Re: SFX2Pc-MIDI (fwd)

From: Hársfalvi, Levente (levente_at_terrasoft.hu)
Date: 2001-02-27 08:01:09

Hi!


> 
> ....this through a big search on the web regarding the Commodore SFX
> Sound Expander and specially the external keyboard. I'm trying to find
> out if its possible to give the external keyboard a MIDI interface which
> is useful on my pc. In other words: I want to use the external keyboard
> on my Pc...  i'm sick of the c64 sounds. ;)

Lucky you, owning a real SFX keyboard ;-).

As I remember, from the technical side the SFX keyboard is just a bunch
of switches (similarly to normal keyboards), organized in a matrix-like
structure. It is 'passive' and in the original system it is scanned by
the SFX software, through a port in the SFX sound expander register map.

For using it on your PC, you'll have to build something that queries its
state and transforms this information into MIDI messages. This is pretty
much beyond my current knowledge, but have some suspects that it would
be the easiest by using a microcontroller.

Probably some people have built homemade MIDI keyboards. Their plans /
docs could be helpful if you find some (their hardware / software design
could be used with just few modifications). ...If you're not that good
in microcontroller tech, you're probably out of luck (writing the
software for the C64 should be similarly problematic, and the
availability of a MIDI interface for the C64 shows even less promise).


Best regards,


L.

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