Rhythm Ace FR-1 uniPulse install

This manual shows how to connect uniPulse to the Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-1. It is possible to control all 10 drum voices via midi and they are velocity sensitive.
It is even possible to control the Brush sound in a velocity sensitive way.

Trigger

Here you can see the voice board with the connections of uniPulse triggers P1-P10. The brush control needs a general purpose PNP transistor such as BC557 and a 56k resistor. Connect them them just the way it shown in the picture.
B, C, and E are the Base, Collector and Emitter of the transistor.
Connect the base to point B, the emitter to point E and the collector to uniPulse CV-out via a 56k resistor. The 56k resistor is not connected to the 470k resistor on the board, it only looks like that in the picture.


uniPulse power

In order to power the uniPulse, you need to install a few additonal components. Due to the high voltage after the transformer, an additional 15V regulator must be used (7815). The capacitors should have a voltage rating of at least 35V, more is ok. Connect the uniPulse V+ and V- wires as shown in the picture.

Clock sync

As always syncing the drum machine to the midi clock is optional and requires additional circuitry.
A level shifter is needed for the start/stop signal. Two pole switch (included in the kit) is used to switch between internal clock and midi clock. In order to access points A and B, desolder one leg of R12. A is connected to the resistor, B is connected to the board where the resistor was connected originally.
Point C can be directly connected to the Start/Stop switch.

Config File

Upload the config file using the configurator and you are ready to go