Sydney Fringe Festival

https://www.facebook.com/events/235016383870493/

Roboto - Synthrotek

Some pics of a recent DIY build - the Roboto eurorack module by Synthrotek.
Its pretty cool .. reverb, vocoder, pitch shaper, vibrato , etc ... very flexible.

The official webpage is here:
http://www.synthrotek.com/products/modular-circuits/synthrotek-roboto/

Assembly instructions are here:
http://www.synthrotek.com/kit-assembly-instructions/modular-circuit-assembly-instructions/synthrotek-roboto-assembly-instructions/

I bought a barebones kit which included the PCBs, faceplate, a vactrol & one microcontroller ic....labeled R1

The heart of the module is the HT8950. It is a CMOS LSI voice modulator IC which provides seven steps to shift the frequency of an input voice, producing a dramatic change in the output. The HT8950 provides two special effects: vibrato and robot. The vibrato effect is generated by alternating the frequency of an input signal up and down at a rate of 8Hz. The robot function, on the other hand, converts an input voice into a robot voice

R1 is a PIC16F1823 microcontroller. It's already programmed.

......

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For more Euro DIY builds click here:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/diy-index.html
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Temple of Kom Ombo - Egypt

This is quite a late temple (as far as Egyptian history goes). It was constructed during the Ptolemaic dynasty, 180–47 BC with some later Roman period additions. It's about 30 miles (48 km) north of Aswan, on the bank of the Nile. Virtually every Nile cruise that sails near the area includes a visit to this temple.

Although today the temple that you see is from the Grecian - Roman period, the area had been inhabited since the pre-dynastic period of Egyptian history. It was constructed on the ruins of a much older temple called "Ber Sobek", or the house of the god Sobek. Ber Sobek was built by King Tuthmosis III and Queen Hatshepsut in the 18th dynasty. Queen Hatshepsut is famous for that amazing mortuary  temple on the West Bank of Luxor.

The temple is unusual in that it is dedicated to two gods.
The southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of fertility and creator of the world with his wife Hathor, and their son Khonsu.
Meanwhile, the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris ("Horus the Elder"), his wife Tasenetnofret, and their son Panebtawy.

Above is the crocodile god Solbek.

Kom Ombo means "the hill of the gold".
"Kom" (in Arabic) means the small hill.
"Ombo" (in Hieroglyphic) means "the gold".

above we have a Ptolemaic king making an offering to the the falcon god Haroeris ("Horus the Elder")
and the crocodile god Solbek (behind).

The temple’s double dedication is reflected in its symmetry. It has twin entrances, two connected halls twin chambers, and twin sanctuaries, etc, etc.

These wonderful wall carvings depict the Ptolemaic kings presenting the offerings to the gods.

This relief depicts a running lion biting a slaves hand.

The Nilometre... used to record the annual level of the Nile river.

This particular Nilometer was constructed during the Roman period and is connected to a smaller water well by the bank of the Nile

Snake charmer. Our guide said he was one of the many Nubians who were displaced when the Nile flooded their hometowns after the construction of the Nasser Lake.

Preserved papyrus shaped column

winged solar disk and two cobras.

 Coptic cross ???

There is much graffiti. Coptic ??? This temple was once a Coptic church.

Mummified crocodile.

Captive crocodiles were kept within the temple and many mummified crocodiles can be seen in today's temple museum.

The stone capital of these columns have the shape of the lotus flower. This is one of the most important and sacred plants in ancient Egypt.

Above are medical and surgical tools..... must have been gruesome back in those days... scalpels, saws, dental forceps... some things really haven't changed much in 2000 years.

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For more travel postcards click here:

http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/travel-postcards-index-my-travel.html

Arturia - Beatstep / Keystep Pro & Hexinverter Mutant Brain - midi channels

 

Straight out of the box, the Hexinverter Mutant brain has the following settings:

 

cv A
channel 1 – note pitch
cv B
Channel 2 – note pitch
cv C
channel 2 – note pitch
cv D
Channel 4 – note pitch
gate 1
channel 1 – note gate
gate 2
Channel 2 – note gate
gate 3
channel 3 – note gate
gate 4
Channel 4 – note gate

 

 The top 4 CV  & top 4 Gate outputs are set up for your melodic sequencers

 

 

The drum gates are all on MIDI channel 10

There are eight of them

 

gate 5
channel 10 – trigger, note C4 (60)
gate 6
channel 10 – trigger, note D4 (62)
gate 7
channel 10 – trigger, note E4 (64)
gate 8
channel 10 – trigger, note F4 (65)
gate 8
channel 10 – trigger, note G4 (67)
gate 9
channel 10 – trigger, note A4 (69)
gate 10
channel 10 – trigger, note B4  (71)
gate 11
channel 10 – trigger, note C5  (72)

 

You can change the settings of the Mutant brain if you wish, but I think it's easier to just change the settings on the beatstep pro or Keystep pro.

 The webpage for changing the mutant settings is here

http://mutantbrainsurgery.hexinverter.net/

So how do I change my MIDI channel on BeatStep?

 

Press DRUM, hold CHAN, and then select the channel you want the drums to send on. 

Press SEQUENCER 1, hold CHAN and choose a channel for the first sequencer to send on.

Press SEQUENCER 2, hold CHAN, and choose a channel for the second sequencer to send on.

 

 http://www.hexinverter.net/mutant-brain

 

 

 

Roman 246r - Buchla Format - build notes 1

 

 These are my build notes for the Roman 246r

It's a Buchla format module.

I purchased the PCBs and panel many years ago.

I think you can still buy these from the electric Music Store.

The module is 5U wide. ... so pretty big.

 

 These are just my personal build notes.

I'm not a pro technician. 

These pics and notes as just to help me trouble shoot should I run into any problems.

 

The 1st PCB holds the pots and switches.

The 2nd panel is the main motherboard

These are pics from left to right

 

 

 I'm undecided if you add any mods or build this stock.

Dave Brown has an excellent page on his mods of a 246.

I might try this.

+ Modular synthesis

1N457 first

PCB 1. There are 97 of these

D1 - d97

 

On this PCB I've removed R27, R28 R29, and R31 .

These are the 4K99 resistors

Also

Reference  Output

PCB1:
Change R3 to a link/wire.
Remove R5.

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Board 2 next post

Teenage Engineering OP-Z battery

  OP-Z, the battery specifications are:

• Li-Ion 740mAh
• 3.7V-740mAh-2.74Wh
• 6 hour battery life
• 1 year stand-by time
• user replaceable

The battery is hard to find.

If  The OP z hasnt been used for a while it may just have to be woken up.

Apparently this is common with Li-ion batteries 

 

From the support pages this worked:

 

 

• connect OP-Z to a computer or usb charger, using the usb-c cable, and power it on.
• while still connected through usb-c, turn the unit over, loosen the four yellow screws and remove the back panel.
• remove the battery from the OP-Z.
• press the screen index button on OP-Z.
  a red led will light up, confirming no battery is present. this will reset the battery indicator.
• Leave the OP-Z connected to the USB cable/power
  
• turn OP-Z off and reinsert the battery back in the unit.
• Leave the OP-Z connected to the USB cable & power
• Let it charge up to at least 1 hour
• Disconnect the USB cable
  
• turn OP-Z on and you should be good to go. 
• seal the back panel and continue to charge the battery.