D . A . M . I . A . N .
The Deathlehem Anarchy Machine Intonating Antagonizing Noise - modular synthesizer
This is the new Design section and blog - 1008. Last update: February 1509
This is the new Design section and blog - 1008. Last update: February 1509
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MODULE DESCRIPTIONS AREA (see below this section for new design postings) |
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| DATE | NAME | DATUM |
| Oct. 0908 | QUADATRIX
(Quad matrix) SEQUENCER (This section is still under construction as of October 1008) |
The full idea for this sequencer originated at least 1 year ago. My desire then
were to have: A sequencer comprised of:
My experiments using an LM329 +6.9V voltage reference were immediately successful. (Having calculated the proper resistance divisions for the entire string.) My success in this, made me realize right away, that I could do the exact same thing for my Quadatrix sequencer idea! 6 days ago, the 1st of 4, 4 step semitone sequencers for this panel, was born. 
And earlier this afternoon, the 2nd one was brought to life as well. Alright. Enough of my excitement. Let's get more into a description of how this sequencer will be operated and function: QUADATRIX SEQUENCER DESCRIPTION: The Quadatrix Sequencer will consist of the following:
Each of the 4 sections consists of the following components:
This section consists of the following components:
Each of the 4 sections consists of the following components:
This section consists of the following components:
Methods of operation: My original and current desire for this sequencer were and are to allow me to have control over which step within each of the 16 sections is playing, at any one time. Such as:
The 8 input multiplexers have 3 Control bits, for selecting which are their 8 inputs are currently active. The same thing can be accomplished with the vertical playback of the sections, but inputting controls into the input jacks that remain high, for longer periods. Overall - which step of which section for both the Semitone (Semiblock) and Octave (Octablock) sections are completely open to the choice of the user. On top of that, the Semitone for each of the Semiblock's steps as well as the Octave for each of the Octablocks steps, may be changed by the rotary switch for every single step. This isn't just a '16 step sequencer' kids!
Using extermal controllers for turning individual steps on
and off at your choice of timings, opens this sequencer up to almost
endless possibilities in melodies, with it's small collection of
controls! 
My Sequencer design historical: My Quadatrix Sequencer idea was born in 1995. Planned then to be a sequencer built with wooden knobs on a wooden panel, the sequencer then to be named: Woody, was AL-MOST born. Portions of him were designed (including variable Gate Length per step); tested and working. The first finished module though, never came to be. In 1997, my 3rd attempt at a sequencer, was also the origin of my having 2 pitches per step switchable between either of them on their step. That sequencer actually did come to completion for my modular and respect to another Canadian musician was so named: Stompon' Tom the 3rd. In very early 2006, my 4th sequencer attempt came to life in my current modular. Again, using my 2 pitches per step idea, though this time with rotary switches for the pitch on each step. This sequencer however proved unusable due to an uncompletely accurate tuning section for each of the rotary switches. This unnamed sequencer, was scrapped. (Though it's Master Divider (7 division modification of Ken Stone's 6 division) still lives along with it's brother Master Divider in my modular, today. In late 2007, sequencer #5 from myself was born. It were a modification of Tom Bugs' Pattern Changer - going with the 12 position rotary switch again. Here though, unstable tuning problems from either my modular, or the Constant Current Source, or the 10+ year old rotary switches, caused THAT sequencer's demise. (Again - the 2 x Master Dividers surviving.) Finally - sequencer #6 from myself, the Quadatrix Sequencer, has come to life!
Though it's not yet completed, it's 2 sets of 4 step
1V/octave sequencers, are working beautifully! |
| DESIGN IDEAS AND PROGRESS AREA |
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| DATE | NAME | DATUM |
| Oct. 0408 11:19 AM | New voltage source part acquired | I managed to find a lower voltage Voltage Reference yesterday locally. The LM336Z-2.5.
Needing 16 of them for each semiblock, I purchased 20 of them at $1 each. Next time that I place an order with Digikey, I'll
order them from them instead. Whoa! What a price difference! Even at 1
piece, from Digikey, they're only $0.41 Canadian each.
If I buy 100 of them, that'll drop to $0.23! Ah well. That's what I get for my impatience. Now before I get further - yesterday I had made an error in calculation as to just how MUCH wattage this Quadatrix will be pulling at least, from the power supply. I had mistakenly SOMEhow calculated it to 42mA from the 16 x LM 329's voltage drops. Ummm. That were a bit high. When I calculated the voltage drop from the LM336's at work last night I came to:
Anyhoo ...... I had enough time after I picked them up before heading to work, to hook 1 of them up and set up the proper resistor values for the voltage drop and tuning. Everything looks good.  Ignore the text in green! It was an idea that I had last night, that isn't ...... quite right. BUT - it triggered the new idea, that is posted below it.  Another thought train / desire that I had at work last night, was for a series of 'patterns' that I could switch between and I may have come to a way to do it: The CD40193 (that is the main 'engine' in Ray Wilson's MFOS Sequencer), has 4 bit inputs which he uses in the random number generation section. If instead, I have a matrix of 4 switch columns that are stepped between, I can tell that CD40193 which bit outputs I wish to have selected, in advance. I then just have the matrix switched through by another multiplexer. Ahhh!
Here's another offshoot idea that just sprung to
mind! Do the same thing for GATE Steps! Imagine, a
matrix of 4 sets, of 16 switches that the MFOS Sequencer will drive.
Which of the sets, can be controlled by another multiplexer.
THIS is what I'm looking for, for 'patterns'! Now - - that's going to be a fair expense in switches. At about $1.25
each per switch, that's $20 per pattern for the switches alone.To keep wiring down, I would stick with 1 LED per STEP overall, as opposed to 1 LED per switch per step. Along with the Ground wire, that would only be 17 wires per pattern. K.
That's not so bad.So the major thing is the cost of switches per pattern. Time to look on e-Bay! Alright. Off to hooking up more of the 16 steps for the Quadatrix Semiblock before heading off to do the day's chores.  |
| Oct. 0308 12:18 AM |
Minor Quadatrix re-design bits | Firstly - the
errors that I had mentioned the other day, were fixed.
The 1st of 4 semiblocks, for the Quadatrix are working
beautifully! One bugger though - when I hooked it up to have it play along with the Pattern Changer that I had modified to work as a 4 step 1V/octave sequencer - did I find just HOW out of tune the Pattern Changer was!
The higher up in pitch that the notes went, the more out of
tune that it were.Instead of trying to fix that module, I instead scrapped, both of the Pattern Changers, from my modular. Now - on to the cooler news. At one point at work tonight I began analyzing one area of the 4 x 4 matrix of the Quadatrix. With 16 x LM329 +6.9V voltage references and their +5.9V voltage drop from each of them - for each of the 16 x semitone rotary switches, I found that the circuit would be consuming a minimum of 42mA!
Uh oh. Now - with the 1.5 amp digital power supply, that's not a huge concern, but still. I'm a cheap-wad. Looking through the Digikey catalog, I found the availability of 1.2V and 2.5V voltage references. Now there, with either a 0.2V or 1.5V drop, the module would be consuming a hell of a lot loss power!
So later today, I'm going to see if my local supplier has any
lower voltage, voltage references in stock that I could use for each of
the 16 steps, to save power wastage. As it is for each of the
semitone rotary switches, I only NEED 1 volt, exactly. A 1.2V
voltage reference would work beautifully with 1 extra resistor on top
of the 12 resistors around the switch. Once I find a decent
one,
I'll draw up a new schematic for the 1 step and post it in the
schematic section.The LM329 +6.9V reference will still work fine for my Octave rotary switches as I have only to drop +0.9V from the reference - leaving me with a 6 octave range from the switch. I'll continue to use that voltage reference for the 4 x 4 matrix of octave switching. In working out ideas for the controller engine for the Quadatrix the other day, I realized that I already have exactly the controller engine that I need for it!
My 2 x MFOS Gate Sequencers! All that I have to
modify on
them, is bringing the 4 control bits from each of their CD40193 4 bit
synchronous up / down counter, through buffers, out to the front panel.
(The panel was already designed with jacks installed for
their
inclusion. NOW - it has a definite purpose!
(My original intent were for bringing the bits out, for
controlling whichever else. Now - it's more definitely
defined.
)Another portion of the 2 Gate Sequencer that I may look into bringing out to the front panel are the 8 outputs from each of the Shift Registers. (They're in the Random Number generation area of the MFOS Sequencer.) Those bits could have uses for sequence step control as well.) Before I laid out the PCB for the 4 x 4 matrix, I hadn't sat down to fully realize just HOW big the PCB would be. (I may post the picture that I took of it here, later, if anyone's interested. My email addy for requests, is at the bottom of this page.) I were fairly liberal in spacing in quite a few areas, not wishing to be cramping things together on the board, as I have with other circuits. With this in mind - the PCB is approximately 6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm). Future versions of the 4 x 4 matrii for the semiblock and octablock PCBs, will instead be done in 4 step PCBs. I'll then stack them, 1 on top of the other with standoffs. That will make any necessary debugging easier as well. I've found from past experiences, when it comes to a lot of ciruitry and wiring on 1 large PCB, it can become fairly difficult to find a cold solder joint. Another new 'discovery by accident' occurred this past weekend with the artwork for the panel of the semiblocks for the Quadatrix. I originally wished to do a simple piece of artwork for both the semiblock and octablock panels. (Holes wise - exactly the same.) These are the 1st panels that I have applied my "Deathlehem 4U" logo to. For colouring in the backgrounds though, I thought I would try something roughly, random: I took my white pencil crayon and roughly filled in all of the horizontal and then vertical lines between all of the holes drilled, in 1 of the panels. This left spacings of wood showing thorugh variably, between each vertical and horizontal colour ins. I then thought, I would cycle the 8 colours that I like from my pencil crayon sticks, in order, across the panel. The colours would nicely blend in with the white, where they touched. The were appealing. I had the thought though, to soften the edges with my finger tips. The result of THAT, just about had my jaw bouncing off of the patio floor!
Doing the entire panel that way, smudging all of the colours
and
white together across the entire thing, turned it into a "hippie on too
much acid" trip in the late 60's! And then, I gave it a coating of polyurethane and the entire colour wash came out screaming at my eyes!
What a freak, man! It blends in with the rest of my
cartoons on my panels and knobs, absutively beautifully! I
can't
wait until it's 28 LEDs are blinking away as it's playing sequences!I'll try and get a photo of it posted to here within the next couple of days. It's quite the trip kids! Quite the trip! |
| Sept
2608 10:15 AM |
The Quadatrix was RE-born! |
Checking back in my
history here
- October 0707 was the official 'birth' of my 4 x 4 step matrix
sequencer idea - the Deathlehem Quadatrix - a sequencer with 4 sets of
4 step sequencers. Each of them having a 12 position rotary
switch for semitone selection. Almost 1 year later with many other developments occurring between, I've come back to the Quadatrix finally, approaching it from a new way of generating the voltages for the semitones around the rotary switches as WELL as the OCTAVES around another set of rotary switches! Far simpler than a Constant Current Source for each switch - simply by going with a voltage reference source and a resistor string to divide the voltage down in steps. Yesterday, the 1st 'semiblock' for the new Deathlehem Quadatrix was born! Minor problems exist with it. Simply, an incorrect calculation on the total resistor string value for each of the 4 steps. That will be easy enough to correct today. As well as step one having a mislayed trace, so that the output voltage is completely wrong. I'll be fixing that this morning as well. Once the repairs are done, I'll be doing the first tests, with the original Quadatrix 4 step and the 2 MFOS Sequencers that are completed. My next step for the Quadatrix is to do it's 'octablock' - 4 steps of rotary switches that will allow me to switch the Octave between 0, +1, +2 or +3 octaves of tuning, for each of it's 4 steps. Both of the blocks, for each of the 4 sets of blocks have their own LEDs, as well as dual control bit inputs (for selecting which step is currently 'live' as well as dual buffered outputs.) The first completed Quadatrix will have 4 sets of 'semiblock' and companion 'octablock', for a total of 16 steps each. Both block types will have their steps selectable individually as well as buffered 'thru' jacks for each of their control bits. This will allow a control bit for 1 block, to be passed on to another block / etc. This will help to keep patch cable clutter to a minimum, rather than having the control bits for each block, coming from the main control area. Plans so far decided, for the control area: each of the axii - X (steps 1 to 4, 5 to 8, 9 to 12 and 13 to 16) and Y (blocks 1, blocks 2, blocks 3 and blocks 4) will be controllable by a CD40193 synchronous 4 bit up / down counter. This combination will allow any step order of the blocks to be selected at any time, for playback. The outputs of each of the blocks will be patchable to a CD4051 set up as a demultiplexer for the 'semiblocks' as well as another CD4051 set up as as a demultiplexer for the 'octablocks'. All 8 inputs on each CD4051 will be available. Again, the 3 control bits for each of them (including buffered 'thru' jacks) will be available from the panel, to be controlled from either of the CD40193's, or from other external sources. To try and keep things simpler in construction, I will be limiting the panel to 4 x semiblocks and 4 x octablocks for the 4 x 4 matrix as well as the CD4051's and output summer. The CD40193's shall have their own panel as well. Building the panels this way, will allow further 4x4 matrix panels to be constructed at a later date. |
| Sept. 2508 12:21 AM |
More l8r. | Further
development FINALLY on my Quadatrix sequencer!
It's been almost 3 years now since I came to my new step
sequencer design ideas that I more recently named 'Quadatrix'.
(I
forget the reasoning behind it. I'm sure it's posted
SOMEwhere on
this webpage. ) Anyways - I FINALLY came up with a design for the Octave Rotary and Semitone Rotary switches that WORKS! 
Like a charm! I have the first of each wired in to
1 of my
4 completed VCOs. For the first time in my 22 years of
building
synthesizers, have I had a VCO who's tuning I can change by octaves,
semitones and a tuning control. An absolute luxury that I've
missed for years! And now finally, I'll be able to seriously start work on my Quadatrix Step Sequencer! Designs are not yet final, but many idea are brewing through my head. Thus farly as I've decided:
My immediate goal right now is to build 2 of each of the octave and semitone modules with 4 steps each. From that point, working with my 3 MFOS Sequencers, will I then be able to decide how many more to build next. 2 of my MFOS Sequencers are Gate sequencers only. I'll be using them to decide which notes from the Quadatrix modules are currently 'live'. These 2 x 16 step Gate sequencers in combination with a 2 input AND Gate will also allow for a humoungus # of pattern variations. As well, I'm going to be pondering replacing the 16 pots in my 1st MFOS Sequencer with semitone rotary switches. Transposition of each step could of course be taken care of by other modules from the Quadatrix section. As it stands right now, I measured out to 0.1% enough resistors today for 4 semitone rotary switches. 2 of them have been strung. The other 2 will take about 30 minutes to complete. After that's done I'll make a PCB for the support circuitry and hopefully have it up and ready for tuning, before I have to leave for work, later today. Once the first Quadatrix module is up and running I'll do some tests with my current 4 step rotary switch sequencer; MFOS sequencers and clock dividers, to see what comes about. |
| July 1708 1:11 AM |
The KAOS VC LFO was born! |
In dedication to
all of the wonderful people who created the 1960's comedy 'Get Smart'
and especially Don Adams (Maxwell Smart) - the KAOS VC LFO was born, on
Wednesday July 1608! I came up with the idea for this LFO initially about 10 days ago and have been developing it further, ever since. The initial idea was to split the resulting Triangle waveform from the Integrator opamp, before it reaches the Comparator opamp, into positive and negative lines. (Through diodes). In past LFOs where you could change the waveform with a pot from ramp through triangle to saw waveforms, 1 of the ways to do it was splitting the signal into forward and reverse diodes; then feeding each of those into 1 outer end of a pot. The centre of the pot was then sent off to the comparator. Taking this idea further, I thought why not stick a pair of CD4052 1 IN : 4 OUT dual analog multiplexers onto the 2 diodes. Then from each output A through D, place a pot inline, with it's other end going to another pair of CD4052s, in reverse. The outputs of those final CD4052's would then be tied together and fed to the comparator. The switching between channels A, B, C and D of the CD4052's would be taken care of by the pulse wave output from the comparator, driving the clock of a CD4024 dividing counter. It's first 2 bits would then be used to control which of the 4 outputs of the CD4052s were active at any given moment. The result - would be 4 different waveforms from the LFO cycled between, at the speed of the LFO! That which I breadboarded today before work and shot a video of it functioning, was a Voltage Controlled LFO from Thomas Henry's "Making Music With The CA3080". I then fed the Integrator's output (for quick testing) into 2 inputs of a CD4053 (triple SPDT switch). Each of the outputs were sent to their own dedicated 1 meg pots and summed together into the comparator. It worked, at first try! I then shot a video, gradually introducing 2 square wave LFOs as controllers for the CD4053 switches and caught on video, my oscilloscope cycling between 4 different waveforms. I'll be posting the video to youtube so that others may see it as well. Plans that evolved at work tonight for the next test version of this KAOS VC LFO, before I make it's first PCB are: - CD4052 channel A will be fed to a pair of LM13600 transconductance opamps, so that waveform A, is VOLTAGE CONTROLLABLE! - Channels B, C and D will go through their own dedicated 1 meg pots - All 4 channels will go to a 2nd CD4052 for selecting the current waveform in tandem with the 1st CD4052 - Both CD4052 will be driven together by the output of a CD4024 divider (or ..... is it CD4029? Will check. )- The comparator's pulse wave output will drive the clock of the CD4024/4029. - A copy of the integrator's output will be Full Wave Rectified, with that output and the Integrator's output summed together in the final tri / saw output, with individual level controls - Channel A will be Control Voltage changable - A separate Portamento circuit will be included in the panel for warping the Pulse wave output - the Comparator output and an external (protected) input will be OR'd together for resetting the waveform (sync?) For my next breadboard test - I'll be doing the voltage controlled waveshape test. Once I'm successful with that, I'll then be laying out the PCB for the circuit as well as the schematic itself for posting at the electro-music forum. And of course - informative videos will be shot of it once it's done (the final version 1.00 alpha) and posted to youtube. Here is the video that was shot on Wednesday: |
| July 0808 10:14AM |
The birth of the: Groovy Innovator Manipulating Pulses - Sequencer Engine |
The Groovy Innovator Manipulating
Pulses - Sequencer Engine (The G.I.M.P. - S.E. )
is just about to be born! 
Under revolving thoughts for at least a couple of years, I
have finally begun construction on this MONSTEROUS engine! Firstly - picture details for the curious: Notes of respect:
Further detail on each of the above functions: Each of the 2 M.F.O.S. digital sequencer boards, will consist of, on the panel:
: when I measured out and then drilled the 1/8" pilot holes on the
panel in a rush, I ended up with EVERY measurement at 1" x 1", drilled!
Ooops! LOL. I ended up with at least
FORTY EIGHT extra holes in the panel! Uh oh.Well, that may be ok. With further thought yesterday, I remembered an earlier thought that it would very handy, given my 2 x Divide by 7 counter's outputs, to have some 2 and 3 input AND gates, for combining triggers and gates. With 8 of those 48 extra holes filled in, leaving 40 holes still - a triple input AND gate with an LED indicator, would take up 5 holes. I could then pop 8 of those into the panel. If instead I provided a HI / LO switch (ON / OFF from +15V) to the triple input AND gate, it could then be considered a 2 input AND gate, for external functions. There. All of the extra holes in the panel will thankfully, be filled. The power possibilities in variation of sequences behind this sequencer engine are almost endless! I'll be using this engine in combination with 2 x Ken Stone Gate Sequencer controllers, to determine how all of my coming sequencers (with bit control) are controlled and which notes they are playing, in which orders. Another bit that I just remembered: all of the schematics for the circuits (outside of Ray's M.F.O.S. digital sequencer modifications) will be posted to the schematics section, of this web site, once they are completed and working. Also, for a first for me - each of the sections will be built on to their OWN PCB, instead of all of the functions together on 1 PCB. This will make it easier for me to bug track in case their ARE any bugs.
(Fingers crossed for a couple of seconds, in advance.
)All of the PCBs will be powered from a sub-power distribution PCB. All of the PCBs will be mounted onto a horizontal board mounted behind the panel, as well. |
| Dec. 2907 1:38AM | Yet another
MFOS Sequencer mod. thought up, today. |
In thoughts
on completing my Ray Wilson MFOS Sequencer today as well as wondering
at which type of engine to build for my other 2 sequencer inventions, I
thought that it would be cool to extend my 1 mod. for the MFOS
Sequencer (each step switchable between Busses #1 and #2) further, by
having Buss #2 actually switchable itSELF between Busses #2 and #3!!
Busses #2 and #3 would each be 12 position rotary switches for each of it's 16 steps, along with Gate ON/OFF switches for them as well. This would allow the sequencer to play at the same time:
Busses #1 and #2 with #3 would all be running at the same time, with busses #2 and #3 being alternated between for each step that were turned ON. Of course the looping settings would be the same FOR all 3, but it would still allow another level of variability from the sequencer. Another thought that I had yesterday, were to use Ray Wilson's MFOS Sequencer's DIGITAL board, as the main section for my other 2 sequencer designs. I'll be pondering on this a bit further, as I'd still like to come up with a simpler way to drive 4 step sequencer sections. (I may have already drawn that out in my Design section here below - I've just been coming up with so many ideas over the last month of not being allowed to build, I've been forgetting plans that I've had before. |
| Dec. 2207 1:01PM | New
sequencer design coming. |
K.
Though I know I should complete my MFOS Sequencer first (just
have to hook up the boards to the completed panel), I've decided to
skip ahead for a moment and work on the 5 bit sequencer that I just
mentioned a few days ago. It's
my next sequencer that I will complete the designing of and start to
build,
within the next few days. (I've been on severe time
restrictions
for the last few weeks. I let it be known that I'll be back
to
building for a couple of hours each day during my 11 day Xmas vacation
from work. This sequencer (still unnamed) will be a DUAL 4 step sequencer, capable of playing both 4 step lines at the same time, or 8 steps, with individual forward / backward as well as looping lengths of 2 to 4 steps and HOPEFULLY 2 to 8 steps as well. All step functions will be patchable. Each step will have an ON / OFF switch as well for it's output. (Possibly Trigger and Gate outputs.) The beta of the single step worked well. I'll be doing 5 bits for each of the steps to allow 1 of up to 31 pitches to be played from each step. |
| Dec. 1507 12:26PM |
Talk about
DELAYS!  |
Even having a
48 hr. day currently,
would not be enough time, to be able to do all of the things that I
wish to do for my modular synth - let alone being lucky to get even 2
hours in a day. (Major sigh). Anyways ...... due to
yet
another lack of time, here at least are the latest Ideas; Designs;
Developments as of late:
|
| Nov. 1207 12:34PM | Repost from News - Feb. 1106 to remind myself - a new LFO mod. idea | Yesterday
at work whilst doing the 'same-o same-o' module testing, my
brain wandered
off again, trying to come up with the answer to "How to make a multiple
stage envelope generator" - a puzzle I've been searching for the answer
for, since 1992. 
I still don't have it, but FROM it, I DID come up with a new LFO idea!
Take your standard LFO that has waveform shape, changing ability. Take the waveform changing section, and make more than 1 of them, inbetween a pair of multiplexers!
This
would allow you to have a repeating sequence of different waveshapes!
From negative Sawtooth - |\ through Triangle /\ to positive Sawtooth -
/| and all in between. The idea was to do it around a 1:4 - 4:1 pair of multiplexers, which you can get together in a single chip - the CD4052. Both of the multiplexers are controlled by a single pair of bits. So you could have the 4 outputs of the first, going to their own waveshaping pot, coming back to the 4 inputs of the 2nd one. This entire contraption, would then be inserted in place, of the single waveshaping control. I looked at the online schematic for my current LFOs last night, and remembered that it has a cheap-o Sinewave converter in it, as well. That would be a nice additional waveform set, for this LFO.
Nov. 1207 - to add to this idea, an extra output from the LFO itself, could be patched back to 1 of the 2 x CD4052 (1:4 / 4:1 multiplexer's ) bit controls, to cycle the multiplexer. The other bit itself can be controlled from whichever other input. |
| Nov. 0307 1:08PM |
Schematic will be posted later today | Once I
figure out how to use Ray Wilson's software. |
| Nov. 0207 12:30PM |
New Liquid Hihat sample | Here's a new
sample of The Liquid Hihat - taking it to some of it's modulation
extremes again.
Liquid Modulation. I just finished breadboarding a Ken Stone Drum Simulator, for a bass drum. With there being no change for the drum's pitch, I of course as usual, modified away. This is a simple 1:32 long sample with a 1/4 note bass drum along with a 1/16th note hihat. I gradually introduce each of the 2 x LFOs as well as 2 ADSR EGs, modulating the 2 VCOs in the Liquid Hihat, as well as a 3rd ADSR EG modulating the already AD EG modulated VCA which the Liquid Hihat is going through. After the last modulation has been introduced, I bring their levels back down to zero in the same order that I introduced them, leaving the sample as it had originally started. Once again - no filters or audio effects were used. |
| Nov. 0107 10:30AM |
The Liquid Hihat V1.00 Alpha is completed | Below are the 2
videos of The Liquid Hihat V1.00 Alpha that I
completed on October 3107. The 1st video at roughly 8 minutes in length is fully narrarated by me. During it's running I explain the operationg of The Liquid Hihat: what each of the controls are; what's modulating it and what it's routed through. For reference, the modules used within this video are:
There are no filters or audio effects used at all. The audio outside of my voice is just pure, raw, Liquid Hihat. The modulation sources that are used and where to are:
Most everything about operation of the LH is explained in the videos. I'll leave the viewing, listening as well as further information up to you. POST NOTE: The modulation of audio within the 1st video is VERY subtle, due to the VERY short period of the hihat sound. In the SECOND video, the modulations are FAR more noticeable, as I lengthen the period of the AD EG that's controlling the VCA so that you're able to hear the hihat sound for a longer time. Also - the 1st video has no manipulation of the 6 frequencies in the LH. That occurs, in the 2nd video only. ERROR NOTE: For the 1st video, the phone rang twice during the video. I answered it on the 2nd call, ending shooting of the video BUT - I forgot to shot off the sampler.
The video itself is up to about 5'50". The last 3
minutes is the same audio ONLY. |
| The Liquid Hihat V1.00 Alpha video #1 and #2 | Much gratitude to Bluehell from electro-music.com for providing me with the proper HTML code - to have my videos NOT start, as soon as the page is loaded!
|
|
| Oct. 1707 1:26PM | The Liquid Hihat module is a SUCCESS! | The Liquid
Hihat sample #1 is now
available. This sample starts with a random bassline (from my dual Tom Bugs Pattern Generator and 1 x Master Divider driving them) with the non modulated Liquid Hihat in the background. After a few seconds I start turning up the level of an ADSR EG (slower Attack, Decay and Release), modulating 1 of the 2 modulatable CD4046 VCOs. After almost another minute, I start bringing up the level of an LFO modulating the other CD4046 VCO and gradually turn down the level of the ADSR modulating the 1st VCO. A few seconds later I then turn up the speed of the clock that's driving everything and gradually fade out the random bassline. I then slow the clock down again whilst raising the ADSR EG (quick Attack and quicker Decay). Finally, the hihat only, fades out. The Liquid Hihat sample #2 is now available also. For this sample, I set up the 2 x Master Dividers with 1 of them through 1 of the Pattern Generators, to drive a simple SSM2044 Bass Drum; Multi-VCF Bandpass White Noise for a Snare and 1 of the Master Dividers driving The Liquid Hihat. Just a simple 8th note hihat drum pattern. I adjusted the Pitch and Range controls of each of the 2 x CD4046 VCOs to change the harmonics of the Liquid Hihat as the rhythm played. Also, 1 of my LFOs is modulating one of the VCOs and the ADSR EG is modulating the other one - controlled by the Pattern Generator. |
| Oct. 1607 1:52PM | Inspired for a new module! | On Monday at
work I had an old idea resurge inside of myself.
Back in early 2006, I'd wondered at the possibilities of
making Ken Stone's Cynare's Shimmer section - voltage controllable.
I had partial success with my addition of buffered current
inputs to the capacitors in the clocks. It's a little wilder
/ uncontrollable that I'd planned but, it has it's purposes. In the resurgence, I wondered at other areas of voltage controlling the comparators in the Shimmer, to give a user more control over the potential harmonics within the sound itself. Not knowing nearly enough about theory for the CA3080 (of which I have many), I had no success in experimenting, using it as a multivabrator. I thought today that - if I had multiple voltage controlled clocks, I could feed them into the Exclusive Or chip, to have control THAT way. Searching my computer for schematics related to voltage controlled clocks, I found the only article from an old issue of Synapse magazine, that I had saved - lo'n'behold - a VC Clock driving a stepper controller for sequencer / etc. controlling. Bingo. I've just finished breadboarding the VC Clock around a CD4046 and it's working beautifully. It's speed range (with the 1meg Range control) allows you to control with an external voltage, a range from between 0.1'ish hertz up to 64hz up to 0.1'ish hz up to 8000hz! So what'll happen when 1 of these is combined with 2 other clocks into a pair of XOR Gates? Shall find out tomorrow, as I've run out of time today - sadly. The name for the module IF it is as successful as I'm hoping, as well as providing the sonic capabilities that I'm hoping FOR, will be: The Liquid Hihat. |
| Oct. 0707 11:18AM | A new rack
enclosure has begun / Backlog updates |
Yesterday I
picked up some wood to start building the 1st of my 2 new rack cabinets
for my synth. Here're a few photos of it's beginnings:   The beginnings of the frame are shown roughly, at the angle that the front of the rack will be at, for each of the new racks. The depth at the top of the rack will be 1', angling out to just under 2' at the bottom. The overall height is about 5'. A major lesson that I have learned, in staining and doing a single coating of polyurethane on my Divide By 7 Dividers and Pattern Generators panel is to NEVER
EVER
populate the panel with ANY components BEFORE staining or
polyurethaning, EVER again!
The absolute pain in the ass of trying to apply both coatings
in between everything without completely removing them from the panel
first, is fucking scary!!
(Removing everything / properly applying labels / etc., would
have been a couple of more hours of time - that I greedily / admitedly,
didn't wish to waste. Heh.
For the hell of it - here's a photo of the panel right now.
You aren't able really to see how shitty the polyurethane
looks, up close due to my camera. In the studio's normally
darker ambience, it'll be hard to tell as well. That's why
I'm leaving it, the way that it turned out - mostly as a message to
myself to NEVER, do that again!  K. I'm off to get a couple more 2"x3"x8' studs so that I can make the 1st rack a complete frame instead of my originall planned partial.
|
| Oct. 0407 11:59PM |
A pause in things for now | Well -
there's SOME bug somewhere, preventing me from getting the switching
portion of the 4 steps going properly. SOMEthing, is pulling
extra current somewhere, through the CD4052. I pulled off the
socket to check the traces and everything is fine; the 2 Bit inputs
with 100k to ground on each and now with a diode on each to prevent
negative voltage inputs, are BOTH showing +0.100 to +0.110V on them.
?? The Vee (negative voltage input to the 4052)
which isn't hooked up to anything (as per Tom Bugs' Pattern Generator)
is showing -0.6V coming from it???? There's no negative
voltage hooked UP to the chip though. (Major head scratching). So - tonight at work - trying to figure out the bug - I've brought it back to the possibilities of the cheapo Mode Electronics off-shore rotary switches that I'd pulled all of the OLD resistors off from and restrung them with new resistors. I even pulled things down to a single rotary going into the 4052 and still have that problem. I'm suspecting that one switch at least. See - when I breadboarded everything (with NO rotary switch - just the 12 resistors strung along) everything through the 4052 worked perfectly. No extra current draw from the 4052. I've tested all 4 Constant Current Sources and everything's fine. (Head scratching again. Still have SOME hair left.
)Later through the shift, I moved over to the Drum Machine design and started working things out. (Both machines will be using the same engine.) I then had a new thought: I've just bought my 2nd power supply for my 2nd cabinet. It's been about 2 1/2 years of building so far and I STILL haven't mounted the FIRST power supply into a proper panel. More thought brought me to realize that the 5' tall rack that I'm using, which has mounting rails in the front AND the back - COULD have them ALL removed to mount them in to a much SHALLOWER cabinet or stand! THAT (getting rid of this monsterous metal cabinet) would free up a lot of room in the studio for playing pool again for the first time in months. Soooooooooooooo ....... at the same time as removing the railing from the rack and mounting the 2 power supplies in nice purple stained red oak panels, I'm going to finish the other 3 panels that have been waiting forever as well as setting up the new power distribution units for both of the coming cabinets, rather than the barrier strips that I'm using at the moment. This will bring the entire machine back to life (currently only 2 VCOs hooked up for testing.) It'll take a week or so, I'm guesstimating - heh - looking at my past time guesses - it'll probably take 2 or 3 weeks, with the roughly 2 hours / day that I'm allowed, for building. (I still have to solve the S&H and manually built VCA problems.) Plus - I have to wait for parts to come in for the drum machine and sequencer as well, before I can complete them ANYways. I may as well get everything else finished. If I put my mind to it as well - I can get back to finishing my MIDIbox SEQ sequencer that I haven't worked on since - January.
I'd been waiting up until June, to get proper wood for making
IT's panel. I finally got that wood, but haven't made the
panel yet.The way things are looking with: The MIDIbox SEQ; 2 x Pattern Generators; 2 x Divide by 7 Dividers; coming Quadatrix sequencer; Drum Machine; Klee sequencer - the 2nd cabinet could become a SEQUENCER cabinet!
Anyhoo ..... the staining has been done on the power supply's
wood - I'm off to put on it's 1st of 3 coatings of polyurethane so that
I can get the panels prepared, this weekend. |
| Oct. 0407 12:11AM | Quadatrix Progress update | I should
have learned many a month ago, to NOT do things in a rush!
Alas, here I am. I managed to get the 100R's 0.1%'d for the other 3 x 12 position rotary switches as well as them and everything else wired up to have the 4 step module ready for power up. Taking measurements, I was getting strangely high output from the S&H from +6 to +11 volts! WHAT???? I wasted about 1/2 an hour trying to figure that out when I wondered about the S&H. (Ken Stone). I'd used the only 47nF cap. that I had (bought a bunch for the Bi-N-Tic). I saw that they were AC caps though (mistaken purchase). I measured with my Fluke - sure enough - 47nF, hooked up to the TL071 on the output of the CD4052. Disconnecting the 4052 output FROM that though - brought the voltage level all the way down to where it should have been. I'm now suspecting the 47nF AC cap to be the culprit, as the S&H was only a buffer for the output anyways. Not knowing enough theory - I figure this must've been the voltage multiplication source. So - with everything tuned up - or mostly, I found that rotary switch #3, was having intermittancy problems. (Sigh). All 4 switches WERE wired up with 121R 1% resistors from my last 1V/octave sequencer attempt. I probably caused some damage to the one, in ripping out the old resistors. On top of that, they were really cheap 'off shore' ones, from Mode Electronics, 10+ years ago. So - having barely any minutes left before work, to shoot a video of the device working - I hooked it up to my VCO and powered up. Heard, NOTHING. ???? I should have heard the VCO at least. Couldn't figure that out. Powered off and on again, and there were the VCO. Right then - to change the 4 steps, I needed to hook up something to the 2 Bit selectors. I grabbed a cable to hook up to each of my 2 LFO's squarewave outputs and ...... Silence all of a sudden. Powered off. Unhooked the cables. Powered on. VCO working again. Hooked up one of the squarewave cables. Silence. I was out of time and my ride was waiting for me. Heading off to work - I realized how stupid I was in my attempt - BOTH of my LFOs are spitting out AC waveforms. + and - voltage. Duh! I more'n likely killed the CD4052 by feeding negative voltages into it's unprotected bit selectors. So - later today, once I've awoken - I'll be searching for the intermittant bug in rotary switch #3 (suspecting it; an unsoldered trimmer or something else). If I can find anything, I'll wire up a new rotary and replace it. Also - I'll replace the 4052 and hook up my new Pattern Generators / Divide By 7 Dividers module, to provide proper Bit information for the sequencer module. I'll also be adding diodes to all of the inputs for future protection. Once all's working - I'll be posting a video of it here. |
| Oct. 0307 12:02AM |
Quadatrix - the 1V / octave sequencer was BORN! |
Just before
I had to get ready for work on Tuesday, the 1st of 4 steps of the 1st 4
step module, came to life! Each step tuned PERFECTLY to
1V/octave, except for the octave itself, which was out by 2/100ths of a
volt. I was basically, ECSTATIC! The main credit goes out to Ray Wilson for helping me out GREATLY in providing me with a proper Constant Current Source for powering each of the steps. I've taken his recommendation on a CCS for every single step, for accuracy. There're only a few parts for each one that easily fit around an LF347 quad opamp, even with the pair of trimmers for each. (1 to set the proper resistance of the resistor chain and the other for tuning the 1v/octave for that step. Later today, I'll have the other 3 rotary switches wound with 0.1% 100R resistors and wired to the PCB. I DID forget to add an octave switch for each of the 4 steps on my PCB. Which is better anyways, as I didn't come up with a proper design for it until tonight at work. I'll be breadboarding that tomorrow. If it's successful, I'll then do a 2nd PCB for it to add to the PCB for the 4 steps. I'll be using them for testing purposes once I start building the 'sequencer controller engine'. If there's enough time today before work, I'll start breadboarding it, for testing. Current plans for the engine is to have a CD4029 4 bit forward / backward / presettable counter, driving a CD4514 1 to 16 multiplexer which will in turn be driving 4 x 4 step 1v/octave modules as well as the Gate circuitry. One puzzle I'm still having is how to maintain sustain across steps. I haven't figured that one out yet, for sure. Anyways - happy as heck! I've wanted a 1V/octave Step Sequencer since first hearing Tangerine Dream in 1982. 25 years later - I FINALLY have the beginnings of a design of mine, working beautifully! There MAY be a sample posted, later today. |
| Oct. 0107 12:50PM |
The 1st PCB for my Deathlehem Quadatrix 1V/Octave sequencer | has just
finished cooking, as I type this!
With the positive test of the Constant Current Source from
Ray Wilson, I've laid out a PCB for 4 of them, for driving 4 x 12 step
rotary switches, each wound with 12 x 0.1% 100R resistors. The 4 x 1V/Octave current sources are fed to a CD4052 dual 4x1 multiplexer for choosing which of the 4 is output at any given moment. The selected step is mirrored by LEDs for each step. The output from the 4052 is buffered at an LF356 with a 47nF polypropylene cap. Shall see how this turns out, as the breadboarded CCS worked perfectly. Shall find out tomorrow morning! Woohoo! This is the very very possible BIRTH of my Deathlehem Quadatrix 1V/Octave sequencer! (Little while later) More details. I still have to design the section that will be allowing only 1 of the 4 x Step modules to work at one time. That shouldn't be a problem though. With my breadboarding tests this morning, of the current through a CD4052, there was no noticable voltage offset! YES!
(I HAD expected there to be one. Ray said I'd have
no troubles with this CCS and a multiplexer and that IS the case.
)I'll have the 2 bits for controlling which of the 4 steps are selected at the moment, controllable by Switch as well as an external Voltage, through a jack as well. 1 thing that I DID forget to add to the PCB when I was laying it out, was circuitry for a +/- 1 octave switch! Doh!
I could add one in for each of the 4 steps without buffers,
but I would MUCH rather add buffers to it. I'll look into
that for the next board, as this one quite possibly is only a prototype
anyways, in case there're more bugs that I'm not expecting.
That's VERY likely as my experience with building 1V/octave
things IS very limited, as it is. Heh. The Gates for each of the steps will be completely separate as well. I'll be taking care of them inside the sequencer 'control engine' area, where the outputs from each of the 4 Step modules are mixed together and which one that is playing, is chosen. For the 1st COMPLETE Deathlehem Quadatrix (Quad Matrix) sequencer, I hope to have 4 sets of 4 steps - selectable in series; parallel or any step on any module at any time. I HAVE also implemented the 'Inhibit' function to stop the module from operating completely. When I was shopping for parts a week ago this past weekend, I was also lucky enough to find a 3U rackmount enclosure that will fit Fracrack modules, with guides inside of it, for sliding the PCBs into! And - for $15 Canadian / U.S.! That was excellent! There's 1 more there which I'll pick up, if this one works out as I'm hoping it will. This ONE, should give me enough room for 4 x 4 Steps as well as the 'control engine'. Shall see. If there's only enough room for 3 and the engine, then I may drop it to 2 x 4 Steps and increase the amount of functionality out of the engine. (The more I think about the latter, the more likely this seems). Ooop. Work to head off to! |
| Sept. 2907 1:13PM | 1V/Octave
prototype success!! |
I've JUST
finished breadboarding the suggestion that Ray Wilson had given me, for
a Constant Current Source, for a 1V/Octave sequencer that I've been
designing, over the last few weeks. Complete SUCCESS!!
I 0.1%'d 12 x 100R 1% resistors and hooked them up to the CCS
on the breadboard, measuring each step after I'd set the multi-turn 1K
trimmer. Each step was a PERFECT 0.0833333333333333333
volts, giving me 1.00V at the top and 0.083V at the bottom step, with
perfect divisions at each step up.Ray told me in his reply / jpg that I wont have any worry about voltage differences in the switching system that I wish to use, for my sequencer, using this setup. Now that the breadboarding was successful, I'll be building a quad of the breadboarded version, for the 1st 4 steps of my 1V/Octave sequencer. With testing success of that, I will then continue building more 4 step units for my hopefully up'n'coming Quadatrix 1V/Octave Sequencer! Stay tuned as construction and testing will now be carrying forth over the coming weeks. Immediately after completion of the 1st 4 x 4 steps for the Quadatrix, will be my first 'drum machine' controller tests as well. As yet unnamed, it'll be a 3 track 16 step drum sequencer with 2 Gate busses for each track, enabling the unit to play up to 6 different drum sounds. Each track will be individually settable for 1 to 16 steps, looping anywhere from 1 to 16 up to and including 15 to 16 as well as Forward / Backward control over each individual track. If all will go well - I HOPE to have both controllers completed within the next couple of months. All news / developments of course, will continue to be posted here, along with more videos as things carry on. |
| Sept. 2907 10:07AM |
All 8
modules are functioning |
I completed
enough of the construction of the 2nd Divide By 7 Divider on Friday to
bring it up to successful testing.
It was very cool to see the 7 LEDs for each of the 2 of them,
blinking away at different clock rates, for the test. Correction of the direction for the 1st built one, completed. There's a simple intermittent wiring error in the 2nd one completed, causing it now, to Reset continuously. I'll find that bug this morning; hook up the rest of the wiring and neaten everything up behind the panel. 11:04AM - bad solder joint on the CD4024, intermittently causing it to reset and/or stop counting. I'm glad that was easy to find. Also - I did a different power hookup for each of the 7 LEDs for the 2nd divider. (I'm just about to do the same for each of them on the 1st divider; each of the Pattern Generators and the 3 Clocks.) That'll allow me to run all of the LEDs from a separate +15V power supply, dedicated to each of the LEDs. (The same will have to be done for the entire machine, as this panel brings the machines total LED count up to at least 35.
(Thank gawd for the Super Bright LEDs and their LOW current consumption requirements, that I'm using. In the old days - 35 LEDs at 20mA each - would be 700mA. Or almost 1 AMP!
My current, current limitations are between 2 and 5mA each depending on
the LED's colour. Maximum current drain so far, if they all
happened to be on at the same time, would be 175mA. MUCH
lower. )Yet another lesson learned in this massive panel construction project, over the last 20 days: if more than 2 or 3 individual modules are going to be constructed for a single panel - do them in more than 1 PCB. The crowding of everything for 8 modules on 1 PCB, makes for a pain in the ass when assembling wiring and components for the final 1 or 2 modules. There'll be new video of the entire panel posted, within the next few days as well. I've been itching though, for the last 2 weeks to start breadboarding the recommended Constant Current Source from Ray Wilson, for my possibly up-n-coming 1V/Octave sequencers!
I have a couple of implementations in mind, as well as a
completely new drum sequencer implementation that I would like to start
work on. The possibilities, in combination with this current
new panel, as well as the up-n-coming Klee Sequencer together, would
make for a scarily powerful composition tool! |
| Sept. 2807 12:25AM |
Single sided copper PCB is now available and panel almost finished | I just
thought that I would let all of you readers know: If anyone
of you out there make your own circuit boards as well, I'm regularly
picking up 15"x9" single sided copper boards - new straight from the
factory. If anyone needs any, let me know at
damian@deathlehem.com . We can discuss cost as well as
shipping costs. The almost equivalent size at my local
electronics supply store is about $12 Canadian / U.S. For a
single board, I'm asking $5 plus shipping. The more that you
want, the cheaper they are.
I'll have a photo of them up here, later today. Later this morning, if there're no bugs - the last of the 8 modules in this panel will be finished. At some point this weekend I'll hook it all up in something of a more musical fashion, to see what it all can do. |
| Sept. 2507 1:05AM |
Short bit of an update | I almost got
the 3 Clocks and Slewing Summer finished on Monday. They
should be finished / ready for testing, later this morning.
That will leave only the 2nd of the Divide By 7 DIVIDERs (not
Counter, as I previously stated) to finish the entire panel!
Woo hoo! At work today as well - I realized a way to give RESTS in the Pattern Generator, using the /7 Divider. I'll attempt it when I'm doing my next test runs, videoing it as well. Some minorly fun-to-me-news: picked up 2 more 4' x 6" x 1/4" Red Oak panels for my synth., as well as a DRILL PRESS on sale! $60 Cdn./U.S.! Woo hoo again! Finally - for the first time in 18 months, I'll be able to drill holes in the panel with accuracy! Now - having bought a 2nd power supply, if I could just find a 2nd rack to setup ..... (sigh) Beddy-bye. |
| Sept. 2107 1:23PM |
New VIDEO of 2 Pattern Generators and the 1st of 2 Divide By 7 Counters! | Success!
During 1st power up of my 1st of 2 x Divide By 7 Counters, I
found that I was missing only 1 part and 1 output jack wasn't connected
properly. After that - up she came, working beautifully!
Now - please note:
I've noticed +V supply troubles to the VCO. I'm going to have to add more caps for buffering the power to each of the 7 LEDs in the /7 Counter (and the next one as well) OR put larger resistors in for every one of the /7 Counter's LEDs (they're currently VERY bright with Ken Stone's 1K/2K2 divider) or change all LEDs to a +5V feed. |
| Sept. 1907 11:33AM |
Magic Smoke
is GONE!! (And the video of Magic Smoke #1 has been removed) |
Wow.
It took me up to Day 5 of bug solving to find out WHERE the
300+ milliamps of current were being drawn FROM! Remember, a couple of days ago, I'd gotten the 1st Pattern Generator running 98% properly? And yesterday, hooking up the 2nd Pat.Gen. brought the problems back? Well - the +V supply from the 2nd Patt.Gen., was also hooked up to the previously errant CD4011 quad NAND Gate chip - which was still in it's socket on the PCB. There again, came the 300+mA draw of current!
I didn't figure that out until this morning. Having
a close look under the magnifier at the CD4011, there're no shorts at
all on the board. I figures then, that I quite possibly
killed the chip, during the initial errors on the board.
(Ground not hooked up on the CD4052.) Taking the
chip off the board, immediately dropped the current draw to 39mA!!
Another minor modification that I did just now, was changing the 1K resistors for all 8 LEDs to 2K to drop each LED's current supply from 15mA to 7.5mA. 6 of my LEDs used are Superbrights, which don't need a lot of current. The other 2 (Purple and Soft Blue) seem to be a very decent brightness at 7.5mA as well. Another reason that I wished to cut the current draw - I have 2 x Ken Stone Divide by 7 Counters, going into this panel. Each of them have 7 LEDs. If you multiply the amount of LEDs that can be on at one time - 7 + 7 + 2 + 2 = 18, multiplied by 15mA each, you get - 270mA just for the LEDs! Dropping each of the LED's resistor to 2K will give me a draw of - 135mA, which is still fairly heavy. That IS for a very brief period though. If the clock running a /7 Counter, has the slowest Bit on for 1 second, then that's the longest that all 7 LEDs in 1 of the Dividers, will be on, for. 2 seconds for the 2nd Bit; 4 seconds for the 3rd, etc. It'll also be RARE that both of the /7 Counter's 7 LEDs are on at the exact same time - so LED's wise, this panel should be fluctuating between roughly 60 and 150mA, with everything running. I may still though - bring back my +5V supply for all of the LEDs in my system, wherever I can. I had that before, for my previous sequencer panel (21 LEDs). That also took a lot of the power's crosstalk away from the VCOs. Mmmmm. Forgot about that. Going to have to look into implementing that again. Damn LEDs! Look great, but take too much power!
Mmmmm ..... +15V/3k resistor would be 5mA each. Shall ponder
that one too. Time to breadboard for testing brightnesses.
K. Off to starting putting on the parts for the 1st of the 2 x /7 Counters.
(Unless I shoot a video 1st, of the 2 x Pattern Generators,
cycling away.
) |
| Sept. 1807 12:42PM |
Magic Smoke #7. The 1st time for Pattern Generator #2 | Now - this
time, in preparation - every single trace was checked before any parts
were put on. All were good. Yesterday and today I
put all of the parts on the PCB and into the panel, wiring everything
up. Checked for shorts across the +/- inputs and to all of
the chips. All's okay. There has to be a mis-wiring SOMEwhere then. When I powered up, the synth.'s LFOs are operating as normal and 1 LED is on for Pattern Generator #1, but NO LEDs are on for Pat.Gen. #2. ??? I was visually checking everything whilst listening to the VCO oscillating away; I couldn't see any Magic Smoke escaping and then I caught the smell - SOMEthing burning. I immediately shut off the power and felt the 3 chips for Pat.Gen. #2 as well as the +5V voltage regulator. No heat to any of them. I then saw the 22 ohm resistor on the +V input to the board and how black it is. I calculated the current that the 22R will allow with +15V into it - 681.2mA. The 2 Pat.Gen.'s wont be drawing anywhere near THAT amount of current! Something is drawing over that though. A new puzzle to figure out, with more than likely, not enough time to bug solve before going to work. (Sigh) Minutes later - Ground is not hooked up to the 4 LEDs! Hmmm. Will investigate the schematics and see if that could cause, THAT much current to be drawn. Shit. I did a test this time, for current consumption. Having hooked up Ground to these 4 new LEDs and placing a new 22R resistor on the +V input to the board, I hooked up my meter to measure how much current is coming in, to this PCB: 375mA!! WHAT???? Doing the math: 0.375A x 15V = 5.625 WATTS! No wonder the resistor is cooking - it's a 1/4 watt resistor! But why the hell is there THAT much current being drawn????? K. I'm going to completely disconnect the power from Pat.Gen. #1 to test out Pat.Gen. #2 by itself, as everything SHOULD be ok with it. I'm still suspecting the major current draw, to be coming from a minor mistake SOMEWhere in Pat.Gen. #1. If the current draw measurement for #2 is as low as it should be (15mA per LED) it shouldn't then be anywhere near 100mA if my guesstimates aren't too far off. If this is the case, I'll rip all of the parts off of the board for Pat.Gen. #1 and see where the error is, if I can. If I can't find it, I just may setup a completely different module for the panel in place of #1 and have only 1 Pat.Gen. Gettin' late - tune in tomorrow for further updates! |
| Sept. 1607 12:17PM |
Magic Smoke
GONE! But ..... |
Here's a
very short update for the moment: After about 45 minutes of head scratching this morning, looking at the entire contraption, I decided to start removing chips from the PCB (CD4052, TL082, TL071, CD4011) one by one, to see if I could isolate the Magic Smoke origination area. First removing my addition, the CD4011 quad NAND Gate and connecting the inputs directly to the outputs in their BugBrand designed area, I powered up and ....... No Magic Smoke. Before I get on to the next minor bug - I HAVE isolated the Magic Smoke area of origin! I'll have to take off the chip socket and related resistors, to see where there's a short to Ground, that I couldn't find before. I played with the unit for a few minutes, with the same LFO Squarewave coming into both comparators - still no Magic Smoke - and one of the comparators is having trouble, possibly.
When I turn the voltage reference pot to a certain point, all
4 LEDs come on. (The action that I've seen previously, before
the Magic Smoke starts to appear). Turning the control
farther and the 4 LEDs go out, except for the related 2, switching
between each other. Hmmmm.I unplugged the LFO Squarewave from CV Input #1 and - NO CHANGE. But CV Input #2 is working away happily. So I've narrowed down the minor problem area that I'll check out in a little while. BOTH sets of 2 LED are working properly, depending on the Voltage Reference setting. It just seems that one portion of the reference voltage to comparator #1, is causing a problem that I can't yet fathom. Outside of that - I had the output hooked up to a VCO which was purring away happily. Ahhh! Another problem I found! When turning any of the 4 step's +5V reference control all the way down to Ground - all 4 LEDs light up! The trouble that someone else had mentioned on the forum, about the voltage going straight to Ground, COULD be happening! I'll add in resistors to the pots to limit the amount of current going to Ground in case any of them is turned to the far left. I also wanted to limit the +5 range of the pots, to get a wider area of control. I may throw in 100k resistors, so that I have a +2.5V swing on each pot, instead of a full +5V swing. They'll be easier to 'tune' that way. Another thought that I had whilst washing dishes, was to use a Constant Current Source, feeding 4 rotary switches wound with 100 ohm 1% resistors, to see if I can dial in a 1V/octave switch on each step as well! I'm going to try breadboarding that. If it works, I'll be doing that modification, as well. K. Off to finish doing dishes and then back to bug solving. 1:03PM - playing with the module for the past 10 minutes or so, I may have come to more of a clarification on what I thought was a comparator problem: I had been feeding the same LFO Squarewave, to both comparators. There were troubles there. This time, I fed each comparator a Squarewave from a DIFFERENT LFO, and the troubles mostly went AWAY. Hmmmm. I'm still having all 4 LEDs light, at a certain position of the reference voltage controls. A new thought that I just had whilst hanging laundry, is changing the comparators to a Ground to +V reference instead of -V to +V reference. (A diode on their input.) As well - I'll make the reference controls Ground to +V only. This way - any incoming voltage that is over the reference point, will still flip the comparator from Ground output to +15V output. I don't like the 4 LEDs lighting at the certain point around the control's reference voltage as that'll more'n likely cause the Magic Smoke to happen again. In THAT regard - I still have to figure out for SURE, why that is happening. If I can't figure out WHAT the trouble was at the site of the quad NAND Gate, I'll be removing that function from both of the Pattern Generators and going only with the dual comparactors for each of them. Overall so far though - it's cool to see the 4 LEDs happily blinking away, as well as listening to the change, between the 4 selected pitches! Woo hoo! 6:36PM - Don'tchya just hate it when you're right into getting something done and you're continually interrupted JUST before it's finished?? Pattern Generator #1 is working now to about 90% of the way that I wish it to and I'm leaving it at that. Once I remove the portions of the CD4011 NAND Gate chip I should be able to find the error under everything. If so - I'll hook it back up for testing. If not, I'll leave it out as I have now. Oddly - with Comparator #2, if the Reference Voltage to the negative input of the Comparator is set all of the way to Ground, with nothing input to the other negative input, the CD4052 lights up all 4 LEDs. Comparator #1 doesn't do this. I've checked the PCB over and over and ...... I can't see a single problem. I disconnected the 3rd input for the positive input from both of them . This leaves it with Ground through 100k. The unit is working now as the video example of Tom Bugs'. Once I get the parts onto the PCB for the 2nd one and it's up and running, I'll THEN try hooking up the quad NOR Gate to it, and see if it works properly. If not - I'll leave it the same as #1. 1h 15m and we're off to see the ancient punk band Sham 69 in Toronto! Woo hoo! Oh yeah! VERY thankfully from a wonderful tip from Ray Wilson ( Music From Outer Space ) , I MAY be converting the 4 pitch pots, to 12 step rotary switches for 1V/Octave!! I'll be breadboarding his tip within a couple of days. If it's successful (as it should be, coming from Ray), my Pattern Generators will be modified in THAT way.
(As well as Ken Stone's Comparators). We shall see!And if that new mod. is successful then I WILL be using it to build the "Dawn of The Woody 3" 1V/Octave 4 step sequencer, with dual 12 rotary switches per step and a switch to switch between the pair on each step. (As well as forward / backward movement and 8 individual Gate outputs - as D.o.T.W.2, had, earlier this year. (Which was scrapped due to 1V/Oct. errors.) Ray's given me a tip, which should take care of this! |
| Sept. 1507 10:44AM |
Magic Smoke
update |
Years of
building experience and you'd think by now - I'd have a much better
ability to guesstimate how long it'll take to complete a panel, no?
Early this week, I figured I'd be able to complete this 8 module panel, by this weekend. Well - here we are on Sat'day morning, and I'm still working out the bugs that are letting the Magic Smoke out, on the 1st of the 8 modules. (sigh) Ah well - Yesterday, for the first time ever - I thought it would be an idea to get my first power-up of a new module on video, in case the module had a problem. Sure enough, it did! Here's the video of the first power-up for 1 of my 2 BugBrand Pattern Generators (with additional mods to it) 12:50PM - after much bug searching, I've found a couple of things: 1) I had the output of the +5V regulator and the input of the +15V from my power supply, tied together. (Essentially, +15V) Both of them were feeding the +V to the 4 pots for input to the CD4052. I separated them to what they should be. Which triggered the realization of the 2nd problem, which I believe is the cause of the Magic Smoke escaping! 2) Hooking the module up again to check the status, after that above mentioned repair - LED #4 was on. I don't know whether this is normal or not. I brought over my meter, to test the Input Jacks to see if there were any voltage on any of them. Sure enough - -15V out of each of the Comparator CV Input Jacks. Hmmmm, I pondered. Still no Magic Smoke #3. So I powered down to check. Looking at Ken Stone's Comparator setup which is used here - I noticed that YES - there will be a minus voltage coming out of those jacks, but AHHHHHHHH ...... Ken's 10K voltage offset pot is also LIMITED by 10K resistors for the positive and negative voltages to the pot! MINE, are NOT!
That immediately made sense to me! When I plugged
in the
cable that caused Magic Smoke escaping #2, I gave a direct route for
the +V to GROUND (or to negative) - hence, my safety 22R resistor
releasing smoke again! Using a 100k pot myself, I'm now going to attach 100k resistors to the positive and negative sides of each of the voltage offset pots. If my mental math is correct, this should give me +/- 5V from the pot. (30V - 100k, 100k, 100k) as well as limiting the current down to the microamp level. K. Off to do the resistors addition and test again. 1:33PM - Magic Smoke #3. Powering up, everything was fine. I measured the CV Inputs to both of the Comparators, and the voltage output from them as expected, was -5V. Each of the Voltage Offset pots was all the way to the left. 4th LED was on. Same as last time. I hooked up the Squarewave LFO output, to both of the 2nd NAND Gate Inputs (which are protected by a diode, against -V's) and started turning up the output level of the LFO's Squarewave. (I presume) Once the output level was high enough, into the NAND Gates, that was all that was needed - all 4 LEDs lit up; the pitch of the VCO hooked up to the Summed output from the buffer shot a few octaves up and Magic Smoke #3 started coming out of my +V input protection resistor.
I killed the power.I am now, completely stumped as to why this is happening. I've tested all of the connections to the chips on the PCB as well as to the front panel. Everything is ok. (Sigh) I haven't been able to find a short anywhere. I'm open to any and all suggestions. I'll continue bug searching later when I have more time. My girlfriend wishes to go out for a drive though (she's bored) and we're heading off to see Nash The Slash perform tonight as well. Soooooo ...... no more bug checking, prolly til tomorrow morning. If after more bug searching, I can't find any problems - I'll either start removing the chips and check for any trace problems that I couldn't see earlier, or, build the 2nd Pattern Generator and see if it's functioning properly. Thanks to anyone out there for any help and / or suggestions! 7:54PM - since we're now not seeing Nash The Slash playing until NEXT weekend, I spent a little more time on bug solving - to no success. Magic Smoke #'s 4, 5 AND 6 have occurred. I've beaten my previous Magic Smoke occurances record (1 time) by FIVE.
Aggravating is not the word.- I've changed every single chip, believing I may have damaged one from Magic Smoke #1. Nope. There was M.S. #4 - I wondered at what someone else had said - that maybe it could be the 4 pots driving the +5V to Ground somewhere. Nope. M.S. #5. - Looking at Ken's Comparator - I saw that he had a 100k resistor to Ground AFTER the diode from the Comparator, before a CMOS input. Nope. M.S. #6. (I added the 100k's to both Comp. outputs after the diode, before the CMOS input.) My next step to try and find WHERE so much current is going to Ground, is ripping every part of the PCB. I can't see finding anything, as all of the testing that I've done for shorts, has revealed nothing. (A 22R resistor will show, as a short.) So that rules out traces shorted together, I THINK. Shall see anyways, once I remove all of the parts. After that - I'll assemble new parts onto the PCB for Pattern Generator #2, and give THAT one a whack. Not tonight though. I'm going to get the new schematic prepared, so that I can upload it to here, for everyone to see - maybe there's something that I'm missing, that's the cause. I'm clued out and haven't a single for-sure, idea at the moment. |
| Sept. 1207 2:12PM |
Another minor update | Almost
every
single time I start work on a new module, I have the highest hopes of
being able to complete it before I have to leave for work, so that I
can see what it's like. Once again today - as always -
construction takes longer than I expect it will. Even with getting up earlier this morning - so that I would hopefully have enough time to complete at least a Divide By 7 Counter far enough to test - I've still only accomplished: (having changed my mind to a simpler module)
That does not include: sanding, staining and triple polyurethaning the panel (12 hours total drying time required) as well as cutting off the excess wood from the Oak panel. (Which I purchase in a standard 6" width - allowing me 5 1/4" for a 3U high panel.) I was hoping to get everything soldered together for the Pat.Gen. though so that I could test it today. Ah well. I'll have more than enough time to get at LEAST the 1st one tested tomorrow, with no troubles at all. Ooooo yeah!
One possibly ugly mistake that I thankfully caught and
corrected, before powering the unit up was that I had installed the
LM7805 (5 volt) voltage regulator backwards!
I've blown up enough things over the years, making hookup
accidents (including the top of a single opamp, flying off when it
exploded!) but I've never hooked up a voltage regulator in reverse.
I'm protected by a 22 ohm input resistor as well as a fuse in
the main power supply, but still - I'm not a fan of making
errors.
K. Off to work. |
| Sept. 1207 12:03AM |
Minor update | A fair
bit
has been done over the last couple of days for the new Utility panel.
The PCB cooked about 98% perfectly, before work today. This PCB has some of the thinnest traces (between IC pads) that I've ever done. Due to not going over them enough times, to ensure that the black permanent marker was dark enough, a couple of them were eaten through. That's about the only troubles though, very thankfully! This PCB includes:
Almost all of the coordinates on the 3U oak panel are done as well. There're just a couple more LEDs to lay out on it and the panel will be ready for drilling; staining and finally, 3 coats of polyurethane. After the last coat has dried, I'll be assembling everything together, module by module, so that I may test them as I complete them, to work out any potential bugs. The biggest thing that I can think of that I'm lacking with this Utility panel is a Gate Sequencer or CV Sequencer. Together, the pair will be wonderful for doing some ever changing madness.
I worked out the math yesterday for timings, using the 2 x /7
Counters. If the fastest Output has a timing of 1 second
between Gate times and the 2 x /7 Counters are hooked up in a Serial
fashion (the clock of one fed by the 7th output of the other), the 7th
output of the 2nd one will take up to just over TEN HOURS before it
resets!!
Can you say - long tunes? ROFL! My main intentions until I build a Gate Sequencer, will be in using the fastest outputs (1, 2 , 3 and / or 4) for simple drum rhythms, which will cut the longest repeat time of the 2nd /7 Counter's last output. But still - the length of time for IT to reset will still be hugely long - leaving lots of room for the other outputs in between to be processed by other logic conditions as WELL as the Pattern Generators. I can't wait to start D . A . M . I . A . N . humming away by himself! Another thought that I had - this Utility Panel along with the Quadraxii P.R.O.B.E. joystick controller will be another wild avenue of aural destruction as well as sonic beauty. All depends on what gets plugged into where and which knobs twidled. As a final note - before I pass out - I'm going to see about getting the 1st of the /7 Counters hooked up in audio format at least, before work tomorrow. If I have enough time, I'll hook everything up for a simple drum beat, before I get back to soldering the next modules on the PCB. If anything good results, I'll sample it and throw it up here as well. |
| Sept. 1107 10:14AM |
Time to SIMPLIFY the new panel, before it becomes too complex! | For my
new
Utility panel for D . A
. M .
I . A
. N .,
my brain just wouldn't stop, coming up with new functions and features
that I felt, should be added to it!
From my experiences over the past 2 years of building, as
well as
my building experiences between 1982 and 2001, I had a few panels that
failed. Almost always, these panels had too MANY features -
making the modules within those panels, overly complex - increasing the
chances of failure within them. I don't wish for that, to
happen
again and am going to try and bring the amount of modules within this
panel back to fewer and simpler modules. As of last night at work, the modules that I had fairly much planned on including in this panel were:
That, has to shrink to save on the scary amounts of wiring
and
complexities, behind one panel. (Looking at the counts, it
WOULD
have had to have gone to a 4U panel. (19" wide, by 7" high)Time to simplify. The PCB has laid out on it so far:
In addition to that - I'll be laying out all of the LEDs onto their own PCB (first time for me), due to the # of them and the amount of wiring that will be saved from having to do. (1 LED per /7 counter output, totals to 14 as it is; 8 more for the Pat.Gen.'s and 1 tri-colour LED for the 3 clocks - drops their total to 23. (Heh.
Love that #.
)Right then. I had other ideas yesterday for how to portray the LEDs in the panel as well. I MAY be doing a frosted poly-something'or'other panel over top of them. with randomly patterned squirtings of clear silicone, to give their illumination a cool effect, as I have done with my other illuminated constructions, earlier this year. Shall see how it all goes. Off to finishing the PCB! Should be able to get it finished and cooked today. |
| Sept. 1007 12:48PM |
I've just started a new utility panel. | There're
a few
viewers of my site out there that may remember the 'Dawn of The Woody'
sequencer panel that I had in my system until very early this year.
It had included as well as the 4 step sequencer a CGS (Ken
Stone) Divide by 7 counter as well as a couple of CGS dual Input NAND
Gates. Of course - when I scrapped that panel, that included
all of the modules within it. I still have the circuit board though and I'll be resurrecting the pair of NAND Gates; Sample and Hold and White Noise source for my new utility panel. I've also just started laying out the copper PCB for the 2nd set of modules that will be in this new panel. Included on this board will be:
I'll be posting more, once I start getting the panel together. Hopefully, it'll be completed by the end of this coming weekend. (Hard to tell though, as we're heading out to see Sham 69 on Sunday and possibly Nash The Slash on Saturday. ) |
| Aug. 2307 12:49PM | The D . A . M . I . A . N . Quadraxii P.R.O.B.E. update to V1.20 |
Working
out
the design error over the past few days in the Quadraxii, I've just
finished removing most of the incorrect wiring as well as installing 4
extra switches. (I'll also be uploading to this page an
updated schematic, reflecting how things SHOULD look for the originally
intended operation.
) V1.20 of the Quadraxii will have:
Also to be added are a proper mounting structure for the Momentary ON switches for each of the axii (Ooo! As well as 4 more holes drilled for 4 more momentary switches) as well as the individual LEDs for each of the 4 axii. The LEDs will be strung up in between the 2 joysticks themselves, surrounded by a material that will be illuminated by them. I also shot a short demonstration video of the unit yesterday and hope to have it up here before I go to work today. |
| Aug. 2207 2:28PM |
The D . A . M . I . A . N . Quadraxii P.R.O.B.E. |
Quickly -
as
I have to leave for work in a few minutes. The Quadraxii
P.R.O.B.E. is working beautifully! I didn't have enough time yet to hook up LEDs to each of the 4 axii and the epoxy that I used for the momentary switches, failed to adhere them to the panel. The rest of the module is functioning beautifully though!
I just shot a short audio/video to show off to coworkers and
shall be posting it here either tonight or tomorrow morning.The only other function to add / change on it so far, is limiting the AMOUNT of the External Input for each of the 4 of them. Shall look into adding that tomorrow. Yet another 1st for me in the world - a dual joystick controller, controlling 4 axii with 1 hand. |
| Aug. 2007 1:37PM |
The D . A . M . I . A . N . Quadraxii P.R.O.B.E. |
There
was
another change in the 4 axis joystick controller over the weekend, that
I've now implemented in the prototype build of the unit. Instead of having Z and A axii in addition to the normal X and Y axii, I decided to go in this version, with a 2nd joystick attached TO the paddle of the 1st joystick!
This, chaps, will still give you the ability to control 4
different axii with one hand, but in a different way from what I had
originally intended, with the up / down Z axis and the rotational A
axis. (Those 2 I may STILL add to a later version of this
controller, to give a total of SIX axii to control with 1 hand.
)V1.00 of the Quadraxii P.R.O.B.E. supplies +15V to each of the 4 axii, which are each summed / buffered, with external inputs, giving a maximum output of +10V. Each output can be switched to either ON all of the time, or OFF/Momentary ON for sending the summed voltage to each output when the momentary button is pressed. Each output also has it's own Output Level control allowing adjustment from 0V to the full +10V AC/DC range. Once I find a suitable flexible enclosure for the external joystick, I'll be surrounding that portion down to the panel, as well as illuminating it from within, with a dedicated different colour LED for each of the 4 axii. Once all of the electronics are hooked up, I'll shoot a small video, giving a portion of an idea as to the control possibilities with this contraption. There's still more than enough room on the panel to pop in a 2nd set of joysticks with buttons / controls as well as jacks for Differencers as well as Inverters. Here's 1 photo for the moment, with textual discriptions of everything: |
| Aug. 1807 12:16AM |
The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. |
The PCB
for all
4 of the axii for the P.R.O.B.E. joystick controller,
has been cooked.
There're only a couple of errors on it due to too long a
cooking time in the ferric chloride. Nothing that I can't
deal with, at least. I'll be starting to put the parts on, later this morning. Hopefully, I'll be able to get enough done to have at least 1 of the axii working, before we head out to a neighbours birthday party. Ultimately, I'd love to have the entire thing done this weekend, but there's still 1 more PCB to do for the Differences and Inverting/Non - Summers and Trigger generators. As it looks now though - the first 4 Axis Joystick Controllers in the WORLD, should be completed, within a few days! Mmmm ...... thats as LONG as I figure out how to build the physical components for the Z and A axii!
LOL (Just trying to think
of what parts that are around the house, that I can use, to build it
with.)Photos are coming. I have a couple of the pre-cook PCB. I'll post one of them later today and more photos as the unit is built. |
| 10:47AM | A NEW
joystick controller idea!! |
This idea
could be up to SIX AXII controllable from a single device!
Attach 2 joysticks, paddle to paddle! I.E.
One on top of the other. With the bottom one
fastened to a surface, the one on top becomes your movable device.
Each of them will have their own X and Y axii. Add
to that, my Up / Down A axis, along with the rotational Z axis and that
gives you a total of 6 parameters controllable from 1 device!
Woohoo!
I'll be trying that experiment with my current prototype as
well, once I find a proper fastener to join these 2 together.
Right then. Off to putting parts onto the PCB so
that I may start experimenting. |
| 1:16PM | Some progress | All of
the
parts are on the PCB for 2 of the axii and I've got the joystick
hardware mounted to a piece of scrap oak panel, for the moment.
Not enough time due to errands to get any farther.
Hopefully, I'll find more time today to at least get the 2
axii working. If so, I'll be posting video with audio.
|
| Aug. 1607 12:29 PM |
The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. |
Having
more
time for experimenting today, I finally settled on a design
for the joystick interface that works fairly well. (Note: please keep in mind that I'm an amature electronics experimenter. There may be mathematical errors within this design, that I haven't the electronics knowledge to fully comprehend.
I therefore may not be held responsible for any troubles that
anyone else may run into, from building a circuit from this schematic, themselves.) As breadboarded, this circuit shown below in the schematic works for my needs.
I'll lay out the PCB for it, as well as the other functions that I've mentioned, farther below, tomorrow. This circuit has the following abilities:
|
| The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. schematic |
 |
|
| Aug. 1507 11:27 AM |
The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. |
From
yesterday's testing for the 40k pot on the X axis:
Instead of having a switch for each axis to allow to switch from 'wide' to 'small' range for them, I'm going to instead have a pot to control how much of EACH of them are SUMMED into each axii!
This will allow DC offsets to be added or subtracted to each
positive or negative throw, of each of the axii. Time to breadboard it after laying out the initial schematic and see what occurs.
Everything before and after the joystick's axis WILL be
buffered
as well, for some sort of protection. My only minor concern
though, is having an external input for each side of an axii's pot,
feeding in any AC signals and how they may interact with each other, if
they do. Hmmm. Wish I knew Kirschoff's law for
resistances.
Lets see what happens, anyways!
Oh yeah! DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!! |
| Aug. 1407 11:09 AM |
The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. |
Time to
get
started on prototyping this device! |
| 2:20 PM | After
a fair
bit of other stuff to do - got the joystick's
pots measured as well as some external resistor values to give me a
+/5VDC range over the paddle's movement area. It took longer
than
I thought. Oh well. I have the data required now
anyways
and shall hook up an X / Y prototype tomorrow to see how it works out.
I still have to figure out the +/- resistor values for a
smaller range as well. Also - both value ranges shall apply to the Internal / External inputs, for each of the 4 axii. Switches, Jacks and possibly LED real estate for 1 x 4 axis joystick is going to turn out to be fairly huge!
I'll have photos up, once I get that far ...... off to work.
|
|
| Aug. 0207 | The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. |
The
Pulsating
Rampaging Orb Blasting Earthlings
- Joystick Controller The D . A . M . I . A . N . P.R.O.B.E. is the first joystick controller that I've designed since the early 1990's, just before my noise band Deathlehem was born. That simple little dual joystick beast gave the band the ability to create some of the most horrifying audio hell that I had ever been a part of kreating! The P.R.O.B.E. V1.00 shall be going way, beyond, THAT! |
Features
of the P.R.O.B.E. will include the following:
I still have to work out the mathematics for the proper voltages around
the joystick's internal pots, but I don't expect any troubles there.
Everything will be properly buffered and hopefully protected from any
potential troubles in feeding external voltage sources through them. My only minor puzzle so far, is how to construct the thing physically for the Z and W axii.
1 minor problem will be the paddle's position. There isn't enough
resistance in the body itself, to maintain the position of the paddle
with the extra weight that it will have on it. Investigating the
hardware yesterday, I found that if I apply force to each of the X and
Y axles, I'm able to maintain the paddle's position. I'll have to
figure out a proper way to apply the required force to each of the 2
axii, as I'd much rather have the paddle maintain it's set position,
than having it sliding to any of the corners when left alone.
I'm going to start working on the schematic for
the
first unit on breaks at work today and shall be posting the schematics,
once they're ready along with test results during prototyping. And of
course, photos and video will be posted to this section as well. |
||