NLC - This 2 shall pass - passive analogue XOR - build notes

These are my build notes for the Nonlinear Circuits "This 2 shall pass" module

It's a eurorack format 2HP module.

Should be a simple build ... It's a passive analogue XOR circuit

No CMOS ... which is different & nice to see.

How to build a logic gate with transistors is a basic circuit which is a handy piece of knowledge.

There are 2 ways to use this:

1. If you want to get close to XOR behaviour, use the top and bottom inputs, leave the middle one empty. 

2. if you want a voltage controlled “XOR”  feed your signals to the top and bottom

     inputs and a CV signal to the middle input.

Feed it anything: CV, audio rate, gates, mix them up. Generally with audio signals it sounds like a Ring Modulator, adding CV to the middle input (but feel free to experiment) it sounds like a VC Ring Modulator.

Links

+ Wiki

+ BOM

+ Logic Modules - The 7 gates

XOR Gate (Exclusive OR gate)
Will only output a high signal when one input is high and the other is low.
It allows the signals to pass Except when they happen simultaneously.
It's like when 2 people try to squeeze through a narrow door at the same time.

(use this for your two snare drums - to prevent them triggering simultaneously)

In1	In2	Out
0	0	0
0	1	1
1	0	1
1	1	0

......

Parts:

1k 2 0805

4k7 6 aka 4.7k 0805

22k 2 0805

BC847 6 sot23-3

3.5MM SOCKET 8 Tayda: A-2563

The red tape is to prevent any shorts

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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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Synton Fenix III - sequencer companion notes - 2

 This is part 2 of my companion notes for the fenix III sequencer.

 

 

Part 1 is here:

  Synton Fenix III - sequencer companion notes - 1 

Note that the patch points are colour coded.

+ Inputs = Black

+ CV out = blue

+ Bus in/out = yellow

+ CV step input = grey

 

+ It is NOT OK to interconnect the blue outputs

+ It is OK to interconnect black inputs

+ It is OK to interconnect any number of yellow outputs

       These yellow outputs are binary (gates ... >7V or <1V)

       If one or more of the interconnected yellow sockets is HIGH, then all will be HIGH.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buffer Modules.

This module operates only for Logic signals ... eg those from the Yellow Bus outputs .

A Buffer is a special Logic gate. It's a non-inverting amplifier.

 

It is recommended to use a buffer module when connecting the yellow Bus to a normal gate source or an input (such as the clock input) which has internal patching.

A buffer will turn a non-buffered output (yellow jacks) into a buffered output.

When in doubt it doesn't hurt to use a buffer. Its a safety module.

--------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------

 

The Master clock module controls the speed of the sequencer

 

The Clock frequency can be set by the frequency knob
and modulated with an external voltage at the FM1 and
FM2 input or by external Midi
 

There are 5 clock outputs:

Clk out, 

Out x 4

Out/4

Out/16

Out/32

 

 

The Clock outputs are I understand to be same voltage range as Gates .. that is ... 0 to +8V

 (need to confirm with a multimeter) 

If you want to connect the Fénix with an instrument based on S-Trigger (Vintage Moog 

or Korg MS 20 etc), you need an S-Trigger converter. 

If you want to use an S-trigger to control the Fénix, you can connect the S-trigger to

 the (-) input of the comparator and the output of comparator
can be used as gate. You'll have to look for a correct setting with the control knob.

The CV out is the CV of the Frequency knob. 

You can use this as an additional control voltage. 

The R/S and Reset inputs need Gates to work.

Anything larger than +5V is high

Anything under +1V is low

 ------------------------------------------------------

 

The 3 main sequencers (C1/B1/A1) have some unique input controls:

 

To clock the sequencers using an external sequencer you'll need

a +5 gate (or larger).

A signal larger than 5 volts is considered
high, and a signal that lower than one volt, low. 

The gate and trigger outputs produce such a signal.

Triplet & Duplet

To be continued...

THAT - That Analog Thing

The Anabrid THAT computer.

 

 Links

+ https://the-analog-thing.org/wiki/Main_Page

+ https://shop.anabrid.com/ 

 

Just purchased one of these.

 

 Its a Open Source Analog Computer

 By connecting the wires in different ways I can use it to solve all sorts of differential equations.

 

 

 

Analog computers have been around for thousands of years but over the last 70 years

they have been almost completely replaced with digital machines.

We must remember that the world itself is analog, not digital.

In the world of music, synths and electronics there is a constant battle between the two.

Do vinyl records sound better than CD's? 

Are vintage analog synths superior to digital keyboards?

Today, there is a resurgence in analog things and esp in analog computing.

The future, I'm sure, involves the utilization of both technologies.

 

The THAT computer is a great open source project and you don't have to spend a ton of money.

It looks like an easy introduction to analog technology.

 

So whats the difference between an analog and a digital computer?

The word analog comes from the word analogous or analogy.

An analogy is a comparison between one thing and another.

In a analog computer the comparison might be between the motion of a wheel and the

the rise and fall of a tide or changes in voltages and a weather model.

Digital computers, in comparison, use digits ... 

typically 0 or 1, on/off, true/false. 

 

Remember that analog and digital computers can be either mechanical or electrical.

For example, an abacus is digital.

A slide rule is analog.

 

Analog computers are relatively simple, use little power and are excellent at solving 

complex problems & differential equations. 

I doubt the THAT computer on its own, will be able to make music, but you should

certainly be able to interface it with a Serge or eurorack modular. 

Though I haven't tried this .....so a disclaimer if you do:

Do so at your own risk.

Anyway, I think this is an incredibly useful educational tool.

Moore's Law is reaching its limits. Quantum computing is only just beginning.

Maybe the near future of computing will involve hybrid analog/digital machines. 

Remember:

"There are more ways to solve a problem than the algorithmic approach". (Bernd Ulmann).

The THAT computer uses bananas. So I hope I'll find a use for this in some modular synths.

 

I'm not sure what size bananas it uses. Serge use 4mm diameter.

This might be 2mm ? 

Anabrid also make the Model-1 analog computer

and are working on building a analog computer that will fit on a chip.

https://youtu.be/j1wZ8zU1ZGI

 

Links

+ Basic op-amp circuits

+ ARP 2500 - 1047 Multimode Filter / Resonator

+ Integrator Circuit
+ CES Digital Systems Trainer - Ed-Lab 702
+ CSIRAC & Tec-1
+ Fairlight IIx Synth
+ Influential ICs  

+ TT 1  Turing Tumble

+ The Integrator Circuit - analog computers, Buchla, Serge & eurorack modules

+ https://analogparadigm.com/products.html 

Mixing Analogue and Digital Computers: The Future is Hybrid

 

 

Philosophy

 Philosophy is the study of  fundamental questions about the world...., such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, the mind, AI vs natural intelligence, soul, life after death, etc etc.

You might think its odd to find this page in a blog about synths, but I think  such concepts will actually help make better music.

 

If I suffer writer's block , or life seems too much to turn that synthesizer on, then reading a bit of Aristotle or Marcus Aurelius helps refocus on whats important. Usually I can get going again.

 

 This page will be constantly edited and added to over the years.

The study of Philosophy is a lifetime endeavour.

+ Plato

+ Boethius

+ Marcus Aurelius - Stoic wisdom

+ Aristotle's Logic & Reasoning  

+ Stoic Logic - basic intro

+ Thales - the Father of Science

Stoic Logic - basic intro

 

There are actually two systems of logic in the classical world.

Stoic and Aristotelian.

 

This page covers some basic ideas of Stoic logic. 

Stoic L is also sometimes called Propositional Logic.

 

Stoic Logic was first developed by Chrysippus, in the 3rd-century BC.

It's teachings were "lost" for many centuries and only rediscovered in the 20th century .

The first person to reappraise their ideas was the Polish logician Jan Łukasiewicz.

 

There appear to be close similarities between the methods of Stoic reasoning and the behaviour of digital computers. ... The code of the nineteeth-century logician and mathematician George Boole bear much in common with Chrysippus. Propositional logic is thus closely related to modern mathematical & Boolean logic.

 

Stoic logic is different from Aristotle's term logic because it was based on the analysis of propositions rather than terms.

 

Aristotelian logic uses terms like all Xs are Ys, some Xs are Ys, and no Xs are Ys

A example is: All men are mortal. Dion is a man.

A conclusion is reached by rules known as Syllogisms.

eg: Therefore, Dion is a mortal.. 

 

Propositional logic uses Propositions. (statements that are either true or false)

It also uses operators ( logical connectives) like the Conditional, Paraconditional, Conjunction, and Disjunction, etc

An example: 

If X then Y; 

Both X and Y; 

Either X or Y. 

These propositions and operators can be combined to create more advanced statements too, like: If A and B, and C or D, then it is not the case that E.

 

So to summarise:

Stoic Logic a system of deduction which uses 2 parts:

1. propositions (statements that are either true or false)

2. operators or logical connectives (which act upon the propositions). 

 

Stoic logic starts with simple propositions. A favorite examples from the ancient texts:

• Dion is walking.

 We can turn this into a complex proposition by using an "operator".

These are really similar to boolean operators

Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search

 

Stoic  propositions "operators" use terms like:

 

    Conditional (if) :                                        If it is day, it is light.
    Paraconditional/Pseudoconditional (since): Since it is day, it is light.
    Conjunction (and) :                                    Both it is day and it is night.
    Disjunction (either ... or) :                          Either it is day or it is night.
    Causal (because) :                                     Because it is day, it is light.

    Comparative (more/less likely .... than  :     more likely it is day than night     

    The more: It is more day than it is night.
    The less: It is less night than it is day.
 

 

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+ Philosophy index