Category making things

My first layout idea for the front panel of a desktop 9090, scrawled on a piece of paper.
(Click for higher res image…)

So, that 9090 that I’ve been working on? I’m really needing a project to work on again, so I’m going to keep working on it. It needs two caps installed on the board, an enclosure built, and final assembly, wiring, and testing.

This afternoon while on a conference call I figured out the number of pots I’d need and scrawled an initial layout on a sheet of paper. That there is what I came up with.

I’m curious what those of you who have used similar drum synths (or have an opinion on physical UI design) might think.

I may switch the Rimshot Level and Handclap Level (lower right corner-ish bits) around, and the LEDs and Master Level knob (upper right corner) might need some adjusting. Maybe move the Ride Cymbal set above the Crash Cymbal set.

So uhm… yeah. Any ideas?

9090 PC001 Component Side — All Parts Fitted
(Click for solder side…)

9090 PC002 Component Side — All Parts Fitted except U38, C92, and C100
(Click for solder side…)

Wow, I can’t believe it’s come this far. Starting a few months ago with a pile of PCBs and a couple of ROMs and a microcontroller I got to work building Trevor Page’s 9090, a clone of the sound creating bits inside the Roland TR-909.

I’ve been working on it here and there, ordering all the resistors one day, a bunch of caps another, etc. Except for my screwing up and failing to acquire (in the course of three separate rounds of ordering) enough .47uF electrolytic capacitors and an IC (CA3080) which I’m waiting to receive in the mail, the PCBs are complete.

In addition to the two above, there is also a board with ten separate 1/4″ mono jacks which handles audio output for each of the ten separate instruments. The component side of that board can be seen here and the solder side here.

So, what’s left before it is done? Quite a bit, unfortunately. Let’s see…

· Get the missing three parts and fit them in place.
· Decide on an enclosure and design the front and rear panels so they fit the pots, knobs, LEDs, power switch, audio jacks, MIDI jacks, and mains connector.
· Order remaining parts.
· Design indicators / artwork and figure out the best way to apply / fit them.
· Cut the enclosure to fit all the externally-fitted components (pots, jacks, etc).
· Physically assemble the enclosure and mount the boards inside.
· Cable everything together.
· Test everything to be sure all instruments and switching jacks work as expected.
· Troubleshoot, if needed.

As you can see, there is quite a bit more to go, although I think this is a good stopping point for now.

Well, I finally started something and finished it! Earlier today I began writing up a overview of how I’ve been handling scanning my 110 slides and 35mm negatives. It’s still in a sort-of rough draft state, but all the photos are there and such. So, if you are interested in how I’ve been handling the scanning, along with enough info to do it yourself in a similar way, go ahead and give this article a read:

· 110 Slide / 35mm Negative Scanning

I also spent a bit of time putting together info about the materials and such which I use for making custom audio and video cables. It currently only covers component video cables, iPod connectors, and subwoofer cables. More info will come later. The article can be found here:

· Custom Cables

It’s nice to feel as if I’ve finally managed to get something done.

UPDATE: Also, please digg this story.

Yay! The RS232 to TTL level shifters from Spark Fun arrived today. That means I can build what I hope will be a PC-based sniffer for the Honda Music Link.

But first? Dinner.