Pianophase

Based on the first section from Steve Reich’s 1967 piece Piano Phase.

“Two pianists repeat the same twelve note sequence, but one gradually speeds up. Here, the musical patterns are visualized by drawing two lines, one following each pianist.”
by chenalexander.com

http://www.pianophase.com/
Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 1.02.14 AM

Virtual serial ports in Windows

Using Virtual Serial Port Manager

Setting a local bridge to connect the 2 virtual serial ports allows a Max patch to communicate with a radio on a real serial port and pass through the data to a virtual serial port that can be used by another program, such as a logger. The patch looks like this:

Screen Shot 2016-04-07 at 10.09.47 PM

 

Its looks like a feedback loop but its not. In this case the bridge is: com1 <-> com2. Com1 is port a in the above patch. Data sent to com1 can be read from com2 and vice versa.

 

Soundjack

Low latency open-source VOIP system for music

By Alexander Carot

http://www.soundjack.eu/

Screen Shot 2016-04-07 at 2.41.33 AM

I have run Soundjack as a one-way system for sending audio from a shortwave radio over the internet. It has worked well with Windows 7 and Mac OS 10.x. The Windows version requires an ASIO audio interface.

Remote radio – client

How to set up the client side of the remote radio system.

(under construction) patches have not been uploaded to github

This client works with the sever described in the previous post. We are running a MacBook Pro OSx 10.11.4. with the following:

  • logmein hamachi VPN
  • Soundjack VOIP
  • Max/MSP
  • Novation launchpad
  • DJ-Tech CDJ-101 controller

VPN

Install and set up LogMein Hamachi. It is free, for a limited number of computers.  Set up a Hamachi server on both the server and client. It should look something like this:

 

VOIP

We are using Soundjack VOIP. It is also free. Use the following parameters on the client side.

  • mic: soundflower 2ch (or something that is not currently producing input!)
  • headphone: default output (or whatever you want to listen on)

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 12.23.54 AM

You can ignore the rest of the settings, since we are not sending audio. Most of the configuration is done on the server side.

Max

We are using several patches, depending on which hardware controllers you are using. Make sure that the hardware controllers are connected before opening Max.

patches:
  • eagle-ui5.maxpat – User interface and main entry point for client communication and CDJ-101 abstrations

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 12.28.56 AM

  • freqdb4.maxpat – database handler

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  • lp_radio2.maxpat – launchpad driver

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After the max patches are loaded, you should be able to control the radio using the UI and the CDJ-101 controller. The red Mixer button in the upper right corner of the Launchpad should be lit.

Instructions:

to be continued…

Remote radio – server

How to run the server side (base station) of the remote shortwave radio system.

(Under construction) The patches have not been uploaded to github yet.

Assuming that the radio and antenna system are operating. We are using an internet connected MacBook Pro running OSx 10.9.5, with a MOTU 828 MK3 audio interface.

VPN

Install and set up LogMein Hamachi. It is free, for a limited number of computers.  Set up a Hamachi server on both the server and client. It should look something like this:

 

VOIP

We are using Soundjack VOIP. It is also free. Use the following parameters on the server side.

Local Settings:
  • mic: audio interface channel that is connected to radio audio output
  • headphone: doesn’t matter
  • volume: 0
  • audio block samples: 512
  • channels: 2
  • network packet samples 512
  • quality: high
  • userlist: manual

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 12.38.03 AM

User list:

UDP/IP: enter hamachi IP of client.

When Soundjack is set up on the client. Press the green start button on the right side of the user list window on the server.

If all goes well, you should hear the radio on the client. Note: The input meter under local settings should be registering audio from your radio. If not, there is a problem with the audio interface.

Max Server

The Max/MSP server exchanges CAT commands via the server serial port to the radio. The command data is exchanged with a Max patch on the client using OSC (over UDP).

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 12.46.02 AM

patch:

eagle-cat8.maxpat

instructions:
  • select the radio serial port from the menu (for example: usbmodem 14531)
  • initialize port settings
  • set toggle to poll the serial port

At this point you should be able to try the example commands, for instance to get the version or set frequency. If the commands are not working, it indicates a problem with the serial connection to the radio.

Next, check the IP address of the udpsend object. It should be the hamachi IP of the client.

 

Remote controlled shortwave radio system

Under construction…

The first in a series describing a system for internet remote control of a shortwave radio station. Its not something new. There are commercial products that provide remote operation of amateur radio transceivers. The purpose of this project is to make it possible to use shortwave radio sounds in musical performance, without the need of an antenna system.

Features:

  • Max/MSP for USB serial control of radio, OSC remote interface, user interface, Midi device handling, and an SQLITE database of preset frequencies.
  • Low latency, good quality audio using Soundjack by Alex Carot.
  • Hardware control of radio using Midi controllers (CDJ-101 and Launchpad)
  • Bi-directional OSC and VOIP using Logmein Hamachi VPN
  • Additional hardware control of AC power and antenna selection using Arduino and a WeMo switch.
  • TouchOSC Ipad audio mixer control using MOTU Cuemix
  • TeamViewer remote desktop software for logging into to base station compuer
  • Optional radio user interface control with Ipod TouchOSC, Griffin Powermate dial, and Korg Nano-kontrol.
  • Optional VOIP backup using Mumble.

System diagram

base station:

remote-radio-sys1

remote control:

remote-radio-sys2