Expert Sleepers FH-2 factotum User manual

Firmware v1.1
User Manual
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Copyright © 2018 Expert Sleepers Ltd. All rights reserved.
This man al, as well as the hardware and software described in it, is f rnished nder licence and
may be sed or copied only in accordance with the terms of s ch licence. The content of this
man al is f rnished for informational se only, is s bject to change witho t notice, and sho ld not
be constr ed as a commitment by Expert Sleepers Ltd. Expert Sleepers Ltd ass mes no
responsibility or liability for any errors or inacc racies that may appear in this doc ment.
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Table of Contents
Introd ction........................................................4
Typical sages....................................................5
With a MIDI keyboard..................................5
With an MPE controller................................5
With a MIDI controller.................................5
With a 'groovebox'........................................6
With a comp ter/tablet/phone.......................6
As a clock generator......................................6
Installation.........................................................7
Power req irements.......................................7
Understanding USB 'hosts' and 'devices'.......7
Connecting and powering a USB device......7
Connecting to a USB host.............................8
Connecting expansion mod les.....................8
Inp ts and O tp ts.............................................8
Controls..............................................................8
Display Modes...................................................9
Overview.......................................................9
Men .............................................................9
Edit screens.................................................10
A to-blank...................................................10
Key concepts....................................................10
Signal flow..................................................10
Clocking......................................................11
Understanding 'config rations' and 'presets'....11
Config rations men ........................................11
Edit config ration........................................11
Load config ration......................................11
Save config ration......................................12
Reset config ration.....................................12
Name config ration.....................................12
Presets men ....................................................12
Edit preset....................................................12
Load preset..................................................12
Save preset..................................................12
Reset preset.................................................13
Name Preset................................................13
Settings.............................................................13
Calibration...................................................13
Reset Settings..............................................14
Miscellaneo s..................................................14
Resets...............................................................14
Reset LFOs..................................................14
Reset MIDI/CV...........................................14
Config rations.................................................15
Name...........................................................15
Globals........................................................15
Tap Tempo..................................................16
MIDI/CV converters...................................16
Converter types: Monophonic, Polyphonic
& MPE....................................................17
Mappings.....................................................18
14 bit MIDI CCs..........................................18
Voltage range..............................................19
Clocks..........................................................19
Triggers.......................................................19
E clidean Patterns.......................................20
Gate levels...................................................20
Using the Config ration Tool.....................20
Presets..............................................................22
Name...........................................................22
Internal clock tempo....................................22
Direct o tp t levels.....................................22
LFOs............................................................22
Smoothing...................................................23
Arpeggiator.................................................24
Portamento..................................................24
E clidean Patterns.......................................24
Calibrations......................................................25
A to-calibrate..............................................25
T ner...........................................................26
Load calibration..........................................26
Save calibration...........................................26
Reset calibration..........................................26
Name calibration.........................................27
5-pin DIN MIDI I/O........................................28
Connections.................................................28
MIDI "Low-Voltage Signaling"..................28
MIDI System Excl sive (SysEx).....................29
SysEx Header..............................................29
Received SysEx messages...........................29
01H – Take screenshot...........................29
02H – Display message..........................29
10H – Install config ration.....................29
21H – Req est config ration d mp........29
22H – Req est version string.................30
Sent SysEx messages..................................30
10H – Install script.................................30
32H – Message.......................................30
33H – Screenshot....................................30
Firmware Updates............................................31
Acknowledgments...........................................32
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Introduction
Congrat lations on yo r p rchase of an Expert Sleepers FH-2. Please read this ser man al before
operating yo r new mod le.
The key f nctions of the FH-2 are
•MIDI-to-CV conversion, or more generally, generating CVs in response to MIDI messages.
•'MIDI-to-CV conversion' is often sed to mean simply generating CV/gate from MIDI
notes. The FH-2's capabilities go way beyond that.
•Clocking.
•Generating analog e clocks from MIDI clock, or generating MIDI clock from analog e
clocks, or generating MIDI and/or analog e clocks from the mod le's own internal
clock.
All this and more is spelled o t in detail below.
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Typical usages
With a MIDI keyboard
Up to 16 note polyphonic conversion, with optional pitch/gate/velocity etc. CVs per note. Also
feat res arpeggiation, keyboard splits and more.
With an MPE controller
Up to 16 sim ltaneo s to ches converted with f ll position/press re/glide etc. per to ch.
With a MIDI controller
Up to 64 o tp ts. Direct control of CVs from faders, flexible and syncable LFOs, triggers from pads
etc.
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CV
USB
MIDI
Clock
CV
USB
MIDI
CV
USB
MIDI
Clock
Multiple devices
via USB hub
Power

With a 'groovebox'
M ltiple clock o ts at different divisions, r n/stop triggers etc. Groovebox, FH-2, or another
mod le can be the clock master.
With a computer/tablet/phone
All of the above, pl s SysEx for config ration of the FH-2.
As a clock generator
The FH-2 can operate as the clocking centre of yo r mod lar, also generating (syncable) LFOs,
with no USB connection.
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CV
USB
MIDI
Clock Clock
CV
USB
MIDI
Clock Clock
SysEx
CV
Clock

Installation
Ho se the mod le in a E rorack case of yo r choosing. The power connector is Doepfer standard1.
If sing the power cable s pplied with the mod le, the red edge of the cable is f rthest from the top
edge of the PCB, and carries -12V. ("-12V" is marked on the PCB itself next to this end of the
connector.) Be s re to connect the other end of the power cable correctly, again so -12V
corresponds to the red stripe on the cable.
Po er requirements
The FH-2 draws 118mA on the +12V rail, and 48mA on the -12V rail.
It does not se the 5V rail, except for powering USB devices if so config red, as described below.
Understanding USB 'hosts' and 'devices'
In USB there is a clear distinction between 'hosts' and 'devices'. A 'device' has to connect to a 'host'.
A 'host' can connect to one or more 'devices' ( sing a h b for m ltiple connections). A 'host' may
power a 'device', or a 'device' may be self-powered.
In normal comp ting terms, the host is s ally the PC, laptop, tablet etc. Devices are things like
mice, keyboards, drives etc. and most USB MIDI hardware also falls into this category.
The FH-2 can operate both as a host and as a device (and can do both at the same time). The USB A
socket (the pper, larger one) operates as a host – this is where yo connect USB devices (incl ding
h bs). The USB C socket (the lower, smaller one) operates as a device – sing this yo can connect
the FH-2 directly to a USB host s ch as a comp ter.
There is (c rrently) no difference in behavio r depending on whether the FH-2 receives its MIDI
from the host or device port – both are handled in exactly the same way.
Connecting and po ering a USB device
Connect any class-compliant USB MIDI device to the FH-2's USB A socket.
When a USB device is connected and s ccessf lly comm nicating with the FH-2, an 'A' appears in
the USB indicator section at the left side of the display.
The FH-2 will provide b s power to devices which req ire it. Remember tho gh that this power
load will be passed on to yo r E rorack PSU.
The FH-2's own reg lator will provide the USB specification's theoretical maxim m of 500mA.
The reg lator is abo t 83% efficient, which means that the c rrent draw on the +12V rail is abo t
half that drawn by the USB device. For example, if the USB device draws 100mA, the draw on the
+12V rail wo ld be abo t 50mA.
If yo have ins fficient power on yo r +12V rail, yo r options are
•If possible, provide power to the USB device directly (e.g. if it has a wall-wart inp t).
•Use the j mper to take power from the E rorack 5V b s, if available.
The j mper is labelled 'JP1' and is located close to the mod le's power connector. It has three pins,
1 http://www.doepfer.de/a100_man/a100t_e.htm
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and its f nction is as follows:
•J mper across pins 1 & 2: take USB power from the FH-2's own reg lator
•J mper across pins 2 & 3: take USB power from the E roack 5V b s.
Needless to say, to make se of the second option yo r E rorack PSU needs to be one that s pplies
5V in addition to the s al ±12V.
Connecting to a USB host
Connect any class-compliant USB MIDI host to the FH-2's USB C socket. Note that this does not
req ire the host to have a USB C socket, or to s pport USB 3.0. For hosts witho t a USB C socket,
se a 'Type A to type C' cable, specified for USB 2.0 or USB 3.0.
The FH-2 does not draw power from the USB C socket.
When a USB host is connected and s ccessf lly comm nicating with the FH-2, a 'C' appears in the
USB indicator section at the left side of the display.
Connecting expansion modules
The 10 pin header labelled GT2 provides expansion in conj nction with the FHX-1 O tp t
Expander2. Connect the cable provided with the FHX-1 to this header, oriented the same way as it is
on the FHX-1.
An FH-1 mod le may also be sed as an expander, connected via a USB A to USB C cable to the
FH-2's USB C socket. The FH-1 sho ld be config red in its defa lt state. On the FH-2, enable the
FH-1 as an expander in the Settings. The FH-1 takes the place of the first FHX-1 ('Show FHX-1
Expander O tp t Config rator 1' in the config tool).
Inputs and Outputs
The FH-2 has eight o tp ts, n mbered 1-8, and two inp ts, named X & Y.
The o tp ts are all eq ivalent, and any o tp t can be assigned any f nction.
The digital-to-analog e conversion is at 14 bit resol tion.
The voltage range of an o tp t is either 0-10V or ±5V, as set in the config ration (see below).
The f nction of the inp ts is also set in the config ration. In some cases the inp ts are digital inp ts,
responding to simple on/off signals, and in some cases the inp ts are analog e, in which case the
analog e-to-digital conversion is 12 bit. In both cases, the preferred inp t voltage range is 0-5V, b t
voltages o tside of this range will not damage the mod le.
Controls
The FH-2 has two controls
–a rotary encoder, which is also a p sh b tton, to the lower right of the display
–a p sh b tton, to the lower left of the display.
2 http://expert-sleepers.co. k/fhx1.html
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From here on these will be referred to as 'the encoder' and 'the left b tton'.
Display Modes
The FH-2's display is s ally in one of a small n mber of modes.
Overvie
This is the FH-2's defa lt display mode.
At the left of the screen are activity indicators for the possible MIDI connections:
•'A' indicates that a USB device is connected on the USB A port.
•The n mber below 'A' shows the n mber of devices connected, if sing a h b.
•'C' indicates that a USB host is connected on the the USB C port.
•'D' always appears, since there's no way of telling if a 5-pin DIN MIDI device is physically
connected or not.
An 'I' next to the USB indicator shows that MIDI data is being received.
An 'O' next to the USB indicator shows that MIDI data is being sent.
The top right of the screen shows the c rrent clock so rce. The possibilities are "None", "Int"
(internal clock), "Ext" (external analog e clock), "USB A", "USB C", or "DIN".
Below the clock so rce is the c rrent tempo in BPM.
At the bottom of the screen the FH-2 shows the most recently received MIDI message, formatted as
so rce (A/C/D) / channel / message type (e.g. CC) / byte 1 (e.g. CC n mber) / byte 2 (e.g. val e)
In this display mode, pressing the encoder enters the men system.
T rning the encoder and pressing the left b tton can have vario s f nctions, config red in the
Settings.
Menu
While in the men s, the encoder is sed to select or modify items, and to descend to lower men
levels. The left b tton goes back p one men level.
Holding the left b tton for more than half a second exits the men entirely and ret rns to the
overview screen.
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Edit screens
Many men pages which allow yo to edit config ration or preset parameters share a common way
of working, ill strated here with the Preset/Edit preset/LFOs page.
The rectangle is the 'c rsor'. When the c rsor is drawn sing a dotted line, t rning the encoder
moves the c rsor between items – in the images above, between the o tp t n mber, the c rrent item
('Speed') and the val e.
Pressing the encoder changes the c rsor to a contin o s line:
Now, t rning the encoder changes the highlighted val e, here the LFO Speed.
Pressing the encoder again ret rns the c rsor to a dotted line.
Pressing the left b tton at any time goes back p one men level, as s al.
Note that all changes are immediate – yo do not need to press the encoder to 'accept' the change.
Auto-blank
To extend the display lifetime, the mod le will a tomatically t rn the display off after a period of
inactivity (the d ration of which can be changed in the Settings). T rning or pressing the encoder
will t rn it back on.
Key concepts
Signal flo
The basic signal flow in the FH-2 is
•CVs are generated
•LFOs are added
•smoothing is applied.
Generators of CVs are: the MIDI/CV Converters, the Clocks, the Triggers, the E clidean Patterns,
or the Direct control. All of these can generate CVs destined for one or more o tp ts.
The LFOs, if active, are always added to the CV generated by one of the above.
Finally smoothing, if active, is applied to the s m of the LFO and generated CV.
In this doc ment, the term 'CV' (Control Voltage) is sed interchangeably to mean either an act al
voltage on one of the mod le o tp ts, or a digital signal within the mod le's processing that will
event ally emerge as a control signal.
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