“Connect & control your old MIDI devices with modern plug in formats. A RaspberryPi Zero works headless extended by a web interface.
As I added a modern Keyboard to my Synthesizers from the 90’s, I realized the gap between the MIDI interfaces: The standard MIDI interface contains a In and Out, sometimes a Through port with a 5 pin DIN socket. The modern equipment contains a USB Connector or it is “wired” by Bluetooth or (W)LAN.
How to bring it together?
A RaspberryPi is popular and is used allready in these task. Unfortunally, the RaspianOS - as all LINUX derivates- does not like a hard power off. The command “shutdown -h now” ensures, that the used storage devices will not end up in a memory corruption.
I know 2 solutions:
Shut down the device in the correct manner->type in the shutdown command or
set up the RaspbianOS to run in RAM as a mirror of the SDCard image.
This project uses version (1). Software updates are easy to manage via ssh and are persistent. The MIDIHost4RaspberryPi should be able to work in headless mode. The shutdown is controlled by the clean-shutdown software in addition to the appropriate hardware.
Both functions, power and standard MIDI interface are put together in one schematic with some electronic parts, that I had available. The MIDIHost4RaspberryPi had to fit into a case of an cheap USB Hub. So I used a RaspberryPi Zero W with an extra WLAN antenna connection and an extra small PCB for the standad MIDI Interface and the power on/off switch facility.”