Tag: controller

MIDI Dual Mini Controller

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2026-09-09
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I make this controlled I call the MIDI Controller LC (4 Button) and I make a few of them each year, but like anything there’s always someone who wants something similar but not exactly what you have to offer… and that’s okay! I do custom projects all the time.

Someone got in touch with me and wanted a half-sized version, just two buttons (red and green) to control an audio system, with one button pausing play (red) and one button starting play (green) so that’s what we built. It’s basically a cut down version of the MIDI Controller LC.

Instead of trying to remodel the MIDI Controller LC smaller I ended up using some of my OpenSCAD code that I use for generating custom enclosures and already had the objects to create holes for the buttons, MIDI 5 Pin DIN port, USB port, and screw holes. Modeling and printing the parts was fairly easy.

I don’t know if I will add this one to the shop… it’s always hard to know how many items is too many items, and I don’t want to overwhelm or confuse potential customers. But hey… it’s here if I need it in the future!

Tags button, controller, midi, usb

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Custom Controller (Six Connections)

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2026-09-02
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I’ve built a lot of USB controllers… sometimes they are for museums, or tradeshow companies, or just individuals. Most of the time what I build looks like a finished product, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes what is needed is just part of a larger system, and maybe the rest of the system isn’t built yet, or someone else is providing it.

This controller allows the client to connect their own pushbuttons, six of them, which they’ve installed into a cabinet. When pressed, each button will send a unique character to a computer via USB.

The client will have a cabinet with buttons, wires soldered in place, hanging down, ready to be attached to this controller. I don’t always love these snap connectors but when things need to move fast, they work. I think this project needed to completed in just a few days, so rather than spec out other connectors, or use screw terminals, these connectors work just fine. I tend to keep a box of them around just in case. (You may remember this one from back in 2022.)

A few more things… the bottom shows two holes, one has a status LED, and the other is a reset hole in case new firmware needs to be installed. (There is a button that can be pressed with a paper clip to put the device into USB drive mode to accept a HEX file with new firmware.) There are four mounting holes for attaching the device with screws inside a cabinet if needed.

I usually like these types of projects. They are not difficult, and give me a little challenge, and I try to make improvements each time one comes along.

If you need some sort of custom controller, let me know!

Tags button, controller, usb

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Game Show Buzzer System V3

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2025-07-15

I built Game Show Buzzer System V2 earlier this year, and I had someone who wanted basically the same thing, so this is Game Show Buzzer System V3 with a few very minor tweaks. I’ve added LEDs into the control box so the host can see which player buzzed in.

Once again the control box plugs into a computer via USB and can send keys, keystrokes, USB MIDI data, or serial data. Each button plugs into the control box using a TRS cable. We used 6 foot but you could easily get 10 foot or longer if needed.

For this one the client will be using Resolume VJ Software & Media Server and each button is set to send a different MIDI noteOn signal to trigger a video to play. Like any game show if you hit your buzzer first you get to answer the question! In discussing functionality I explained how we usually have a “lock out” time before another button press will be recognized. The client thought a three second delay would be fine…

But! I mentioned we could always adjust that in the firmware later if needed… Also, I added a reset button directly on the control box. This would allow the “host” to press the button to end the lockout period. This is sort of a future-proofing feature.

I think if I were building a deluxe version I would add a control to set the lockout time… something like what I did for the Tradeshow Video Player Controller perhaps. But also, am I getting ahead of myself? Since I haven’t built it yet I will say “No” but then…

Also, this could be used as a standalone system without a computer. It’s less exciting, as there is no sound or video triggered when the button is pressed, but as a bare-bones quiz game system, it would work fine. If you do want sounds it would be trivial to plug into a computer via USB and use QLab or LeMIDI for those.

I started working on a four button version of this, but now I’m thinking I might want to just build the deluxe version and hope that someone might want to purchase it in the future.

I’m also considering different button options, as these are nice and big but they’re also fairly expensive. We could use The Button or any other button for triggering things. (But yeah, people certainly like hitting that big button!)

Tags arduino, button, controller, games, usb

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Game Show Buzzer System V2

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2025-01-19

The name “Game Show Buzzer System V2” is a misnomer but I’m gonna go with it… See, I’ve built more than one “Game Show Buzzer” type of system since the original post but they were not documented here for various reasons… Anyway, this is a system I designed quite a while ago but just recently had someone actually want, so I built it.

See, typically I sell one (or more) of the Big USB Buttons or even these Survey Says Buttons, but this system doesn’t use multiple individual self-contained buttons, but a control box you can plug multiple buttons into. This specific system has just two buttons but the original design had either three or four, though doing up to six (or even eight) buttons would be trivial.

The control box plugs into a computer via USB and can send keys, keystrokes, USB MIDI data, or serial data. Each button plugs into the control box using a TRS cable. (That’s a 3.5mm Stereo Cable for you non-nerds in the crowd.) The TRS cable has three connections (Tip, Ring, and Sleeve) which is perfect for a button and LED.

The trick is in the code… meaning the programming is whatever is needed. For this specific build we did a USB MIDI noteOn for each button, followed by a five second lockout so no button could be pressed for five seconds. I’ve done systems where the “host” (using the control box) can reset the system, say for instance if the person/team who buzzes in first gets the quiz answer wrong, so that another team can try to buzz in and answer. Lots of possibilities, again, the magic is in the code.

I’ve built enough of these that I really should formalize things and come up with a system where you can choose the components and features and then place an order… It’s still sort of a custom thing (code always is anyway) but I think I have it down enough that a base system is in order.

Anyway, this was another fun project, though it was a bit rushed (got it built and programmed in a matter of days before it needed to ship) so there are a few small improvements I’ll be making next time.

Tags arduino, button, controller, games, usb

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Deftaudio MIDI Enclosure

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2024-09-01

I’ve mentioned Sky Creature before, as I’ve made a few things for them. So back in April I was chatting with Matt and he said he got a Deftaudio Teensy MIDI Breakout Board but would have to figure out an enclosure for it. I said something like “I make a lot of enclosures!” and he said “I’ll keep that in mind!” and then I totally forgot about it.

Matt did not forget about it though, and asked me to knock out an enclosure for it before they headed out on tour. He shipped me the assembled and programmed device and I designed and fabricated an enclosure for it. Oh, I also added circuitry so it could be powered by a standard guitar pedal power supply, which is a barrel jack with 9 volt tip negative. I threw in a power LED while I was at it. (The Deftaudio board is nicely designed and easy to add things to via a set of male pin headers on the board.)

I got this done it about a week. The funny thing is that I sent Matt a photo and he said “That’s a great looking render” and I said “Sir, that’s a photo… I’ve finished it!” but sadly I forgot he wanted easy access to the USB port for (re)programming. I had it so you could remove the bottom cover and get access but I ended up redoing the body of the enclosure to make it easier.

It was sort of last minute and a rush and I don’t know how elegant it is, but there’s a little swinging hatch that pivots on a 3mm screw with a cap nut cranked tight on the end of it. The other side of the hatch has a small screw to hold it in place…

The idea being that you remove one screws and flip the door around 180 degrees to plug in a Micro USB cable, program it, then remove the cable and replace the little door. I think it’ll work well!

I also sent Matt a bag of extra screws. The screw used for the door is the same size as used on the bottom to hold the cover in place, so a few extra seems like a good idea, I used plain old 3mm pan head screws for the top so those could also come out with a standard screwdriver. I typically use black button head screws because they look better, but I didn’t want to include a tiny hex key when a standard Philips screwdriver is probably easier to attain.

I also did a two color print for the top cover and the USB door. The door print didn’t turn out amazing (rush job, didn’t have time to print another) but I think the top looks really good!

Anyway, I really like doing these sorts of things, so if you have a project in mind let me know!

Tags 3dprinting, controller, midi