Power over Midi?

Hey there,

some devices get their power through a midi connection without further power Sources. Can the Digitakt handle that so that I can power such a device with Digitakt via Midi Out?

I assume your question is can the Digitakt midi ports send power to an external device that requires midi power to operate?

I can confirm I’ve plugged an anatek pocket sync into my Digitakt out : its led is on and it is sending audio sync track out … so yes, power-over-midi works on the Digitakt.

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that’s what I meant, thanks

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My Digitone sends power over midi. I use it for a Midi Solutions Quadra Thru. I think the Digitakt would be the same. Not 100% though.

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Thanks, I will power my entire rack and even my flat with Digitakts Midi Out!

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By the way, Quadra Thru was one of the best $50 bucks I’ve ever spent. Makes it so easy to have all your hardware connected to a midi brain of sorts.

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I wish I could find mine/ that thing was excellent

I have the Kenton one that needs 9v, wish I’d bought the quadra thru now!

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My exact reason for getting the midi solutions quadra thru over a Kenton box was that the Kenton ones need a power supply.

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I am using Midi Merge box with digitakt. It works without the need of external power supply.

FWIW, this doesn’t work for all devices. I just tested a device which works on all of my other powered MIDI output ports with the Digitakt, and it kept rebooting (likely because it wasn’t able to draw enough current). This same device will work on the Octatrack without issue, apparently.

Am trying out the new WIDI Master by CME and it works well as a MIDI to BT adapter. works well on all my synths except the Prophet 6. Does anyone know of a solution to this or would you expect the Prophet 6 just not supporting power over MIDI?

Already asked in the sequential forum, but also wanted to ask here as well :slightly_smiling_face:

Is the Prophet running the new electrical specification? MIDI used to be 5V across across the board, some devices are starting to incorporate the new 3.3V spec which would not be enough voltage to power the MIDI Thru, according to their website.

@Brandx Did you have any issues connecting to it from Android? I’ve been trying out a bunch of the CME devices, but I couldn’t get the WIDI Master to work with my Digitakt. Had to switch to the WIDI Jack so I could power it externally via USB. The suspicion from CME support is that the 'Takt wasn’t supplying enough power.

I like to go to synthesizer showrooms and power a Bitcoin mining rig off the MIDI ports. Power over MIDI – free money.

On the Prophet 6 it was solved with a Firmware update. I never actually used it with Android.

Did you try using another device (e.g your Computer) connecting to it? Might also be worth contacting Elektron support. Maybe it’s something that might be possible to get fixed in an update too.

@brandx thanks. Yeah, I’ve tried everything. Been back and forth with CME support for over a month. Just can’t get the thing working. It’s really perplexing because both you and somebody on their open source support spreadsheet have reported it working for them, but it absolutely doesn’t for me.

Are you on the latest Digitakt Firmware? Rather than contacting CME support, you might want to reach out to Elektron support. Also, rather than trying to connect to your Android device, try connecting to a computer to ensure it‘s not a problem specific to the Android Bluetooth implementation.

…and in case you live in Berlin, I could borrow you my WIDI Master to try.

Curious about Midi Bluetooth latency. 3ms would be ok, 15ms meh.