Trackydacks build notes - part 2 - NLC

This is part 2 of my Tracky dacks build notes.

Its an envelope generator.

Part 1 is here:

https://djjondent.blogspot.com/2022/06/nlc-tracky-dacks.html

Some links:

The official NLC Build guide is here

The wiki page is here:

https://www.nonlinearcircuits.com/modules/p/trackydacks

Here is the build so far.

The module uses just one PCB

Most of the SMD components are on.

Installing the Schottky, power rectifier.

This protects the module if it is plugged into the power supply backwards.

You can also use a 10R resistor.

This module is a voltage controlled envelope generator.

Its a simple circuit based on the Triad module.

Triad - Triple EG  (Envelope Generator)

The circuit uses 2 vactrols. you can use manufactured ones but I like DIY.

Very easy to do. Just a LDR and an LED.

For more info about rolling your own vactrols, click here:

+ Vactrols - Optocoupliers

Andrew has suggested using GL5516 LDRs.

These give a resistance of about 5 to 10 Kohms at full brightness.

Dark resistance is 0.5M.

I'll stick with this but vary it if you like to experiment.

The choice of LED  and its resistor will also have a bearing on how this all works.

I'm using a 10M LED resistor, though the official build notes use 2.2M.

Suggested LED colours are red/green/orange/yellow.

I read somewhere, that yellow LEDs make the most efficient circuit.

The best match is I think between green and green/yellow.  A blue LED is probably the worst possible choice.

Also remember that LED colours are normally not standard or very precise from one manufacturer to another.

Im using a Yellow LED & GL5516 LDR

So if you take this DIY path each build will be different & unique which I think is kind of cool.

So do experiment if you have the time.

The 4 100K pots are linear.

(b-type)

Solder pots, jacks and the switch 

on-off-on SPDT

This is the range switch.

The Range switch allows normal (centre), slow (up) and very slow (down) operation.

 The cycle rates can be controlled by CVs on Up and Down, which makes it a very unusual LFO.

The 2 LEDs : Doing (envelope) & done (trigger) are quite important.

Im using some orange LEDs.

The 1k and 4k7 resistors on the outputs act as voltage dividers to give 5-6V outputs and serve as current limiters for the LEDs. 

The LED on the DOING (envelope) output also serves to ensure the output returns to 0V. So you want to choose LEDs that have a nice brightness with 5k7Ω (1k + 4k7 = 5k7). 

Usually most diffused lens LEDs will be fine. 

The trigger LED (DONE) only ever flashes very briefly so a very bright LED is ok here. If you need to change the resistors to suit your LEDs, try to keep the approx. 1:5 ratio (1k:4k7). 

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You can find more NLC builds here.

http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/non-linear-circuits-ncl-index.html

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Nils Frahm - Sydney - 2022 concert

 Some pics from a recent concert at the Sydney Opera House.

 

 

Well worth seeing. Nils crosses boundaries between Classical & Electronic music, combining instruments from both disciplines seamlessly.

He is touring Australia at the moment, promoting his upcoming album,

Music for Animals.

I think it's coming out around September, 2022.

Packed House. It's great to be able to attend concerts again after the covid lockdowns.

He opened the set with a Glass Armonia. I thought it was some midi controller, or light controlled device.

Turns out it's a 300 year old instrument made of rings of glass.

https://youtu.be/eEKlRUvk9zc

Looked very fragile, and I can only wonder how he managed to transport this through airport customs without breaking anything.

As an interesting side note, the Armonia was invented by Benjamin Franklin. 

He was inspired to create his glass armonica after hearing an English friend playing a tune on wine glasses filled with water.

Mozart, Camille Saint-Saëns , Richard Strauss  & Beethoven, used and composed pieces for this instrument.

In the pic below I can see a Mellotron, Minimoog D (& sample/hold) , some Junos and I think Roland Chorus Echos -- Re 501??  

Nils moved between the left & right stations, mixing melodies and looping sounds from pianos, with electronic synthesizers.

At one point he inserted what looked like microphones into the pianos and I think sampled the sounds

into looped tape machines, then played over this.

Some pieces were very chilled minimal electronica, others were sole piano.

Beautiful stuff !!!

 

I think there was a Fender Rhodes Piano under the right Juno 60

MiniMoog D with Sample & Hold

Roland Juno 60

Mellotron ??

 

Get out and see him if you can.

Abelton CV tools - CV triggers (ES-9)

Using the ES-9 with Abelton's CV triggers module.

The initial setup page & info on CV Instrument is here :

Its Part of CV Tools.

CV Tools is a Pack of ten devices for Live 10 Suite that generate and receive Pitch, Control, Clock and Trigger CV. Send and modulate CV to and from your modular setup or other CV-based gear and Ableton Live 

The devices are 

CV instrument

Cv triggers

Rotating Rhythm generator

CV envelope Follower

CV In

CV LFO

CV Shaper

CV Clock in

CV Clock Out

CV Utility

CV Triggers lets you sequence your modular drum modules from inside Live.

Just drag this module onto a MIDI track.

It lets you map notes to triggers

In this example Ive mapped C3 to C4  to trigger outputs 1 to 8 on the ES-9.

The type of trigger can be a gate, trigger or Ping.

You can set length, velocity, polarity

Vivid Sydney - 2022

 Some pics from the Vivid Festival in Sydney Australia.

https://www.vividsydney.com/

 

 

 

 

The Rocks, Sydney.

..

Circular  Quay

..

 

Museum of Contemporary Art,  MCA

HAND Tapeloop at Superbooth 2022 - Voices of AE Modular

Keurslager Kurt at Superbooth 2022 - Voices of AE Modular

Wonkystuff at Superbooth 2022 - Voices of AE Modular

IOO ISHARES GLOBAL 100 ETF

 IOO

https://www.fool.com.au/tickers/asx-ioo/

https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239737/ishares-global-100-etf

https://www.marketindex.com.au/asx/ioo?src=search-all

aug 2026

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Chart

High: $203 - aug 2026

Low : $  27    - aug 2011

Between 2008 to 2016 the price didn't increase much .. stayed at $50

So it's quadrupled over 10 years (2016 - 2026)

If you had bought in 2011 @ $27 you would have 8X your money

Dividends are low but stellar growth over one that 15 year cycle.

2011 - $27

2015 - $50

2022 - $100

2026 - $200

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The iShares Global 100 ETF (ASX: IOO) is an exchange-traded fund traded on the Australian Securities Exchange. Managed by BlackRock, it tracks the S&P Global 100 Index, giving investors exposure to 100 of the largest multinational companies in the world like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia for a management fee of 0.40%. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Fund Overview and Key Details

Index: S&P Global 100 Index
Holdings: 100 large-cap global companies (heavy focus on major US and international tech, finance, and healthcare leaders)
70% exposure in the USA ... 
Management Fee: 0.40% per year
Asset Class: International Equities / Global Shares [1, 2, 3, 4]

Top Sectors and Holdings

Technology Weighting: Information technology makes up roughly 40% to 45% of the fund.
Other Sectors: Financial services, communication services, and healthcare make up significant secondary portions.
Key Stocks: Includes mega-cap giants like Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia. [1, 2, 3]

Why Australian Investors Use IOO

Diversification: Helps balance local portfolios that are heavily tied to Australian banks and mining stocks.
Access: Provides simple, single-trade access to massive global titans that cannot be bought directly on the ASX.
Low Cost: Offers an affordable alternative to active global fund managers. [1, 2, 3, 4]

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ARGO vs IOO buffett style 2026 sept

The iShares Global 100 ETF (ASX: IOO) significantly outperforms Argo Investments (ASX: ARG) in long-term capital growth, whereas Argo wins heavily on high-yield, franked domestic income fit for a traditional dividend focus. [1, 2]

Here is a side-by-side comparison evaluated through a Warren Buffett-style lens (focusing on economic moats, rational capital allocation, cost consciousness, and owner earnings).

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Key Metric Comparison

Financial Metric	Argo Investments (ASX: ARG)	iShares Global 100 ETF (ASX: IOO)
Asset Type	Listed Investment Company (LIC)	Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
Primary Focus	Australian Blue-Chip Equities	Top 100 Large-Cap Global Multinationals
10-Year Growth (p.a.)	~8.1% to 9.0% total return (NTA/Total Return)	~15.8% to 17.2% total return (annualized)
Price-to-Earnings (P/E)	~26.9x – 27.3x (Trailing TTM)	~25.0x – 29.5x (Composite of mega-caps)
Dividend / Yield	~4.1% – 4.4% (100% Fully Franked)	~0.8% – 1.2% (Unfranked/Global flows)
10-Yr Dividend Growth	~2.7% average annual growth (volatile)	Varies widely (reinvests heavily into growth)
Management Costs	~0.10% – 0.14% (MER)	0.40% (MER)

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Long-Term 10-Year Growth

ASX: IOO (Winner for Compounding): Delivered stellar historical annualized total returns of roughly 15% to 17% over the past decade. It captures high-returning economic monopolies with immense pricing power (e.g., Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet). Buffett famously loves tech/consumer mainstays with wide moats, making IOO's underlying asset roster structurally superior for pure capital accumulation. [1, 2, 3]
ASX: ARG (Steady Value): Trailed global equities, delivering total annual returns around 8% to 9%. Argo tracks the broader Australian blue-chip ecosystem (heavy on banks, miners, and domestic cyclicals). While stable, Australia lacks the high-growth technology sectors needed for hyper-compounding. [1, 2, 3]

Valuation (P/E Ratio)

ASX: ARG (~27x P/E): Trades at a rich trailing earnings multiple relative to its underlying slow-growth asset base. Buffett looks for a margin of safety; paying ~27 times earnings for an asset portfolio growing at single digits requires careful justification. [1, 2]
ASX: IOO (~29x P/E): Also commands a high multiple, driven by the premium pricing of global tech giants. However, these companies back their multiples with double-digit underlying earnings-per-share (EPS) growth and massive cash generation—aligning better with Buffett's concept of paying up for truly exceptional business quality. [1]

Dividends & Dividend Growth

ASX: ARG (Winner for Income): Yields over 4% (fully franked, pushing grossed-up yields past 6%). Argo operates a unique profit reserve structure, allowing management to smooth out dividend payouts during market downturns. However, 10-year dividend growth has been sluggish (~2.7% annualized), and high payout ratios (~112%) mean earnings must play catch-up to support larger hikes. [1, 2, 3, 4]
ASX: IOO: Yields a meager ~0.8% to 1.2%. Global mega-caps prefer retaining earnings to compound intrinsic value or execute share buybacks rather than dishing out high cash yields. Distribution growth is lumpy and low. [1]

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A Warren Buffett-Style Verdict

On Economic Moats & Quality: IOO wins. Buffett famously advocates for buying the best businesses in the world rather than average local proxies. IOO gives you direct ownership of world-class franchises with unassailable global moats. [1]
On Rational Capital Allocation: IOO wins on compounding, ARG wins on cash returns. Argo is a wonderful, conservative steward with ultra-low internal costs (0.10%) and zero balance-sheet risk, but it is handcuffed to a concentrated, slow-growth domestic market. IOO charges a higher fee (0.40%), but allocates capital into enterprises achieving high returns on equity (ROE) that far outpace the fee penalty. [1, 2, 3]
The Bottom Line: Choose IOO if your goal is multi-decade wealth creation and compounding (growth style). Choose ARG if you are in retirement phase and require predictable, tax-advantaged franked income (value/income style).

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