MIDI-interface problem

[TomCrazy]

I have a MIDI-interface that's not working.... or is it?

I bought the MIDI-interface on a Swedish auction site recently, similar to eBay. The seller didn't write anything in the add whether it was working or not. He just wrote "Item being sold in its current condition".
The MIDI-interface is in superb condition in regards to outward appearance, it basically looks brand new. (I haven't opened it so I don't know how it looks on the inside, though.)

Here is a picture of the MIDI-interface.
http://www.tradera.com/auction/ShowE...eq=1&mega=True

As you can see, it's a Trilogic MIDI-interface. The interface is connected to the parallel-port of the Amiga. There are no other connectors, except for the MIDI-connectors.

I have a keyboard with speakers which I have managed to trigger by a midi-cable from another MIDI-keyboard. So I'm sure that I have a working midi-keyboard and a working midi-cable.

I have only tried it with two programs so far, and that is
1. DMCS; Deluxe Music Construction Set (kind of old, but it has midi support)
2. OctaMED Pro
I have tried DMCS on both my A500 and A1200. I have tried OctaMED Pro only on my A1200.

Both these programs have very similar midi-settings; You can activate one channel of your choice from 1-16 (0 = midi off, it seems), then there is a button for "activate midi" and then another button with "input" or "listen to input" or something like that. OctaMED seems to have a few other midi settings as well, but I don't even remember what they are right now.

Even though I have tried to turn on every setting that I can imagine is needed for the Amiga to start using the midi, it just acts as if there were no MIDI-interface connected at all.
I have tried both inputting midi to the Amiga, and outputting to my keyboard from my Amiga.
When I choose a midi channel in the midi-settings, both programs behave the same; The sound output is muted on my Amiga. When I select channel 0 (no midi), the sound from the Amiga audio outputs are turned back on. I suppose that the reason for this is that the selected channel is supposed to be outputted through midi instead of being played back through the Paula.

What do you guys think? Is the MIDI-interface broken or is it just me who are doing something wrong?
Can it be that most programs that support MIDI is by default listening to the serial port? Do I need some special program or other kind of driver for an interface connected to the parallel port?

I just got the MIDI-interface as it is when I bought it, so I have no manuals nor any diskettes with software for it. I have no clue what came with the original package from Trilogic when it was being sold in the stores.

Oh, and by the way.... I have been sure to connect it correctly.
When I have tried to input midi to the Amiga, I connected the cable to the "midi out" from my keyboard to "IN" on the MIDI-interface (right connector, see picture in the URL).
When I tried to output midi to the keyboard, I connected from the OUT on the interface (left connector) to "midi in" on my keyboard.
Nothing works. It just acts as if the MIDI-interface wasn't there or is not getting any power.

I opened the cover quickly on the D25 connector of the interface, and the cables seemed to be soldered in place. No loose cables or anything. I haven't opened the box for the interface itself, I've only checked the D25 parallel connector so far.


My questions:

1. Do you need any kind of driver or special software to use a parallel MIDI-interface? Is serial MIDI-interfaces more supported generally? Programs like OctaMED, does it listen to the parallel port or the seriel port when I try to activate the MIDI?

2. Is any .device needed in devs: in order to use a MIDI-interface? Like, let's say, "midi.device" or something similar to that? Any other "driver" that is needed in order to use a MIDI-interface?

3. How do I know which midi-channel to activate in the programs I'm using? I can only choose one midi-channel at a time. It's kind of time-consuming to test all the 16 channels for every new setting all the time. If I just want my keyboard to play back the midi-signals that my Amiga is sending out, can I use any midi-channel for that? Or should I set it to 1 as standard? Or maybe another value?

4. If you look at the picture, the two middle connectors say "Fitted to midi interface 2 only". What does that mean? Does it mean that the purpose of those two connectors are to connect the interface to another MIDI-interface which is connected to another computer?

And finally, the million-dollar question:
5. Why doesn't my MIDI-interface work??
Any ideas?

[AmigaFriend]

Originally Posted by TomCrazy

My questions:

1. Do you need any kind of driver or special software to use a parallel MIDI-interface? Is serial MIDI-interfaces more supported generally? Programs like OctaMED, does it listen to the parallel port or the seriel port when I try to activate the MIDI?

Your MIDI device will only work on a Amiga 1000.

You need a MIDI interface that connects to the serial port for all the other Amiga models, from the A500 to A4000.

Sorry you just had bad luck.

[TomCrazy]

Thanks! I just found on another site that the A1000 has a female serial D25 connector. I cannot plug the interface in the serial port since my A500 and A1200 has a male D25 connector, so I assumed it should be plugged into the parallel port instead.

I found the pinout of the Amiga 1000 D25 serial connector. I guess I just need to desolder the D25 male connector from the MIDI-interface and then attach a female connector instead, so it can plug into the male serial connectors of my Amigas.

I will compare the pinouts between the A1000 and A500/A1200 serial connectors first, just to be sure that I don't connect a signal wire to +12V or -12V.
If the interface needs +5V or -5V, then it will be a bit more tricky since the A500/A1200 don't have it on the serial port. Then I'll just have to connect an extra connector to the parallel port and draw the power from there instead. I hope it won't need a -5V source, because then it will get a bit more complex. Still not impossible though, since A500 has a -12V source which I should be able to reduce to -5V somehow.

I will try this out. Thanks for your help!

[Loedown]

There's a good chance you have fried it, serial and parallel ports are not pin for pin compatible.

MIDI interfaces aren't difficult things to make, circuitry is quite minimal and someone with simple electronic skills would be able to procure all the parts and a small plastic box to put them in.

[salax54]

You should actually start investigating by plugging a peripheral to your parallel port, such as a printer. That should tell you if your port is fried or the midi interface has.
If no damage was done, you could then start by finding a gender-changer thingy for your serial port to accept the interface, or build one on your own....

[Amiga1992]

I have almost the same thing from the same brand but connects to my A600 or A1200 through the serial port. I am assuming this is thesame and you plugged it to the wrong port.

[paul2004v]

I'm a bit late to the party but I've just scanned in and uploaded a copy of the Trilogic MIDI2 Interface "manual" to my site... I say manual but it's really an A5 bit of paper printed on both sides...

http://www.retro-kit.co.uk/page.cfm/...I-2-Interface/

Hope this helps others with the interface

Paul

[droopy]

Bumping with some extra info for the MIDI people..

Also download and install the camd.library from Aminet (latest version) if you don't have any software that install this library for you.
(10y bump) but it might be helpful for someone..

[Jope]

To people from the future coming in via google or whatever: the applications DMCS and OctaMED which were mentioned in the original post do not support camd.library, so when debugging your DMCS or OctaMED MIDI issues, please note that camd.library is not the solution.

If CAMD is needed, your software's documentation will mention this.

[Grumpygamer]

I am from the future, thanks for pointing this out