I have an aging J-6 squirred away in my basement (had it out Monday night to play nicely with my Realistic MG-1, actually) and a special place in my heart for the J-60, my first taste of analog.
We’re still holding on the final images (if I read correctly, the next installment?), but the play-by-play photos look great and I suspect it’s going to be handsome. I love that the posts aren’t just “I did this—look”, but that the author reflects, instructs, and dare I say documents each step so that someone in a similar (or, hopefully, less dire) situation can follow suit. My J-6 needs a two new switches and a slider or two—I may just bite and try one of these days…
Start with Part 1 here—prepare to get hooked for parts 2-9
I wasn’t really expecting to be *that impressed. But I was. I’d love to build something like this (and understand how to do it safely) but I’m almost completely certain I’d regret any attempt I made. I’ll stand down and simply be impressed:
I’ve never heard of this board before tonight and while it’s a bit more chaotic than I’m accustomed to enjoying, I am curious to learn more.
I stumbled upon this blog post that described how to modify/assemble a case for the Tetrazzi and provided a great sample of what the device is capable of (and an amazing set of instructions!). This thing is beautiful—I’d be proud to have assembled either the board or the “Eurofy’d” enclosure.
In my daily work I brush shoulders with some of the best quilters out there and, because of my daily exposure to sewing terms and terminology have looked at DIY synth work as a type of electronic quilting for the past four or five years. This approach is much more literal than I have ever imagined, however, and sounds pretty cool in concept.
I *think you can learn more here and can watch a few clips here. Has anybody heard of/participated in an event/project like this?
I won’t tell you that I watched the whole thing—I ran across this video late at night. But noise (and the ideas behind some of these performances) music does attract me; it hypnotizes me. As a child I remember going to sleep hearing Dr. Demento on the radio and I *swear on either his program (or some program that followed it) I was introduced to noise. It scared the bejeezus out of me the first time I heard it. Somehow I managed to run beyond the nightmares it placed in my mind and it became therapeutic.
I don’t subscribe to the cosmic energy/planetary music ideas some on the documentary express, but it’s a nice explanation (and justification) for creating noise as art. I may choose not to listen to it more than once a year or so, but I understand it. I appreciate it.
There’s so much going on in the world of DIY Synths and with family, work, and (when I can get it) sleep considerations, I’m sooo far behind where I want to be in the DIY world.
I should have built my first synth 11 years ago.
The DIY of the Day project is something to help keep me inspired and hopeful that I’ll catch up, build, and control some of the beautiful machines myself someday soon. Here’s a WSG “The B Device” with audio sent from the Korg Monotribe by YouTuber giftraum:
As mentioned previously, I was thrilled when my first kit arrived, and far from overwhelmed (which is a great way to start a hobby that’s intimidated me for years). A few days had passed and the weekend arrived, and before I knew it events of travel and miscellany mayhem had brought me to Sunday afternoon with not a finger laid on the kit. This simply wouldn’t do – I needed to tackle at least part of the kit before the work week began. That was one week ago today.
Today I rest at home with a slightly different look at the DIY electronics hobby – my first kit went together swimmingly (only one major hiccup – I’d soldered the chip mount in the wrong position and so needed to solder the chip directly to the board – which, I think, ended up destroying the thing (I blame the kit’s temperament on that part, anyway)), but I’ve only just recovered from a lesson learned the hard way – that it’s very important to maintain a proper working environment and important to understand the risks of any hobby you’re beginning to embark on.
I spend three-ish hours last Sunday night bent over my workspace – my circuit board, my iron, my solder, and my bits – determined to assemble the full kit before sleeping (and enjoying, truthfully, every minute of it). What didn’t cross my mind until I woke up the next morning (with what felt like no hair in my nostrils) was the effect of all the fumes I’d breathed in the night before. Some people don’t react much to solder fumes (according to some online forums) but, it appears, at least, I do. I spent the rest of the week recovering from a sensitive nose-induced cold.
Although there had been a cold that swept through my office building the week before, after a few hours of staying home from the office I realized that my condition, in part, may be due to the solder fumes I’d been inhaling. It was then that I began to realize that the fumes were nothing to joke with, and, if I experience the same symptoms again (down the road, after I’ve prepared a proper work environment), may be the end of this new hobby.
Make sure, before you start your own DIY electronic project, you read up on what these solder fumes can do to you and how to best prepare your working environment. Fortunately (?) I reacted to the fumes pretty hard – I may not have read some of the warnings until years down the road after I’d introduced a strong threat of some irreversible damage to my body. Or, even worse, my son, who’s bedroom sits just above the station I’d been soldering at in the basement.
I’m counting on an open window and a soft breeze (or a desk fan) to help prevent some of the damage I encountered last week from happening again – I really did enjoy (and found very rewarding) the assembly of even so small a kit. Even though it sounds terrible right now (in part to what I assume is a fried chip and a bum potentiometer, as well) – I’m thrilled that I completed a project. I wouldn’t have it any other way (though I do plan on reordering the kit and having another go at it when the weather’s better)
Very excited – on Thursday my iron arrived and Friday my kit (and book) from PAIA. As soon as I recover from a whirlwind at work I’ll sit down and begin to review everything. . . at first glance I’m relieved to say I’m feeling somewhat underwhelmed – while I don’t anticipate charging into a kit and having everything come out perfect, after a few days of practice (with soldering odd bits of components together from Radio Shack or creating instrument cables for fun) and a better understanding of making a strong solder joint, I don’t think the kit will be much of an obstacle. We’l see when the time comes, of course!
