Phantom of the Floppera

jmke · 10th February 2011, 16:09

Test run of my (d)iskette (O)rgan doing Toccata & Fugue. People have made floppy drives sing before, but this is my personal take on it.

Features two 3 1/2" drives and two 5 1/4" drives connected to a PIC18f14k50 microcontroller. It interfaces to any MIDI source via MIDI over USB. Straight MIDI would also be possible with an additional small circuit and some minor firmware changes. This initial version can respond to all 128 MIDI notes, and pitch bends +/- 2 semitones.

As it can produce only four simultaneous notes, and each drive has a different range and tonal characteristics, best results are obtained by arranging compositions by hand. However, it features two modes of operation: in one mode, MIDI channels 1 through 4 are played directly on floppy drives 1 through 4. In the other mode, all 16 MIDI channels are read, and notes are "intelligently" divvied out on a first-come, first-serve basis. "Note stealing" ensures that melody lines sound, but chords are often cut short. One or the other produces acceptable results for many unmodified MIDI files straight out of your favorite media player.

blackened · 12th February 2011, 13:29

I like this even more than the hdd playing the Imperial March..

10th February 2011, 16:09	#1
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	Phantom of the Floppera Test run of my (d)iskette (O)rgan doing Toccata & Fugue. People have made floppy drives sing before, but this is my personal take on it. Features two 3 1/2" drives and two 5 1/4" drives connected to a PIC18f14k50 microcontroller. It interfaces to any MIDI source via MIDI over USB. Straight MIDI would also be possible with an additional small circuit and some minor firmware changes. This initial version can respond to all 128 MIDI notes, and pitch bends +/- 2 semitones. As it can produce only four simultaneous notes, and each drive has a different range and tonal characteristics, best results are obtained by arranging compositions by hand. However, it features two modes of operation: in one mode, MIDI channels 1 through 4 are played directly on floppy drives 1 through 4. In the other mode, all 16 MIDI channels are read, and notes are "intelligently" divvied out on a first-come, first-serve basis. "Note stealing" ensures that melody lines sound, but chords are often cut short. One or the other produces acceptable results for many unmodified MIDI files straight out of your favorite media player. __________________

12th February 2011, 13:29	#2
blackened Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 79	Nice.. I like this even more than the hdd playing the Imperial March..

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
NZXT Phantom Case Review	jmke	WebNews	0	24th September 2010 15:55
NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case	jmke	WebNews	0	5th August 2010 15:55
NZXT Phantom Case	jmke	WebNews	0	29th July 2010 15:08
NZXT Phantom Review	jmke	WebNews	0	28th July 2010 10:02
Antec Phantom 500W	jmke	WebNews	0	21st February 2006 19:37
Antec Phantom 500 500W silent power supply	jmke	WebNews	0	19th January 2006 18:36
Antec Phantom 500 Power Supply	Sidney	WebNews	2	23rd August 2005 01:29
Logisys Phantom PC Case	Sidney	WebNews	0	23rd November 2004 06:30
Antec Revolutionizes Quiet Computing with Phantom Power Supply	jmke	WebNews	0	14th September 2004 23:10