This will be an implementation of the first of my three ideas for this class: Light and Color to MIDI Interface: Use photo and color sensors to generate control signals which are then translated into MIDI control data. To accomplish this I will use photocells as input to the BX-24, turn their varying voltages into MIDI data and output it over MIDI. This assumes I'll successfully learn how to program appropriate MIDI commands in Basic-X and I'll be able to wire the MIDI output electronics correctly. I'll have to jump ahead a few weeks to do that and I don't know how that will turn out. But I'll work on it and even if I don't make it work for this Midterm, at least I'll have a head start on implementing MIDI in my Final project.
I decided to use the freqOut command in BasicX for output. The MIDI example code I found only contained static values for note-on, note-off and velocity. What I need is some kind of example that use variable values which I can map to a MIDI continuous controller for output. FreqOut has three values so I can map the incoming voltages from three photocells to duration and 2 frequencies or pitches. I like the frequency modulation synthesis that happens when the light is right.
I also found a broken, radio-controlled car with a speaker in it that I use as the case for this project. This adds an interesting element of recycling/appropriation to the original idea of using light, color and space to generate and control sound. I'll connect the speaker to the BX-24 through the bread board as shown in the schematic below:
http://stage.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~tigoe/pcomp/examples/ana-io.html Analog I/O example.
Lawson, Cynthia. She corrected my Basic-X code.
Pressing, Jeff. Synthesizer Performance and Real-time Techniques. Middleton, WI: A-R Editions, Inc. 1992.
Scherz, Paul. Practical Electronics for Inventors, 1st Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing. 2000.