oplab musical
experimental
board
user guide
ガイド
v.2.0
oplab
oplab has been discontinued.
notice. read this first. before connecting this unit to other devices, turn off the power to all units. this will help prevent malfunctions and/or damage to speakers or other devices.
if you need to connect/disconnect wires during use, always make sure to connect the cable to the oplab first!
never connect the 3.5mm plugs coming from cv in or cv out jacks to any mic or line-level audio equipment such as inputs or outputs on sound cards, mixers and synthesizers. for example:

phantom power coming from a mic-input on a sound cards could destroy the ports on the oplab.

the voltage coming from oplab’s cv out or +5v supply on cv in (ring) could damage a line input or line output stage.

use only the AC adaptor supplied with the unit. make sure you always have the board placed so it is level and sure to remain stable. since there are sensitive electronics mounted on the bottom-side of the board, please never place it on metal or conductive surfaces such as:

stainless steel or any metal table like sinks etc.

keyboards or laptops made out of aluminium.

avoid having loose objects like keys, tools or jewelry that can cause short circuit if coming in contact with the bottom side of the oplab board.

touching the board with wet fingers.

never install or use the unit in any of the following locations:

humid environments or baths and washrooms.

safety-critical applications.

nuclear facilities and weapons systems.

aerospace applications or environments for automotive installations.

store small parts out of the reach of children and infants. if accidentally swallowed, contact a doctor immediately. warranty and return policy
the oplab board is fully factory tested and comes with a 12 month (from purchase date) warranty. this does not include malfunction due to misuse of the device, such as being dropped, crushed or use in an application of inappropriate voltages to the device’s connectors or improperly designed or executed modifications. in particular, you are the sole responsible for damage caused by a power supply adapter other than provided.
as the oplab is sold as an experimental board, make sure avoiding touching sensitive components and be aware of static discharge (esd). the general guarantee policy does not cover esd damaged products due to improper handling.
the warranty does not cover shipping charges.
make sure to read the terms & conditions here
.

what's in the box check that the following items are included when you open the box
oplab board.
fixed onto the cardboard stand when delivered.
cardboard stand.
you can use this as a stand for oplab. you can also unscrew and take oplab off the cardboard stand.
rubber feet x4.
once you have taken oplab off the cardboard stand, you will find four attached rubber feet in the stand.
5V, 2A universal
power supply.
travel adaptor US.
travel adaptor UK.
travel adaptor EU.
travel adaptor AU.
interface ratings USB host A/B:
max. 500mA, 5V
DC plug:
voltage 5V (±5%). min current 1.5A
CV in:
voltage range accepted: -5 to +5V
gate in:
voltage range accepted: 0 to 5V
CV out:
output voltage range 0-10V
gate (s-trig) out:
output voltage range 0-10V
NOTE: maximum ratings indicate limits beyond which damage may occur. always make sure to check the voltage levels of external equipment before connecting it to the oplab board. for quick-reference, all jacks and buttons also have their info printed on the back of the board. avoid bending the board when connecting and disconnecting plugs to the jacks.
USB
host B
host A
5V DC 1.5A
MIDI in
CV1 in
CV2 in
gate in
CV1 out
CV2 out
gate out
MIDI out
sync 24
A
B
select
LEDs
modes
user
HC/V, V/OCT
gate, s-trig
buttons, switches and LEDs A
B
select
select mode
A, B and select button.
these act as basic function buttons or input select depending on mode. functions described in the “oplab modes” section below.
LEDs.
there is one LED for each input/output port/jack. these normally indicate if there is signal or data currently sent or received. the 4x LEDs in the front show the current mode in binary form.
mode.
this rotary switch is how you select which mode the oplab is in. it has 10 positions (printed on the switch) and the mode can be changed at any time by just turning this knob.
flip switches.
the first switch is reserved for future user functions.
the second switch is used to set the behavior of CV1 output.
the third switch is used to set the behavior of the gate output.
MIDI messages notemodulationclock oplab listens to three types of MIDI message and sends them to the right destination.
we have marked these three MIDI message types with different colors in this manual.
MIDI can be sent on MIDI cables or over USB.
note.
a MIDI note message contains the pitch and amplitude of a note to be played.
on a MIDI keyboard, a 'note on' message is sent when you press a key and 'note off' when you release it.
modulation.
a MIDI modulation message (also called CC1 in some MIDI devices) is usually sent by the 'mod wheel' control on a keyboard. it can control any aspect of the sound, depending on your synthesizer.
clock.
MIDI clock is used to keep rhythmical synthesizers and drum machines in the same tempo. it also includes start/stop messages for sequencers.
port specification MIDI
in
MIDI
out
from
oplab
sync 24
USB device port.
plugs into computer and shows up as a standard MIDI device class for MIDI in/out data over USB.
this can also be used to power oplab.
USB host port A/B.
acts as a host controller for 'class compliant' USB MIDI devices.
useful for connecting OP-1s, pads, controllers, fader boards, etc.
MIDI in/out
note, sync and modulation data is read and sent to the oplab's outputs.
sync 24.
connect to an input marked sync 24 or din sync to synchronize the clock of a device which uses this system (e.g. the roland tb-303, tr-606, sequencers).
from
oplab
from
oplab
CV1 out
CV2 out
gate out
to
oplab
to
oplab
CV1 in
CV2 in
gate in
CV / gate out.
CV (control voltage) and gate is the standard for controlling analog synthesizers.
CV1 and gate together form a note output. when a MIDI note is sent to the CV/gate ports, gate goes high and the note pitch value is translated to an analog voltage on CV1.
modulation (CC1) messages are continuously translated into a voltage on CV2. try connecting it to the filter CV input on your analog synth!
CV out scale (Hz/V / V/oct switch).
there are two different voltage standards used for note CV: Hz/V and V/oct. try which one works with your synth! the oplab inputs always use V/oct scale.
gate out type (gate/s-trig switch) .
there are two different synth trigger standards. gate is a voltage that is low for note off and high for note on, s-trig is like a switch to ground that is closed when a note is on. the oplab input is always
a gate.
CV / gate in.
CV1 and gate together form a note input. when gate in goes high, the voltage on CV1 in is sampled and translated into a MIDI note.
CV2 is continuously translated into modulation (CC1) messages and sent to the selected output.
expansion ports.
34 pin-port can be used for connecting your own devices with oplab.
8-pin port has no user functions.
power, DC plug.
5V DC, standard plug 5.5/2.1mm.
oplab modes orange indicated selected port.
the images shows one scenario in each mode.
mode 0
select input
show current input
mode 1
clock source
select output
show current output
mode 0: single source.
one source sent to all other destinations.
press A & B to select input. press select to show current input.
mode 1: single destination.
all sources sent to one destination.
press A & B to select output.
clock source is the last input to send a MIDI start message.
mode 2
change note
play note
clock source
change note
play note
mode 3
mode 2: USB frenzy.
all USB cross connected.
all USB merged and sent on MIDI out and CV out.
MIDI in and CV in merged and sent to all USB.
press A & B to change note.
press select to play note.
clock source is the last input to send a MIDI start message.
mode 3: dual mode.
CV, modulation, gate in
& out connected to USB host 1. MIDI in & out connected to USB host 2 & USB device.
press A & B to change note.
press select to play note.
mode 4
stop
start
tempo
from
oplab
mode 5
select input
show current input
pocket operator sync
modular sync
start-
stop
mode 4: clock maker.
oplab is MIDI clock master. sync is generated and sent to MIDI out, sync24 out and USB.
press A to stop.
press B to start.
tap select rhythmically
to set tempo.
mode 5: jack sync.
CV/gate out have different functions controlled by MIDI clock. press A & B to select input. press select to show current input.
CV1: pocket operator
sync.

2 pulses per quarter note.
connect to TE pocket operators (PO-12, PO-14 etc) in sync input mode. also works with korg volca, monotron and others.
CV2: modular sync.
4 pulses per quarter note.
connect to sync input on eurorack modules and sequencers that use this format.
gate: start-stop.
this output is set high by MIDI start and low by MIDI stop on the selected input.
calibrate
pitch
bend
modu-
lation
mode 7
mode 7: sensor.
oplab reads analog sensor or CV input from CV in.
CV1 is sent as MIDI pitch bend and CV2 as MIDI modulation wheel (CC1) to all outputs.
press select to calibrate:
a quick push sets the input range to a full -5 to 5V.
if the key is held, the range is set to the min and the max voltages read until it is released. the MIDI messages sent have a range of 0-127, so for example, if the input voltage varies between -2 and 4V while calibrate is held, -2V will be translated to a MIDI ‘0’ and 4V will be ‘127’. inputs outside the range will be clipped.
oplab expansion port GND
inputs
+5V
reserved
AGND
GND
outputs
+3.3V
reserved
AGND
the 34 pin-port can be used for connecting your own devices with oplab.
the expansion port contains 12 inputs and 12 outputs, each one hard-wired to a MIDI note, forming one octave each. the first input/output is C, the next C#, D, D# etc.
if an input is connected to ground (GND), oplab will send a corresponding MIDI note to all active outputs. do not connect inputs to any voltage above 3.3V or below 0V.
try connecting 12 switches to GND to make a mini keyboard!
if a MIDI note is received on an active oplab input, the corresponding expansion port pin will go from low (0V) to high (3.3V). they can be used to trigger external devices like lamps, sound generators, etc. do not connect an output directly to another output of any voltage (including 0V or GND).
note that the warranty does NOT cover connecting non-TE devices to the expansion port.
to protect the oplab and your devices, put a 500 ohm resistor between the port pin and any device you connect. do not exceed 20mA of current on any one output.
OS update os updates
select
USB
SysEx
1. download the latest
oplab OS 'oplab #861' in our os updates
section.

2. hold the 'select' button during power-up. this will enter the 'OS upgrade mode' and will be indicated by the 4x LEDs flashing.
3. connect the board to a computer using the mini- USB port.
(this can also be done during step 2 and power the board via USB-only.)
4. launch a SysEx transfer tool like 'SysEx librarian' on mac, 'MIDI-OX' on PC or the very neat pc/mac tool C6 from elektron (download
under applications). load the latest 'oplab_861
.syx' and hit play/send.

done!
5. oplab will indicate the transfer by cycling the
4x LEDs one by one.
6. once done, oplab will automatically restart.
oplab MIDI implementation below you can find the MIDI implementation chart for oplab.
the CV/gate interface and expansion port send and listen to MIDI channel 1 only.
messages on other MIDI channels will still be transmitted to MIDI and USB ports.
voltages below refer to v/oct mode (refer to port specification section of this manual for more information.
CV interface the CV interface sends on MIDI channel 1 and listens to channel 1 and 15.
message range effect
note
octaves 2-9 (notes 12-96)
translated to/from CV1 voltage
note C-2 = 0 V
note C-9 = 7 V
velocity 0 = gate off
other velocity = gate on
pitch bend
14-bit resolution (0-3FFFh)
out: changes CV1 voltave 1 V up/down
in: in sensor mode (7) oplab CV1 input is translated to pitch bend
modulation
(control change 1)
14-bit resolution (0-3FFFh)
translated to/from CV2 voltage, 0-10 V
expansion port the expansion port sends on MIDI channel 1 and listens to channel 1 and 16.
message range effect
note
octaves 2-9 (notes 12-96)
in: MIDI notes 1-12 in each octave control one output each.
out: exp port inputs 1-12 each sends one MIDI note in octave 2.
sync interface the sync interface listens to MIDI clock, which is sent on all channels.
message range effect
clock (F8h)
n/a
clock source for oplab sync output
start (FAh) continue (FBh)
n/a
in: select the sending device as MIDI clock source for oplab in certain modes