My Virtual Organ Project

[jbird604]

Nice arrangement. We all have different needs and opinions relating to pistons. That looks like a setup that would satisfy most people.

I'm not a professional player, just an amateur who enjoys playing hymns and improvising on hymn tunes. Thus my pistons requirements are modest. My VPO currently has 10 generals, plus cancel and set. And four more pistons for accessing the rest of the 1000 possible storage combos in Hauptwerk. Some folks would want a more complicated setup, but this is all I need.

[Aduragbemi]

An example of piston arrangement that I may implement with the rest of the Arduino real estate.

[myorgan]

That should serve your purposes for a day or two! ;-) Thanks, as always for sharing your build progress and the accompanying stories. It's nice to see a pocket of VPO and organ music on the coast of Nigeria. I envy your progress with the organs in just under a year. I'm ashamed my garage has taken over 4 years!

Michael

[Aduragbemi]

This VPO was meant to have 64 thumb pistons and 18 toe studs. That's massive. And I can do that if I really want to. But I have come to a conclusion that I really don't need then that many. Going the massive route will mean using an Arduino Mega in addition to the one in the pedalboard. But I have used the Arduino for the new project, while I have up to 35 unused inputs (using the modified Parallel Code) on the Arduino in the pedalboard. Plus, there are 3 sustain ports on the manual PCBs that I can connect to (something that I figured out in the latest project). Those inputs should be sufficient for the pistons and the toe studs.

Therefore, in the coming days I will be reviewing and redesigning the reduced piston/stud arrangements.

[Aduragbemi]

I got another computer for this VPO.


Specifications
HP EliteDesk 800 G2 DM.
Processor Core i5 - 6500T CPU @ 2.5GHz, 4 cores.
8GB DDR4 RAM @ 2133MHz - definitely I will expand to at least 16GB.
256GB SSD hard disk.
6 USB ports.
Windows 10 OS

[Aduragbemi]

Hello there! It's been ages that I gave an update on this particular project - my very first home-made VPO console. That is because actually I have not done anything about it since the last update. At a stage during the construction, I was kinda dissatisfied that it was not going to be easily portable. Hence I decided to build another VPO, a smaller one, that will fulfil this desire. The process is documented here https://organforum.com/forums/forum/...-vpo-project-2

The original VPO-2 is also unfinished, because I diverted many of its resources into finishing the Memorial VPO-2B. I also used some resources from this organ to complete the latest project, including the desktop computer, the Arduino Mega for the thumb pistons, 10 thumb pistons and 2 toe studs (I never got the pistons and studs wired anyway). Now that that one is completed and out of my crib to a friend's church for the next one month, I want to focus on making this VPO functional again and drive the project to a conclusion.

[Aduragbemi]

GRANDORGUE CRESCENDO: UPDATE

The Crescendo Panel now has and OVERRIDE switch. When the switch is off, manually-drawn stops will be unaffected by crescendo/decrescendo.

[Larason2]

I like the toe studs too! As long as you don’t bash them, they should hold up. The metal ones are made the way they are so that if someone really bashes them with their foot they won’t break. The lamp holder should be ok, but the plastic button will crumble if really bashed.

[Aduragbemi]

I have not wired them up. When I do, I hope they'll do well.

[SJV]

Truly ingenious work, I take it they are sturdy enough and are holding up well?

[Aduragbemi]

it has been quite a while... I have been busy with some other engagements. All along, I finally decided the toe stud arrangement - 10 studs to the left, in two rows of 5; and 8 studs to the right, in two rows of 4. There are 18 toe studs in total. Too many I'd say, but that's not much issue because they are inexpensive and there are up to 32 input pins available on the pedalboard Arduino to accommodate them.

[gtc]

Interesting combination there!

The quality of the switch contacts is usually important. (Contact bounce can be a concern for some applications.)

[Coenraads]

Your ingenuity and creativity never ceases to amaze me. Press, don't stomp, and these should work just fine.
Well done.

[Aduragbemi]

Toe Studs

While preparing to wire the pistons, I felt the need to do the toe studs along.

Here's what I'm improvising for toe studs: 30mm diameter momentary push button, screwed down into the base of an angled lamp holder.



Will they work? Yes, I'm certain they will.

Will they last? Really, I don't think so. There must be reasons why toe studs are made of brass or other metals, and durability must be one of them. That's why they can't be cheap. Anyway, they are not easily available here. So let me stretch my DIY imagination a bit, and enjoy my One-Dollar-Disposable-Plastic-Toe-Studs while they last, or until Providence brings the real toe studs my way.

[Aduragbemi]

I have trimmed the natural keys to make way for the incoming thumb pistons.