Need to figure out a way to mount pcb. I like clean wiring and panel/pot mounted PCB. This project is DIY and on budget so here is how i plan to mount these pcbs.

The .032″ thick aluminum that I’m getting at local hardware stores and and using for my panels. Im cutting them with Straight Cut Metal Cutting Sheers and having scraps.
the scraps will be ghetto style dual pot brackets.
All you need to FUG Wid aluminum is a pair of Sheers and a drill. If you don’t got that good luck !!
$5- @ Ace this sheet.

Measured pot holes on panel , Measured Mounting holes on pcbs, Measured needed space for clearance for the backs of banana jacks and…

Snip Snip”

Put between two pieces of wood for a clean bend.

That Was easy! We will see how this works out with 5 of them behind this 6″ wide 4u panel design

YES its cardboard and no I don’t sign checks with crayons and eat elmer’s paste and Play Dough for lunch
The cardboard is temporary. This is a big build for me, I made my own panel design to fit in a special case, I’m gonna test everything before etching the panel. This way i won’t have to deal with a floppy bunch of electric spaghetti while testing.

This is how it will mount once I harvest the PC I found on the street for stand offs. Or just find the right size nuts to stack up on 2 bolts and use instead of stand offs.

Here is my panel design printed on paper and taped to cardboard. you can see my jenky drilling already. drill press will be used on the final aluminum version…. Got a whole second half to do like this to complete it all. Gotta press on. Complete CGS Synth done by end of month or my name is Larry Watsonbergy.

~D~

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_The modular synthesizer was invented in Berkeley By Don Buchla in the 60s, Many people made the pilgrimage to california to learn to play the synth in the 70s. Serge Tcherepnin had a store on upper Haight st in the 70s, Emu Systems started out providing modular systems in Santa Cruz in 71. There is more synth history in the bay including Dave Smith, creator of Sequential Circuits and DSI, I hear that Tom Oberheim doesn’t live far, and much more that I am forgetting to mention or don’t even know about.
_So why isn’t there anywhere in the bay where I can buy or even go dream of buying a modular synth?
Trolling everything “Synth” for some years now I haven’t found anywhere where I can go learn to build a synth specifically in my area. There is befaco dot org in Spain. They are resurrecting classic designs and building beautiful synths with them. Giving monthly module building workshops. Befaco doesn’t pay the original designer though. They get away with it by being a .org. I’m not knocking their style. Just sayin.
_Eventually I bought some PCBs created by Ken Stone for his CGS “Cat Girl Synth” line of pcb. This is perfect because Ken is currently Licensing Circuits from Serge Tcherepnin so that he can offer them on PCB.
_I want to build a modular and I want to do it in the west coast style. If you didn’t know… There is actually a “West coast style” to modular synths. Bob Moog was on the east with the tall black module panels that used 1/4″ jacks. Bobs system was designed to be marketed to somewhat “traditional musicians.” While Don Buchla designed an instrument/system for experimental music that uses stackable banana cables.
_Ive been giving basic circuit bending workshops at Robotspeak, the only synth store in SF. Its right there on lower haight st. next to where the old Tweakin Records store used to be. Steve, the owner of the store, is a great dude ! He has kept that shop running by inviting knowledgable people to give workshops for the past year or more. Abelton, logic, diy midi controller workshops. often the workshop organizers are kinda famous for what they do. Eric Barbor did some workshops there a few years back. There is a one of a kind version of one of his tube pedals in the shop that says Robot Speak on it.
_When I ask “Yo Steve why don’t you got no modular in here man? I wana buy some!” he says “I’m planning on it.” Its Just a big overhead involved with making a large order of Eurorack for a small store I think. So as it stands I don’t get to walk over to robot speak and try out the new modular… BUT ! …
_If my stoner ass can build modules from PCBs designed by other people then I can show you how to do it too !!! My partner, expert synth restorer, Kevin Keyboard is onboard for this too. He is known for restoring vintage synths in SF for some years now.
_The sessions will be mid month. I’m shooting for 3rd saturday of the month starting in May. More to be solidified.
They will be one day long sessions where we will focus on building up a pcb in a group. Some of the pcbs will already have panels available. I will also make a panel design for each project and encourage others to do so as well.
The seats will cost $150- per session. PCB and all supplies included to build one module. Participants get to take home their module. Contact Steve @RobotSpeak.com to reserve a seat. Lets hang out and solder on Lower Haight. We build one every month. More than a product based thing I want to build a monthly group where we can hang out and solder, learn and share SDIY. Whatever system you have we can help get your module regulated and paneled up. If you want to start a system I can help get a case and psu sorted.
_If you have already built a million modules and don’t need to pay nobody to show you s#$% then please come down and show us whats up ! For experienced builders this can be a social thing. I’m way more interested in learning this art than I am in capitalizing on anything so here it is. With this model we can invite the masters to come and give workshops for our monthly thing and have something to offer them while supporting SDIY PCB producers (IMO the coolest thing on earth.) & the only synth shop in town holding it down.

_I have contacted some very talented and knowledgable circuit/PCB designers to provide PCB and designs for the sessions.
I have recieved replies from 4 great designers so far !!! Here they are!

_Ken Stone … This site is the key ! check it out !

http://cgs.synth.net/

_Hexinverter has designed a “Simple to build analog step sequencer” pcb. Its designed to be built for eurorack systems but can just as easily be implemented in any other system. He has more designs in the pipeline and we will be building them

http://shop.hexinverter.net/product.php?id_product=10

No need to purchase the boards.(unless you want to build doubles) All Supplies will be provided just bring your tools
Here is a link to info about SimpleSeq

http://shop.hexinverter.net/product.php?id_product=10

_JRock at PsychoLabs Has a growing list of designs Posted for some Logic modules including an LM239 Comparator module.
We plan to build these and work with JRock. Most of his designs right now are formatted for 1mu panels but we are working together to format some for 3u.
here is a link to is web site

http://www.animodule.com/?page_id=65

_J3rk of Muffwiggler forum fame has some great pcb designs and we plan to work with him. He doesn’t have a website for his pcb designs but there is a website for his soon to be released stand alone patchable Analog Synth ‘Palette’

http://www.magicechomusic.com/2010/10/05/palette-analog-mini-synthesizer/

_This is brought to you by Dmitri SFC, Kevin Keyboard, Steven @ Robotspeak and all the pcb designers involved. We are encouraging the Circuit designers to come to SF and give the workshop when they can. We plan to continue to contact circuit designers and invite them to join us. Anyone interested is invited to come down and check it out. If you’ve never soldered before we will show you how. If you are an expert modulator come down and show us a thing or two, bring your modular, and demo it for us.
d

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etched panel for 2 channel baby 8 “2 Eigths” …”Why buy them two eigths when you can buy these two ?”

I drew, designed and etched this one. Stoked !

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Always when I post to promote the bending workshop and post bends online people say “Damn I live too far to go to the workshop” or “May be some day you can teach me that”. “Can I just buy something off you homey?”…
Well I only learned this stuff in the past 3 years. 99% from being an internet troll. This stuff takes patience and focus so I slow my self down. “Focus Danielson”… “Yes, Fuckus Danielson” Said the geishas to the modular synth toting Knuckle Burner. Before that you Gotta have a comfortable work space with all the needed tools at arms length distance so that you don’t turn into Godzilla on the resistors.
… If you don’t know how to solder watch a youtube video. “Colin’s Lab” has many useful videos on the subject including explanations of basic components and what they are used for. Get a radio shack book with a schematic symbols chart in it or print out one from the internet. If you wish to make your own gear and be able to own shit and get Geishas start googling schematics and use your little chart to point out what every component is on the schematic, just an exercise. JK I can’t promise no Geishas man thats crazy homey.

Tools:
Soldering Iron 15 to 30 watt, Solder sucker, Wire stripper, needle nose pliers, Drill, Hammer

Parts:

This kit,

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/AEC/LED-CHASER-KIT/1.html

8, 100k Linear pots. As long as there are only 3 legs it will work.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/MLP-100K/100K-LINEAR-TAPER-POTENTIOMETER/1.html

20, 10k ohm 1/4w resistors

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/291-10K/10K-OHM-1/4-WATT/1.html

10, 1n4148 Diodes

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/1N4148/SWITCHING-DIODE/1.html

10, Toggle switches.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/MTS-4/SPDT-ON-ON-MINI-TOGGLE-SWITCH/1.html

A jack

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/MTS-4/SPDT-ON-ON-MINI-TOGGLE-SWITCH/1.html

Some wire. When working with pcb especially delicate cheap pcb. Whne soldering to IC legs you want 26 gauge/ 26 awg wire. I prefer solid core. Stranded will do just tin the ends before doing everything. Smaller wire like 28 gauge will also work. Bigger wire like 24 will start to crack solder joints and help to rip pads off of circuit boards when bending / working. Get a few colors.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/26BL-25/26-GA.-BLUE-HOOK-UP-WIRE-STRANDED-25/1.html

Something to house your circuit in and mount your pots , switches and jacks on. Be creative. Use something STRONG!. Repurpose something sturdy rather than buying something. Be “Weirder than a tenderloin stoop slug!” Put it in a clock radio, a cheap keyboard, a boom box put it in a chrome toaster oven or an old expresso machine …..eh clock radio would be cool or…something metal or wood
Or just go to the hardware store, get the sheet Aluminum 4″ across, I think its about 16″ thick. I cut about 4 inches off the top to make it eurorack panel size. Yes I’m explaining something Euro to you in Inches like a knuckle neck… Gimme a figgin break Im learning here. I can post the spec below. Further below.

Optional Parts:
15 more jacks for the pulse outs on each step, reset jack and for whatever else comes to mind. “clock slave jacks?”
Rotary switch for selecting the last step,

Original baby 10 schematic BTW Notice the schematic calls for +15v power. Mine is working Fine on +9v. Also notice that the pins on these chips aren’t layed out in consecutive order the schematic is just drawn that way. Pin 3 on the IC is actually the first step. The photo of the pot wiring down the page shows a diode on the center leg ( the wiper) and bus wires connecting the outside legs of all the pots together just as it is on the schematic here.

Here is the 4017 pinout. Pin 16 connects to power and pin 8 connects to ground.

Here is the kit, When comparing the pcb with the schematic for the baby 10 there is almost no difference. The kit does not come with the 10k resistors to put before the LEDs it has a basic 555 timer as a clock that the baby 10 doesn’t also the kit pcb has the reset pin grounded causing it to loop upon its self after step 10.

We want to lift pin 15 “The reset pin” and solder a wire to it connecting it with the 9th step. solder the wire to the hole on the pcb where the LED would go. Not the ground side. The trace coming from the IC.

We also want to solder wires to the pcb where the Trimmer pot goes and solder a 50k pot to the wires for tempo control.

The first time I just ran wires from the pcb to the panel where the Pots had LEDs soldered to them and the switches had diodes soldered on.

This time I put the resistors on the pcb , ran wires to the LEDs and Pots from each side of the resistors. Both ways worked. Notice the lonely little Step 10 hole… Begging to be plugged. NO! I will not plug you ! Stinky little 10 hole !

The switches interrupt the signal in different places on each different build I did and both work too. The first build version I did the pots effect the brightness of the LEDs and the way I wired the second one The LED brightness is not effected. Both ways work though. The extra bright LEDs might take 3.5 or more volts to be powered. They worked though! I used the original red LEDs on the second build so as to not create any extra voltage drop and I didn’t want to make LED drivers NOR plan too much this time. By the way I didn’t make drivers on the first build for the super bright Blue LEDs and they still work!

Here are resistors on the back of pulse out jacks:

Here are diodes on pots and bus wire running between pots for earth. notice the way the three legs are frayed, slated, tiered or fanned out however the f*&^%$ you wana say it. Notice how they are bent to allow for such behavior. Try not to notice the makings of a dammed rat’s nest behind it and go build your own !

Wire the cv out to the tip of a 1/4″ or 1/8″ jack and the sleeve tab of the jack to ground on the circuit. If you connect it to an APC ground the APC with the Baby. In my case they are suing the same power supply/ 9v battery. and connect the CV out to pin 3 on the APC’s 556 IC. This thing can be modded to trigger drums, bent things, can be made into a 16 step, all sorts of crazy chet. DO IT !!! Please post flix of your build or send em to me. Share mods whateva. Please see My previous “Bender’s Modular” for more info and links on more build versions.

Old box for photo slides. I lost interest cause it was ultimately kinda flimsy and the briefcase can do two rows of euro size.

The euro size aka “Baby Steps”

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Time came to do another Circuit Bending work shop at RobotSpeak in Lower Haight. Last time we did basic pitch bends on a toy Lazer gun (made rasta dub sirens from them ), built and bended/modded Velleman Voice Changer circuits, and the last day people just brought in random stuff from home and we bent it all together.

This time I wanted to change it up. Of course don’t wana repeat the last class. I could not find a toy that I liked enough for a first bend that I could get at least 6 of without breaking the bank. I started to consider building the toy instead of buying and the APC short for Atari Punk Console was an obvious solution. After some research I found that the APC Is actually a circuit published by Forrest Mims in one of his beginners electronics books that they sell in Radio Shack. The circuit in the book is named “Stepped Tone Generator” ( its in the little green book ). Some circuit bender just renamed it and posted the schematics online around 2005 spawning all the APC builders that you see today on youtube housing them in Altoids boxes and selling them on ebay for around $30-.
I had never made an APC. I had jumped right into modding Drum machines In my bender’s journey and had so far overlooked the APC as a crappy little noise maker. I cracked open my little green Forrest Mims book and built one on Perfboard. The thing I instantly noticed is that you cannot hear the bass tones that this thing can produce through a youtube video! It actually makes fat square bass tones! Ok I decided yes I wana build more and share so “Its knarly” I built another and another. Frequent Coffee induced visits to the bathroom and my little green book revealed that the lil green book full of symbols and weird xeroxed hand drawings is actually full of cool little circuits that could work with the APC in a “synth” including even a circuit schematic for a “Twin Tee” filter! Twin Tee is what the 808 kick drum is based on. There are IC based oscillators in that book as well as simple transistor oscillators, sequencers, more filters, Most run on 9v battery and all are simple enough to fit on the little half pages that the book is sized to. Back pocket knuckle burner reading material.

For the Second Session of the workshop I wanted to build something that could be useable in the studio and easy / cheap to build. Last time when we did the voice changers its was cool. We were able to use the Voice Changers as “plug ins” for our DAW by routing the output of a single channel through the voice changer and back into the daw. We wired a wet dry pot on the voice changer and blamo! real circuit bendable plugins!
What could we do this time? … I saw a video of a guy who made a basic CV step sequencer from a Velleman Led Kit. I had already looked at many kits online and knew that I could find one even cheaper than the Velleman. I didn’t have to look far. One look at the BOM for this simple LED Chaser Kit revealed its chip set. A 4017 decade counter and a 555 used as a clock! Blizumpty!! I ordered 10.
I was looking for a circuit similar to the “Baby 10″ step sequencer and I found exactly it for $6- ! This means that I don’t have to etch pcb nor source half the parts. The baby 10 has got to be the most basic and simple to build step sequencer ever. This guy made an article in the 80s with the schematic with the name and the rest is history. History for sheezy ! Ive been trolling the DIY modular synth sites for the past few months like a freak wierdo and ken Stone’s “Programmer Sequencer” page reveals that the original Serge Programmer was based on a 4017 decade counter ! Ken Him self has a drum trigger sequencer design based on the 4017. Peter Edwards at Casper’s Electronics has a beautiful 4 channel drum trigger 4017 schematic posted. Fonik has built out a 19″ modular baby 10 with many added features and has also posted mucho expert info on it. I will post all these links below.
So I got the kits in the mail and I built one modular style on a scrap piece of aluminum.

I used super bright Blue LEDS and made the panel to a random size like a KOOK ! Hand painted the panel with sign painters paint. Looks like a 3rd grader with a crayon in his fist could do better i know i know
class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-269″ />
Trying to get my wiring more like Keyboard Kev’s. Its really not close but at least its not a home for a rodent.

The bender’s workshop was still a couple of weeks out and I’m still on modular synth diy websites like a newborn on tatas… My apt is kinda over run with half broken stuff, things to bend, the serious studio, the soldering bench, Not to mention we live here. About a year ago I saw a photo of a panel that my buddy Simon Vactrol had done that was inspired by Reed Ghazala. The panel was a circuit bender’s/bent interface designed and hand crafted by Simon. Actually plastic shaped and molded with a heated spoon. At the top of the panel lay a glass eyeball ! The plastic had been painstakingly molded around the eye to hold it like eye lids. When I saw it and was so enamored I instantly thought that instead of re-housing toy circuits in little boxes it could be real cool to just put them all behind panels and build a circuit bent modular! At the time I still didn’t yet know much about modular but I messaged Simon and told him he should do it lol. Fast forward to this month and I’m modular crazy, ordering pcbs and reading schematics every night. When asked to “Make a video” to share and help bring people to the Workshop… That set me off. Ok now I gotta build something kinda nice… hmm. I had scrap metal sheets layin around and started looking for a case for my “Bender’s Modular” ( Never build into flimsy shit! “Wize man build his house on the rock”-eek-a-mouse- ) eventually I decided on my ex GF’s father’s old briefcase that she had given me when he was going to throw it out years ago. It’d been sitting in my closet for that long with no future in site… Yes I just told you where I got the briefcase from. Extra info that has no apparent use… But thats the juicy part ! Italian Leather! hehehe.
After going to the modular meet up in Berzerkeley and playing with the Eurorack modules / playing hell trying to cut sheet aluminum in my apt with my dremel I decided on a spec /format for my lil DIY “Bender’s Modular”. Eurorack size ! Really just to start getting used to designing in that size but Also for the novelty / juxtaposition that I often find and enjoy in bending. Yes I’m a freak. So I put three APC behind a Erorack sized panel with banana jacks.

I used two that I had done on perfboards and then did a third “point to point” on the back of a pot to make em all fit. Here is the point to point one sitting on a spool of solder.

My first Baby 8 Is slightly bigger than the eurorack APC. I bent and destroyed rails like a stoned idiot trying to make a solution and broke many dremel disks cutting the little aluminum panels. Had to scrap one panel after crappy hand drilling. When I chose euro I knew I was abandoning most of those problems. By having a spec I can just buy large pieces of sheet metal cut down to the same size and just get used to designing modules in that size. I made panels from the small sheets of aluminum you can get at Ace hardware, Cut them down to euro size with my dremel and “Many disks”, brushed them with copper brillo type pad because I liked the scratched look better than the smooth I got from fine sand paper and water. The Fine also seems to reveal every blemish and “We don’t need no stinking blemishes”. Painted with “One shot” enamel.
The reason to hand paint and design panels by hand with a ruler and pencil on paper: If this is an example of what you can build from the workshop I would like to avoid the computer as a $2000- barrier to entry. The old fashioned way is fun and can be done semi clean looking too. I suck at painting ! I have to use a mechanical pencil to first draw/write the words on and use that as a guide or I will loose sight of proportion.
Designed the panel layout on a piece of paper as fore mentioned with little cross hairs marking where each hole will go. I have one of each panel mount part at hand while designing: pots , switches banana jacks, led holders. So I can measure the diameters of the holes that will need to be drilled and therefor lay out and space the panel accordingly. Then took a nail, hammer and piece of plywood. Scotch taped the paper panel design to the sheet metal. Put the panel on the wood and used the hammer to just give the nail one light hit on each cross hair. Not to bend the shit out of the panel just a little dimple for the drill bit to bight into. “Guide dimples” Here I made panels for the APCx3, and for the two other circuits I made for this project that are on my bench. An Envelope Generator for the APC based on Getlofi’s design with an added power starve and a dual lm386 filter / mixer based on the lm386 data sheet amplifier schematics.

After this project I will learn to etch panels with acid from photoshop created text / artwork. My current barrier to entry there is a laser printer which seem to range around $300- to $400- for a home model. Lazer printers use a transferable enamel needed.

Had to make another baby 8 to fit in the briefcase. the first one will fit perfect in this blue metal ethernet router box I have. I just havn’t yet decided on a pulse divider circuit to house it with yet. or may be midi it…. So I busted out another with the same methods. Had to and gladly designed a new layout to fit on eurorack sized panel. Layout / design for playability is fun for me. Didn’t think too hard about this one just put it together in a day and a half. Used a heat gun to help dry the paint so i could wire the panel the same night. Pretty thirsty I know but If i would have let it cool for an hour I probably wouldn’t have rubbed off the “Glitch”.

lil night rider

The rails I found in all the small hardware stores around town. They are for hanging shelves from and sell for around $3- for about 3 feet. I found that the only way to get a good 90 degree corner was to cut a groove into the inside of the fold … or rather the inside of where you intend to fold it. Dremel disk did this perfectly and easily. If these things didn’t already have holes they would be better because you could just drill tiny holes where you need to and use tiny screws / not have to work around or with the rectangular holes.

Smell the leatha” … hmmmm cow back

Not too shabby aye ? Sounds Like a pissed off purple goat from Uranus snorted Monsanto dust and immediately had to use the can too !!!!

Forrest Mims biological father to the APC has a story. I love circuits and circuit creators with stories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_M._Mims_III

APC origins:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Punk_Console

Fonik is a Master Modular builder active in the community, a help-full and nice guy. Here is his page on his Baby10

http://modular.fonik.de/Page22.html

Ken Stone’s site does not allow deep linking but thats just fine because you will want to read the whole thing anyway !
check out his drum trigger sequencer and his programmer sequencer page

http://www.cgs.synth.net/

Peter Edward’s recent version, Peter is a master Bender. His modular is monster and bad ass experimentalist style. Many bending notes on his site

http://casperelectronics.com/2011/12/07/new-improved-step-sequencer-scematic/

getlofi.com has been selling kits for the apc, versions of the 4017 sequencer and many other lofi noise maker circuits for years. Very useful circuits, fun stuff. A troll through their archives will reveal a wealth of bending knowledge and tips for your own baby 10 or APC.

http://www.getlofi.com/

My Baby 8 would not reset on demand if it weren’t for the Circuit Master Keyboard Kevin. The only true vintage Synth restoration master I know of in SF. He just showed me to lift the reset pin. Thanks Kev !

http://www.circuits-that-sing.com/

Simon Vactrol’s web site

http://www.thelittleworkshopofhorrors.com/

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