Getting input from this keybed, where do I start?

Using Arduino Audio
1

Hello everyone, I am grateful to have found this community.

I am planning a project that will use a couple Fatar keybeds out of a StudioLogic SL-161, connected to an Arduino board (hopefully), then sending Midi data into a Raspberry Pi 2 which will host some VST's or a similar tech to provide sounds.

The first thing I need to do is map out the connectors to figure out which pins are for power, ground, etc.. I have requested a schematic from Fatar but they haven't gotten back to me, I doubt they will give me any support.

Here is a list of questions I hope members of this community can help me with:

  1. How do I go about mapping out which pin is for what purpose on the keybed? I have 2 x 16 pin ribbon cables, and a 4-pin ribbon. My best guess is that the 4-pin is for power and ground at least. How do I figure out which is which?

  2. Is there a way I can attach a new connector to the ribbon cables with the red connectors? I don't think those are a very common connector, but I could be wrong. If so, can someone point me in a good direction for this?

  3. Which Arduino board can handle this input? Besides the 62 keys on the keybed, I also want to attach another 20-25 knobs or faders, and possibly some LEDs.

My goal is to have everything connected to a plug on an auxiliary board where I can make the proper connections with solder.

Here is a shot of the bottom of the keybed:

Here is one of the two 16-pin red connectors that come out of the keybed:

And the red 16-pin connector:

Here is the 4-pin blue connector that comes out of the side of the keybed:

My background:

Computer programming (C#, C++, VB).
Some understanding of electronics.
Solid understanding of higher level MIDI communications.

2

Step 1: Find a synth that uses that particular keybed (maybe Kurzweil?)

Step 2: Get the service manual for that synth.

3

danderman123:
Step 1: Find a synth that uses that particular keybed (maybe Kurzweil?)

Step 2: Get the service manual for that synth.

I have discovered my keybed are almost exactly same design as Fatar's current offerings. I hope they will give me access to their electrical schematics. If they don't, I realized I can make my own schematic by measuring the output from the parentboard in the Fatar SL-161 which these keybeds come from.

That leads me to the next step, finding the right Arduino board to connect these to.

4

https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=84728&view=next&sid=5b31b61c837a6e4371e0dc673ea0e527

A discussion about a similar issue.

5

I have made some progress on this project, but I still need to figure out how to calculate velocity. I really wish I could find an open project where someone has accomplished this already!

6

Why not just use the midi output the Fatar keyboard already provides? That is a nice midi controller, I hope you haven't butchered it.

7

CrossRoads:
Why not just use the midi output the Fatar keyboard already provides? That is a nice midi controller, I hope you haven't butchered it.

The Fatar 61 key keybeds I have for this project do not provide any midi output. The SL-161 has a very bad case design which allowed the logic board in these units to break very easily. Fatar stopped shipping replacement boards years ago as they ran out. There are a zillion SL-161s floating around out there with bad boards. My intention is to put them to good use.

Sorry, but the SL-161 is not a nice midi controller. It has been a dog since it was released. The keybed was great, but the cheap plastic case the SL-161 shipped in was flawed and not good. Fatar butchered it themselves by shipping it with such a flimsy case.

8

I guess we have something different. I think ours is full 88 keys and weighs a ton as I recall. Very nice piano action feel, my wife learned to play on it for several years until she decided she needed a real piano for the more subtle feel a real piano offers.

I think it's this one, I got it used at Guitar Center quite a while ago.
http://www.studiologic-music.com/sl-990-pro.html

What kind of parts are on the electronics board?

9

CrossRoads:
I guess we have something different. I think ours is full 88 keys and weighs a ton as I recall. Very nice piano action feel, my wife learned to play on it for several years until she decided she needed a real piano for the more subtle feel a real piano offers.

I think it's this one, I got it used at Guitar Center quite a while ago.
http://www.studiologic-music.com/sl-990-pro.html

What kind of parts are on the electronics board?

The SL-990 doesn't suffer from the same case design flaw that the SL-161 does. The board in the SL-990 is nearly identical to the SL-161's board except for the Micro-Match connectors on the 161 are only 16 pin, and the 990 are 20 pin, this is to accommodate the larger matrix required to pick up input for the extra 27 keys.

The difference is: the SL-990 has a great case that doesn't flex, the SL-161 has a terrible all plastic case that flexes when picked up without perfectly even weight distribution. The flexing of the SL-161 case causes the control board to flex and components on the board break.

I could repair the boards, but I have something different in mind for these keybeds.

10

Not sure if iam on the same subject concerning the Fatar SL161 but i would to know if some one
has solve the problem with the faulty board or has replace it with other board, arduino or similar.
Please let me know because i have the same problem