This document will walk you through the procedure of adding the Wi-microDig to your Bluetooth devices list and connecting to the Wi-microDig using Max/MSP. For the older version of the plugin, see here.

For this walkthrough, you will need:

Hardware

• A Wi-microDig.
• Turn sensor (or any other sensor).
• A machine with built-in bluetooth (ie. any recent Mac).

Software

• A working installation of Max/MSP.
• Connect.
• iCube external in your Cycling '74/externals folder.
• icubex.digitizer placed in the Max5/patches folder.

Installing the Connect application

Connect can be found here.

Using Connect to create a MIDI port for your Wi-microDig

All Bluetooth and USB connectivity is handled by Connect. It runs in the background and creates a virtual MIDI port to communicate with the Wi-microDig. The following section describes how to first add your Wi-microDig. After adding it for the first time, the Wi-microDig will be listed in the Connect window until you remove it.

1. Plug a 9 Volt battery to the Wi-microDig to power it on, and make sure that Bluetooth is enabled. (System Preferences > Bluetooth)

2. Open Connect. It will appear as a menu item at the top of the screen.

   


3. In the main window, click on the "Add Wi-microDig" button.



4. You should see your Wi-microDig appear in the list. Select it and click on the "Choose" button. If the Wi-microDig doesn't appear after a few seconds, check that it's powered on and that Bluetooth is enabled on your Mac.



5. If it's the first time connecting to your Wi-microDig, you'll be asked to enter a passcode. Enter the number 1 and click "Pair".



6. The Wi-microDig will then appear in the devices list with a green dot next to it to indicate that it is enabled. A MIDI port will be created with the name Wi-microDig XXXX, where XXXX is the serial number of your Wi-microDig. The blue LED on the Wi-microDig will also turn on to indicate that a Bluetooth connection has been made.

By default, Connect will not attempt to connect to your Wi-microDig when it is launched. If you would like to enable auto-connect, turn it on using the checkbox.

To remove the Wi-microDig from the device list (even when it's not connected and enabled), click on "Remove". You will then need to add it again when you next want to use it.

Installing the iCube external

The iCube object talks to the Wi-microDig.
You can download it here
Place the icube.mxo file (found in the objects folder within the zip file linked above) in the folder Cycling '74/externals (Cycling '74/max-externals in Max5).

Using the icubex.digitizer object

Once the icubex.digitizer.maxpat file is placed in the Max5/patches folder, it can be integrated into your own patches. Alternately, if you choose not to put icubex.digitizer into the patches folder, you'll need to place it in the same folder as any patch that includes it.

The icubex.digitizer can be included in your patch, just like any object. Double-clicking on it brings up the patch itself, which has controls for connecting to the I-CubeX digitizer of your choice, and for turning sensor inputs on and off and changing the resolution of the sensor data. If you're using the Wi-microDig, you can also control the digital outputs from this patch.

Connecting to the Wi-microDig

Once you've added icubex.digitizer to your patch, double click on it to see the controls. In the Digitizer section at the top, choose your Wi-microDig as indicated by its serial number.

If you don't see the Wi-microDig listed, make sure you've added it as a Bluetooth device following the instructions above..

Upon connecting, the port menu will turn green and the blue LED on the Wi-microDig will illuminate.

If the patch doesn't connect to the Wi-microDig, check that your Bluetooth is turned on. Max/MSP will not warn you if it is turned off, it will just not connect.

At this point, you can start receiving sensor data. To turn on any of the 8 analog sensor inputs, click on 1 of the 8 toggle boxes. Next to each of the toggle boxes is a switch to choose between low-resolution (7-bit) and high-resolution (10-bit). Note that on the left hand side there is a toggle to turn all 8 inputs on or off, as well as a resolution selector for all 8. The control for sampling interval control is immediately below the all- input control. The minimum setting, corresponding to the maximum sampling rate, is 1 millisecond.

The sensor data is routed to the 8 outlets of icubex.digitizer, where it can be used by the rest of your patch. You can also include the plugin in a bpatcher. This and more is further explained in icubex.digitizer.maxhelp, which is included with the patch.