Hello,

Terry sent me some 125 files that I wish to play on on 105 machine with a
Midiator UM0 and a Rowland Sound Brush. Any ideas on how to get these files to
work with my setup. I do have a few files that work great with my machine, so
its the midi files that are incorrect.

Matt

----- Original Message -----

From: Terry Smythe

To: Rollscanners@yahoogroups.com ; e-valves@yahoogroups.com ; Howe_Collection@yahoogroups.com ; E-Roll-Collectors@yahoogroups.com ; AMICA-Board-Members@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 8:52 PM

Subject: [e-valves] Re: "Grouply" Threat

Yet another scam has emerged that we should be aware of.
Somehow, somebody has figured out a way to sniff out email
addresses from within Yahoo. You may receive an email
seeming to come from somebody claiming to share your interests,
and inviting you to join his "Grouply" group to see his profile,
etc., etc., etc.

To do so, you are required to reveal your Yahoo user ID and
password.

It is being seen by some as a form of identity theft.
certainly a very inappropriate front end. To see a
discussion about this new threat, have a look at this summary of
discussions on Yahoo Answers. The URL is so long that I
converted it to a TinyURL.

http://tinyurl.com/4ghpu9

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe 204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue 204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3J 2N6 smythe@shaw.ca
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Yet another scam has emerged that we should be aware of.
Somehow, somebody has figured out a way to sniff out email
addresses from within Yahoo.     You may receive an email
seeming to come from somebody claiming to share your interests,
and inviting you to join his "Grouply" group to see his profile,
etc., etc., etc.

To do so, you are required to reveal your Yahoo user ID and
password.

It is being seen by some as a form of identity theft.
certainly a very inappropriate front end.     To see a
discussion about this new threat, have a look at this summary of
discussions on Yahoo Answers.     The URL is so long that I
converted it to a TinyURL.

http://tinyurl.com/4ghpu9

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Greetings Steven,

various solenoid players have been around for quite a while.

the addition to a pneumatic player of electrically operated valves under MIDI
control has also been around for a while. organ valves have been used for a
while.

more recently there was the (not very successful) Powerroll that interfaced
through the tracker bar and then the system that i sold for a while and now one
made by Bob Hunt. these use smaller valves than the organ valve and can fit more
easily into a piano.

except in rare cases i think it is not very sensible to add solenoids to a
pneumatic player. it would either be a lot of extra work to keep both systems
working or the result would be a serious compromise to both systems. if you have
a crappy old PianoDisc system and a crappy old player and a bunch of time it
might be fun to try but there is going to be competition for available space for
all components. you would have better results with a Stahnke LX system as it
fits into the keybed with little overhang but it would be a waste to put it into
anything less than a stunning piano.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, 2:21:09 PM, you wrote:
> I guess what I meant was, what do people think of this as a
> technique for converting a pneumatic player to play midi files, is
> this a good technique? The only ways I had heard of before were to
> affix something to the tracker bar and to tap into the tubes in the
> back so putting solenoids underneath the keys was new to me (show
> how much I know about the topic). Does anyone have pictures of such a
conversion?

> --Steve


> On 7/12/08 4:01 PM, "Bob Meyer" <poway_bob@...> wrote:


>

> I'm not sure what you mean by "What do you make of this?" This is
> how solenoid players are installed. It does seem a little odd to be putting it
on a pneumatic player.
>
> Bob Meyer

>
>
>
>
--
Best regards,
Spencer_Lists Chase        mailto:lists@...
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville,  CA 95542    Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454    UPS only.
Lists@spencerserolls(dot)com
http://www(dot)spencerserolls.com
replace (dot) with a .
(707) 984-8356

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "What do you make of this?" This is how solenoid players are installed. It does seem a little odd to be putting it on a pneumatic player.
 
Bob Meyer

 
 
      

Hi Julie,

I am interested in your player. I would like to replace my MDF2 player that uses
floppy disks.  I was wondering if your player is built inside it¢s own case or
would I need to build the board and switches into the console.  The other
question is can card be changed with power applied?  Maybe I should ask if the
card can be changed at all.

I googled around and couldn¢t find any information about a MIDI filer unit that
used the new memory cards.  I remember someone on one of my lists talking about
it but didn¢t remember whom.  Now I know.  Since I couldn¢t find one, I was also
thinking about designing one just like you.

Pete Knobloch (Tempe AZ)

PS-does it support MIDI type 2 or just the type 1 file format.


----- Original Message ----
From: Julie Porter <jporter@...>
To: e-valves@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 12:24:39 PM
Subject: Re: [e-valves] Remote Control For Midi File Player?


I like to use a USB device from keyspan.  It is a small audio/dvd remote
which attaches to the USB port on a PC or Mac through an IR-pod.  This
adapter emulates a keyboard, so you can program the keypresses for a
given application such as Van Bascoes or Windows media player.   The
current version I have says it is for itunes, but it is the same as one
I got several years ago.

The file player on ebay looks a lot like the Compact flash floppy player
I designed back in 2003.  While such a device works well, I am finding
that it is difficult to select songs on such a small unit.  That is why
I prefer Van Bascoe's for my primary playback as the songs can be
selected by name and dragged quickly into playlists.   Most piano's and
fairgrounds organs require mains power for the bellows pump, so powering
an old laptop is not much of an issue.

A SD card can hold gigabytes of storage, which can probably hold enough
MIDI files for all the MIDI files that exists!   Even with 64 or 100MB
cards there are 1000 if not 10,000 songs on a single card.  MIDI files
are tiny about 24 Kilobytes for a three minute song.  Most floppy
distributions of MIDI files are only half full, enough for one hour or
"Album" of music.   By comparison the smallest MP3 file is 10 times the
size of a MIDI file.  It took nearly a week for me to play through a
32MB card filled with some of Terry Smythe's MIDI conversions.

If anyone has ideas as to how to improve the song selection in these
small devices, That is the main weakness.  I do know that a number of
ipod clones use a thumbwheel or scroll wheel to scan through the songs
and playlists. Note that the iPod "click" wheel is patented so that can
not be copied.

I remain interested in making more of the flashcard players.  I still
have a number of floppy based player systems which can be adapted to
flashcard use should there be interest.   A US. domestic version of this
system would cost between $75 and $120USD, which is half the price of
the device on ebay.  A lead free version could be produced for the same
price (about $300USD) as the unit on Ebay.  Note that it is now illegal
to sell such electronic devices in the EU that are made with lead based
solder.  I do not see in the ebay advertisement if the unit is RoHS
compliant or not.


-julie

> There was some interest in the past for a device that would enable us
> to operate our midi controlled pianolas remotely. I came across this
> item on eBay (140150642884) here in the UK, that plays midi files and
> can be controlled using a standard universal TV remote. After
> discussing it with the seller, although he developed it for solenoid
> players, he thinks that it would work for us too. I have not tried it
> and have nothing to do with it but it looks like it might be worth a try.
> James



________________________________________________________________________________\
____
Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's
Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when.
http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222

Arthur Nichols wrote:

  > Further to Julie's comments,
  >
  > I am a little confused about this thread, having seen the SD card to
  > midi adapter on Ebay I was interested from the point of view that
  > Floppy Disk players are no longer fitted to new computers, these
  > disks are an old technology and I have had many disks that for some
  > reason will no longer play.
  > I would like something small that could be used on the two Street
  > Organs that I have built and fitted with my own design solenoid
  > manifolds.

The SD system advertised on Ebay should work without much issue to drive
a small 21 or 31 note organ using Spencer's evalve blocks and MIDI
multiplexing controller.

To drive a small pneumatic organ, there are several electronic circuits
needed.
First there is the valve manifold, which is controlled by a solenoid.
The solenoid in turn is driven by a driver board which contains the
components used to switch the power to the solenoid.
The driver board is controlled by a MIDI converter.  This is usually
done by multiplexing a signal after the fashion of a telephone exchange.
Sometimes the driver board and the MIDI converter are combined on the
same electronics board.  In Spencer's evalves system the boards are
separate electronics.  Typically such a board has a 5 Pin MIDI Din
connector on one end, and screw terminal connectors for the solenoids on
the other.
The remaining electronics are either a small sequencer controller such
as the one on ebay under discussion.  This could also be a laptop
computer or a box such as the one sold by Viscount, Yamaha and others.

Alan Pell and others in the small portable organ venue, have been
controlling the smaller organs for years using 30 year old ROM chips.
With a small organ,  there is not always a need to use MIDI to sequence
the notes. In these cased the system can be integrated into a single
device which can play a number of songs.

I was contacted by the creators of the SD card system over the weekend
as they were also confused by the intentions of my review of media card
players.   My interest is more on the research and development side,
than on the marketing side for such devices.  I have not heard back from
them as to what they mean by 255 tracks?    I think they were a bit
taken aback, by my cost estimates of what I can produce here in the
Silicon Valley.  They were quick to point out that their product is RoHS
compliant which extends to the plastics used in the case.   I stand by
the cost estimates I gave, at least for US domestic products that do not
require RoHS.  For the UK, they are a better and quicker option.

My review was more to the point, that having made a number of floppy
players, most what remain unsold, I went on to make a flashcard based
players. The results have been, that selecting songs was the weak point
and given the system I have here I find I prefer Van Bascoes player for
use with my band organ, that requires mains power.

This does not mean I have given  up on flashcard based players.  I am
intending to make a small demo instrument, which is a 20 or 30 note
scale, that I can place into the back seat of my car and take around
with me.  Moving even a small organ such as a Caliola gets tricky as it
is about 400LBS.  The rental companies still expect one to use manpower
to lift such things onto trailers or the bed of a truck.

As for floppy based players.  One of the downsides of floppy disks was
that they are easy to erase when left around magnets or magnetic
materials.  They are also prone to dirt clogging the head of the
reader.  This did spawn a small industry to supply cleaning disks and
pads which do more to spin the dirt deeper into the head.  The heads can
also become mis tracked, which means that a drive will only read disks
formatted on the same drive.  I also put a bit of time, and what little
money I had after the dot com bust into developing a new generation
floppy based file player.  What is interesting is in the 6 years since I
first had the idea for this, how far hardware costs have dropped.

The chips I use are made by a company called ATMEL.  They are used in
programmable thermostats and automotive ignition systems.  The company
gives away at tradeshows and sells online a demonstration board for 20
bucks.  The demo board has 512 bytes of flash storage, which is about
the same as a single sided floppy disk.  The playback code I developed
over these same six years could be ported to this 20 dollar demo board
and the card would contain about an hours worth of music.  A popular add
on to the demo board is none other than a SD card for debugging, this is
about 6 bucks.  It also helps that code to read SD cards is a popular
homework assignment for college students so there are a lot of examples
of how make simple MP3 players online.

The problem is that no one wants to pay for the time it takes to debug
programs.  It took me six months to code the playback software.  A week
to write it and the rest of the time to debug it. At rate this would
have been about $50KUSD if I was paying myself the same as I got working
for Apple.  In order to recoup this expense, I would have to sell 5000
systems.  At best I have distributed a dozen of these boards using the
older more expensive hardware.   The main reason I continue to develop
the players and drivers, is so when I go to interviews I can point out
that my skills remain current and I am using the latest chips. In the
meantime, I get to restore and build organs, either for myself or for
others.

That said, I am probably adding more to the confusion.  I think the
short of it is if you want something now,  get the box off ebay, You
will however need a MIDI to solenoid multiplexer to plug the box into.
For that I recommend Spencer's evalve system.

-julie

Further to Julie's comments,

I am a little confused about this thread, having seen the SD card to
midi adapter on Ebay I was interested from the point of view that
Floppy Disk players are no longer fitted to new computers, these
disks are an old technology and I have had many disks that for some
reason will no longer play.
I would like something small that could be used on the two Street
Organs that I have built and fitted with  my own design solenoid
manifolds.
Presently I use a Casio FD1 player which is bulky compared to the
Ebay device.It is for the same reason that I am interested in the E-
valves which are less bulky than my own manifolds.
To compare the use on a Fair Ground Organ is missing out on the need
Street Organ grinders have for a compact device which will operate
from small batteries for several hours without having the back up of
a generator or mains power.

Regarding the capacity of the SD cards it is nice to know that they
will hold such a large number of MIDI files but why would I want so
many on a single card. My main library if and when I get one will be
kept on my home based PC or Laptop and I intend to use several SD
cards of small capacity which will reduce any searching to say no
more than 20 tunes and these tunes will be grouped say for classics,
birthdays, dance, easy listening and so on.(the build up of my
library is a problem my organs are 26note Ian Alderman scale and the
Zillions of midi files said to be available on the web are not
suitable without much work via Cakewalk or other such programme and
a knowledge of music arranging)
Yes I have tried Van Bascoe's and being able to group the tunes for
copying to another device is an attraction.
I have seen a demonstration of the Ebay SD to Midi device and
thought that it would fulfil my needs and that of many others who
want portability and small size.
The Ebay Buy-now price I considered to be a little high but I
understand it has now been set at £150.
I have no financial interest in this product but having spoken to
one of the developers I was told that a great ammount of money has
been invested and several years of design work has gone into the
product.
Incidentally the remote control will be ideal for tune selection
without having to climb in and out of a vehicle or leaving the
person you are talking to.
I have also seen this device supplying the midi file to operate a
piano and it sounded great, some clicking from the solenoids but
this is being worked on.

Arthur Nichols UK

I like to use a USB device from keyspan.  It is a small audio/dvd remote
which attaches to the USB port on a PC or Mac through an IR-pod.  This
adapter emulates a keyboard, so you can program the keypresses for a
given application such as Van Bascoes or Windows media player.   The
current version I have says it is for itunes, but it is the same as one
I got several years ago.

The file player on ebay looks a lot like the Compact flash floppy player
I designed back in 2003.  While such a device works well, I am finding
that it is difficult to select songs on such a small unit.  That is why
I prefer Van Bascoe's for my primary playback as the songs can be
selected by name and dragged quickly into playlists.   Most piano's and
fairgrounds organs require mains power for the bellows pump, so powering
an old laptop is not much of an issue.

A SD card can hold gigabytes of storage, which can probably hold enough
MIDI files for all the MIDI files that exists!   Even with 64 or 100MB
cards there are 1000 if not 10,000 songs on a single card.  MIDI files
are tiny about 24 Kilobytes for a three minute song.  Most floppy
distributions of MIDI files are only half full, enough for one hour or
"Album" of music.   By comparison the smallest MP3 file is 10 times the
size of a MIDI file.  It took nearly a week for me to play through a
32MB card filled with some of Terry Smythe's MIDI conversions.

If anyone has ideas as to how to improve the song selection in these
small devices, That is the main weakness.  I do know that a number of
ipod clones use a thumbwheel or scroll wheel to scan through the songs
and playlists. Note that the iPod "click" wheel is patented so that can
not be copied.

I remain interested in making more of the flashcard players.  I still
have a number of floppy based player systems which can be adapted to
flashcard use should there be interest.   A US. domestic version of this
system would cost between $75 and $120USD, which is half the price of
the device on ebay.  A lead free version could be produced for the same
price (about $300USD) as the unit on Ebay.  Note that it is now illegal
to sell such electronic devices in the EU that are made with lead based
solder.  I do not see in the ebay advertisement if the unit is RoHS
compliant or not.


-julie

> There was some interest in the past for a device that would enable us
> to operate our midi controlled pianolas remotely. I came across this
> item on eBay (140150642884) here in the UK, that plays midi files and
> can be controlled using a standard universal TV remote. After
> discussing it with the seller, although he developed it for solenoid
> players, he thinks that it would work for us too. I have not tried it
> and have nothing to do with it but it looks like it might be worth a try.
> James

There was some interest in the past for a device that would enable us
to operate our midi controlled pianolas remotely. I came across this
item on eBay (140150642884) here in the UK, that plays midi files and
can be controlled using a standard universal TV remote. After
discussing it with the seller, although he developed it for solenoid
players, he thinks that it would work for us too.  I have not tried it
and have nothing to do with it but it looks like it might be worth a try.
James

A few weeks ago, in response to concerns and confusion about
just what is an e-roll, as opposed to midi, I posted a graphic
display on my web site.

Subsequent to that, Walter Tenten advised me that he too put
together a document on same topic for his colleagues in Germany,
published in "Das Mechanische Musikinstrument".     Walter
kindly translated it for us and it is now posted on my web site
at:

http://members.shaw.ca/talia122/e-rolls_02.htm

It is also available as a clickable link off:

http://members.shaw.ca/talia122/e-rolls.htm

Which also includes a clickable link to Warren Trachtman's
description on same topic:

http://www.trachtman.org/rollscans/scanningbackground.htm

Hopefully, these 3 web pages will help clarify just what is an e-
roll within generally accepted midi standards.

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Up on MMD, Bob Taylor and Robbie Rhodes have expressed some
concerns about midi files and eroll files.   It's a concern that
emerges often.

In an attempt to shed a little light on just what is the basic
difference between a midi type 1 file and an e-roll, I've put
together a web page illustrating the basic difference.   It may
be seen at:

http://members.shaw.ca/talia122/e-rolls.htm

This page outlines a few basic considerations, invites a quick
look at Larry Doe's MK4 scanner, then hit "back" to return to
the e-rolls page.     At end, it provides for returning to an e-
valves page I put together about a year ago.

This e-roll page "What Is An E-roll?" is also available as a
clickable menu item off my E-valves page:

http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/e-valves.htm

Hope this helps a little to provoke some discussion about e-
rolls and midi files.    I do not purport to be an expert on
midi.   Others much more knowledgeable than I will hopefully
join in the discussion.

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

I've just added a new page to my site, illustrating a DIY e-
valve installation using standard Peterson organ pallet valves,
installed in a small 4' 11" Marshall & Wendell Ampico B grand
piano.    See:

http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/e-valves.htm

click on:

Tom and Kay Bode's Ampico B w/Peterson Valves

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Terry and Alan,

Thank you for sharing this. Many of us have been wishing for this for
yeeeaaars.  I now just what to request for Mother's Day now.

Meta Brown

-----Original Message-----

From: awturner@... [mailto:awturner@...]
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 1:17 PM
To: smythe@...
Subject: Wireless MIDI

Terry, this might be of interest to the group:

Alan

-----------------------------------------------------------------

For those who use e-valve equipped instruments.

This week I purchased and installed a wireless MIDI connection from my
computer to my e-valve equipped Duo-Art Piano.  I think it will be of
interest to others in the group.

I purchased an off-the-shelf wireless MIDI transmitter and receiver from
M-Audio (http://www.m-audio.com)  The model I purchased is called "MidAir"

This product is primarily designed to transmit MIDI signals from a keyboard
or other device on stage to a mixer or computer.  As such it was not quite
plug and play for application to send MIDI signals from the computer to the
e-valve system.  I basically had to configure the setup reverse to the
design configuration.

Here are the additional items I needed for the installation (with costs in
CDN $):

MidAir transmitter and receiver system  $120.00
MIDI Coupler (female/female)   $5.00
MIDI Cable (3 foot single lead male/male)   $7.50
9 volt 500 mA power supply   $17.50  (only one was supplied with the kit and
two are required for our types of setup)

TOTAL  $150.00 CDN ($130 USD +/-)

The configuration is as follows:

COMPUTER END
1.  Computer with MIDI files
2.  USB to MIDI male 5 pin connector (part of the original wired MIDI
interface with the e-valve system) 3.  MIDI Coupler (female/female) 4.
MidAir transmitter (powered by 9 volt 500mA transformer, normally battery
power but I opted to use a power supply)

E-VALVE END
1.  MidAir receiver (powered by 9 volt 500mA transformer) 2.  MIDI Cable (3
foot single lead male/male) 3.  E-Valve System input

I have tested this out on my system and so far have not run into any issues,
I installed it and everything worked flawlessly.  The transmission range for
this system is about 30 feet, I have tested it to about 25 feet and it seems
to work well.   The distance of 25 feet works well for me allowing me to
move the computer out of sight of the piano.  I am very pleased.

If anyone has questions I'd be happy to answer them (if I can)

Alan Turner


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Terry Smythe        (204) 832-3982
55 Rowand Avenue    (204) 981-3229(cell)
Winnipeg, MB        smythe@...
Canada   R3J 2N6    http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm
Preserving a unique slice of musical heritage.

"Jeff S." gentleman113@... says:

> Does anyone have any idea what the installed cost will be on this
> new player? I am considering a Pianomation system for my
> Chickering Grand, which I can have installed for around $5300 here
> in Oklahoma.

I have not heard anything definitive about cost.     However, in
the interests of trying to be helpful, Wayne has kindly
established an email link for specific questions about his LX
solenoid system.

support@...

I have not seen nor heard Wayne's system in operation, but I
would expect it to be a high-end performer.    Stay tuned for a
web site for his "Live-Performance" product, which I would
expect will appear soon.

If cost is an issue, and you are sufficiently technically
competant, you may wish to consider doing your own install of a
PianoForce kit.   This kit appears to be a low-end option in
this market, play-back only.

I have personally seen and heard a PianoForce kit installed by
Richard Creasy in a new Heintzman 5' 8" grand in a gorgeous
natural wood "book-leaved" cabinet.     To my tin-ears (2
hearing aids), the performance was acceptable.  See:

http://www.pianoforce.com/

Like all solenoid kits, except for Wayne's LX system, the
PianoForce solenoid rail is mounted beneath the keybed, forcing
a rebuild of the trapwork, which is often more difficult and
time consuming to resolve than the solenoid rail itself.

Wayne's LX kit, being imbedded within the depth of the keybed,
does not interfere with existing trapwork, which should make
installation significantly easier.

My 45+ year association with this delightful slice of our
musical heritage has exposed me to countless pneumatic
reproducing pianos, so I am very much aware of what is possible
in a restored, properly regulated piano.

Thus far, the closest I've encountered in the solenoid piano
world is the Disklavier MK IV system, unfortunately pricey.
At the AMICA Convention in Minneapolis a year ago, a Pianomation
equipped Mason & Hamlin was available and my midi emulation
files produced an acceptable performance when driven from a
nearby laptop computer.

I understand that Wayne's initial production run of 45 kits has
been fully placed.     Eventually, we can expect to hear from
new owners of his system, and get first hand accounts of
satisfaction.     Perhaps we may even get lucky and see a photo
essay of an installation.

If anybody learns about who is installing these kits, please let
us know of names, location and email addresses.     Also, we
will eventually need to know how our midi emulation files need
to be massaged, and with what utilities, for playback on the LX
system.     And lastly, we would like to know if the LX system
can be driven from a nearby laptop computer with a USB/MIDI-IN
adapter cable.

Stay tuned.....

Regards,

Terry


Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

While cruising the 'net some weeks back, I stumbled across a
Brodman Piano Co. Press Release announcing that Dr. Wayne
Stahnke's "Concerto" solenoid system would be on display at the
Brodman booth at Musikmesse in Frankfurt, March 28.   See:

http://www.brodmann-pianos.com/top_right.html

I just heard from somebody who visited the Brodman booth in
Frankfurt and was disappointed to find no reference to the LX-
Concerto system.    Wayne has advised that EU regulatory issues
had not yet been fully resolved, so display of his system was
delayed in Europe.

Some inquiries produced a PDF copy of the Brodman brochure
handed out at the recent NAMM show.

He has given me permission to post the PDF version of the
Brodman brochure, but he would prefer to remain in the
background for now until supply issues have been resolved.

I have heard from another source that his LX system may be
unveiled at an AMICA meeting on the West Coast USA sometime in
mid to late May. Stay tuned for further details of this meeting
as they unfold.

The LX system will become available in kit form.    An initial
run of 45 kits has been fully placed.    No doubt we will hear
more about these from their owners as they go into use.

As the Brodman brochure indicates, the solenoid rail is imbedded
within the thickness of the keyboard, completely avoiding any
intrusion into existing trapwork.    Very nice!    Its
simplicity of installation is overshadowed by its 1020 dynamic
levels and a keyboard sample rate of 800/sec.

I have uploaded the Brodman PDF brochure into the Files section
of this discussion group.    Look for and click on:

brodmann_LX-concerto_namm2007.pdf

As more information becomes available it will be posted here.
If others learn more about this system, please feel free to post
it.    It would be great to hear more about the perceived
simplicity of installation, and about the use of our e-rolls to
drive this system.

Regards,

Terry


Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Just received the following announcement from Yahoo, confirming
rumours to this effect.   [Catchup to Google?]

++++++++++++++++++++++++

> By popular demand we increased file and photo storage limits to
> 100 megs each. You told us that the old limits weren't enough, and
> we want to let you know we heard you loud and clear!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the past, only 20 megs was allowed, distributed between files
and pics, consequently a number of us built our own web site.
Now 100 megs each, summing to 200megs.     Suggestions on how
best to make use of this additional space?    Or just leave
things the way they are?

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Just a brief note to advise that my Batch 23 of midi files
emerging from archival roll scanning is now uploaded.  The
titles list may be seen at:

http://members.shaw.ca/paud122/batch23.htm

The files themselves may be downloaded by clicking on:

http://members.shaw.ca/paud122/batch23.ZIP

Special Thanks to:

*  Dave Kerr for contributing 88n midi files from his own
scanning efforts from piano rolls within his personal
collection.

*  Larry Doe for contributing Ampico and Duo-Art archival scan
files from his own scanning efforts from piano rolls within his
personal collection.

*  John McClelland for contributing Red Welte archival scan
files from his own scanning efforts from piano rolls borrowed
from a couple of major collections in the Los Angeles area.

Contents of this batch:

Ampico performances - 27
Duo-Art performances - 79
Red Welte performances - 39
88n tunes - 74

Total this batch - 219

Brings total to about 4,400 titles.

As before, it must be remembered that these midi files are not
the archival files.     They are simply midi emulations that
emerge from the scanning process and are offered for personal
enjoyment only.    They should not be used for commercial
purposes.

Regards,

Terry

  Terry Smythe                           204-832-3982 (land line)
55 Rowand Avenue                   204-981-3229 (cell)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada   R3J 2N6           smythe@...
Preserving a unique slice of our Musical Heritage
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm

Greetings Joshua,

Just found this one pretty dim picture of it playing the 9 ft. Steinway Duo-Art at the Denver AMICA meeting. 

Just got the thing out of the wshop and took it apart. It was built for specific purpose, which was to play a Duo-Art without any modification. I did not try to make it as small as possible. I made it to sit on top of the spoolbox on an upright and across the music aperture on a grand so the case is pretty big. 

It uses my E-Roll Player components and everything is in the box except for the power supply and the relay that turns the pump motor on and off.

Monday, April 3, 2006, 10:13:51 PM, you wrote:

-- 

Best regards,

Spencer_Lists Chase        mailto:lists@...

67550 Bell Springs Rd.

Garberville,  CA 95542    Postal service only.

Laytonville, CA 95454    UPS only.

Spencer@...

http://www.spencerserolls.com

http://www.spencerserolls.com/MidiValve.htm

(707) 984-8356

Greetings Steven,

My tracker bar unit has something like 6 to 8 inches of tubing between
the valves and the bar and it does work quite well. It would certainly
be good enough for anything but the most fussy installation. There is
probably more disturbance of the signal caused by the gasketed
interface than by the tubing.

Greetings D.L.,

Old oxidized lead tubing may be a different matter but lead is really easy to work with, which is why they used it. It bends and solders easily and is very easy to clean in preparation for soldering. You do have to use the right temperature iron or you will melt the lead and burn holes in it. That said, the right way to cut in a wye or tee would be the way it would have been done originally. If the tubing is in good condition, this will be possible, if it isn't it will just make a total mess. 

There are two ways to make a wye or tee, to pull a cone out of the original tubing and insert a nipple into it and solder or to drill a hole or cut a miter and fit a saddle over it and solder. A saddle can be made by splitting a piece of tubing and wrapping it around the other tube over the hole. To pull a cone, you make a small hole and then enlarge it and pull the metal up with a rotating hook shaped tool. It is actually easy to do on lead if in good condition. This is the way they make copper manifolds but with a special jig for holding it and drawing the hook to make a perfect cup. You could pull a cone out of the lead and use a brass nipple.

Anyway, all of this is really just theoretical because the chance of the lead being in good condition is rather slim.

-- 

Best regards,

Spencer_Lists Chase        mailto:lists@...

67550 Bell Springs Rd.

Garberville,  CA 95542    Postal service only.

Laytonville, CA 95454    UPS only.

Spencer@...

http://www.spencerserolls.com

http://www.spencerserolls.com/MidiValve.htm

(707) 984-8356

This was posted by "ignoramus" to the AVR tech forum. AVR is the name of
the chip I am using in my MIDI file player and the USB scanning
interface. The full thread is at
<http://www.avrfreaks.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=37122>


> Gotta Be Over 30 to Understand
>
> Mum used to cut chicken, slice eggs and spread mayo on the same
> cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't get
> food poisoning.
>
> My Mum used to defrost mince-meat on the kitchen sink AND I used to
> eat a bite raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in
> wax paper, in a brown paper bag, not in icepack coolers, but I can't
> remember anybody getting e.coli.
>
> Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead
> of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.
>
> The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and
> a pager was the school PA system.
>
> We all played sport, and also did PE... and risked permanent injury
> with a pair of Dunlop runners (only worn in the gym or the sports
> ground) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air
> cushion soles and built-in light reflectors.. I can't recall any
> injuries but they must have happened, because they tell us how much
> safer we are now....
>
> Flunking sport was not an option.... even for stupid kids! There were
> not many fat kids.
>
> Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the National Anthem
> and got free school milk for strong bones and teeth, and staying in
> detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must
> have had horribly damaged psyches.
>
> What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses?
> Ours wore a hat and everything, and she could even give you an aspirin
> for a headache or fever.
>
> I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was
> allowed to be proud of myself. I just can't recall how bored we were
> without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV
> cable stations.
>
> Oh yeah..and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got
> that bee sting? I could have been killed!
>
> We played 'king of the castle' on piles of gravel left on vacant
> construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mum pulled out the 48-cent
> bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting
> like iodine did) and then we got our hair ruffled and got told to get
> back out there! Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a
> 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mum calls the
> Solicitor to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of
> gravel where it was such a threat.
>
> We didn't misbehave at the mate's house either, because if we did, we
> got our bum smacked there, and then we got bum belted again when we
> got home. I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing
> his tricks on the front veranda, just before he fell off. Little did
> his Mum know that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked
> him up and swatted him for being such a yobbo.
>
> It was a neighbourhood run amuck.
>
> To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they
> were from a "dysfunctional family". How could we possibly have known
> that we needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes?
> We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't
> even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we
> ever survive?
>
> LOVE TO ALL OF US WHO SHARED THIS ERA, AND TO ALL WHO DIDN'T---- SORRY
> FOR WHAT YOU MISSED. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING
>
> Pass this to someone (over age 40, of course), and brighten their day
> by helping them to remember that life's most simple pleasures are very
> often the best!
>

Last week I went to the "PCB-West" conference in the silicon valley.
Sponsored by the "Printed Circuit design" magazine,  They had a "Free"
day where one could attend the panels. Like many others I chose to
attend the RoHS panel.

Basically I sense a train wreak here. There is a lot of FUD happening.
The gist of the panel was when one engineer asked about enforcement. It
came down to "Have your lawyer call my lawyer." In other words they were
telling us engineers that we need to study law and keep a paper trail of
what we use in designs.

At the end of the panel I kept thinking. The difference between a police
state and a totalitarian state is that a totalitarian state does not
require any paperwork before they take you away. At least now there will
be a paper trail. So much for the paperless society. I think that went
the way of Johnson's "Great Society."

I guess this went the way of other promises of my childhood. "Better
living through chemistry," the SST and vacations on the moon.

The conference was aimed at larger corporations, The ones that can spend
5 figures on Printed Circuit design software. At the same time there are
a number of "small" board shops that are looking to the low end of the
scale,  I was there to see if I could lower the cost of the PC board as
that is 50 percent of the cost of my MIDI file player.

If the RoHS (Reduction of hazardous Substance) laws are successful in
Europe, then California and the City of New York will implement similar
measures. This is not about lead. Cadmium, and some forms of Bromine and
Chrome are also illegal to sell into the EU after July 1st 2006.

What I sense it that a lot of the small time operators will go
underground. On the other hand this initiative is driven by the big
boys. The chip makers, who gain by having the consumer shoulder the
cost. If they do not need to purchase these substances and protect
themselves from damages, then they gain in the long run.

Still as one engineer in the panel discussion pointed out, 99% of lead
is used in storage batteries. The electronics lead only accounts for .01
percent of industrial lead use.

I am still waiting to see if these same European communities are willing
to sacrifice their cathedrals. Especially the windows, which are leaded
glass held together by lead, which needs to be replaces about every 150
or so years. Then there is the organ pipes (Mentioned) and the roofs of
these buildings.

We will also have to tear down the Forum in Rome, as the Romans used
lead expansion joints to hold things together. (In the 19th century some
of these were replaced with iron, which oxidized and split the stone due
to it's rigidity.)

By the way. Military and Medical are exempt from RoHS. And yes there is
an exception for bullets, as long as they are not hollow point.

I am going to send a separate posting from one of my microelectronics
forums.







Spencer_Lists wrote:

> Greetings Bob,
>
>
> As usual in our society, the media masks the real issue in trying to
> sell advertising. Lead is a poison and causes serious health problems.
> It is a good idea to not make your water pipes and food storage
> containers out of lead. It is also important to consider the effect of
> lead on young people and the effects of cumulative exposure of toxins
> of all types. It is not important to warn people that they must wash
> their hands after using their DVD player because it may contain lead.
> It is exactly this sort of practice that causes people to have no
> faith in information sources. Lead is bad, asbestos is bad, drugs are
> bad, unless they are sold by the same people who bought your "elected"
> officials.
>
>
> Monday, April 3, 2006, 12:02:01 PM, you wrote:
>
>>
>
>
>
> THANK you, Mr. Bullock, for talking SANELY about the lead
> non-issue!  I worked for the telephone company for 30 years working
> with lead-acid batteries and diesel engines, in asbestos-insulated
> rooms.  I do have several health problems, but NOT ONE of them is due
> to lead or asbestos!
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Bob
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> --
>
> Best regards,
>
> Spencer_Lists Chase        mailto:lists@...
>
> 67550 Bell Springs Rd.
>
> Garberville,  CA 95542    Postal service only.
>
> Laytonville, CA 95454    UPS only.
>
> Spencer@... <mailto:Spencer@...>
>
> http://www.spencerserolls.com
>
> http://www.spencerserolls.com/MidiValve.htm
>
> (707) 984-8356
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>     *  Visit your group "e-valves
>       <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/e-valves>" on the web.
>            *  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>        e-valves-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>       <mailto:e-valves-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>
>            *  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
>       Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>