Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 57 posts

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#31

Post by 3D30497420 »

RUnconcerned wrote: post #13
prmoustache wrote: post #10

Unless the faders are motorized, which I believe are expensive, I don't see how you can make that thing work reliably without some nasty surprises. What happens if you change the levels through software and your faders do not move? I would just have used rotary encoders.

Audio software will typically allow you to configure a soft takeover, where you must move the fader or knob until it matches the software value, and only then does it take over, to eliminate these surprises. Rotary encoders are just not as good for controlling volume as faders.

Curious why rotary encoders aren't as good. I'm guessing because you cannot visually see the volume or the potential range based on the state of the interface? (E.g., How much is 1 tick of the rotary encoder? Who knows?)

I've been thinking about using a rotary encoder for lights to deal with this problem specifically (light state being out of sync with a fader/pot). I figure I'll just have software figure out the new state based on the user interaction.

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#33

Post by zelphirkalt »

lukevp wrote: post #25
zelphirkalt wrote: post #19

Would be funny, if this is as useless as the Windows volume mixer itself, because as a person with OK hearing, you need to regulate volume between 0 and 5 out of 100, while on GNU/Linux distros you could use it just fine. Imagine that in a scene: A: Hey, somehow it is super loud when I use this to regulate volume. How come yours is set so high? B: Ha, that's because you are regulating volume on Windows, where it maps…

Sounds like your hardware isn’t set right. The volume of your hardware device should be set so that it’s barely above comfortable listening volume when your device is at 100%, and then the device attenuation works from there. You probably have the hardware volume maxed out, which is also bad because it tends to run the amplifier all-out which will use much more power and generate more heat, as well as having lower dy…

I never have my hardware "maxed out". Usually barely 50%. But anyway, all of my Windows using friends have the same problem and find it equally ridiculous. Seems like whatever Windows does by default on our machines is just a not working so well default.

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#34

Post by zokier »

Mashimo wrote: post #22
bramhaag wrote: post #17

This is neat! Is there a list of simple DIY hardware projects somewhere? I have a 3D printer and a bunch of microcontrollers laying around that don't get much use.

Can't help you with a list. But https://hackaday.com/ features sometimes nice DIY project, I often also see them popping up on youtube. But you might be able to find some if you search on 3D printing websites such as https://www.printables.com/

Hackaday also has their .io community site which has tons of (uncurated) projects: https://hackaday.io/discover

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#35

Post by ametrau »

NikkiA wrote: post #12

You can buy premade MIDI faders for about $25 [0], there's no way that the hardware aspect of this project is worth making over that. The software is the only real issue, at a quick glance, [1] appears to be relatively equivalent for generic MIDI fader support, perhaps with a few more bells and whistles available. [0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589381790.html (a chinese clone of the korg nanoControl 2, th…

You are comparing a commercial solution to a DIY “learn as you build” hobbyist project?

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#37

Post by magicalhippo »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #19

Would be funny, if this is as useless as the Windows volume mixer itself, because as a person with OK hearing, you need to regulate volume between 0 and 5 out of 100, while on GNU/Linux distros you could use it just fine. Imagine that in a scene: A: Hey, somehow it is super loud when I use this to regulate volume. How come yours is set so high? B: Ha, that's because you are regulating volume on Windows, where it maps…

I normally use between 20 and up 50 when I want it loud. I've set my external amplifier to suit this.

I keep 50 "normal max" because sometimes I can be useful to be able to quickly go temporarily to 80-100 for really weak sources, without fiddling with the application or volume mixer.

That said, I have experienced what you mention when using an external headphone DAC/amp combo where there's been a mismatch between the output impedance of the DAC/amp and the headphones, and no option to adjust output impedance. But that's hardly Windows' fault.

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#38

Post by magicalhippo »

prmoustache wrote: post #10

Unless the faders are motorized, which I believe are expensive, I don't see how you can make that thing work reliably without some nasty surprises. What happens if you change the levels through software and your faders do not move? I would just have used rotary encoders.

They're not cheap, but not terribly expensive either. Adafruit has some[1] for $25, with 5V DC motors which is convenient. On DigiKey and Mouser there are some slightly cheaper[2] but with 10V motor.

[1]: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5466

[2]: https://eu.mouser.com/c/passive-components/potentiometers-tr...

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#39

Post by jauntywundrkind »

crote wrote: post #26
NikkiA wrote: post #12

You can buy premade MIDI faders for about $25 [0], there's no way that the hardware aspect of this project is worth making over that. The software is the only real issue, at a quick glance, [1] appears to be relatively equivalent for generic MIDI fader support, perhaps with a few more bells and whistles available. [0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589381790.html (a chinese clone of the korg nanoControl 2, th…

That MIDI controller is absolutely massive , you're not going to casually put that next to or above your keyboard like you can with the Deej. It's a neat product, but a completely different market.

It probably looks bigger in photo than it really is. The nanokontrol2 is a bit over a foot long. It feels pretty small in practice.

Worth mentioning about the NanoKontrol2, it is quite a beast to use well. To get control over the LEDs you need to send a variety of sysex midi messages. In general I found the midi control to be pretty daunting when trying to talk to mine. There was a lot more going on than I expected: https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/aeb2862daf0cb...

Re: Deej: An open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux

#40

Post by squarefoot »

Goz3rr wrote: post #16
i_am_proteus wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are elegant ways for handling actuator/software mismatch for actuators with finite travel, like pots and faders. Most schemes involve scaling the available fader travel to the "available" software travel. Ex: Fader at 40%, software at 60%. Fader motion "up" between 40-100 moves software "up" between 60-100. Fader motion "down" between 40-0 moves software "down" between 60-0. There are various other schemes, inc…

What happens when software is at 0%, your slider is at 100% and you want to raise the volume?

I would put a safety routine to let the software update only when the hardware is within a certain amount from the actual value, also giving visual feedback of the difference, so that the user could align hardware position to software position without any sudden changes.
Post reply on HN