[Project] Music Thing Radio Music 4hp sample player

[DoubleStop]

Just as info I did not read your other posts (no time right time sorry).
I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, but when I read what you describe here, I'd say the SD Card is not inserted.
I can't remember now 100% if it's the SD Card not inserted which does this or the firmware "test module", which means you should flash the last firmware on the Teensy again.

I think in a troubleshooting session, I may have done something unwise, and thus I think I fried the Teensy... At least it's not responding to anything at all now... So I don't know where the ultimate flaw in the system was.

I could spend a long time trying to debug my soldering... However, I think I will try again fresh. Since I can re-use some of the parts on my current (Dead) module.. it won't be terribly costly.

So I have re-visited the BOM on Mouser, and Ordered all the parts I need (including a new Teensy).. I have those parts now,

The only component I can't get at Mouser right now is this: Linear Voltage Regulators 0.1A Pos Volt Reg

they are apparently on "Backorder" I suppose I can cannibalize it from my current failed module.

I ordered new PCB's from Thonk.. using the lowest cost Air Mail option... (yeah I'm cheap! Mail overseas is expensive!!!) So I'm still waiting for PCB's.

[jwhtn]

Edit: Issue solved, but leaving this up in case, like me, this forum is the first place someone turns for tech support (even if that's not really what the forum is for).

Hi, guys.
I've searched through all 60(!) pages of this thread, but while I've seen some of the same issues, I haven't been able to find the solution...

I've just built it, and everything seems to play just fine, but it retriggers every time the station is changed via knob or cv. Thus, any station change restarts the sample, rather than playing in radio mode.

Some of the settings on the card work fine (pitch mode, immediate, looping), but crossfade settings don't seem to make a difference, nor using mute and declick (which may not even be relevant to the latest hardware, but I tried it out).

I've tried using the configurator, letting the module generate a settings file, and manually changing settings, to no avail.

The latest settings I've tried look like this:

mute=1
declick=30
crossfade=1
crossfadeTime=500
showMeter=1
meterHide=2000
chanPotImmediate=1
chanCVImmediate=1
startPotImmediate=0
startCVImmediate=0
startCVDivider=0
anyAudioFiles=0
looping=1

I suppose the mute and crossfade settings are conflicting at the moment, but I had the same results before adding the first two lines on my last attempt.

This looks like the same problem as in issue #4 on github, but that was fixed.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Edited to add: Oh, I also tried the chord organ firmware. It seems to be working as I'd expect, although the trigger light does flash when I change chords. I'm not sure if that's expected behavior or not.


SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION
Found while perusing replies to closed issues on github: someone suggested that this can be corrected by adding "loopMode=2" to the settings file. Everything is now working to my liking, and my settings file looks like so:

crossfade=1
crossfadeTime=500
showMeter=1
meterHide=2000
chanPotImmediate=1
chanCVImmediate=1
startPotImmediate=0
startCVImmediate=0
startCVDivider=0
anyAudioFiles=0
looping=1
loopMode=2

[DoubleStop]

RADIO MUSIC Experts: I recently Ordered new PCB's and parts and re-built the Radio Music Module.. I used the same SD card I had attempted to use in the last Radio Music attempt.

When I was done I had a problem:

The Module would not power up! I discovered that when I just plugged in the "back" PCB, the teensy would get power, but when I tried with the connected "front" PCB attached, the teensy would no longer get power.. (no 3.3v!) Pull it out again.. now it gets power! Weird.. After much consternation, teeth gnashing and troubleshooting I finally traced the problem to the SD card reader. When I pulled the MicroSD out of the slot, The Teensy gets power.. When I reinserted the card... No power. (Also, the voltage regulator gets hot!)

My assumption was that I had some short in the SD reader.. (though close examination with a magnifier showed no sign of any short at all!) .. In any case I completely removed the SD Card slot reader and replaced it with a another brand new one.

Boo hoo! Same problem exists!

The MicrosSD is a SanDisk 32GB. In the previous incarnation of the Radio Music I had successfully formatted it and Loaded the file structure .. I had things working (sort of..) .

This time.. with this weird SD card Power issue.. checked the MicroSD on my computer and discovered that its microSD is BURNT TOAST! Completely unrecognisable and unrecoverable! So I am ordering a new one.

But... HERE IS MY QUESTION: Could a corrupted MicroSD card actually cause the SD reader to short out like this?

[bedhed3000]

Hello, I am attempting to update the radio music firmware. I have the module plugged into my computer via USB and it is definitely powered (the module's LEDs light up). However, when I open the Teensy loader app and select the hexfile I get an error message that says: "Radio_Music_2017.2.hex too large!".

Based on the verbose error info, it looks like the device is not being recognized. Here are the details:

17:14:38.259: Teensy Loader 1.40, begin program
17:14:38.311: File "Radio_Music_2017.2.hex". 68016 bytes, 105% used
17:14:38.312: File contains data beyond chip size, yikes!
17:14:38.315: Listening for remote control on port 3149
17:14:38.315: initialized, showing main window
17:14:38.569: HID/macos: no devices found
17:15:47.427: Verbose Info event

I'm using a brand new USB cable and my computer is a Macbook Pro on OSX 10.11.6 El Capitan. A google search told me that certain Arduino devices will not be recognised on this OS, but I'm not sure if that applies here.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[batchas]

Hello, I am attempting to update the radio music firmware. I have the module plugged into my computer via USB and it is definitely powered (the module's LEDs light up). However, when I open the Teensy loader app and select the hexfile I get an error message that says: "Radio_Music_2017.2.hex too large!".

There are some USB cables which only allow the recharging via USB, not the transfer.

But if you know it's not a cable issue, here is how I pers. do:
I am uploading the firmware under OS X without issue via Arduino.app. I know you want to upload the hex file via Teensy.app, as you are not chaning the code and recompiling, but maybe worth a try if you do not get any direct solution to your question.

I downloaded first from the Github project page for Radio Music the "RadioMusic-master" folder.
In Arduino.app menu, I choose "Board >>> Teensy 3.2/3.1" (here you'll see at least if it's recognized or not), then I open the "RadioMusic-master >>> RadioMusic.ino" file and upload it to the Teensy.
It's compiling and uploading and takes a few secs more than directly via Teensy.app, but it might be a workaround solving your problem (again, if the USB cable is doing its job).

[bedhed3000]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the packaging for the cable I got, and it states that it is designed for data transfer, so I think it might not not a cable issue (not sure I 100% trust the packaging though).

I will go ahead and try using the Arduino app and recompiling the firmware from source as you suggested. Thanks!

UPDATE: This worked perfectly. Now I just have to find time to convert hundreds of samples from 32 bit stereo to 16 bit mono

[xenus_dad]

Hi all! I just built a Radio Music from a Thonk kit. It seems to be working correctly, after a test and a reflow of a couple joints. However, it's very quiet, relative to the other Radio Music I have in my rack.

The trim pot is turned all the way right (turned until I started hearing faint clicks, and then stopped). To be honest, turning the trim pot in either direction is not having any impact on volume, which makes me wonder if there are issues with it.

Has anyone seen this, by any chance?

Edit: I've confirmed my problem is on the bottom board (the board with the Teensy) on it. Since I now have two, I tried swapping the bottoms and tops with each other. My new bottom board is quiet with my old top board, and my new top board works perfectly fine with my old bottom board.

So, something's up with my new bottom. I'll keep looking. The trim pot still seems funny.

[ndf]

Maybe double check the resistors around the output: R3 8k2, R4 8k2, R5 330k and R7 1k. Also check your trimmer is 50k. Perhaps?

[xenus_dad]

Maybe double check the resistors around the output: R3 8k2, R4 8k2, R5 330k and R7 1k. Also check your trimmer is 50k. Perhaps?

They do all look good. The trimmer is one of the tall types with a screw extending out, that is ~25 turns, rather than the flatter type one turn type shown in the build doc.

In theory, I could remove the trim pot and just connect 1 & 3 with a lead to see if that's the problem, couldn't I?

[xenus_dad]

(removed and apologies for the noise...I'll figure it out! Thanks, MW)

Edit: So! I figured it out, finally. It was in fact a solder bridge. But, it was hiding from me:



Some solder had leaked through the holes and bridged on the other side, behind the pins and underneath the IC socket. That was a new one to me.

So, lesson for me: make sure your IC socket joints are tidy and clean, because it's easy to miss bridges under there.

Thanks for the help!

[motovilo]

I just found a possible critical error in Radio Music schematics. IC4D does not have any bias on positive input.

[paperCUT]

It's powered by dual supply rails so doesn't need a bias.

[motovilo]

It's powered by dual supply rails so doesn't need a bias.

Positive input must be pulled to ground.

[zer0point]

The issue (if I understand correctly) is documented here:

https://github.com/TomWhitwell/RadioMusic/issues/70

I added the resistor when I built mine and FWIW haven't had any problems.

[wogglebug]

Cool module!

The wiki talks about being "in between stations" getting a "rapid juddering sound". How does that work? Wouldn't the Station knob always select just one station with the potential of some fadeout of the old one? Why would it flip between two stations in certain knob positions?

wb

[bscooper]

Hello I need help. Its about my chord organ.
It won`t wake up when I power my case on. I have to unplug and plug in again with power on the cable. Then it worked.

Anybody any idea what the problem is? A capacitor or a wrong working diode? It has to be something with the power circuit.

Please help. I want to fix it.

[lohacker]

Hello I need help. Its about my chord organ.
It won`t wake up when I power my case on. I have to unplug and plug in again with power on the cable. Then it worked.

Anybody any idea what the problem is? A capacitor or a wrong working diode? It has to be something with the power circuit.

Please help. I want to fix it.

Try removing the SD card before power on then insert it again. This happens with my PSU3 too. It's discussed on here

[MrsWedge]

The circuit posted above is the standard Sallen-Key filter topology. It's a 2 pole lowpass with a third passive rc pole and non-inverting output gain stage. If it is incorrect , then there are many, many devices with bad circuitry out there.

[transistorcat]

The filter itself is the standard implementation of Sallen-Key, but the problem here is the coupling cap on the left.

We usually think of just the cap the entire coupling circuit, but what we really 'want' is a high-pass filter. If there is some resistive path to ground (i.e. low enough DC input resistance) we can omit this, but in the circuit above the node at the positive input is left floating.

[batchas]

EDIT: Moved to another post.

[Attackman]

On the Github Radio Music 2017 Firmware page it reads:

"Any Audio Files ( anyAudioFiles=1 )

Enabling the 'Read any wav files' option in the config generator or adding anyAudioFiles=1 to the settings.txt file will allow the module to read mono and stereo .wav files up to 96 khz 24 bit EXCLUDING 96/24/Stereo. 96/24/Mono are fine."

It WILL read mono and stereo wav? Or it will exclude reading 96/24/Stereo. Bit confusing.

I'm trying to troubleshoot some anomalies with file playback and would like to be certain I understand what file formats will and will not playback.

Can anyone confirm with certainty on what file types are read.

Thanks!

[degeneratedsines]

hi
here is the answer: https://github.com/TomWhitwell/RadioMus ... r.cpp#L240

otherwise put:
when not set, the option will only allow raw files (headerless 16bit mono wav files)
when set, the option will allow any wav files minus one specific configuration when Stereo + 24bit + 96khz are combined (too much memory).

[Attackman]

hi
here is the answer:

Thanks thats appreciated. Makes sense.

[Halfgeleider]

So been using the radio for some time now, all off a sudden the reset button i use to scroll trough the banks wont let me go further then 2 banks. First led burns, press reset long enough to choose another bank, first led goes out. I keep pressing the reset button but it just returns to the first bank and second bank...
Loaded the HEX file again, checked the text file but didnt find anything.
Any clues?

[templar]

Maybe the SD card has become corrupted? Could be worth reformatting it to see if it makes a difference