More ArdCore Activity

In addition to a bunch of new sketches, I've started a series of tutorials that will help you learn Arduino programming through the ArdCore connection. You will need to have learned a little Arduino programming (like a simple set of tutorials for turning LED's on and off), but these tutorials will approach the programming in a modular synthesizer-specific fashion. Check the downloads section to find the tutes, and enjoy! (updated 02-10-2011)

Board Revs to Date

I thought I'd post a little pictoral of the board revs to-date. We start off with the original board layout (unlabeled Rev A):

You will notice a few unfortunate jumpers: I didn't have a good way to cross the Arduino data lines, so I jumpered the +/- 15V. Also, in a last minute change, I ended up tying three data lines to ground (those are the jumpers running to the left). New rule of thumb: Don't do last minute changes!

Fixes were applied, leading to the Rev B board:

This is working all right, but doesn't do any cleanup of the power, and had really, really big mounting holes. Rev C was next, but it was a total dud - I got so ticked that I chucked 'em all! Rev D is the current board:

Now I've got some caps and diode across the power lines (hopefully preventing future bursts of smoke coming from the Nanos...), and I've replaced the analog input connectors with 3-pin MTAs so that they can be user-swapped as pots, switches, jacks or push-buttons. I want to do a little more power supply cleanup, then we are probably to 1st version production boards. Hurrah!

[ddg]

Quick update to the sketches...

I just did a "silent" upgrade to the ArdCore sketches. I added some basic license text, which points to our release of these sketches using the Creative Commons non-commercial attribution license. I really like the option of using CC's license as a way to share with the community without losing all control of the result. I hope that you all find the sketches to be useful, and expect to continue updating them as progress continues.

On to the boards!

[ddg]

More ArdCore work completed

I've updated and posted the first five ArdCore sketches now. These include:

• Template: A basic programming template to use for your own work.
• Quantizer: A simple chromatic quantizer with output de-jitter.
• DrunkenWalk: An 8-bit drunken walk calculator (with built-in clock and jump selection).
• DrunkenNote: Same as DrunkenWalk, but quantized to the note.
• ClockDivider: A dual-divider, using the clock input for triggers, and both digital outputs for seperate divisions.

I'm testing out the near-final board right now. I hope to have boards available in about 3 weeks, and we might have front panels done around then as well.

[ddg]

Starting with the ArdCore

For my Masters degree at DU, I'm developing a general purpose computation device for modular synthesizers. I've already sent in my proposal, and hope to be making significant progress over the next few weeks. At this point, we already have test boards in place, and I've been designing Arduino sketches for things like quantizers, trigger delays and drunken-walk output. The results are amazing, and the integration of these functions into an otherwise all-analog system are pretty great.

Since both Andrew and I have 5U systems, our modules will be 5U-based. However, the boards will be available seperately for DIY'ers, and both the specs and the sketches will be provided as open-source documents for anyone to use for their own work.

I hope you enjoy!

[ddg]