Hey,

I'm trying to Engineer a super low cost prototype controller for PD. Currently I understand that in order to interface potentiometers (or any sensor / AD converter) with PD you need at minimum a BASIC STAMP or some other PIC embedded device. My question is, can this be done at a lower level without a micro-controller?

Essentially I just need to send on/off control signals and numbers/values (1-128 for knobs or sliders) for PD to use. Is it possible to send some (non standard) digital signal to PD along a USB - how flexible would this process be?

What is the lowest level signal PD will accept?

Thanks!

why not use an arduino board? is EUR 30 too expensive?

Yes it is. Not for me, but the device I want to build needs to be around 30$ total (all parts). Plus I love trying to build from scratch without micro-controllers.

Any hardcore circuit geeks with experience doing this from scratch? (connecting a potentiometer to PD?)

How about reverse-engineering a keyboard? The older the better. Take it apart, figure out how the contact matrix works, and than attach a bunch of switches.

Oh,a potentiometer? Well, for that you need some analog->digital, so you'll need a micro in there somewhere. If the issue is wanting to do it with hardware you already have, you might be outta luck. MIDI controllers are cheap-ish, but not cheaper than an arduino, and certainly less resolute. One idea is to use your sound card. You could build a very simple pot-controlled oscillator and track the frequency with [fiddle~], but you are limited to the number of channels on your card.

Good idea regarding tracking the frequency - I could possibly use a 555 timer which outputs digital pulses according to the POT position. Could I send this data along a USB?

I'm just not clear how flexible PD is in terms of input, someone told me I can send it almost anything....

How about trying a cheap game-controller?

to send through usb you certainly need an analog to digital hardware converter

Oooo. I second the game controller Idea, just rip out the sticks and hook up some pots and btns. Yes, a 555 would generate a frequency, but you could also do it with a transistor. USB is a serial protocol, so you'd definitely need a micro.