Hi all,
after trying to get a 6N136, then a 6N138 for MIDI to talk to my arduino Uno (rev 2 and 3) boards, I gave up and bought a Sparkfun MIDI shield...but still no joy. It worries me that the arduino can be programmed when the MIDI shield is in "run" mode, whereas when I built a homemade 6N138 interface this was not the case. Any suggestions?
Cheers,
s
PS - I already got +5V from my oscilloscope (but no digital MIDI signal on the scope) with the homemade interface.
My soldering is good.
I've tested with the original MIDI_Shield sketch from Sparkfun (although I had to debug it as it's out of date).
Serial.println() doesn't work in the latest Arduino version (bug)
My arduino has an external power supply connected.
Serial.println() doesn't work in the latest Arduino version (bug)
Beg pardon?
What version are we talking about here, this is a major problem if true or might be some symptom of something you are doing wrong.
What code are you using to test it and what MIDI hardware are you trying to communicate with?
I am using the code that Sparkfun publish with the device. Also trying code from the MIDI library for arduino. Nothing works. I've tried writing my own code, working with the MIDI library and tweaking the Sparkfun code. Even the code from Sparkfun does not work on its own.
MIDI is a really simple protocol, and yet it's foxed me! I think it might be a hardware issue (e.g. not enough current to the shield, or my homemade boards)
I've tried this:
And this (Example arduino sketch at the bottom of page):
And all examples from the arduino MIDI library.
No MIDI in, nothing works.
Grumpy_Mike:
and what MIDI hardware are you trying to communicate with?
Oh-goofed! 
Re-arranged my sketch because it's clear pins 0-7 need to be hooked into the arduino! Dumb mistake.
That is what they get for selling the board without the stackable headers!
Well, it works now XD
s
To clarify - with the MIDI shield, you can forget about using pins 0-7 for anything, and I was stupid enough not to wire pin 0 (receive - RX) into the arduino,
I soldered a header to connect the MIDI shield to the arduino, and it works now. BUT - I was using a M-M header I had lying around. The lack of stackable headers with the MIDI shield is a silly omission (since you have to solder everything else onto the board) but who gives a *$£# - they don't make them any more.
s
So- pins 0-7 are connected to the arduino from the MIDI shield. It works now. Good night 