I need help understanding these plugs/connections

Immanuel · Post by **Immanuel** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:21 am

I have bought a J.L.Cooper CS-10 cheap on an auction. Then I found out it has no MIDI connections. It has an 'EXT' connection and a 'COM' connection. They both look a bit like mouse connections for a ps2 (not play-station) mouse. I looked up their web page and found out that the current model (which I guess only differs in cosmetics?) has 2 version: a MIDI version and a rs-232 version. I scanned thru the 40 pages pdf manual but didn't find the answer I needed - not even in hardware connection. So I guess it is something obvious to those who know

Is this some kind of MAC only interface? Do you know of any converter boxes, which will let me use it as a normal MIDI controller? Any info - also about (related) stuff which I didn't ask about is wellcome.

Post by **garyb** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:51 am

afaik, that is an old mac thing. there may be an adapter, but most likely, you'd need an OLD mac to use it....

petal · Post by **petal** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:54 am

I believe to remember that rs-232 and "COM", are other terms for a "serial-port", but I could be wrong.

Post by **garyb** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:55 am

true.

Immanuel · Post by **Immanuel** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:57 pm

Is it compatible with a windows based serial port, or is it MAC only?

petal · Post by **petal** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:42 pm

I'm pretty sure that it is compatible with a windows based pc. If you are lucky you can even find details on which "legs" to use in order to have a "com"/"rs-232"-connecter in one end and midi in the other, but I'm only speculating here.... I'd check it though if I were you. Actually I might even know someone who would know these things.... I'll ask him in a few days.

Thomas

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: petal on 2005-08-02 14:44 ]</font>

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:12 pm

that CS-10 was originally built as an (8 channel) Protools controller and transmits serial data. Protools on both Mac and PC will certainly recognize it, other apps possibly, too.
you cannot use it as a midi controller on it's own.
Either a special converter app exists or something like the Logic environment could do the trick.

sorry, Tom

petal · Post by **petal** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 1:32 am

Maybe you can build your own software converter in Pure Data, but it will probally take som time to get your head around it, if you don't know it before hand.