ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear

Let's Get Technical => All PREAMP Tech Tips & Support => Topic started by: Griphook on August 07, 2018, 10:59:29 AM

Title: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 07, 2018, 10:59:29 AM
Hey folks,
I dont have any luck with my ADA gear..
My Pitchtraq arrived and it is not as original as I thought. It got a MIDI-jack on the Back.

During Startup the dispalys shows as follows:
1. Everything blinkinbg a few times
2. 3.00
3. P 3
4. Ch 1
5. Lint (or something like that)
Is this normal behaviour?
I am using the Effect Out and I got a constant hum and a kinda distorted sound.
Addional I often get a really Loud Noise (about 5x the normal output). Depending on the used Program.

Any ideas on this?
Thank you in advance
Greets Griphook
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: peoriashows on August 07, 2018, 12:41:33 PM
Quite unique indeed since the Pitchtraqs never had MIDI. I'm really curious how they did this mod. I actually gave away (for free) one of my Pitchtaqs to a guy on the old ADA Depot who was working on a Midi mod for it. I told him the only thing he had to repay me with was to promise to mod my main Pitchtaq if he ever figured out how to do it. I never heard back from him and the old Depot crashed, so I'm wondering if he ever was able to make it happen. Did you happen to buy yours from a guy in Wisconsin,  USA?
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 07, 2018, 01:19:06 PM
No, I bought it from a guy in Germany. Unfortunately he can't (or just does not want to) tell me anything about that unit. He bought it together with a complete Rack, but never used the Pitchtraq.

I'll attach some Pictures of the Inside. It looks like someone really knew, what to do  :o
EDIT: I cant upload any pictures. Not .JP, nor .png. The files are about 2500KB large. So that should not be a problem, should it?

 
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 07, 2018, 03:01:49 PM
Hey Griphook, send the pics to my email and I'll have a look at it. But I can tell you it will not be a midi input. It seems it has some power supply issues.
Can you also make a small video so I can see what happends at startup?
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 08, 2018, 12:28:31 AM
Since the Files are too big for an E-mail, I just uploaded it as a .zip-File on Zippyshare. I hope, that is ok:
Here I got a Dropbox-Share. Hope this willl work.https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1n9fzvaiou34py/AAB_zoEgy4ASnTwtMOVNy6ada?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1n9fzvaiou34py/AAB_zoEgy4ASnTwtMOVNy6ada?dl=0)

EDIT: Edited the link. Uses now a share in my Dropbox.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 08, 2018, 02:18:33 AM
Can you use something else, the only thing I get are spam banners and my firewall and anti virus is going berserk on this site.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 08, 2018, 04:39:17 AM
hey MJMP,

Im sorry for that. Changed the Link in the Post above to a Dropbox-Share. I hope this works better:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1n9fzvaiou34py/AAB_zoEgy4ASnTwtMOVNy6ada?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1n9fzvaiou34py/AAB_zoEgy4ASnTwtMOVNy6ada?dl=0)
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 08, 2018, 07:14:39 AM
Wooow seems somebody did a lot of work on this one. Can you tell me on that brown extra board are 3 ic's, one is a Z80 but I can't read the other 2? But it looks it does have midi and someone wrote new software , wauw I'm impressed!! Now since this is new software it's impossible (unless you find the guy that did this) to know what all those things on the display mean. You could always restore it back to stock and see what that gives you?

Also I'm missing 2 big 3300µF/16V caps on the board.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 08, 2018, 02:34:53 PM
Hey MJMP,
unfortunately the other two ICs dont have anything written on them.Based on my knowledge about MIDI I would assume, the 6 Pin is something like an Optocoupler?
The other One? I dont know..
I ahve a few other questions:
What is the Z80 used for?The new software is based on the ADA-Midi v 3.00 Chip? Isn't it possible to readout the EEProm and maybe reconstruct the Code?

How do I restore it back to Stock?Which 2 Caps do you mean. Could this have something to do with my hum?
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 08, 2018, 03:35:28 PM
Yes the 6 pin is an opto, the other one I think is an UART chip, maybe a 82C51A, does it have 28 pins? The Z80 didn't have a serial port .

The pitchraq uses a Z80, they just added the extra board with the Z80 uart and opto and plugged it in the socket where the Z80 used to be. The last eprom version of the pitchraq was V2.07. I have the original code.

To restore it, just plug the Z80 back in the socket and you will need a V2.07 eprom. If you want I can send you one, no problem. See attached pic.

As you can see I have 2 big caps you don't have, near the front in the middle and on the right side.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 09, 2018, 05:18:33 AM
No, it only has 24 Pins.

So there is no possibility to Read the code from the Eprom?

I will send you an E-mail about the Eprom and probably other parts ;)

Greets Griphook
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 09, 2018, 06:56:04 AM
I can read the code if needed but I need the eprom.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 12, 2018, 07:59:16 AM
I think i can send it to you. Can be interesting to know, what has been coded^^
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 12, 2018, 02:12:03 PM
Yeah sure, could you send the whole board so I can see what they did, afterwards I'll ship it back and I also send an original eprom.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 13, 2018, 02:38:25 AM
I will do that :)

maybe you can recreate it and make it a mod to offer. This would be so awesome!
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 13, 2018, 08:29:54 AM
Have you tried it? does it work with a midi pedal?
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 15, 2018, 01:40:32 AM
I will try on Sunday. I have no MIDI-Pedal at home, only in the rehearsal room :|

I think, Ch.1 corresponds to MIDI-Channel 1, and the P 'Number' is the ProgramChange. But we'll see.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 15, 2018, 03:40:59 PM
I think I figured out what the other 2 ic's are. The 6 pin is a 4N38 and the 24 pin is an old MC6850 ACIA or asynchronous communications interface adaptor chip. This is actually on of the peripheral chips of MC6800 CPU line of Motorola.
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 16, 2018, 12:55:45 AM
How did you manage to do that?
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 16, 2018, 06:10:48 AM
Doing A LOT of research  :D and then compare it to the pcb layout you put on dropbox .
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: rnolan on August 16, 2018, 08:45:07 AM
MJMP,  :bow: , this has (obviously) got your interest LoL
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 16, 2018, 11:50:10 AM
Just imagine the possibilities with this. Improved firmware, made by "MJMP and Adadepot" :banana-trip:
...If it works  ::)
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: bunkyloo on August 17, 2018, 04:29:46 PM
Oh jeez that's one less footswitch that took me forever to get  :lol:
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: Griphook on August 20, 2018, 09:32:54 AM
I think it works.


It responds to ProgramChanges on Channel 1.
It also kind of changes Presets (P Number). But I did not figure out, how to correctly store a Preset under a specified P Number.


Currently P1 is always the same as P3, no matter, which Preset I start editing and storing.


Is there any possibility to reset the whole thing back to Factory Settings? I don't think, the guy who made this would change that command. Maybe it helps.
But anyways, I want to send it to you MJMP, if that is ok for you? :)
Title: Re: Pitchtraq with MIDI/ distorted sounding
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 20, 2018, 01:26:05 PM
You can copy the shadow programs into the 16 working registers like this

"LOAD ALL 16 SHADOW PROGRAMS 1. Press the STORE then simultaneously the SHADOW PRGM button This loads all 16 Shadow Programs into the main Program Storage Registers at one time   Important by transferring all 16 Shadow Programs into the Main Program Storage Registers, any programs you nave created will be erased "

But with the new software I'm not sure if that still works.

Yeah sure send it over, I'll have a look at it. :thumb-up: