Quadulator: (low effort) Build Diary

[hitachii]

This update is about a week old now, lest I curse myself spilling the latest exciting updates.

The first piece of good news is that the PCB works above and beyond expectations! Beyond because I was 100% anticipating some fatal flaw.

Nope! There was not one single error in that respect, it works uh-mazingly! There were a few errors in the placement of pots and LEDs in accordance with the mux and shift register, respectively. Now there are just some very confusing lines of code to correct that.

I have a handful more features that I want to add to the code, and then I could call it finished, but I want to make the design open source/open hardware… I’ve just never done that before.

In order to do that I need to adjust it for a more common MCU (this could probably run on an stm32f103 blue pill), learn how to use github, clean up the schematics and… and… oh god, clean up the code for other people to see. It’s gigantic, and frightful to behold.

The upside to the code part is that perhaps someone knowledgeable will be able to review it and/or help optimize it. The only reason I started programming a few years ago was to do synth diy stuff, so all of my limited scope of knowledge has been in service to that. However, I aspire to do some type of work in embedded design, so I look forward to said review.

Next update will hopefully come soon, depending on how stuck I get on these last few features.

[BlackDeath]

I can do a code review if you like, but put it on GitHub first and I can submit a PR (if necessary). With open source, it’s better not to be precious… just get it out there, and improvements often descend from heaven.

[analogoutput]

What’s this do?

[hitachii]

@BlackDeath

I can do a code review if you like, but put it on GitHub first and I can submit a PR (if necessary).

I would be very grateful. It would be so much better to have someone from a familiar place take a look than to be ripped to pieces on Stack Overflow

@analogoutput

What’s this do?

At its core is Hagiwo’s LFO x 4, with some heavy modifications. I’m very eager to show the modifications off hahaha.

[Sonosus]

Your module looks great, congrats on that. A design like that very rarely works first time, well done.

I’m definitely not a professional programmer but I’m happy to lend a third pair of eyes if you need them.

I can also help with Git, GitHub, and general documentation if you need assistance.

@BlackDeath

improvements often descend from heaven

Yeah, sometimes ‘improvements’ can turn into a tsunami of a to do list No bad thing, of course.

[hitachii]

That rules, thank you so much.

@Sonosus

No bad thing, of course.

Totally. If not improvements themselves, a to do list to descending from heaven would be great too! I feel like I’ll learn a lot from someone else taking a look.

I’m so hooked on programming and circuitry cuz I can periodically feel myself leveling up at it, even if my personal play style is a little grind intensive.

[hitachii]

Fart demo with breakbeats. All of the modulation (lfos and envelopes) are coming from the Quadulator:

Quadulator Demo #2

Some fun waveforms:

“Frequency modulation” on a sawtooth LFO wave. this is one of Quadulators outputs patched to one of its own CV inputs.

modulating the internal attenuverter to do one of my favorite patch tricks: modulating from the center of a bipolar envelope (well… the cv is polar for now but heres me faking it). also a self patch and this is the envelope in loop mode.

more details soon, just wanted to finally show off a few new demonstrations!