since I could not find anything in the manual regarding this.

My freshly built Ambika (Tubika) shows the following behaviour:

- Part 1 with 3 voice cards is active. – Play a three note chord. – Keep holding the three note chord and strike another note. – Ambika steals voice, but ignores VCA envelope, e.g. attack value is ignored and note is “played instantly”.

Behavior is consistent over all voice cards. env3 is assigned to VCA. env->lfo is active in LFO3.

Is this a normal behaviour of Ambika? Have I skimmed through the manual to fast? Bug? Feature?

Thanks in advance for providing some insight.

Best,

Stephan

How to install the light pipes in the Ambika metal case?

$
0
0

I finally got around to finishing the ambika/case I ordered when it was announced it was discontinued. The electrical parts were too bad (but there were so very many!) but I’m about to lose my mind finishing the case assembly. That being said, I’m about to lose my mind with getting the light pipes to work. No matter how I try to finesse it, they always fall down into the case when I turn it right side up. I’ve tried:

1) Putting the black rubber rings around the leds and the naked plexiglass pieces in the case and screwing it all together with the case inverted
2) Putting the black rubber rings on the plexiglass pieces, staging those in the lid and trying to screw it together while inverted
3) Putting the black rubber rings halfway onto the plexiglass and trying to assemble it inverted

No matter what I do I can’t seem to figure out how these things work. Can anyone point me towards some directions (preferably with pictures)? This has easily been the most frustrating part of the build and I’m so close!

My Ambika was smoking !!!

$
0
0

It happed while I was using a d-link 9v AC power supply on my newly built Ambika:
I saw some white smoke came out from the 7908 chip. The cap beside it swelled and it seems going to explode. I’m very bad at circuit especially with AC power so I don’t really know what’s exactly happened.

my PSU spec: input 220v~50Hz output 9v~1000mA
The voltage of my power supply while I directly test it is about 11.5v.

Everything seems OK while I test it on a 9vDC adapter(without any sound anyway).

Really hopping someone could help me, I’m really not want to hurt this piece of beauty again.

Ambika SMR resonances

$
0
0

hey,

I just purchased a ready made ambika.and it’s lovely. it’s got 6xSMR voicecards. at full blast the self oscillating resonances gets quiet at as the cut off drops to lower frequencies i was wondering if this is the standard behavior for this filter or if i need to calibrate mine?

I understand that it’s designed/inspired to have some roland vibe. in the roland’s i’ve used the filters stay self-oscillating at all frequencies at full wack.

let me know. and big respect to all you guys in this community. i’m really happy with his thing.

j

0=0

TubeOhm >>> I don't let AMBIKA die

$
0
0

Hi there,

after a lot of thinking about it , and ask Olivier, i will keep still AMBIKA in future alive.
This means, if Olivier doesn’t sell AMBIKAS in the next year, than it is possible to order AMBIKA PCB’S , MOBOS , Voicecards and complete KIT’s or single Voicecard Kits direct by Tubeohm . As a trusted builder since years a have the knowledge and the connections to do it.
I like, that for the people it is again possible to build it’s own poly and good sounding synthesizer.
The plan.
1:) Ambika MOBOS in different colors, red, blue, white or green.
2:) all four Voicecards are available in future
3:) complete kits for each Voicecard with in all parts.
4:) Case , like ever metal and plex case. ( this i had to discuss with Frank )
I will make the support AND troubleshooting .
There is a lot of logistic like (maybe a own forum) i don’t know if Olivier allows me to use this forum here.
______
Anushri, i am not familiar with Anushri, but this depends on how much requests are there ! But maybe Matthias or another trusted builder want’s to do it.
This is for discussion .

Greets Andre’ TubeOhm

Firmware to support BCR2000 Data Request

$
0
0

Hi all,

I’m currently hacking the Ambika firmware to provide a way to dump patch values from the Ambika to my BCR2000 (I assumed that it’s not possible as of today (?))

I have 6 templates (or ‘preset’) on the BCR, each corresponding to an Ambika part (I assigned a midi channel for each part on the Ambika).
The idea is to have the BCR updated when switching presets on the BCR (could be useful also after loading a patch on the Ambika).

This can be done using a so called ‘LEARN output’ message from the BCR, that sends a sysex (that Behringer calls a ‘Data Request’). I took a free message number (0x16) as the ‘Data request’ command, and wrote a handler in the Ambika firmware. When receiving the Data Request (with the part number as a parameter), the Ambika sends a bunch of CCs on the corresponding midi channel:

case 0x16: {
   const Parameter& parameter = parameter_manager.parameter(59);
   uint8_t midi_channel = parameter_manager.GetValue(parameter, location.part, 0);
   if (midi_channel)
      --midi_channel; //?                                                                                                                                    

   for (uint8_t index=0; index<kNumParameters; ++index) {
      const Parameter& parameter = parameter_manager.parameter(index);
      if(parameter.level==PARAMETER_LEVEL_PATCH || parameter.level==PARAMETER_LEVEL_PART) {
         uint8_t value = parameter_manager.GetValue(parameter, location.part, 0);
         if ( (parameter.midi_cc < 1) || (parameter.midi_cc > 120)) continue;
         midi_dispatcher.Send3(0xb0 | midi_channel, parameter.midi_cc, value & 0x7f);
         midi_dispatcher.Flush();
      }
   }
}

And… it’ working! Well at least for many parameters except parameters that have the same ID but necessitate a stride to get the actual value (e.g., enveloppes). I cannot figure out how striding works. What I want to do is to get the midi_cc corresponding to parameters that necessitates striding.

Any tips?

I hope that all of this makes sense…

Cheers,

Stéphane

PS: I do not know how to format the code in this message, any pointer on a doc on how to do this? ok, I’ve found the sticky message in the forum about formatting


Software controller for AMBIKA- first Video out

$
0
0

Hi all,
i had some requests about a Software controller for AMBIKA. Yesterday i start with the basic Functions of AMBIKA.
What is in plan ?, what i will done ?.
First , a simple controller , only with the basic synthesis functions ( without the MOD matrix) comes4all4free.)
Second, a commercial controller comes with the following features.
_____________
1:)Complete synthesis include the MODULATIONS MATRIX
2:) randomize for all Parameters , you can choose single knobs or group of knobs (or all knops) by switching RND direct on the knop on/off.
So you have the choice to randomize for example only the envelopes or the oscillators. It depends on you what Parameters use RND.
This works , i have made a test yesterday
3:) It is possible to set the controller to one of six different MIDI output channels. So it is possible in AMBIKA MULTI MODE to control each part.
4:) all parameters with numeric values, identically to the AMBIKA Values.
5:) Step sequencer. I am not sure if i get access to the inbuild Stepper From AMBIKA. For this i must make some more test.
Ohh this damn’d NRPN’S…..
But i will build in six Stepper with six MIDI outputs. So you can easy prog six sequences , for each Voice one.
6:) EFFECTS, i can , like in the Shruthi controller, build in additional audio effects . The question is , should i do it or not ?
____________
This is in the moment the plan, but i build it for this community. So suggestions are helpful because in the end YOU will work with it.
So let us discuss what we can do.
Than i need 2 Betatester ( WINDOWS only) . Feel free to contact me. GUI designer are also welcome.
____________
If the 4free version is ready i will make a download link direct here in the MI Forum
____________
One word to the SP-Filter for Shruthi.
SP-Filter is also ready for developing the PCB , but true, after six month of solder works i need to do some other projects to get the head free.
But i work parallel on this Filter PCB again.
OK that is it at first. More next.

Greets Andre’

No audio output Ambika

$
0
0

Hey everyone,

I had my ambika sitting around for a few months when I wasn’t able to get to using it, when I tried to use it again today, there was no audio output. I tried all 6 channels out and the master channel, none work.

I switched out TL072CP, tried several audio cables, volume is turned up, volume knob is good, notes are in range of S6 page, all voice cards have been reflashed and the audio interface gets a signal when I plug the cables in and out.

All 6 voicecards orange leds are lit up and the green leds are lighting up when a note is sent to the synth. Everything works just like it did, except there is no sound out. All the voltages look fine too.

The only thing that is strange (and I don’t remember if this is normal since I haven’t used it in a while) is that the led cluster on the topside for the voicecards and the LFO light up orange when a note is playing instead of green.

Thanks guys in advance

Ambika 4p voicecard issue - IC4 getting hot

$
0
0

Hello all,

I have finally managed to complete my ambika with 3 voicecards (smr4, svf and 4p). The smr4 and svf are working fine. Unfortunately there is an issue with the 4p voicacard.

After powering the ambika IC4 is getting very hot. Data led is “on”. Note led is not lighting up. I am hoping that someone has an idea what could be the issue?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards,
Alpay

voice card sound very weak

$
0
0

Hello, I built a ambika a couple of year ago, every thing was fine but a few days ago one voice card (svf) begin to sound much weaker than the others (I had to trace the signal to find that it was actualy sounding) but sometimes the problem occur only after 30 min of playing. I tried to switch all the ICs with another card but it don’t change anything , the only thing i done before was to put some vernish (ok it was stupid and useless).

someone have a idea?

thanks!

how many standoffs needed for 6 voice Ambika?

$
0
0

Looking at the Ambika Mechanical Assembly BOM. If each voice card has 4 mounting holes, then is the BOM for only 3 voices ?

Ambika crash / freeze / glyphed out lcd (Solved)

$
0
0

Ok so my friend sent me his Ambika to look at. It was working fine for 8 months but now It keeps crashing. I can guaranteed crash it by going crazy on the mod wheel but it will crash at other times too. When it crashes it starts by flashing up a black dot on the LCD then the LCD starts showing weird characters like “-/n” and random shifting stuff. Eventually the audio will crash too. Ranging from a stuck high squeal to a super bit crushed distortion.

First thing I noticed it was missing the C11 100n cap for IC 4 so I added one I had laying around. I also tried swapping out the 6n137 chip (as recomended to me) with one from my own working ambika with no change. I just went through and checked the power and I am getting the correct readings across all the points listed to test in the assembly instructions. I also checked JP1, JP3 and JP5 and am getting the expected respective 8v and -8v on each one. The crash happens even with no cards installed so it is definitely the motherboard.

At first I thought it was midi as the mod wheel would guaranteed crash it but now I am starting to think it is the bus.

Any suggestions on what to check would be greatly appreciated. The fact that it worked fine for so long makes me think a weak joint might have cracked but I’ve looked over it and can’t see any obvious cold joints. An idea of where to look would be helpful.

Thanks peeps. Sorry for taking up your time.

S.O.S.: Question to the ISP connector and how to upload the firmware

$
0
0

Hello,

can I use the ISP connector without any other components on the board ?
What software do you say is the quickest and most easy ? I have a dirty 4 resistor LPT programmer ike this one: http://www.opend.co.za/tutorials/avrtut2/avricp.png
Or do I have to use the avrdude software ?
I knw I have to deliver 5V .. I’ll take that from the USB port near my LPT.

Best regards,
Andreas

EDIT .... I already solved some problems meantime ….actually I am stuck when verifying the contents on the ic (last comment) .... everything else is to be seen as a user-story with his problems in hope anybody else can find some help in this report.


Odd Voicecard Issue

$
0
0

I have a customers Ambika back on my bench after about 6 months with a strange problem.

All of the voice card LEDs have stopped working. What is odd is this:

- the voice cards themselves are working fine

- if I connect the AVR programmer to them, the data light comes on and the MIDI activity LED starts working again

- if I then disconnect the AVR, the LEDs stay on but the voice card no longer works

- if I then turn the Ambika off and on again, the LEDs stop working and the voice card starts working again

This happens with all six 4P voice cards in the unit. I’ve tried re-programming the voice cards which works, and the LEDs start working but as before: working LEDS = not working voice card, not working LEDs = working voice card

Help – it’s insane!

:)

Ambika build

$
0
0

Hi guys,

after building some instruments and 2 Shruthi-1 I’ve finally started to assemble the Ambika kit I bought some months back from the MI website.

I ordered it with the white metal case, which has a power switch. I’m wondering if I need to bridge the SW pads during the assembly so I can test it with the AC plug and later unsolder them and replace with wire to use the switch ?

Also, having done just a few projects so far I still don’t have any wire around, I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to buy some in my local shop, or maybe I could open some old electronic box I have around and just cut the wires so I can use them in the Ambika ?

Thanks guys,

Ogait

Ambika + Magnets

$
0
0

I’m looking to attach an Ambika to a Korg 700 as part of a live setup. I thought about doing it with magnets but I wondered if there were any implications for using fairly strong magnets on the Ambika. I’d like to be able to attach it with the magnets for the show and remove it to pack in the case. Anyone had any experience with this?

Nominal output level for ambika voicecards

$
0
0

I’ve been working on a custom voicecard lately and I’ve got 3 hooked up right now, but I can hear a little bit of clipping when I play chords so I suspect the audio out from the cards is a little bit too hot. Anyone know what the nominal peak to peak voltage output is for a single voicecard? I don’t have any other cards to check with.

Ambika voltage readings

$
0
0

Hello. Im getting some funny readings on my ambika build. It was built a while back but only just getting round to troubleshooting it.

Im getting 2.01v at the green and yellow points, 7.98v at the red point and -0.37v at the blue. using this adaptor. Does anyone know where the fault might lie?

im using this adaptor: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hpro-Digitech-PS0913B-240-B-9V-and-3V-Power-Supply-2-output-/291525721735

huge thanks.

Viewing all 56 articles
Browse latest View live