I am using a system much like the one John McClellan describes
[010302 MMDigest].  In fact, my system operates in both directions.
All the electronic parts were purchased from Ron Perry at Midiator
Systems.  Here are the components:

The mechanical interface is a device built by my friend Bob Cole and
me to decode the pin configuration on a barrel from a barrel organ.
A synchronous motor turns the barrel and a series of generic keys
open and close a contact for each note.  It is fully adjustable to
accommodate barrels of up to 60 keys.

The output of this device is wired to the 40-pin connectors of an Octet
UM-1, which takes the parallel channels and converts them to MIDI
signals.  The UM-1 is connected by MIDI cables to a Midiator converter
which converts the MIDI signals to a serial signal, which is connected
directly to the Serial interface of my trusty Compact Elite laptop
computer.

At the moment, the cable that goes to the input plug on the UM-1 is
routed instead to the input of a small electronic keyboard, which I use
as a listening device.

I can 'play' the barrel into the computer, rearrange the scale to match
the barrel, input the music to the Cakewalk MIDI composition software,
play the music back using Cakewalk and listen to it on the keyboard.
The primary use is to figure out the tuning on a barrel organ while it
is being restored if the scale is not evident or the pipes are badly
tuned.  I was able to accomplish this recently on an organ whose pipes
were so badly damaged that the scale was completely lost.  An
additional project is to be able to connect it to a bank of solenoids
to operate the valves on a barrel organ that doesn't have a barrel.

I had some initial problems with the interface which was caused by a
software problem which made the interface incompatible with the switch
configuration I choose.  But Ron was able to straighten out the problem
to accommodate my situation and it now operates nicely.  If you need
more information, please write me or contact Ron, who lives in San
Diego.  His e-mail address is <ron@midiator.com>

Regards,

Craig Smith