External push button

OWL
#1

My OWL got a little brother.

It’s just a momentary switch. I added a jack to the OWL connected to PE_2 and GND, so it is the same as the push button. It’s handy for tap-tempos.

#2

BTW, sorry for the quality, my phone has a horrible camera :smiley:

#3

Ahwww… That’s adorable! Great work!

#4

I assume you’ve kept the expression port for another function? Could the factory expression port be used for this though?

#5

That’s right. My first thought was to use the expression input, but I use the expression a lot.

You could make a switch that emulates an expression simply by putting a SPDT switch instead of a potentiometer. Probably a momentary switch is the best option. This way, you would detect your foot with ( getParameterValue( PARAMETER_E ) > 0.5 )

#6

Oh! By the way, if you only want to detect the moment when you push/release the button you need a state variable. Something like the function pollState( ) on this patch:

https://hoxtonowl.com/patch-library/patch/Grain/

In this patch I use the expression pedal in this way:

  • If I am pushing AND was NOT already pushing -> PUSH
  • If I am pushing AND was already pushing -> NOTHING
  • If I am NOT pushing AND was NOT already pushing -> NOTHING
  • If I am NOT pushing AND was NOT pushing -> RELEASE

I hope this was a clear explanation. Probably not. :smiley:

#7

Thanks Jose! I’m not totally flash with the code side but thinking of the mechanics of the switch itself; it wants to be a clickless momentary switch but I’ve read reference to normally open or normally closed switches. And that a normally closed switch is better because then the ‘tap’ is on the down push. Any thoughts?

#8

I just saw that I messed up in the last line on my previous post. It should be:
– If I am NOT pushing AND was pushing -> RELEASE

I’m using a normally open switch but I don’t see the difference. In the end, you will detect flanks, rising and falling, so you would invert the logic and your’e done.

In your case, you need a SPDT (Single Pole Dual Throw). These have a normally open lug and a normally closed lug, so if you want to try, you just have to solder the lugs the other way around. But as I said, I don’t see any difference except for the logic on the code.

#9

Awesome idea. I will have to copy this. Any normal momentary switch will do?
Did you encounter any problems working inside the OWL?

#10

@jayrope, a normally open momentary switch.

In order to make the drill, you need to unscrew everything and pull gently, It will come out right off.

Be careful with the jack nuts. They damage the plastic thread easily.
(Note to the OWL people: I would split the board in 2, so the jacks would pass through the enclosure.)

And I found a firmware problem. When powering up the OWL, if something is connected to the new connector, the OWL will blink red three times and won’t run. I think it is some capacitive effect. I need to take a look on this.

By the way, this connector will expose a digital pin to the world. Do not connect anything but a switch. Putting more than 3.3V could damage the pin.

1 Like
#11

@JoseFuzzNo Is the switch wired to the pushbutton?
Holding the pushbutton down when powering on makes the device enter DFU mode, which is what you see when it flashes three times. If the remote switch is connected to the same pin, it will also trigger this mode when active (circuit closed).

#12

Yes, it must be.

But it will enter in DFU mode whether the button is active or not. Even without the switch (only the cable) it will enter DFU mode. That’s why I think it is some sort of capacitive effect.