Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Korg PS 3200 - 3. Dynamic Low -Pass Filters (DLPF)

The Cutoff (Fc) & Peak are pretty standard.
The Peak emphasises resonance at the cut-off point.


The KBD filter balance:
This adjusts the Fc of each of the keys independent LP filters over a rising or falling slope corresponding to the scale of the keyboard.

Expand:
This adjusts the degree to which the EM  (envelope modifier) envelope signal affects the Fc.
The EM section is on the right of the filter. ... a standard ADSR.

MG1 or S/H modulation intensity
Like the one to the right which effects the SGs, this adjusts the depth of modulation from
MG1 & the S/h.

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

Korg Ps 3200 - 5. Equalizer (EQ)

The EQ has no voltage control.
It's made up of 7 octave bands.
They are used to control the tone colour of the whole sound... not each key.

The bands are 125, 250, 500, 1K, 2K,4K, 8K Hz.

Monday, 8 May 2017

Access Virus - Basic Intro

 
It looks complicated at first glance.
All those knobs.
The basic editing principle is however simple. 
Each section — oscillators, modulators, effects, filters and the centre control — has its own separate Edit button. 
This reminds me of the A6, Andromedia.
 
The sections from left to right are:
ARP
Matrix
Effects
Oscillators
Central control
Mixer
Filters
Envelopes - Filter
Envelopes - Amp 

It's a very versatile device.
Not just a synth.
It's a sound card & an effects processor.
TI stands for total integration. 
You can control it with the hardware knobs, or you can control it with a 
software plugin.

 You can run 16 voices, each with its own MIDI track , each with its own
separate effects. 
For example can play a bass track, a pad, a string line, etc at the same time.


 
Oscillators
There are 3 oscillators.
These are your primary sound sources: OSC1,2,3
You pick them with the "select" button.
Press this button repeatedly to move the focus of these knobs to the desired oscillator.
The Virus TI offers different oscillator types which you can combine
 to create complex sounds.
The top row of 4 knobs in the oscillator section are all assigned by the OSC1/2/3 SELECT button.
 
Press EDIT once to access parameters relevant to the selected oscillator.
You can now use the VALUE 1/2/3 knobs beneath the display to adjust the displayed parameters, and the PARAMETER buttons to navigate the pages within the menu

Korg PS 3200 - 4. Envelope Modifier (EM)

The PS3200 has lots of envelopes.
This can be very confusing at first.

The most obvious one to explore is the EM. This is directly to the right of the filter.
It's a combination of VCA & EG (envelope generator).
The VCA varies the volume of the sound coming from the filter.
It is voltage controlled by the ADSR .envelope.
The envelope is triggered whenever a key is pressed.
(on the keyboard).

There are also some external jacks.
So external controllers (like a PS-3040) ... for the attack.
or a RS-3040 for the release.
I think you can also use a S-type foot switch ???
tHESE  external S-triggers (for the release) start high (+5V & short to ground).
Moog & Yamaha also use such triggers.... worth experimenting.
The attack is interesting ... a -5V to +5V signal.
The overall VCA is controlled by a 0V to +5V signal.

Above these jacks is a modulation balance knob.
It appears that just like the SG & filter,   the MG-1 & S/H  can modulate this VCA.

A secondary function of the EM:
The EM  (envelope modifier) envelope signal also effects the Fc of the filter
This is an impt concept to grasp.
Because the ADSR envelope is tied to both the VCA and the filter, an EXPAND effect is produced.
The Expand knob is part of the filter section.

Friday, 28 April 2017

Functions - Arduino

 As your programs become more complicated we try to break up the code into
more easily managed blocks.
We break them up into "functions".
 
The arduino main reference page lists all the major functions:

The two essential functions in any sketch are
void setup (){}
and 
void loop (){}

 All functions must have these basic things:
1. unique name [alphanumeric characters (A to Z; a to z; 0 to 9) and the underscore (_).]
    You can't start the name with a number.
2. the name must be followed by ()
3. they must have a return type : eg void
4. The body of the function is enclosed in braces {}
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Structure of functions.

This is an example of a function that was created to print the numbers 123456789. 
In this example the name "NumbersAcend()" is the function name.
In this example "void" is referred to as the return type

void NumbersAcend()
{
      Serial.println("123456789");
 }
 
 
 Links
+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHK69SB3lo4
 
 
 ---------------------------------
-------------------------------------

Tuesday, 25 April 2017

Known Space - Part 4 - Faster-Than-Light (2651 AD and later)

This is part 4 of  a suggested reading order for Larry Niven's novels set in Known Space.
Parts 1 & 2 covering the Belter & Slower Than Light Stories are here. 
Part 3 covering the years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars)is here
 
There are about 9 novels and 35 short stories set in this universe spanning  over 1000 years in the future. The region covers a small portion of the Milky way.
Beginning with the first human explorations of the solar system, the later stories describe humanity's expansion into other near systems.
 
You can probably divide this time span into 4 periods:
1.  Early Exploration (Pre 2000 AD)
2.  Slower-Than-Light (2000 to 2350AD)
4.  Faster-Than-Light (2651 AD and later)
 
This period is covered in Ringworld, Crashlander, MKW (Man-Kzin Wars), Neutron Star.
and the Fleet of Worlds - FoW series


  • [2650-2652]
     Fleet of Worlds
  • Set 200 years before the discovery of Ringworld

 The Fleet of World series consists of five books by the same authors:

The first four novels are prequels to Ringworld; the last one is a sequel.

  • [2658]
     Ghost (Crashlander)

 Novelette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2658]
     Betrayed (JoW)

 Juggler of Worlds is the second book in the Fleet of Worlds series which is intended to serve as a prequel to Ringworld.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2658 AD] Fly By Night (MKW 9)

 


  • [2658 AD]
    The Soft Weapon (Neutron Star)
  It was first published in the February 1967 issue of If
The story introduces the character of Nessus, a Puppeteer who later became one of the main characters of the novel Ringworld.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2658-2660 C.E.] The Outsiders-Epilogue (JoW)

 


  • [2675 AD]
     Destroyer of Worlds

 Destroyer of Worlds is the third book in the Fleet of Worlds series which is intended to serve as a prequel to Ringworld. 

It is set ten years after Juggler of Worlds, drawing heavily from Protector

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2780-2781 AD]
    Betrayer of Worlds
 Betrayer of Worlds is the fourth book in the Fleet of Worlds prequel series to Ringworld. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • [2686 C.E.] The Color of Sunfire (LarryNiven.net)

 http://www.larryniven.net/stories/color_of_sunfire.shtml


  • [2830 AD.]
     There Is A Tide (TKS)
 First printed in Galaxy, July 1968.
The reprinted in the collections A Hole in Space 1974, Tales of Known Space 1975 and Three Books of Known Space 1996.

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2850-2851 AD.]
     Ringworld

 + Ringworld - Larry Niven  

 ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2871-2881 AD.]
     The Ringworld Engineers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2882-2893 AD.]
     The Ringworld Throne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2892 C.E.] Peter Robinson (MKW10)

 


  • [2893 AD.]
     Ringworld’s Children

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2893-2894 AD.] Fate of Worlds: Return from the Ringworld

 

  • [2895 AD] String (MKW12)
  • [2899 AD] The Hunting Park (MKW 11)
  • [2965 AD.] Peace and Freedom (MKW12)]

 


  • [3101 AD.]
     Safe at Any Speed (TKS)

First published in the Magazine of fantasy and science fiction may 1967 

You can also find this in Larry Niven's "Tales of Known Space". 

 

 

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In alphabetical Order, The stories & novels set in the Known Universe are:
 
 
  • The Adults (short story)
  • ARM (short story)
  • At The Bottom Of A Hole (short story)
  • At The Core (short story)
  • Becalmed In Hell (short story)
  • The Borderland Of Sol (short story)
  • Choosing Names (short story)
  • Cloak Of Anarchy (short story)
  • The Coldest Place (short story)
  • The Deceivers (short story)
  • The Defenseless Dead (short story)
  • The Ethics Of Madness (short story)
  • Eye Of An Octopus (short story)
  • Flatlander (short story)
  • Fleet Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Juggler Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Destroyer Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Betrayer Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Fate Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
  • Fly-By-Night (short story)
  • Ghost (short story)
  • A Gift From Earth (novel)
  • Grendel (short story)
  • The Handicapped (short story)
  • How The Heroes Die (short story)
  • The Hunting Park (short story)
  • The Jigsaw Man (short story)
  • Madness Has Its Place (short story)
  • N-Space (anthology)
  • Neutron Star (short story)
  • The Organleggers (short story)
  • The Patchwork Girl (novel)
  • Procrustes (short story)
  • Protector (novel)
  • A Relic Of The Empire (short story)
  • Ring World (novel)
    • The Ringworld Engineers (novel)
    • The Ringworld Throne (novel)
    • Ringworld's Children (novel)
  • Safe At Any Speed (short story)
  • Slowboat Cargo (short story)
  • There Is A Tide (short story)
  • The Soft Weapon (short story, adapted into an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series)
  • Wait It Out (short story)
  • The Warriors (short story, introduced the Kzin)
  • The Woman In Del Rey Crater (short story)
  • World Of Ptavvs (novel)

Do let me know is there are any mistakes, errors or omissions.  

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

sci Fi Index

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The coldest Place - Larry Niven

 This story first appeared in the December 1964 issue of If magazine.
 

It is Larry Niven's first published work.
The "coldest Place" refers to the far side on Mercury. ... the side that faces away from the Sun.
Back then, it was thought that Mercury was "tidal locked" in a 1:1 orbit, it's "day" equal to its "year" and that it's dark side would be colder even than the outer planets as it never rotated.
 
Then in 1965, the astronomer Giuseppe Colombo,  discovered that it did in fact rotate with a 3:2 spin orbit resonance.
 
The story revolves around a manned mission to Mercury to search for life which was detected 2 years earlier by the Messenger VI  probe.
There are two crew on this mission : Howie & Eric.
Eric appears to be some form of AI or a live brain hooked up to the ship.
 
 
 
"Eric looked much like an electrical network, 
    except for the grey mass at the top which was his brain."
"In all directions from his spinal cord and his brain....
Eric's nerves reached out to master the ship"
...... "If Eric dies, I die, because Eric is the ship"
If I die, Eric dies .... Insane".
 

They catch what appears to be an amoeba shaped blob of Helium II. Is this life ???

"It's only helium!"
"I get it now Howie"
"Helium II. That's all our monsters are."
"Nuts"
"Helium II, the superfluid that flows uphill"
"Check them for contaminants."
"For what?"
"Contaminants. My body is hydrogen oxide with contaminants. If the contaminants in the helium are complex enough, it might be alive."
"There are plenty of other substances".
 
 
 
The interesting bit about this story isn't the discovery of life. Rather I think it's Eric.
This idea of a "sentient ship" predates Arthur C Clarke's depiction of HAL in the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was published in 1968. 
Eric appears to be emotionally sensitive,.....  maybe even a tad unstable.
Today, the concept of a sentient spaceship is quite common. "Ancilliary Justice" by Ann Leckie freatures a ship's AI that is reduced to a single soldier. The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey is another great example as are many of the novels of Ian M. Banks.
 
"The ship who sang" is particularly interesting.
Anne wrote these stories in the 1960's
They feature one person, Helva, who becomes brainship XH-834.  
The Ship Who Sang novel was published in 1969, however the first five chapters incorporate
early magazine Novelettes.

So maybe Anne McCaffrey can claim the title as the first to write about a sentient ship.
In any case, The Coldest Place is really short ... just 3 pages , but Larry Niven manages to pack in quite a lot.
Well worth a read.



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sci Fi Index

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