RetroTech UK swapmeet today in Coventry UK…
And here’s what came home, a late-60s UHER 4000 REPORT-L tape recorder:
And some used tapes, including that one.
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Wow, it seems to work very well ! So are you going to mod it into a tape echo?
Thanks @Jos, it mostly works apart from the fast-wind belt slipping.
I also picked up a pile of old tapes and splicing kit with a plan to hainbach (verb) some loops. This one isn’t a three-head model so I’m slightly limited there.
Mods maybe, perhaps a switch to defeat the erase head? I’m not a collector but it would be a shame to make a mess of a rather sweet little machine. And (not a collector yet) maybe I need a second one for Frippertronics.
So this is a verb now? Ha, ha! Today I will finally hainbach my loops, a job which has been long overdue.
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As part of another purchase, I bought a few of these:
Those are replacement analog sticks for the Playstation 4 game controller. A bag of 10 costs me only 3 euros on Aliexpress (you might need to hunt down the deal, how it works differs by country).
They are simply two potentiometers that automatically snap back to the center and one pushbutton,all in a single package, with a standard footprint (just specify the target game console and any brand will fit), that can be restricted to one-dimensional movement with a properly crafted faceplate. The thumb caps are normally captive inside the enclosure, rather than gripping the shaft like a synth pot, so things would have to be built accordingly. I encourage everyone intrigued to grab a bag - this is incredibly cheap for what it is, with guaranteed long availability.
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The most obvious use is probably in joystick synth controllers. If I remember correctly, there were also a few related Arduino projects around…
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Yeah, joystick synth controller, but this kind of joysticks synth controller :
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Joystick. Joy…pad perhaps?
Arrived today!
A box of aluminium extrusion with an iddy-biddy half watt laser. By post
Three old pc towers. Dropped off by a pal.
One keyboard stand. Another donation.
The two steel transportation frames from another pal’s new washing machine.
Trash?? Yeah, but No
Say hello to my new plate reverb lab.
Do you see it yet?
Aye, yer jealous now.
Enjoy
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birthday present to myself [ the OCP is an older piece just using as a quantizer for the sequencers ] and you may notice the empty space there in the middle the VCF is on back order .
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When prototyping I often go old school and go for the ‘manhattan’ wiring approach using little shapes nibbled out of pieces of scrap single sided copper board and stuck down with glue.
Today’s mail brought me these double sided sheets of single and double pads and 2 proto boards designed specifically for Manhattan wiring.
I have to say that these professional looking pads will detract somewhat from my more usual Heath Robinson esthetic.
My best to all
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“If you don’t collect stamps, could you please leave back the envelope in the mailbox? Your mail woman”
3340 VCO, wavefolder, slope generator, MS-20 and transistor ladder filters
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My first JLBPCB pouch in an age.
Microdexed(touch)
And, as I now have 5 sets, I have an excuse/good reason to order multiple Teensy 4.1s.
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My mail woman wrote a thank you note on another envelope.
And in other news, two of my designs are here:
One of them is an experimentation board for the PT2399 delay (the other is a LED Charlieplexing experimentation board, which isn’t directly related to synths but should help me with them)
Reimu plushie for scale.
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Charlieplexing a capacitive touch matrix maybe?
It’s only for outputs, not for inputs!
I plan to use it to program the VUmeter of my mixer:
I tried to make it a board worth sharing (once i verify it works)! It can take power from the arduino nano’s regulator or from USB, you can also put an ATTiny412 on it with a header to program it (the board can be used with either mcu), and the circuit layout matches the topology
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Some new PCBs. A new batch of passive multiples (left hand side) and the first version of Ratchet-O-Matic (right hand side).
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And this is how the assembled version of Passive-Mult-O-Matic looks like.
The advantage of the PJ341 connectors is their plastic opening. This prevents you when instering a patch cable from shorting the tip of the jack to the module’s chassis which is often connnected to GND.
B.t.w. this multiple is based on a design published by Kristian Blasol (of Modular in a Week fame).
Gerbers are at my github.
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