
Dx-Shuttle Vers 1.9


                              DX-Shuttle

                         (c) 1988 Douglas Hope

GENERAL RAMBLING

After  waiting  a number of years before I could afford to buy  my  DX7  
keyboard  I finally got one in September of  '88.  However,  after  the  
substantial  outlay of money (on my salary anyway!) I discovered   that  
I  didn't  have enough left over that I could justify (to my  wife)  to  
spend on a Patch Librarian.

So I turned to the SIG's and RT's and much to my surprise I  discovered  
all  the patch editors available for the ST were for either  the  Casio  
line  of  synthesizers,   or the Yamaha  four  algorithm  synthesizers. 
(DX21,   DX100    etc).   There  wasn't  anything  available  for   the 
'Old reliable' DX7.

So as with most software, DX-Shuttle was born of need.

DX-Shuttle is a plain (vanilla) Patch Librarian for the numerous voices  
available for a DX7 synthesizer.  It is not a Voice editor,  it  simply  
'shuttles' voice data to and from your Atari and DX7.

Currently,  DX-Shuttle only supports the standard DX7 synthesizer.  The 
DX7  is the only keyboard I own so I haven't been able to analyze   the 
formats of any other keyboards,  and can assume that they will not work 
with DX-Shuttle. DX7's equipped with E! boards can be made to work with 
DX-Shuttle, but the 'Performance/Function parameters are not supported. 
DX-Shuttle  probably won't work with the new DX7 II's because of  their 
'dual'  configurations.  However,  I intend to add the capabilities  of 
other  keyboards  to the program as the  specific  information  becomes 
available.

If you would like to see a particular keyboard supported by DX-Shuttle,  
please  provide the specifics of the System Exclusive data  format  for  
that keyboard and I will try to include it in a future upgrade.

If  enough interest in Dx-Shuttle is  generated,  further  enhancements 
will  be made so it can handle many more keyboards,  with the  eventual 
hope of  also being able to design voices with it. But this development 
depends  solely on you!  Being that I am relatively new to the world of 
MIDI,  my  needs  and  expectations of a  Patch  Librarian  are  fairly 
limited.  So I would appreciate any suggestions to improve the  program 
for  your  needs.  I would also appreciate  specific  MIDI  information 
pertaining   to  other keyboards so that I can add  the  capability  of 
storing and retrieving their voices to the program.

DX-Shuttle  is extremely simple to use,  due mostly to the use  of  GEM  
and it's 'Drop-down' menus, and 'Dialogue boxes'. Your familiarity with 
GEM will make  most operations intuitive.







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Dx-Shuttle Vers 1.9


DX-Shuttle Features

   - Works with all configurations of the ST computer.

   - DX-Shuttle works in both Medium and High resolution.

   - Uses YAMAHA's undocumented 'keyboard simulation' MIDI commands  to 
     fully automate 'Full Bank' transfers.

   - Voice  data  can  be transferred in either a full  32  Voice  Bank 
     Transfer, or as individual Voices.

   - 32  Voice  Bank data is stored in standard 'Midiex'  format  files 
     with the file extension ".DXB".

   - Individual Voices are stored in 'Relative Indexed' files with file 
     extensions of ".DXI" for the index, and ".DXG" for the actual data       
     groups.  Each  relative  file  has a maximum  capacity  of  65,535 
     individual voices.  When first opened all the voices are sorted in 
     alphabetical sequence for easy location.

   - Names  for each individual voice are automatically taken from  the 
     10 character name displayed on the LCD panel on the DX7.

   - Voices with identical names can be stored in the file.


What's on the Disk ?

With your copy of Dx-Shuttle, you should get the following files:

     DXSHUTTL.PRG        - Runtime package
     DXSHUTTL.DAT        - Dx-Shuttle program
     DXSHUTTL.RSC        - GEM resource file
     DXMONO.SCN          - Monochrome Title screen
     DXCOLR.SCN          - Colour title screen
     DXSHUTTL.TXT        - ASCII text manual
     DXSHUTTL.DOC        - 1st Word format manual

If  all these files are not present Dx-Shuttle may not work  with  your 
system.

To use Dx-Shuttle, all these files must be in the same directory.


Before transferring voices

Preparation  before transferring data to and from the DX7 is  simply  a 
matter  of connecting the MIDI cables from your Atari to the  DX7,  and 
ensuring that the DX7 receives data on MIDI channel #1. 









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Dx-Shuttle Vers 1.9


Transferring 32 Voices to the Atari

Under the Drop-down Menu titled 'Full Bank', select the item indicating  
transfer from the DX7 to the Atari Fuji symbol.

After  a brief period of time the Atari screen will indicate  that  the  
data has been received successfully, or that an error occurred.

If the data was received correctly,  an 'Alert Box' prompts you whether 
you wish  to  save  the  data  in a file.  If you select 'Yes',  then a 
standard GEM File selection window will appear,  allowing you to select 
the Path and filename you wish to save the data under.

Note!     The  ".DXB" file extension does not need to be typed  in,  it 
          will  automatically be appended to the filename.  If  you  do 
          type in the extension be warned!,  the extension you use will 
          be  replaced with ".DXB",  so you can't have a file saved  as 
          "ROM1_A.NEW"  in  order  to protect an  existing  file  named 
          "ROM1_A.DXB".

Transferring 32 Voices to the DX7

Under  the  Drop-down menu titled 'Full Bank',  select the  item  which 
indicates transfer from the Atari Fuji symbol to the DX7.

A  GEM  File select window will open and prompt you for  the  Path  and  
filename  of  the 32 Voice data you wish to send  to  the  DX7.  Simply  
'click'  on the file of your choice.

Note!     If  you observe the LCD display panel on the  DX7,  you  will 
          notice several menus flash by.  If the data was  successfully 
          received,  the  'MIDI  RECEIVED' message will appear  briefly 
          indicating  that  the  32 Internal Voices have been  replaced 
          with   those  from  the  file.  By default,  DX-Shuttle  will 
          restore  the DX7 to having Internal Voice #1  selected  after 
          any successful 'Full Bank' transfer.


Transferring Single Voice data

Before storing or retrieving Single Voice data, the database file where 
you wish  to store or retrieve data from must be selected.  If it is  a 
new file, one will be created for you.


Transferring One Voice to the Atari

Once the database file is open,  select the DX7 to Atari item under the      
'Drop-down' menu titled 'Voice'.  A prompt will indicate that the Atari 
is waiting for the data to be sent.  Simply press the button on the DX7 
which  corresponds  to the internal voice you wish to save.  If  it  is 
received successfully,  the Atari will display an 'Alert Box' with  the 
10 character name of the voice data it just received. Simply 'click' on 
your  response.  If  you select 'Yes' the voice will be  added  to  the 
database.




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Dx-Shuttle Vers 1.9


Transferring One Voice to the DX7

From  the 'Drop-down' menu titled 'Voice',  select the item  indicating  
transfer  from the Atari Fuji symbol to the DX7.  A 'Dialog  box'  will 
display a list of a maximum of 32 voices on-screen.  Simply 'click'  on 
the  voice you wish to transfer,  followed by a 'click' on OK to  start 
the transfer.

If  the voice you're looking for is not displayed 'click' on 'MORE'  to 
display the next 32 voices in the file.

If  for some reason you decide not to send a voice to the  DX7,  simply  
'click' on 'CANCEL' to return to the main screen.

Once  a voice has been successfully sent to the DX7 the LCD panel  will 
display the new voice with a flashing cursor. At this point in time you  
can  play the keyboard,  and hear the new voice.  However,  it  is  not 
permanently stored in the DX7, it is only in the temporary edit buffer. 
To save the voice, press the 'W'/'STORE' key on the DX7 followed by the 
'INTERNAL'/'EXTERNAL' memory select key (depending on whether you  want 
to  store  the voice in Internal or Cartridge memory) then  the  number 
corresponding  to  the voice you desire to save  it  as.  Confirm  your 
decision   by  pressing  the  'YES'/'+1'  key  when  the  DX7   prompts 
'ARE YOU SURE ?'. (Ensure that memory protect is OFF).

MIDIEX data files

'MIDIEX' format data files, are simply 'captures' of the entire 'System 
Exclusive' message sent by the DX7.

There  are  literally thousands of DX7 voices  available  from  various 
online  services  like Genie and  Compuserve.  Several  IBM  compatible 
programs  also  save their patch data in MIDIEX format.  To  use  these 
files, simply rename the file extensions to '.DXB', and Dx-Shuttle will 
be able to access the data.


MIDIEX files to a Voice Database

Building a database file can be an extremely tedious effort,  when  you 
must first load a 'MIDIEX' bank to the DX7,  then individually transfer 
each voice back to the Atari.

Dx-Shuttle  permits  you to add all the individual Voice patches  in  a 
'MIDIEX' file,  to your  selected database.  Once a Voice database file 
has  been opened,  simply select the 'MIDIEX' to 'DXG' item  under  the 
Voice menu.  A GEM File Selection box will appear,  and prompt you  for 
the filename of the 'MIDIEX' file you wish to load.

If  the  file  is a valid 'MIDIEX' file,  each voice  in  the  file  is 
displayed, and an 'Alert box' prompts if  you wish for that patch to be 
added to the database.







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Dx-Shuttle Vers 1.9


Problems you may encounter

MIDI data transfer is not taking place:  Make sure that the MIDI cables 
between the Atari and the DX7 are connected properly.  The MIDI OUT  of 
one,  connects  to the MIDI IN of the other.  In multiple  MIDI  device 
applications,  it  may  be simpler to connect the DX7 directly  to  the 
Atari  temporarily  rather  than try to trace through  the  network  of 
cables.

Voice/Bank load failure : If you see this message, it one of two things 
have  happened;  The data transmission was garbled,  or too  much  time 
elapsed before the 'System Exclusive' message was received.

'Garbled' transmissions are not common when using only the DX7 and  the 
Atari,  and can normally be resolved by disconnecting the DX7 from  the 
network, and attaching directly to the Atari.

DX7's equipped with the E!  boards may have some difficulties, although 
it  should  work  when  hooked up to the Atari  as  a  1:1  connection. 
However,  I have witnessed interaction between an E! board equipped DX7 
and  other software packages that results in every MIDI device  on  the 
network  starting a 'party line'.

The  DX7  continuously sends 'timing' bytes out on  the  MIDI  channel.    
Dx-Shuttle 'filters' these bytes out,  but to prevent the program  from 
'hanging' up it will accept only so many of these bytes before  logging 
an error. Simply request the transfer again.

Bad  MIDIEX file :  Dx-Shuttle will 'filter' out the  extraneous  bytes 
that may be present in 'MIDIEX' files generated by other software,  but 
some  'patch'  files are stored in formats which are  specific  to  the 
software  originally used.  If you see this message,  the  file  you've 
selected  does  not conform to the standard DX7  'MIDIEX'  format,  and   
Dx-Shuttle can not use it.

























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Dx-Shuttle Vers 1.9


The Shareware Agreement

The  thousand  or  so people (according to download  records)  who  are 
familiar with earlier versions of DX-Shuttle may be surprised to notice 
that  the previous 'profit-sharing Shareware' agreement I offered  with 
those  versions is no longer available.  However,  since I have yet  to 
receive  even one registration for the program,  I don't  think  anyone 
will be put out by this.

What  saddens me the most about the lack of response to  DX-Shuttle  in 
the past, has been the inability to expand the program to support newer 
and  better  MIDI devices on the the market.  So please  register  your 
copy,  and like other 'Shareware' products,  you'll have the ability to 
shape DX-Shuttle with your own suggestions so that it becomes  more  of 
what you want... not what I want to give you.

DX-Shuttle  is 'Shareware'.  It may be freely copied,  and  distributed 
provided  that  all  the original files remain  intact,  and  that  the 
documentation  is  not modified in any way.  The  cost  of  registering     
DX-Shuttle   is  a  donation  that  you  deem   appropriate.

Unregistered  versions  of  Dx-Shuttle do not have  the  capability  of 
reading 'MIDIEX' files directly into a voice database.

Registration  donations  of $15 or more will receive the  most  recent, 
'fully  operational'  version  of Dx-Shuttle on disk,  a  copy  of  the 
manual, and notification of future upgrades of the program.


On  a personal note,  my thanks to Mr.  Al Harris who took the time  to 
call me, and rekindled my interest in this program.




























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REGISTRATION FORM

To Register, complete and mail the following form with your payment.

Payment can be made by Personalized Cheque, or Money Order.
DO NOT SEND CASH.

Make your cheques payable to Douglas Hope, and mail to:

DX-Shuttle
1358 Tina Way
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Canada
V3C 2V3

 
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