DIY description: converting almost any MIDI footswitch wireless

    Based on my experience building my own wireless two-way footswitch here is a description for converting almost any MIDI footswitch wireless.
    I use the described setup on larger stages as well as in the rehearsal room without any problems, it's totally reliable.



    There are two versions: one-way and two-way wireless MIDI.
    In most cases one-way communication might be enough, it's possible to send MIDI commands from the footswitch to the Kemper to choose rigs or switch effects.
    Two-way communication might be interesting if your footswitch supports to show the tuner on it's display (for me this seems to be the only reasonable application).


    Besides the components list this is just a quite rough description... anyway you should have at least basic soldering skills and basic knowledge about electronic components.
    I give absolutely no guarantee for the following to be complete or correct, also not for any damage of your devices or your health.


    You have to know what you're doing!



    I bought all components at Thomann, eBay and Amazon. They might be available at any other store, of course.



    Components for one-way-communication (tuner can not be displayed on footswitch)


    - 1x panda-audio midiBeam
    - 1x MIDI cable (short ~50cm)
    - 8x Eneloop Pro AA battery (+suitable charger)
    - 1x battery holder for 8 AA batteries with clip-connector
    - 1x clip-connector for battery holder
    - 1x ABS case 111x91x43mm
    - 2x LM2596S DC-DC step-down module (4-35V input, 1.23-30V output, 3A max.), in case your MIDI footswitch works in a wide voltage range only 1 module might be necessary and you can skip some of the described steps
    - 1x IA53-JL mini LED voltage meter (3.3-30V)
    - 1x mini switch on/off
    - 2x alligator clip (very small ones)
    - 1x power-cable that fits power input of your MIDI footswitch
    - 1x USB-charger/supply
    - 1x USB to MiniUSB cable (short ~50cm)


    Steps to do at footswitch site:


    01. Find out how the following components fit best in the ABS case and fix them: battery holder (incl. batteries), step-down modules, mini switch, LED voltage meter
    02. Solder (+) of the battery clip-connector to input of the mini switch
    03. Solder output (+) of the mini switch to input (+) of the step-down modules
    04. Solder (-) of the battery clip-connector to input (-) of the step-down modules
    05. Connect the 100% charged battery pack to the clip-connector
    06. Use a voltage/multimeter to adjust output of the first step-down module to 3V
    07. Use a voltage/multimeter to adjust output of the second step-down module to the necessary voltage of your MIDI footswitch
    07. Solder suitable cable to (+) and (-) output of the first step-down module, on the other end solder alligator clips
    08. Use the alligator clips to connect this cable to (+) and (-) inside the battery compartment of the midiBeam transmitter (watch polarity!)
    09. Solder power-cable for your MIDI footswitch to (+) and (-) output of the second step-down module (watch polarity!)
    10. Solder (+) cable of the LED voltage meter to output (+) of the mini switch
    11. Solder (-) cable of the LED voltage meter to (-) of the battery clip-connector
    12. Connect MIDI in of midiBeam transmitter to MIDI out of your footswitch


    Steps to do at Kemper site:


    01. Use USB to MiniUSB cable to connect USB-charger/supply to power input of midiBeam receiver
    02. Use MIDI cable to connect midiBeam receiver MIDI out to Kemper MIDI in


    Power on all devices, press "pair" on midiBeam transmitter and receiver.
    If everything went fine, your wireless MIDI footswitch is ready to go!



    Components for two-way-communication (tuner can be displayed on footswitch, if supported)


    - 2x panda-audio midiBeam
    - 2x MIDI cable (short ~50cm)
    - 8x Eneloop Pro AA battery (+suitable charger)
    - 1x battery holder for 8 AA batteries with clip-connector
    - 1x clip-connector for battery holder
    - 1x ABS case 111x91x43mm
    - 3x LM2596S DC-DC step-down module (4-35V input, 1.23-30V output, 3A max.), in case your MIDI footswitch works in a wide voltage range only 2 modules might be necessary and you can skip some of the described steps
    - 1x IA53-JL mini LED voltage meter (3.3-30V)
    - 1x mini switch on/off
    - 4x alligator clip (very small ones)
    - 1x power-cable that fits power input of your MIDI footswitch
    - 1x USB-charger/supply
    - 2x USB to MiniUSB cable (short ~50cm)
    - 1x power supply with 3V DC output


    Steps to do at footswitch site:


    01. Find out how the following components fit best in the ABS case and fix them: battery holder (incl. batteries), step-down modules, mini switch, LED voltage meter
    02. Solder (+) of the battery clip-connector to input of the mini switch
    03. Solder output (+) of the mini switch to input (+) of the step-down modules
    04. Solder (-) of the battery clip-connector to input (-) of the step-down modules
    05. Connect the 100% charged battery pack to the clip-connector
    06. Use a voltage/multimeter to adjust output of the first step-down module to 3V
    07. Use a voltage/multimeter to adjust output of the second step-down module to 5V
    08. Use a voltage/multimeter to adjust output of the third step-down module to the necessary voltage of your MIDI footswitch
    09. Solder suitable cable to (+) and (-) output of the first step-down module (3V), on the other end solder alligator clips
    10. Use the alligator clips to connect this cable to (+) and (-) inside the battery compartment of the midiBeam transmitter
    11. Cut the USB A-connector of the MiniUSB cable, solder the part with the MiniUSB to (+) and (-) output of the second step-down module (5V, watch polarity! pin1=+5V, pin5=ground), then connect to power input of midiBeam receiver
    12. Solder power-cable for your MIDI footswitch to (+) and (-) output of the third step-down module (watch polarity!)
    13. Solder (+) cable of the LED voltage meter to output (+) of the mini switch
    14. Solder (-) cable of the LED voltage meter to (-) of the battery clip-connector
    15. Connect MIDI in of midiBeam transmitter to MIDI out of your footswitch
    16. Use MIDI cable to connect MIDI out of midiBeam receiver to MIDI in of your footswitch


    Steps to do at Kemper site:


    01. Use USB to MiniUSB cable to connect USB-charger/supply to power input of midiBeam receiver
    02. Use MIDI cable to connect midiBeam receiver MIDI out to Kemper MIDI in
    03. Cut the plug of the 3V power supply and solder alligator clips to the cable's end
    04. Use the alligator clips to connect this cable to (+) and (-) inside the battery compartment of the midiBeam transmitter (watch polarity!)
    05. Connect MIDI in of midiBeam transmitter to Kemper MIDI out


    Power on all devices, then press "pair" on midiBeam transmitter (footswitch site) and receiver (Kemper site).
    After this press "pair" on midiBeam transmitter (Kemper site) and receiver (footswitch site).
    If everything went fine, your wireless two-way MIDI footswitch is ready to go!



    This is how the final result can look like (version with two-way communication):
    [Blocked Image: http://up.picr.de/27087110gm.jpg]

    Edited 2 times, last by 120dBRockNRoll: Correction: the panda-audio midiBeam receicer has a MiniUSB connector, not MicroUSB ().

    Like 11

    Just upgraded from old model Microdesignum MIDI Grande 7F1D to latest model 8F1D.


    Conclustion after using the wireless floorboard for about one year: the connection is totally reliable, there was not a single problem... just like using cables. A package of eight Eneloop Pro AA batteries lasts for about 4-5 hours.


    [Blocked Image: http://up.picr.de/29977491bs.jpg]



    Old model Microdesignum MIDI Grande 7F1D vs latest model 8F1D:
    [Blocked Image: http://up.picr.de/29977492qp.jpg]

    How would you say the initial setup is like for the midi grande. Is it hard or can it be used straight out of the box. I like how this unit shows tuning and is small compared to the fcb from Behringer.


    What i’m looking for is simple switching between profiles and and/or adding fx to the current profile and i think this one will fit my needs perfectly. Do you recommend the 8 for the flexibilty or would you go for the 10 or 6 perhaps.


    I have around 5 useable profiles and on each switcheable fx.


    Thanks in advance.

    The factory settings of the MIDI Grande work with the Kemper, but some manual configuration has to be done if you want to use all it's features (e.g. showing the tuner or assign expression pedal). Progamming it is not that hard, if you have at least basic knowledge about MIDI.


    The model/number of switches should fit your needs. For me the 8F1D is perfect, because I need only 5 or 6 sounds.


    As each switch has two layers you could assign two similar sounds to one switch and select the second one by stepping twice on the same switch: e.g. rhythm on layer one of the first switch and the same rhythm sound with a slight volume boost on the second layer.

    There is an alternative for 2-way MIDI communication for home and small venues use (10 meter range). It is also minimal foot print on the Kemper side.


    - x1 - QuiccoSound mi.1 or Yamaha MD-BT01: Wireless MIDI Bluetooth LE Tx/Rx (Peripheral mode)
    - x1 - CME Widi-Bud: Wireless MIDI Bluetooth LE Tx/Rx (Central mode)
    - x1 - USB host compliant to DIN 5 converter: Plenty of options here.

    I'm glad to read that you (120dbRocknRoll) haven't got any issue with the panda audio midibeam.
    It must have been me then, because after reading you topic last year, I also bought the midibeam.
    From almost the get go, I got all sorts of strange problems. Maybe because I'm not only switching my Kemper but also switch
    at least 5 other devices aswell, and trigger samples left and right things went totally wrong.
    Wrong programs, a sampler which kept resetting itself etc etc.
    I was glad I still could send it back to Music Store and have my money back.
    When I switched back to a cable, all problems were gone. Strange isn't it?