*BUILD LOG* 'CDJ 2000'-style DIY Traktor controller
*BUILD LOG* 'CDJ 2000'-style DIY Traktor controller Posted on: 14.10.2010 by Arcelia Siebeneck Just in the design stages at the moment but I'm pretty excited by this controller concept... believe it's pretty unique and is a good compromise between a performance 'midi-fighter-esque' controller and a more traditional CDJ/mixer combo. See what you believe:The screen is a 7" USB screen by Samsung (model U70) and is the most expensive part (about | |
| Louisa Oberc 24.03.2011 | They all seem to have a fairly long travel... That's been my problem as well... I have access to probably hundreds of buttons through a local supplier, but they don't stock more than 3 or 4 different types. I have to order from a picture, and while the look of a button is important, i could care less how sexy it is if it doesn't feel right... I need to push a button before i buy it I have a bunch of different types and have only found one that has the short travel i want, its just way too tall |
| Shay Wyche 24.03.2011 | Here's some buttons I've found. Don't know if they will be any use to you. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Momentary-Push...item2eb3b4359b http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Push-Button-Sw...item2a07d8a9c5 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Momentary-roun...item4aa9b13f65 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-off-RAFI-Re...item2a0db0d192 Edit .... Oops, just noticed these ones are normally closed, I don't know if you could use them and invert them in Traktor:S Links 3 and 4 look the best bet. |
| Louisa Oberc 24.03.2011 | My guess would be friction.. I'd believe twice about a permanent solution such as super glue, unless you are able to remove the panel without removing the caps. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 24.03.2011 | yeah - that's what I figured... 3.0mm aluminium is pretty thick; it'd have to take quite a bashing for it to break I'd have thought? As I said, I'm planning on reinforcing the controller by adding loads of supports under the panel - I believe it should be fine. I'm more concerned about what Archies said about my button choice... believeing of going down the microswitch route instead... can anyone figure out how these microswitch caps don't fall out of the panel? how are they mounted to the microswitch - do you have to superglue them on or something?! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/50pcs-white-7-...6#ht_500wt_922 |
| Kristopher Salta 24.03.2011 | 3.0mm Alu. is pretty rigid, but if you are going to paint/lacquer the surface i would recommend 2/2.5mm mild steel. Had to do this stuff for a DT project if you were wondering |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 24.03.2011 | hmm I don't really have a choice tbh - I guess I'll need to increase the thickness of the aluminium... what thickness would you recommend? also, don't forget the arcade buttons have a slight 'lip' to them - the holes that they sit in are a bit smaller and less close together... the mockup picture above is slightly misleading. |
| Allene Manitta 25.03.2011 | there are a lot of big holes on the left (arcade buttons, smaller buttons) of you faceplate. this makes the materail very weak, which might cause you a problem (especially with the tightly fit mini-buttons) when hammer down massive juggle-routines. better get more space between those to increase the stability of you faceplate! |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 24.03.2011 | That's a pretty good solution actually - believe I'll give that a go... doubt I'd be using the gains and the filters at the same time What thickness would you recommend? 3.0mm thick aluminium adds quite a bit to the costs. The base of the controller is almost certainly going to be MDF wood. This means I'll be able to put some supports inside the case to keep the panel rigid. What's the typical panel thickness of Pioneer and A&H mixers? And yeah, Front Panel Designer allows you to design holes that are countersunk for screws. I'm going to get a DJTT VCI style plastic laminated faceplated printed anyway, so it'll cover up all the screws. Yeah, I wired up the buttons to an Arduino last week and found the same thing myself. And I know from owning the XP10's that stiff buttons are a real pain (as I'm sure you'll agree!). I don't believe these buttons are particularly stiff but you do need to press them quite a distance before they activate. Of course, I'll make sure that they're sticking far enough out of the panel but I wonder if these particular buttons are the best choice? You got any other recommendations for similar sized buttons? And nah, I definitely don't take any of what you've said as criticism! That's the whole reason for this thread; need to get as much feedback as possible before I commit myself to a particular design. Please keep the comments coming - I've still got a long way to go and a LOT to learn! |
| Shay Wyche 23.03.2011 | What would be wrong with using the top encoders for both Gain and Filter (with the shift button)? How often do you use the filter? Are you looking to use something else with these controls? Also, you may find that cutting so much out of your panel will weaken 2.5mm metal (I'm assuming you're using aluminium) Speak to whoever you're using for the metalworking process and tell them that it's important that you can travel with this thing. Also get countersunk flat headed screws to secure anything on the top surface of the mixer section. I recognise the smaller buttons you have there, and you may have to watch the amount of travel on them before they activate if you are mounting them below the front plate. The measurements look a bit tricky. Please don't take any of this as criticism, I'm only trying to point out anything I can see before you run in to trouble. I'm 100% behind you on this project. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 23.03.2011 | since I'm not using the Traktor main screen it doesn't actually matter which decks I use. I could order them ABCD and just use decks A and D for the main track playback for example. My 8" Traktor Clone display doesn't care about the original layout of the Traktor GUI since it's rearranging the GUI to suit my controllers needs, not the other way around! Nice one re the DB4; I'll definitely consider that |
| Tatum Ansaldo 23.03.2011 | never let it be said the MiLO is unambitious. Love the project man. Thought about a DB4 style staggered offset EQ section to give you space to work? Also, this is just a mapping issue unless you're printing labels for the faceplate, but are you sure you want an ABCD deck order rather than an S4 style CABD order so A and B are adjacent? |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 23.03.2011 | like this? if I move the eq, gain and filter so that they're all lined up like a traditional mixer then it doesn't actually give you any more room for your fingers (slightly less tbh): btw - only 3 cues per deck as I'm also going to be making 2 x midifighter clones after I've finished this! |
| Ok Moroski 23.03.2011 | I'd add LED feedback if you aren't going to already, and only 3 cues per deck would be a bit meh for my workflow. Also having the filter knobs nested in the EQs like that would drive me nuts and possibly would cause my fingers to bump against the EQ knobs. Pretty cool and innovative though. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 23.03.2011 | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6bIH_IvZNM would appreciate some feedback regarding the placement of buttons near the filter controls for each deck... probably got enough room for 4-5 buttons per channel... obviously I need 'cue' and sync buttons but what else? |
| Louisa Oberc 21.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by etch
There's a couple midi libraries out there, the one I'm using (http://timothytwillman.com/itp_blog/?page_id=240) is a little odd when dealing with midi in, but that oddness allows for great flexibility and efficiency... |
| Louisa Oberc 21.03.2011 | Or instead of daisy chaining, you could use a powered usb hub instead of chaining midi... |
| Chau Honrado 21.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by DjNecro
but im pretty sure that by connecting a hardware bridge on the underside of the chip you can use the onboard ICSP header to directly access the ATmega8, and by desoldering this bridge you can then use the ICSP to access the ATmega328 the main reason for doing so is purely a point of personal interest,
Originally Posted by MiL0
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| Arcelia Siebeneck 16.03.2011 | exactly! also, you can daisychain multiple midi devices together inside the case and they will appear as one usb device to your pc/mac... much neater and less programming |
| Louisa Oberc 16.03.2011 | The biggest difference between using an off-board midi-usb to reprogramming the onboard programmer would be the lack of programming ability after words... The arduino UNO's have a dedicated atmega chip that handles serial to usb conversion and the programming of the main chip. If you reprogram it to function as a usb->midi converter, you lose all of it's programming abilities. So if you wanted (or needed) to change the code for your midi project, you would have no choice but to remove the main chip and program it externally... If you use the external adapter, you kind of get the best of both worlds... usb-midi, AND the ability to reprogram the main chip. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 16.03.2011 | that's exactly what I'm doing - don't really see the problem with making the Arduino a midi device... it actually makes things easier if you're using various other midi devices in the case, as I am (Highly Liquid CPU, Arduino, etc) Here's the latest draft: http://gyazo.com/61ff72f9924ea628f5e88405b004a1bc.png Front Panel Designer tells me it's going to cost 100 euros including VAT to get it cut (2.5mm raw aluminium - gonna get an adhesive printed sticker to go on top to give it a nice finish). I might hunt around for a better price lol... |
| Louisa Oberc 16.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by etch
In my opinion, the best (and most versatile) method would be to embed a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Converter-Music-Keyboard-Window/dp/B0017H4EBG"]Amazon.com: USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP, Mac OS: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31l6n6mRLyL.@@AMEPARAM@@31l6n6mRLyL[/ame] usb-serial adapter directly into the project. Just open it up, hack off the cables and wire it right in... BAM! instant usb-midi.... This leaves you the ability to reprogram the arduino with minimal effort. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 16.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by safefire
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...T#ht_812wt_906 delivered from China but took less than a week to arrive they fit really perfectly on to these pots: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Linear-Potenti...item2561c52f44 |
| Chau Honrado 15.03.2011 | ok cool, yea till i can work out how to reprogram the Atmega on the actual arduino (somethings thats probably not going to happen anytime soon!) im currently using a software repatch but believeing of heading the hardwired midi route and excited to hear more!! |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 15.03.2011 | I'm going to install a midi connector directly to the arduino (so pretty much like using the midi shield). Got an exciting new addition to this controller that I'm developing at the moment... something pretty unique; more news soon! |
| Chau Honrado 15.03.2011 | still really excited about this project, was wondering, are you planning to have the Arduino outputting midi directly via USB, via a midi shield or are you going to use software on the computer to convert the serial output to midi? |
| Lewis Stumpf 13.03.2011 | Looking mint Milo, real nice work Where'd you get the caps for the pots though? I've been looking all over for some decent caps, but no luck. Can't wait for the next update |
| Louisa Oberc 13.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by marTTyn
Once you get the hand of soldering, it's not that much of a pain to solder the solid post style (as opposed to having a hole in the post). The best tip I can give is to strip about a half inch of wire and wrap it into a loop, slip it over the post and solder while holding the wire in place (one handed). The 'trick' to how I solder with one hand is to use flux. Flux is solder's friend. It doesn't matter how clean the parts look to you, they're filthy as far as solder is concerned. Flux is used to clean the surfaces that are going to be soldered together. Which is why most electronics solder has a tiny bit of it inside the solder. However if you gather a blob of solder on the tip of your iron you end up burning all the flux away, so there is nothing to help clean the surfaces. I bought a small bottle (125ml) and transfered about half of it into a squeeze bottle with a needle tip (I've only used about half of the squeeze bottle in about a year). Get your wire in place and put a few drops of flux over the post and wire (that you've curled into a ring and slipped over the post). Then just gather a small blob of solder on your iron's tip and apply to the wire and post. The flux will boil off and clean the post and wire. The neatest part is that the solder will wick into the gaps all by its self There is plenty of videos online about it, but if there is interest I can put one together highlighting the components we would use the most. |
| Sharyn Prado 13.03.2011 | Just picked up this topic... keep going fella, its nice to see something different |
| Maryanne Weatherill 13.03.2011 | Still watching this with great interest and dont worry you will get used to soldering very fast just make sure its not blobby and messy. |
| Carlena Dechand 13.03.2011 | Wouldnt that make it more difficult? |
| Louisa Oberc 13.03.2011 | I believe he is referring to the following type of solder post: In which you would do the following: |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 13.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by DjSweekUh
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| Louisa Oberc 12.03.2011 | I've soldered using those 'holes' dozens of times without issue. I am assuming that you are referring to these holes: |
| Carlena Dechand 12.03.2011 | Just been through the thread end to end... Very interesting build MiL0, going to keep an eye on this. |
| Soon Zafer 12.03.2011 |
Originally Posted by Archies'bald
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| Arcelia Siebeneck 10.03.2011 | ah nice one Archie - I just tried snipping the little tab off with a pair of leatherman pliers and it came off really easily! I was believeing that it didn't matter if I had to make the little holes in the perspex as I'm planning to put a sheet of adhesive printed/cut plastic on top (with all the controls printed in text) so it would cover up any screw heads, scratches and/or excessive holes. Not having to make the holes will certainly be a lot easier when it comes to the real thing! (although I'm considering getting the face cut professionally). yeah I thought that was possible but thanks for confirming - believe it'll definitely be easier than soldering wires to pin headers... I'm believeing about using the breadboard jumper cables I've got to solder into the potentiometer holes - you believe that'd work? and thanks for the encouragement - it might take me the rest of this year but I'm not going to give up! (also, I've spend a fair old amount of cash now... be stupid to stop!) |
| Shay Wyche 10.03.2011 | A couple of quick tips for your pots. It's possible to break the annoying little tabs on the pots by using a pair of pliers. Just give the tab a little twist at the base and it should snap off flush. Don't worry about the pots turning too much in the case, most of them come with a spring washer which compresses once tightened and stops the pot from turning. When soldering the pots it's possible to put the cables in to the little holes above the posts and solder by filling in the hole. Just make sure to cut any lengths of wire which go through the back and may touch any part of the case (or any other conductive part). I'm really impressed with how you're going about this, keep up the good work and you'll get your reward. |
| Arcelia Siebeneck 10.03.2011 | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSFLhPudEBc |
| Maryanne Weatherill 23.02.2011 | Alot of work done. But alot of work ahead. Good Luck keep us posted please. This looks amazing. |
| Matthew Yanagisawa 21.02.2011 | This is amazing. Please remain focused and finish this project!! |
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