MIDISpeak Problem

[John]

S. writes:

i recently got your midi kit for a speak and math and finally got it all hooked up today. when i power up i get a display full of zeros and no sound except for a faint high pitch. also none of the game functions work except for power up/off. i see that when i send a midi note the display flashes a bit. any ideas on what may be causing it to not function?

There is most likely a short circuit or incorrect connection somewhere in the install. Have you double-checked your connections?

Also, how are you powering the host Speak & Math? The MIDISpeak requires battery power only.

The flash on the screen when MIDI is received is normal--this means that your MIDI setup & wiring are correct. Please let me know, and we'll diagnose the problem.

[John]

S. writes:

i managed to get it working (kind of). when i powered up and went to "word problems" i did not get a "0" in the display but i was still able to trigger glitches from my keyboard.

Ok, did you press the "0" button after entering "word problems"? That's the only way to get the 0. It's necessary because the MIDISpeak needs to use the display refresh signals for timing purposes. The speech commands share the same data bus, so they must be injected between display refresh cycles.

i thought i would try changing the dip switch settings to just a 5 instead of 5 and 6, repowered up and it stopped receiving midi. i switched it back to the 5 and 6 settings and now it is not working at all although the toy functions normally.

You'll have to completely power off (take out the battery) and then power back on for DIP switch settings to take effect. Stick with the recommended "5 & 6 on" setting.

[John]

The problem was diagnosed--there were short circuits in the wiring.

S. writes:

prob was my connect wire was way too big for the project. i usually use wrap wire for bending but used some stranded hook-up wire i had for the midi mod, way too big and caused some short circuits.