a project I've been asked to build...

[Johan Persson]

> I've been asked by a drummer friend of mine to build a visual
> display to help her keep in time with a sequencer. Something
> that can just hang off the end of a MIDI chain and flash
> four lights in time with the incoming MTC.
>
> So I'm thinking that before I go looking up MIDI specs and
> playing around with UARTS or some other elctrickery I'd
> better check that one of you geniuses hasn't already done it:)

Well, actally I have more or less just finished a project with the goal
of reading MIDI data and make it as cheap as possible. It's based around
a Microchip PIC 16C84 (a cheap EEPROM micro controller widely used for
pirating satellite channels, in case you didn't know...). So, no UART
needed, cause I read the incoming data bit by bit with the crystal as
timing reference. And, believe it or not, it even works :).
Of course, it may be a bit overkill, cause all you really need is to
read one message (?). And besides you have to burn the PIC. Anyway, it's
one solution!

Johan Persson