Ive been quite busy.

I became a roadie, i spent a year on the road with My Bloody Valentine as their guitar tech. The video synth got used to make some of the projections for the show. Heres some pics.

Video Synth live in Brighton, october 6 2012

im playing in Crayola Lectern's Crayola Trip band at this years psychedelic festival in lewes . come along, it will be a laugh. im taking the full rig along, modular, sequencer, and video synth. also in the band are ex members of Cardiacs and the Boredoms. it sounds epic at rehearsals, so it Will Be Good.

in other news, i havent done anything new to the vidsynth for a year, ive been busy. making guitars. i should post some pics, theyre quite good, and also for sale.

be seeing you,
S/P

hooray! im back

its been a while. my computer died, and tbh i didnt miss it at all because real life has been Interesting so it took me 18 months to get back online. but ive finally got a new computer (my first laptop -i feel like johnny lee miller in Hackers) so im back. huzzah.. several people have written to me asking for updates. expect updates. i have been busy. the synth is almost complete, and is Well Good. next job - connect up scanner, and scan documentation.

be seeing you
s/p

video comparator circuits

heres some schematics for the comparators. type 1 is used for sync processing. feed any h or v sync signal in, patch the outputs to the sync input jacks on some vcos, and twiddle the knobs and flick the switch till you get sync lock. easy. no pcb layout for these as i built them on stripboard.

type 2 grounds the negative side of the threshold pot, and takes the +V side through a switching jack, so you can insert an external signal to be used as the threshold voltage. useful for making a pwm squarewave or various other patches. both circuits have hysteresis controls to clean up the output a bit.

both of the above circuits are run from plus and minus 12 volts. the 3k9 pull up resistor means the output swings rail to rail, so it can trigger either of the 2 vco designs (one syncs on a -12 volt spike, the other on a +12) with ease.
cheers
s/p

new stuff

hello.
ive been away from teh internetz for a while. but i have been busy. looky---->

i played a gig, which prompted me to not sleep and solder alot in order to have something worth showing. so the synth is now way bigger. 6 oscillators, mixer, rgb and sync interface, dual comparators and a freshly finished cabinet. and an ms10, all sitting on top of my old diy audio modular. and a bloody great big TV. and a camera. it was at the Vanguard Exhibition in East London, and was it was a great experience. im hoping to get some video from the gig soon, but otherwise here are some stills from some recent home jams:




fractal feedback

comparators and camera feedback:

and some straight RGB mixing of waveforms:

the comparator module is new, and great fun. im still tweaking it, but i hope to have it finished and a schematic up soon. also i have just completed the RGB and Sync interface module, which also needs a bit of work. lots of bleed due to unshielded 'done in a hurry due to impending gig' wiring. doh.
be seeing you
s/p

Some Changes to the Plan.

In light of having had the synth for a year now and gained some operational experience with it, Ive come up with some modifications to the system that ill be implementing.
1- ill be removing the sync input jacks from the VCOs, and bussing the various sync signals around internally, with a rotary switch to select sync source. this is because the 2 oscillator designs require sync pulses of different polarities, and thats a bit confusing for live performance.
2 - im adding dedicated, individual modulation oscillators to the 8038 oscillator panels so that more complex RGB synthesis can be achieved. you can never have too many oscillators, and i keep running out.
3 - im adding dedicated H and V timing ramps to the SPG module, for doing vector rescanning. this will avoid having to use 2 vcos to do the job as i currently have to.
4 - im redesigning the 3 by 3 mixer for a wider bandwidth. more on the subject of bandwidth later.
be seeing you,
S/P

I am Moving House

and moving into temporary accomodation for a bit. there is unlikely to be much happening here for the next month or so, as i am currently living in a shoebox till i move to a Proper House. not really enough space to wave a soldering iron around without setting fire to something. see you later..
s/p