Atmel Flip Software Download
Barb Magario
I have downloaded and installed Flip 3.4.7.112 using all the default settings and have connected, shorted, and reset my board as per the instructions. When I attempt to connect to the ATMEGA 32U2 device via USB I get the following error messages:
For the record I have tried both the download link in the instructions from the drop box (link is broken at this time) and I have downloaded it direct from the Atmel web site (same file). I am using a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit machine and have checked all my drivers and updates.
I've been dealing with this for days.. It all started when I tried to install new firmware via APM Planner 2.0.18 and it told me it couldn't contact the bootloader. Subsequent googling led me to forums with information similar to this one.
In device manager all I get when I "reset" the ArduCopter (by connecting the two pins w needle nose pliers) is the sound of a usb device being disconnected and "Ports (COM & LPT) > USB Serial Device (COM3)" goes away. When I remove the pliers that same device shows up again, nothing changes with flip because I still hear that the dll is not found. It's troubling that I don't even see the ATMega device. Maybe my board is fried.. Any ideas?
OK for anyone who is interested I figured it out and was able to update the eeprom. What you need to do is update the device driver AFTER you boot the APM board and install the jumper and reset the Atmega32U2 (as per the instructions).
Right click on the ArduinoMega 2560 DFU and select 'Update Driver', browse to the location where your FLIP application is installed and find the 'USB' folder. For me that location was 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Atmel\Flip 3.4.7\usb'. Now click 'Next' and complete the update of the device driver. This may take a moment so be patient. Once it successfully competes follow the instructions for updating the PPM encoder here.
For this project we'll need an Arduino Mega or UNO that has either a 16U2 or a 8U2 chip for USB communication. I'm using a Mega with a 16U2 chip. Many chinese manufacturers use a cheaper one on their arduinos, but only these work with the firmware we will be flashing in order for the computers to recognize our Arduino as a MIDI device without any tinkering.
To flash HIDUINO onto the board you download the Atmel Flip software, put your arduino in DFU mode (here's how's it done with an arduino Mega, note that you may need to solder a couple of header pins if yours doesn't come with them already installed)
Then click on your arduino on the device manager, and install the corresponding driver to it. You will find them inside the flip installation. Open FLIP, click the chip icon, select your chip, click the usb icon, open the connection, press file -> load hex file and load the HIDUINO firmware (choose the appropiate file from the list). Then just click run and your Arduino will be recognized as a midi device the next time you plug it into any computer.
The hardware part of this build is pretty straightforward. It's mainly a shield for the Arduino consisting of a perfboard, a MPVZ4006GW7U pressure sensor (reads from 0 to 0.87 psi, from what my research has revealed it's the optimal range for capturing human blow), a melodica hose (that luckily for us just fits right onto the sensor and is sold separately) and, optionally (explained in step 3), three capacitors. The connection diagram looks like this:
Why am I saying it's optional? Because experimentally, the noise reduction attained is neglegible as the arduino resolution on the analog pins is pretty low, and MIDI protocol has only 7 bits which is an even lower resolution. A change in a few mV won't affect the functioning of the breath controller.
Now that the breath controller is a fully functioning usb midi device, you just have to enable it on any port inside your Digital Audio Workstation, launch your VST and make sure that the expression control is mapped to channel 11, as we're sending our sensor readings through that one:
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