/rpi-bt-midi-repeater

Creative Commons Zero v1.0 UniversalCC0-1.0

Raspberry Pi as Bluetooth-MIDI Repeater

Topology

Tested components

  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model B v1.2
  • 2x WIDI BUD (BLE to USB MIDI Bridge)
  • 2x Wave for Music (Genki Instruments), firmware version 1.7.0, standalone mode

Tested system

Raspberry Pi OS Lite
Release date: May 7th 2021
Kernel version: 5.10

Basic installation

  • Download original RPi Imager
  • Write "Raspberry Pi OS Lite" to SD card
  • Boot image
  • Login (user: pi, password: raspberry)
  • Basic Setup - sudo raspi-config
    • Wifi
      • 1 System Options
      • S1 Wireless LAN
    • Password
      • 1 System Options
      • S3 Password
    • SSH
      • 3 Interface Options
      • P2 SSH
  • Check IP on Wifi adapter: ip a
  • Connect through SSH (optional) - better for copy-pasting commands
  • Update
    • sudo apt update
    • sudo apt upgrade -y
  • Setup DHCP
    • sudo echo "interface eth0" >> /etc/dhcpcd.conf
    • sudo echo "static ip_address=192.168.120.1/24" >> /etc/dhcpcd.conf
    • sudo reboot
    • Login again
    • sudo apt install dnsmasq -y
    • sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.conf add lines 
      interface=eth0
bind-dynamic
dhcp-range=192.168.120.100,192.168.120.200,255.255.255.0,12h
dhcp-option=3
dhcp-option=6
    • sudo service dnsmasq restart

Test Wave + WiDi

  • Insert WiDi dongels
  • Start Waves - they should connect in one minutes
  • Run aseqdump -l. Expected output: 
     Port    Client name                      Port name
  0:0    System                           Timer
  0:1    System                           Announce
 14:0    Midi Through                     Midi Through Port-0
 24:0    WidiBud                          WidiBud MIDI 1
 28:0    WidiBud                          WidiBud MIDI 1
  • (Alternative) Run amidi -l. Expected output: 
    Dir Device    Name
IO  hw:2,0,0  WidiBud MIDI 1
IO  hw:3,0,0  WidiBud MIDI 1
  • (Alternative) Run aplaymidi -l. Expected output: 
     Port    Client name                      Port name
 14:0    Midi Through                     Midi Through Port-0
 24:0    WidiBud                          WidiBud MIDI 1
 28:0    WidiBud                          WidiBud MIDI 1
  • Warning: This outputs represents installed dongles, not connected Waves
    Blicking 2 dots in the middle row indicate disconnected Wave
  • Test incoming events. Run aseqdump --port 24:0,28:0 or any other port from previus outputs. It shows you incoming MIDI CC messages from Waves. For example: 
    ...
  28:0   Control change          0, controller 50, value 63
  28:0   Control change          0, controller 52, value 101
  24:0   Control change          0, controller 17, value 89
  24:0   Pitch bend              0, value 20
  28:0   Control change          0, controller 52, value 100
  24:0   Control change          0, controller 16, value 84
  24:0   Pitch bend              0, value 0
...

Install core

Follow compiling instructions: https://blog.tarn-vedra.de/pimidi-box/

Config files

/etc/raveloxmidi_hw2.conf

alsa.input_device = hw:2,0,0 
alsa.output_device = hw:2,0,0 
network.bind_address = 0.0.0.0 
service.name = Wave-RPi-hw2 
network.control.port = 5004
network.data.port = 5005
network.local.port = 5006

/etc/raveloxmidi_hw3.conf

alsa.input_device = hw:3,0,0 
alsa.output_device = hw:3,0,0 
network.bind_address = 0.0.0.0 
service.name = Wave-RPi-hw3
network.control.port = 5007
network.data.port = 5008
network.local.port = 5009

Service files

/etc/systemd/system/raveloxmidi_hw2.service

[Unit]
After=local-fs.target network.target
Description=raveloxmidi RTP-MIDI network server HW2

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/raveloxmidi -N -c /etc/raveloxmidi_hw2.conf

Type=simple
Restart=always

/etc/systemd/system/raveloxmidi_hw3.service

[Unit]
After=local-fs.target network.target
Description=raveloxmidi RTP-MIDI network server HW3

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/raveloxmidi -N -c /etc/raveloxmidi_hw3.conf

Type=simple
Restart=always

Enable services:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable raveloxmidi_hw2.service
sudo systemctl start raveloxmidi_hw2.service
sudo systemctl enable raveloxmidi_hw3.service
sudo systemctl start raveloxmidi_hw3.service

Set Network sessions

Add hosts:

Name: hw2
Host: 192.168.120.1
Port: 5004

hw2

Name: hw3
Host: 192.168.120.1
Port: 5007

hw3