[tcmschlosser]

I know this has been a topic before, however, in researching pedals, I have come across a PageFlip Firefly. Has anybody used this pedal? I know the PageFlip Cicada and the AirTurn BT105 are listed on the MS website. I just wanted to know about the Firefly too. What are people's preference about the pedals? Thanks everyone!

[jeffn1]

I like that the firefly has an option for a USB cable connection. I have not had any luck with bluetooth pedals, so I am using the foo time. But, I think I am in a distinct minority.

[tcmschlosser]

I like that the firefly has an option for a USB cable connection. I have not had any luck with bluetooth pedals, so I am using the foo time. But, I think I am in a distinct minority.

What is the "foo time"?

[jeffn1]

Also called Billipro: http://www.ergocanada.com/detailed_speci...urner.html

[tcmschlosser]

Cool! Thanks for the info. Looks like a great thing, unfortunately, I don't have USB ports on my tablet. I would need to go bluetooth. If I ever get a new tablet with USB ports, I will look into this one for sure!

[jeffn1]

The billipro is not perfect. It double presses to easy. But in my case, bluetooth was dropping out on me, which is unacceptable in the middle of a performance.

But, I think for almost everyone else, bluetooth seems to work fine.

[alanmcorcoran]

I have the page flip firefly. Works with Mobilesheets on Galaxy Tab (android) very easy to setup/pair. It's smaller than I had imagined it would be. I've been practicing with it for about two weeks now and I'd estimate that I turn pages without messing up the flow about 60-70% of the time. Going backward is difficult - the pedals are very close to each other and cannot be separated. Also, sometimes a light tap will turn a page but not reliably - a firm press in the direct center of the pedal is the only way to be 100% certain your page will turn. battery life is good, it's easy to turn on and off (although I rarely remember to turn it off) and there are two little lights on it that might help you spot it in the dark. it moves around on carpet - I try to anchor it by sticking it right next to the aluminum tube on the Roland stand.

I have only used the Bluetooth option. the system will disconnect (shutdown) automatically if 30 minutes goes by with no activity. however, just tapping the pedal will reconnect it - if you are well coordinated and relaxed, you can generally wake it up and get a page turned with maybe a little vamping even if you forgot about to re-connect it after a break.

I am doing my first gig with the tablet and the page turner pedals on Thursday. I'm pretty anxious about all of it, and of course, that's not helping, but I think, if you are a reader (you know who you are) that the advantages of having all the music on the tablet are worth risking some bumpiness.

[tcmschlosser]

I appreciate your honesty about the firefly, I will be interested to know how your gig goes to night (not only with the pedal but in general). I know i have REALLY enjoyed having my music on a tablet instead of lugging around all those notebooks full of music. It does make life easier and makes the music readily available for encores and such. Good luck tonight with your gig!

[alanmcorcoran]

I appreciate your honesty about the firefly, I will be interested to know how your gig goes to night (not only with the pedal but in general). I know i have REALLY enjoyed having my music on a tablet instead of lugging around all those notebooks full of music. It does make life easier and makes the music readily available for encores and such. Good luck tonight with your gig!

Thanks for the interest/encouragement... I posted about the gig under "Anything Goes" "My First Mobile Sheets" gig. To summarize - it went pretty good - not perfectly, but I was pretty happy with it given the amount of time I had to prepare and the newness of all the technology.

[tjrob]

I have the PageFlip Cicada pedal (Bluetooth), and I have two BiliPro pedals (USB). The Cicada would go to sleep at inopportune times, so I now use the BiliPro pedals exclusively. I have two Hannspree 13.3" tablets and two right-angle OTG USB adapters that take the cable off to the left (as is best for pianos).

The BiliPro pedals often give two keys for a single pedal push, so I must use the debouncing in MobileSheets.

[Mnierop]

I have ordered last weekend the new AirTurn PED, a cheaper lighter cleaner and more compact system that connects using Bluetooth 4.0, it says it can run for approximately 6 months on one battery charge! Will see how it works, I will receive the unit within a few days, will let you know how it works. But I realize I still have to practice with this, as I have just started to use Mobilesheets.

The PED is really a brand new product, just released for sale February 17th 2015!

Important to know is you need Bluetooth 4.0 on your tablet (Or Bluetooth Smart Ready, as it is called sometimes) otherwise it will not be able to connect to your tablet.

Bought it here:
http://www.musictabletstore.com/en/store...25659.html
€69 including tax and free shipping

For US customers you can get it here: https://thegigeasy.com/product/airturn-ped/

[androidxen]

I have ordered last weekend the new AirTurn PED, a cheaper lighter cleaner and more compact system that connects using Bluetooth 4.0, it says it can run for approximately 6 months on one battery charge! Will see how it works, I will receive the unit within a few days, will let you know how it works. But I realize I still have to practice with this, as I have just started to use Mobilesheets.

The PED is really a brand new product, just released for sale February 17th 2015!

Important to know is you need Bluetooth 4.0 on your tablet (Or Bluetooth Smart Ready, as it is called sometimes) otherwise it will not be able to connect to your tablet.

Bought it here:
http://www.musictabletstore.com/en/store...25659.html
€69 including tax and free shipping

For US customers you can get it here: https://thegigeasy.com/product/airturn-ped/

I'd love to hear your feedback on the pedal. I prefer rechargeable batteries but if a watch battery can really power it for half a year I might consider upgrading from my 105.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Mnierop]

Received the AirTurn PED today! , just played with it a bit.

Most funny thing.. It has NO moving parts! and it is so thin that the package fitted in my letterbox with room to spare.. so no need to pick it up at the post office

It runs on one ION battery (NON rechargeable) the PED is delivered with TWO, in the battery cover there is a holding thingy for a spare! AirTurn seems to know its clients

The 10 page wallet sized Manual says it will run on one battery for about 300 hours!
The PED will automatically go to sleep mode after two hours of inactivity while paired. Plenty of time to prevent the autosleep becomes a nuisance.

Before pairing you must select the working mode of the PED, If you want to change after pairing it is required to delete the pairing and reset the PED (hold on/of button for >6 seconds) and start all over again. For selecting the mode it is required you can count flashes.. to be honest, that was quite a challenge to find the right one, because it flashes rather quickly.. It confirms the Mode by flashing the battery and Bt leds simultaneously the selected Mode number, if not correct hit the mode select button again and count... I need mode two so press and hold the mode button, one two, release... flash flash flash.. d*mnd hold the button too long, at the third time I got it right :-)

Pairing was a breeze on my Tab3, turn on the PED, BT flashes quickly, turn on the Tab 3, go into the Bluetooth settings.. wait for the PED to show up, tap it, wait two seconds and it was paired... easy.

Ok then I started Mobilesheets and tried the pedals.. well, a better term is touch pads, as there are no moving parts (wel,l there are in fact moving parts, they call it membrane switches, but to the naked eye there is nothing that moves but your feet).. First I tried with only my socks on, works and you can feel if you are on the right or left pad, but I already found out it works best with shoes, probably because the touch is more firm then with socks. I tried soft touches, but then it does not really respond, best is to touch the pads firmly at the edges of the pads, however the manual warns to apply too much pressure as this can damage the memberane switches... When I read that I start wondering how durable this gadget is , only time will tell.. at the other hand, AirTurn provides a one year warranty.

The anti slip work very well on my laminate flooring, hard to move it around, unless you really kick it.

OK, I tried also some Pedal modes in Mobilesheets, the simple "previous page-next page" works fine but  also the "next active link-Next page" works flawless, I think that will be my preferred mode to use the PED. I have not tried the other MS pedal modes yet.

The PED itself has has six operating modes:

1: Some kind of special Apple Only mode (PED App direct.. whatever.. )
2: Arrow up-Arrow down (Advised as the most commonly used mode, works fine with Mobilesheets)
3: Left Right arrow
4: PgDwn-PgUp
5: Space-Enter
6: Left and Right mouseclick.

Beside the pedals the touchscreen taps and swipes keep working,  so it does not take over the touch screen.

It is clearly made with Apple in the forefront, as it has this Mode 1 specially for Apple and for updating the firmware you need a a Utility App from theApple App store... so no firmware update for Andorid.. but if it works, why would you need that anyways.

Ok, that is about it, will see how it works for me, I will start practicing tomorrow with it during practicing evening with the brass band.

[Mnierop]

Hm, I just found out about a a disadvantage of using pedals is that it turns off the virtual keyboard.. Is this always the case or something particular for my Tab3 in combination with the Airturn PED's.

A work around is to turn of Bt when you need the key board, turn it on again after you are done, connects allmost instantly... None the less this is quite a nuisance, is there a way to keep the virtual keyboard available while the Bt pedals are connected?

[Mnierop]

Just got back from my first rehearsal evening with Mobilesheets and the Airturn PED.

First 5 minutes I needed to get used to it, i made quite a few errors while playing, just because the music looks different on the Tab3. But the PED works great. It responds well and immediate to my gentle kicks on the pads. I had it just set to previous - next, and works fine. Making notes works ok during rehearsel, but turning of the Bt to get the keyboard takes its time, but not too cumbersome.

It is just a matter of getting used too, even this first time, at the end i felt quite comfortable using the PED and reading the music from the Tab 3. I did bring my binder with the paper sheets, as backup, but did not feel the need to pull them out... next time I will leave the binder at home.

Battery life is more then sufficient for such a rehearsal evening, two sessions of 1 hour 15 minutes.

So all in all i am very pleased with my setup, now looking forward to the MobilesheetsPro upgrade :-)