many thanks for the info .
ill give it a try when i get a spare minute .

:)

fingers crossed .

--- In chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com, David Clarke <ac151@...> wrote:
>
> > From: "alex459686" <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>
> >... for example i have tried :
> > F0 (sysex start) 08 (fender manufacturese ID) 03 (polaris model ID)
> > 0Css (press switch number ss) 7F (sysex message ends)...
>
> It's been a while since I attempted to talk to the Polaris via Sysex,
> but I believe that the format was
>
> SYSEX Start (F0)
> Fender ID (08)
> Channel Number (value 0 -> 15)
> (Commands)
> SYSEX End (F7)
>
> The Polaris is set up to only respond to sysex on the channels it is
> currently programmed to listen to. For instance - if the Polaris is
> only listening to channel 2, then sending sysex on channel 3 should be
> ignored. The exception to that rule is if the Polaris is in Omni mode -
> then sysex should be received regardless of the channel number used.
>
> To confirm that sysex is being received OK by the Polaris, I'd first try
> some very simple commands, like the "Identify" command.
>
> F0 08 00 49 F7
>
> (0x49 = ASCII "I")
>
> I believe this should return the instrument ID, software revision anem
> the name "Polaris"
>
> The 0Css referenced isn't a direct SYSEX opcode; rather, it's part of a
> bigger idea.
>
> SYSEX on the Polaris is a bit strange (at least in terms of other
> implementations). You can actually 'talk' to the internal data streams
> controlling Polaris behavior and you do this by sending and receiving
> 'messages'. This is very much like an operating system I/O - you can
> 'open' a stream, and the read or write to it.
>
> I may not be remembering if there's an easy way to do this - but my
> recollection is that to do panel control you'll first need to do an
> 'open' on the 'panel' data stream.
>
> You can then 'write' data to that open stream.
>
> The format for an 'open' is 0nnnnmm, where n - the object number and mm
> = the mode.
>
> the 'panel' object is '16'
>
> a mode of '01' is 'write-enabled'
>
> So - that might be:
>
> F0 08 00 4F 00 16 01 F7
>
> Once 'opened' you could do a 'send' message.
>
> The details are in the MIDI Implementation manual, although some trial
> and error will likely be needed, as it takes some tries to get used to
> how the Polaris likes to see data (e.g., ASCII characters, but
> translated into hex.)
>