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Whoa, *nothing* more? Maybe it's just me, but a digital piano without a power button and volume control would seem very inconvenient! And one with a USB audio interface but no local control toggle might not work very well for VST users

The only pianos I know of with 88 keys, 3 pedals, and nothing more are actually acoustics! They don't have power or volume control for obvious reasons

Some acoustics have 2 pedals, and some have 4! And some have more (or fewer) than 88 keys, too

I understand that this is a little bit of dogpiling, but given Mac's proclivity to rib on phrasing, I'm certain he wouldn't mind a playful bit coming his own way!

Thank you all for your replies.

Yes, I eavesdropped the serial communication and reimplemented more or less everything. I omitted a few things I don't need, like demo and lesson songs.
Yes, my six year old Raspberry Pi boots already twice as fast as the original UI. Now, the UI is waiting for the mainboard to come alive and not the other way round.

I actually have a half-baked set of engraved black acrylic keycaps, but finishing them is not my highest priority. Usability is, indeed.

Unfortunately not. The only thing I can offer is the project page on Github, https://github.com/trebb/untouch.

The user manual visible in the pictures is part of the project. Here's another example:
To activate, say, "Gospel Organ" as the first or only sound, you press F1 and K on the ugly keypad, followed by piano key B2. You don't need to use your eyes to achieve this. (Btw, there are exactly 88 sounds available.)

Cool project, trebb! Not my style of UI (I prefer the original touch screen), but it must be a lot of fun to develop!

Are you planning on implementing a macro scheme of some sort?

Not kidding, really. Most engineered user interfaces stink ... because most engineers have little ability in developing good interfaces.
So when I say I prefer 88+3, I mean that nearly everything that a digital adds to that has been poorly done.
I prefer simplicity. I hate gadgetry.But the jovial direction of this thread is appreciated.

(Poor trebb. He's been highjacked.)

Then is it only headphones that prevent you from just abandoning digitals and being in the acoustic piano world for good?

User-generated macros would require some robust storage the Raspberry Pi hardware doesn't offer, afaik. The system is never being shut down cleanly and must therefore be strictly read-only to avoid data corruption.
I did hard-code a few things I considered useful. On startup, the UI will always activate registration 0 (you can't be outside a registration), and you can specify the tempo by tapping a UI key.

Very interesting project!

Speaking personally, I prefer the aesthetics and functionality of the original NV10 interface - this kind of "press a button, then a key, then another key" approach to selecting settings reminds me of an older CN model.

However, I can appreciate the efforts that you have gone to capture and decode the communication between the touchscreen controller and main CPU board, and for making the code available on GitHub.

Cheers,
James
x

I think it's great! Instead of buttons, maybe you can use an 8 way joystick

If you want to upgrade the control keys for a specific look, feel or sound, this is a great forum on computer keyboards, keys, controllers:

https://deskthority.net/viewforum.php?f=2

Hats off, trebb. It would be interesting to see if your project unlocks the "missing" voices on the CA78.

Great project - well done.

Could you expand on what is meant by "robust storage"? I take it the SD card doesn't count.

Couldn't you make any writes to a config file atomic, e.g. make a copy of the active config file, make changes to that, and only when it's been written (and verified?) you change its filename? I'm sure you've thought of this but I'm trying to enhance my own understanding of the problem.

Also, are you at all tempted to try getting the RasPi to run Pianoteq?

This is incredible work, trebb, I'm very impressed. It motivates me to try my own DIY project with an Arduino or RPi and I hope that others will now try to circumvate the terrible GUI of the NV10/CAx8.

Two questions:

• Do you have the description of the serial protocol in a more readable form than the code on GitHub?
• How did you make the mechanical (acrylic) part, so that the new controller fits in the piano?
• Do interfaces like MIDI or USB still work, i.e. are they supported by the sound engine or by the module you replaced?

Regards
Patrick

Both midi and USB work even if the panel isn't booted up or if the panel has crashed, so I think those are all handled by the main board and not the panel.

The well structured, simple hardware design has been the main reason for my purchase decision. It may also come in handy when it comes to long-term maintainability.

Cutting power during a writing operation can lead to corruption of uninvolved system files. Quoting https://hackaday.com/2016/08/03/single-board-revolution-preventing-flash-memory-corruption/:

I'm afraid I don't know anything about Pianoteq.

The intercepted raw data and a few processing tools are in https://github.com/trebb/repno. I wouldn't call it more readable, though.

I had them laser cut. The top part I bent into shape using hot air. The display window is glued in with nitrocellulose thinner. I also did a lot of filing, sanding, and polishing.

Gombessa's observations are correct. You can even remove the UI and expect the piano to work as before.

Just my opinion for what it’s worth. But, I don’t get it. This is an amazing project trebb. However, why replace the control panel? I use it every day, often to do a reset and resave favorites to try things out, like Wall EQ, Voice, or Touch. It takes a few minutes at most to reset the five favorites I usually use. Three in Sound mode for headphones and two in Pianist mode for speakers. It would be nice if it went completely black or was hidden in a pull out drawer, I suppose. But it works just fine as it is.

I spent only a very limited time with an NV at a local shop a few months ago, and I focused my attention on the piano, not the control panel.

But I do remember that the touch pad was confusing. To much functionality in too little space.

I'd like to see an off-the-shelf tablet connected to the NV, and have an tablet app be the control panel.

Perhaps that's out of scope for trebb ... but that's my wish.

But take your time, trebb. I won't be buying an NV for two years. When I retire the NV will be the second thing I buy.