Step 4: Check for Power
The DB-1 was designed to run, when possible, using the voltage present on the MIDI signal coming in
the MAIN MIDI IN jack. For this reason, if you plan to run off MIDI bus power, you need to make both
MAIN MIDI IN and OUT connections as described above. That generally seems to work just fine for
simple setups (ie nothing else connected via MIDI except your Nord and the DB-1.)
If your setup involves the use of the AUX MIDI connections, it may be necessary to use a 9v battery.
Power up your Nord, and double check the MIDI connections described above. The DB-1's power
button operates differently from other power buttons you've encountered:
button is
in
: DB-1 draws its power from the internal 9v battery (not included)
button is
out
: DB-1 draws its power from the MIDI bus
Whenever the DB-1 has power, the LED will flicker whenever you move a drawbar. If you don't see
this, or if the DB-1 appears to be operating erratically, try installing a fresh 9v battery and putting the
power button in the
in
position whenever the DB-1 is in use.
When inserting the battery into the battery compartment, take care not to accidentally bump any of the
DIP switches into different positions. And when whenever there’s no battery in place, you should use
the protective battery terminal cover to prevent the battery harness contacts from inadvertently shorting
against anything inside the drawbar controller.
Some Words About MIDI Bus Power
This DB-1 Drawbar Controller has been designed to run off MIDI bus power when possible. But you
should understand that there is no MIDI Specification for drawing power off the MIDI bus. This is
really unfortunate, as it’s quite handy for a small device such as this one. Ocean Beach Digital has
gone to great lengths to minimize the current consumption of the DB-1 so that it can run under MIDI
bus power in as many scenarios as possible. Most of our customers have found that a single drawbar
module connected to a single keyboard works fine under MIDI bus power. But you may need to use a
battery if you have a more complicated MIDI setup or if you are using multiple DB-1s.
By the way – we also provided a way to make the power switch “off” position really truly off. That’s
what the rightmost DIP switch is for. You'll probably never need to use it.
6
When power switch is off, DB-1
draws power from MIDI bus
When power switch is off, DB-1
cannot draw power from MIDI bus
