Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

NLC Motherload for 2019

These should keep me busy and out of mischief for some of 2019.
They are part of Andrews creations of 2018.


I'm trying to build at least one version of every Nonlinearcircuit module.

Signum Hyperchaos
GENiE - GEneralized Nonlinear Extrapolator
SPASM - LDR controlled jerk chaos
(bad) Digital Filter Simulator
Balter - Dual VC Gate Delay
The Big Room (Reverb)
Dual LPG
Noiro-ze VCF & VCA
Shat-noir Phaser
Mogue mixer & VCA
It's 555 .... resonator (Eurorack version)
Kareishuu VCO
STATUES
Ian Fritz's Hypster


Monday, 21 January 2019

Custom Buchla modules - Synovatron

I'm finally getting around to building some half size Buchla modules.
This first one is a Euro to Buchla trigger converter.


I commissioned  these from Tony at Synovatron back in 2014.
Tony supplied the kits and two fully built modules.
The built modules are awesome. I use them all the time.

I'm putting together a second Buchla performance case and thus my need to get these kits built.



Almost there..

To be continued........

Links:
Tone's synth Projects
Tones synth - more buchla to euro translators

A tale of two computers - CSIRAC and Tec-1

This is a story of two Australian inventions that I think are worth remembering
as they both have a part to play in the evolution of electronic music.
One so big it will fill your house (if you possessed it). The other a fraction of its size that you can build yourself.

The first is CSIRAC.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSIRAC-Pano,-Melb.-Museum,-12.8.2008.jpg
jjron [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

CSIRAC  stands for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer).
This was originally known as CSIR Mk 1. It was Australia's first electronic programmable digital computer, and the fifth stored program computer in the world.  She ran her first program in 1949 which makes her 70 years old this year.

I first saw this machine at the Melbourne Museum in 2016. (sadly no pics) . You can today pay her a visit at the Scienceworks centre, also in Melbourne.  (Maybe take her a birthday cake)

 CSIRAC is the oldest surviving first-generation electronic computer (The Zuse Z4 at the Deutsches Museum  in Germany is older, but was electro-mechanical, not electronic). CSIRAC was constructed by a team of scientists led by Trevor Pearcey Geoff Hill and Maston Beard. Though it had but a fraction of the brain power of your average smart phone it was a revolution in its day.

In addition to being used for things like weather forecasting and banking,  CSIRAC was the first computer in the world to play digital music. This took place during Australia’s first computer conference in June 1951. The tune was Colonel Bogey, . Sadly there are no recordings.


The second Computer we are looking back at is the TEC-1

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tec-1_Z80_Computer.jpg
Otherunicorn [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons


 It is a single-board kit computer first produced by the Australian hobbyist electronics magazine Talking Electronics in the early 1980s. The design by John Hardy and Ken Stone was based on the Zilog Z80 CPU.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will probably know who Ken Stone is. The founder of Cat Girl Synths (CGS).

Th TEC-1 used a  Zilog Z80 CPU, had 2K of RAM and 2K of ROM in a default configuration.

Those twenty round keys on the right are the main input. They are made up of 16 hexadecimal keys for numeric inputs and address, a GO key to execute a program, + and - keys,

This is the original prototype.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_TEC1_Prototype.jpg
Binarysequence [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

The TEC-1 was first featured in 1983, in Volume 1, Issue 10 of the Talking Electronics magazine, pages 57 to 75. I plan to build one of these and will document it in a future blog and hopefully use it to play a tune or two ... maybe Colonel Bogey.

It the 1984 issue of Talking Electronics magazine,  (Volume 1, Issue 11, pages 11 to 36, and pages 50 to 55) are two peripherals designed by Ken Stone for the TEC-1 -an 8x8 matrix display, and a relay driver board. These allow the TEC-1 to be interfaced to other equipment.

Notes:
+ Colossus (1943) was the first electronic digital programmable computing device, and was used to break German ciphers during World War II. In December 1943, Colossus was shipped to Bletchley Park, where it was delivered on 18 January 1944 and attacked its first message on 5 February. Colossus included the first ever use of shift registers and systolic arrays, enabling five simultaneous tests, each involving up to 100 Boolean calculations, on each of the five channels on the punched tape.
A reconstructed working copy of one of the Colossus machines is now on display at Bletchley Park.

+ ENIAC (1945) (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first electronic programmable computer built in the US. ENIAC was the first Turing-complete electronic device, and performed ballistics trajectory calculations for the United States Army.


Links:
Facebook - Tec-1 Z80 computer


Saturday, 19 January 2019

Lorre-Mill U Tone build notes

Some pics of my build of the U-tone diy synth.
Looks like a cool way to learn about CMOS ICs.

Lorre Mill make the wonderful Double Knot synth.


"The utone circuit uses CMOS logic, a resistor ladder, and a few other simple pieces to create audio forms. The scale inherent in this instrument is the undertone series, giving divisions of the main clock frequency."

Only the PCB is supplied



I'm not sure how I will eventually encase the synth.
I may end up incorporating this into a larger project.

tHE CMOS ICs used are a CD4046BE & two CD4015BEs

The CD4046BE is a PLL (Phase Locked Loop)
The CD4015 is a Counter Shift Registers, Dual 4-Stage








 Quite a easy build.


Lancaster's CMOS book is the bible


I'm not sure how i'll encase this.





Links:
Muffs
Official - Lorre Mill
CMOS & Lunetta Synths

Friday, 18 January 2019

Teenage engineering - They have gone modular

I was surprised and delighted to see this today.
I'm a big fan of this Swedish company.

The teenagers have got a new series of synths out.
Beautiful Scandinavian designs.
Their website describes this as the poor man's modular but I can see these being sold in art galleries.

The System 400 (as my friend Justin pointed out) harks back to the EMS Synthi E
And I think the similarities are more than just its colour

The Synthi E was designed for education, and I feel that these new TE synths will open up the world of modulars to a much wider audience.


The flat pack idea reminds me of  IKEA. Another Swedish company... who are known for selling good, minimalist designed products at affordable prices.

As far as I can tell from the manual, the patch cables are 3,5mm but the module size is their own format (not Eurorack).

The 400 has  3 OSCILLATORS, NOISE, RANDOM GENERATOR, 2 ENVELOPES, 2 VCA'S, LFO, FILTER, MIXER, SPEAKER BOX, POWER PACK AND A 1–16 STEP SEQUENCER.

THE COMPLETE KIT COMES WITH CHASSIS,16 MODULES, 15 PATCH CABLES.

It doesn't look like you can move these modules around within the system.
The kit comes with a flat metal face (reminds me of my old Meccano set) where you bend (the edges) to make the case...

The modules are then screwed onto the back of the face ??


The other two synths released are the 170 & the keyboard

The 170 is a analog monophonic synth with step sequencer. It costs $349USD and includes a chassis, nine modules and eight patch cables.
The modular membrane keyboard has tuneable keys and a step sequencer. It seems to be designed for use with the 400 & 170 model... and hopefully will conform to Eurorack CV/ gate standards

The module dimensions are here.

The TE system uses M2 screws., 5mm spacing mount holes. Module dimensions are 30x90 for a 6HP module. ie the height is 90mm which is approximately 2U

Euro specs are M3 screws, 5.08 mm spacing mount holes, and a 3U height.

But the PSU  is compatable ... both +/-12V

I hope this is the first of many future module additions. Maybe a case that allows for free placement of the modules..... I can see this system expanding 

Links:
Teenage Engineering

Thursday, 3 January 2019

Ciat Lonbarde _ Gerassic Organ

My first build for 2019.
The Ciat Lonbarde Gerassic Organ.


This is what is called a "Paper Circuit".
iTS  a Dual Organ.
Here are some links for paper circuits.
http://ciat-lonbarde.net/paper/

More Links:
http://www.ciat-lonbarde.net/TIMARACURRICULUM/TIMARATERIALS/cirques/index.html


Totally DIY . I'm trying to avoid using any "traditional" PCB materials.
Art meets Electronics


The PCB design is a beautiful, organic creature. Totally divorced from the grid like PCBs I'm used to.
The plan is to use transparent perspex to hold everything together.
You could easily build this on some perf board but you wouldn't be able to see the connections.

The 4067b is a digitally controlled analog switch.
It's a 16 channel CMOS analog multiplexer.


There are 4 binary control inputs (A,B,C,D) and a inhibit input, arranged so that any combination of the inputs selects one switch.



PNP's = BC557 (x3) ... identified by the "+"
NPN's = BC547 (x1)... identified by the "-"
Diodes = 1N4001 (x3)
Pots = B100K (x16)   .... mouser- part number 531-pt6kv-100k
Momentary switches (x3)

Pluck length Attack resistor X = 47K to 470K
Might use a rotary switch (1P6T)
47K,100K, 150K, 200K, 300K,  470K  ???
or a A500K pot


Hairy Capacitor * = 0.001uF to 10uF ??
0.001uF code 102 ....high treble?
0.01uF code 103 ....treble
0.1uf code 1004 ... bass
1uf ...sub-bass
10uF ... sub-sub bass
The hairy capacitor is for tuning.... might use a rotary switch to pick the capacitor value.
 1P6T rotary switch ???
Add an  additional variable tuning capacitor in parallel.?



 Final Capacitance = C1+C2+C3....+C10 etc etc



Waiting for parts.......To be continued....

Links
+ CMOS


Sunday, 30 December 2018

Resistor arrays

I'm in the process of building a logic circuit that called for the use of a resistor array.
There was no BOM so I was left to try to work it out myself.
What is a resistor array & why would you use one?

They appear to be a network of fixed resistors set to a specific value.
The value can't be changed.

As Ive discovered you can also have arrays of diodes & capacitors. !!! Wow !!!


Above is a resistor array. Below is a diode array.
Notice they all share a common connection.


Usually, they don't come in these formats.
They come in packages like this:
There is usually a dot at one end which indicates the common terminal.
They come in many different configurations.. series, parallel, etc etc.

There is a code for identifying resistor network values:


I just purchased the A09 104 on ebay. This is a series array of 100K resistors.
A09 : A=series, 09 = 9 pins, 104 = 100K


Resistor arrays are very useful if you need a network of resistors all connected to one piont.
(EG: 8 pull-down resistors, each connecting microcontroller pins to a common ground).

So if you can't find the array you need, it looks like you can build it, if you know its specs..

Saturday, 29 December 2018

The most infulential Integrated Circuits of all time

I've been experimenting a lot lately with CMOS ICs and was asked the question by one reader which chips should he buy for his war chest?
This lead me to ask the question "which are the most popular ICs?"

Here is a list of not just CMOS chips, but other chips I commonly reorder & use in my
DIY projects (and for the electronic history buffs, chips that I think changed the world).
You probably won't ever need to buy the old microprocessor chips, but its fun to see how
things develop over the years.

The list will probably change over time.
Let me know if you think I have missed any important chips.

1. 555 Timers. The 556 is a dual 555.
    The Signetics NE555 was nvented in 1971 by Hans Camenzind.  More than a million are sold every year.
    The 555 is a simple IC that can function as a timer or an oscillator.

2. 741 & LM324 op-amps
    The 741 was invented in 1968. It requires both positive and negative voltage.
    The LM324 was introduced in 1972 & consists of four separate op-amp circuits
    The LM324 doesn’t require a bipolar power supply.

3. Texas Instruments 5400 & 7400 logic family (these have been in production since 1964)
     TTL -- transistor transistor logic.74-series logic is such a important part of today's digital world.

4. 78xx / 79xx voltage regulators.

5. The 40XX CMOS family

6. µA723 linear regulator (Bob Widlar, Fairchild, 1967)

7. Fairchild Semiconductor μA741 Op-Amp (1968).
   Designer: David Fullagar

8. Intel 4004. (1971)
      The world's first microprocessor. This led to the famous 8080 CPU and then
      the IBM PC's 8088, 80286, 486 etc.


9. Motorola 6800 (1974).  8-bit microprocessor
    Synthesizers using the 6800 & its variants:
    The 6800 was used in the Fairlight CMI series II. The IIx used the later 6809.
    The Fairlight series III used the 6809 & 68000
    Ensoniq EPS-16 (68000),
    Oberheim Xpander, Oberheim Matrix, ( 6809)
    PPG Wave 2.x , PPG Waverterm A (6809)
    Ensoniq SDP-1  , Ensoniq ESQ1, Ensoniq SQ80 (6809)
    Quasar M8 (6800)

10. Intel 8080 (1974)
      The first "real" microprocessor. This 8-bit CPU ignited the PC revolution as a part
      of the MITS Altair 8800, the first mass-produced personal-computer kit.

11. MOS Technology 6502 Microprocessor (1975)
      It's the main brains of computers like the Apple I & II, the Commodore PET, and game
      systems like the Nintendo and Atari.

12. Zilog Z80 microprocessor. This was used in many home computers of the early 1980s
      like the Dick Smith System 80 which was my first computer.
      The z80 CPU is an 8-bit microprocessor (1976)
      It was also common in military applications, musical equipment,
      such as synthesizers, and in the computerized coin operated video games of the
      late 1970s and early 1980, the arcade machines or video game arcade cabinets.

      Synthesizers that used the Z80 include: Roland Jupiter 8, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 & 10,
      Sequential Circuits Prophet 600, Roland MC4, E-mu 4060, Roland MSQ700, Oberheim OB-8,
      MemoryMoog, Emulator I and II, Akai 2700, E-mu SP-1200, E-mu Drumulator,
      Sequential Circuits Drumtraks.

13. Texas Instruments TMC0281 Speech Synthesizer (1978).
      The TMC0281 was the world's first single-chip speech synthesizer 

14.  Intel 8088 Microprocessor (1979).
       It's a 16 bit CPU that established what is today known as the x86 architecture.
      Almost all the world’s PCs are built around CPUs that can claim the 8088 as an ancestor.

15. Motorola 68000 (1980). 16-bit.
      Initially this powered Unix servers and workstations but its 
      breakthrough application was the  Apple Macintosh in 1984.
      The processor also saw significant use in the Atari ST and Amiga computer lines.
   
     The Buchla 700 used this processor in 1978.
     The Atari ST was used to write the Buchla 700's software (called MIDAS VII).

16. Texas Instruments TMS32010 Digital Signal Processor (1983)

17.  Intersil ICL8038 Waveform Generator (circa 1983).
      The chip generates sine, square, triangular, sawtooth, and pulse waveforms
      It's used in the Moog Synth. It's great for DIY function generators and theremins.

18. Acorn Computers ARM1 Processor (1985)
      More than 10 billion ARM cores have been  manufactured over the decades.
      It's used in all sorts of equipment including one of Apple’s  iPhone.

19. Toshiba NAND Flash Memory (1989).
      Designer: Masuoka-san.
      NAND flash is found everywhere... USB drives, caneras, smartphones, etc etc

20. Microchip Technology PIC 16C84 Microcontroller (1993)
      The PIC 16C84, used a new type of memory called EEPROM
      (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory).

21. AMD Opteron 240 (2003)
      This marked the move from a 32-bit world to 64-bit.
      All desktop-PC microprocessors manufactured today use Opteron's x86-64 instruction set.

      You will find this type of memory used in lots of drum machines from the 90's



This is by no means a full or comprehensive list of important or useful ICs. There are many more to list.
 

Thursday, 27 December 2018

Plumbutter 2 - repairing faulty jacks

Hi, this is a quick reference to a post made back in 2016 by my mate Paul (Cobramatic/Allinaire).
https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=169993 

I first experienced Paul's Plumbutter back in 2016. Here is the link:
https://djjondent.blogspot.com/2016/06/new-sound-waves-synth-meet-sunday-26.html
It was a New Sound Waves meeting in Redfern Sydney 

Here is a video from that meeting:


The mixer is a zone DB4.
Excellent effects !!!!
As you can see, this is one of the rare dual Plumbutter 2's
I love the Ciat Lonbarde concept... beautiful is somewhat mysterious. But this is part of its beauty.


Back to the repair.
two jacks ... actually many of the jacks wern't working.
Much of the initial prob was that the mysterious nature makes it difficult to know if the prob is technicial or a user error.

this is part of the muffs article:

"Hi All, I’m relatively new to the Plumbutter world but I wanted to share my initial experience with others because the simple repair work I did this weekend has just brought a whole new life to my PB2.

Basically, like everybody else, it takes some time to figure out what is happening when you are patching. I mean the instrument is well known for its unpredictability compared to so called ’traditional’ synths – this is clearly part of its charm and appeal. I totally get that. That’s why you get one!

Tricky thing is – when an instrument is known for its quirkiness then how do you know something is actually working as it is intended to?? I mean, other than reading all the posts and watching some of those amazing videos by many of the Wigglers here, I had no clue to start with. Then as I started to understand I wondered why some things didn’t do what I might have hoped they would...

For example – you would expect those purple FM inputs to give you some type of FM modulation when a jack is plugged in – but because the knob already changes the sound on its own, and differently depending on the direction of turn, I couldn’t be sure I was getting a result. Basically I wasn’t getting a result!"



Rollz – I knew I should be able to mix things up with the browns to effect the rhythms if I connected them together – but for me several of them did nothing when connected. Blue Verso and Inverso jacks – ditto there, some of them seemed to do nothing no matter how hard I tried with them

For a while I thought it was me, then I noticed that some jacks responded if I wiggled them juuuust right, or pushed the nana in part way only. So finally I decided to take things apart and have a look. 


 It is very easy on the PB2 to unscrew all the front screws and then just pop out the front section and PCB from the base to reveal the board in all its glory. If you look at the picture here you can see that the soldering looks fine on the Jack I'm pointing to - Nope, actually there is no electrical connection. The reality is I had at least 8 (yes EIGHT !!) jacks that were not connecting properly thru to the PCB ring around each hole. Presumably a cold or cracked joint? 






 I pulled out the multimeter and soldering iron and tested every one and resoldered the faulty jacks – it was easy as pie to do. Put it all back together and it works like a dream come true – suddenly things work like I wanted them too. 


Motto of the story – if you are having any of the problems I described, or if any of your in's or out's don't seem to respond - then don’t be afraid to pop it open and fix it yourself. I can’t believe how much more fun I’m having now.





-------------------------------------------
I dont personally own a ciat lonbarde but am considering getting one soon.
The Tetrax looks like a good entry point;




A post shared by jono (@dj_jondent) on
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Links
Ciat-Lonbarde
Plumbutter Manual
Plumbutter - C-L
Muffs
mUFFS 2
Ciat Lonbarde - Paper Circuits
Plumbutter test procedure - from the great man himself (Peter B)