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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : DIY RP2350-based Modular Controller for VCV Rack .. in progress
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| amiga Newbie  Joined: 08/05/2025 Location: BelgiumPosts: 35 |
Hello to all you geeks of good will in these troubled times. A few months ago, I started designing a fully digital Eurorack controller to use VCV Rack as a modular synthesizer. I initially started with a single PCB, but it proved too complex for a non-engineer. I decided to 'divide and conquer' (a tactic favored by some of our leaders), and it’s working beautifully. I designed a backplane PCB that handles all the physical connectivity: potentiometers, jacks, I/O, and encoders. This backplane includes a 5V to 3.3V buck converter, a MAX485 transceiver, and a 40-pin header carrying all signals (32 GPIOs, power, IRQ, and the RS485 bus). It features an RJ45 port to send power and the 485 bus to a 16-port hub powered by a 5V-8A supply. On the processing side, I designed 3 different RP2350-based boards that plug into the backplane: 1 board for pot management (up to 32) 1 board for digital inputs (up to 32) 1 board for jacks with auto-identification (up to 16) The backplane is agnostic, meaning it doesn't care which type of board is plugged into it. All these modules communicate with VCV Rack via a bridge on the laptop/PC. The PCBs are currently at JLCPCB... I’m eagerly awaiting the first signs of life (or the first sparks!). I used EasyEDA and its auto-router, as KiCAD’s learning curve felt a bit too steep for now. @+ alfamiga .. from small country .. but GREAT people ..  Comments and feedback are more than welcome! |
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| lizby Guru  Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3668 |
Very nice. Pico2-Zeros? What do you imagine using the RJ45s for? The 4-pin connectors? How do the boards talk to each other? They look like they're separate, maybe even snapable PCBs. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on FOTS |
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| amiga Newbie Joined: 08/05/2025 Location: BelgiumPosts: 35 |
I use rp2350-zero from waveshare or clone from aliexpress ... why rs485 ? it's a control for a modular synthetizer working alongside with analog synthetizer .. and a lot of electromagnetic noise !! .. rs485 keep a clean data transmission (i hope) and in the same connector (rj45) i use +5V,GND like a POE and added an IRQ line , usedby all rp2350 to wake up the bridge (in each card there is dip-switch .. assigning a number network from 0-15) . the bridge ask rp2350 with id and ask if there is something for him .. wake-up and poll .. @+ alfamiga |
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