On Wed, 4 Sep 2019 07:11:06 -0400, "J.B. Wood" 
declaimed the following:


>The display's primary function would be to list/scroll the *.MID files
>on the removable storage (flashdrive and/or SD card) and allow selection
>of the file(s) to be played via the MIDI "out" port.  The keypad or
>pushbuttons on the device would allow for naming of MIDI data collected

 QWERTY, 16-key "phone/calculator" (spell stuff by how many times a
button is pushed), or just a D-pad (left/right for position, up-down to
select character) with enter/return [to navigate menus]?

>at the MIDI "in" port for subsequent storage as a *.MID file on the
>removable media.  The front panel controls could also provide for things
>like varying the playback tempo or transposing the playback file to
>another musical key.  BTW, I wanted this device to interface with a
>digital piano so one or two MIDI channels is all I require for recording
>and playback.  For the record I have (still in working condition) a 30+
>year old Brother (yeah the typewriter company) MDI-30 "Disk Composer"
>that provides the functions I've described.  But it has limited internal
>memory and only reads/writes to an to a 3.5" floppy disk (using a custom
>Brother format).  Sincerely,

 A Linux device (R-Pi/Beaglebone) may be, on the one hand, overkill for
this, while on the other hand if not configured well could be subject to
timing issues (I'm pretty certain "Raspbian" is not using a real-time
kernel build, so periodic OS activities could cause jitter in the MIDI
data). One of the larger Arduinos (the ones using an ARM M-series processor
[Due] rather than the AVR processor [Uno/Mega]) probably has enough
on-board flash to support SD card, simple display (were you thinking a 2x16
B/W text display ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/181 [or serial mod
version https://www.adafruit.com/product/784 ]) or something more of a
graphics display? ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/3527 or
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2232 ).
https://www.adafruit.com/product/802 is arduino specific (and out of
stock), incorporating SD slot, color display, D-pad and four buttons
[counting the D-pad push down as one].


--
 Wulfraed                 Dennis Lee Bieber         AF6VN
 wlfraed@ix.netcom.com    http://wlfraed.microdiversity.freeddns.org/

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