It's been awhile!!!

Here's a video of the project I'm currently working on:

I've since added a few features to it, and I'm almost finished with version 1's coding.

Some features I've added since then:

• A wave mode. I realized it was pretty silly that you could turn the steps down to 1, so when you do, it enters wave mode, which provides a relatively smooth wave that's somewhat akin to a triangle or a sine wave, though if you measured it you'd probably find it was somewhere in between. You probably can't notice, but the depth knob in the video isn't linear. The potentiometer is linear, and it's coded to be linear, but the A/D isn't completely linear and neither is the D/A.
• Tap tempo, although at this point it's pretty rough. I'm going to try to optimize the code as much as I can, but I'm afraid the chip I'm using is simply too slow to get a really accurate reading of tempo, even if I added a quartz crystal.

Some features I'm going to add:

• An expression set-up mode. Holding down the preset switch for an extended period of time will bring it up, at which point the user may choose what expression setting they want- Rate, Depth, Steps. I might re-map the random function to here too. I might add some extra controls for the wave mode this way, because as of right now it's limited. With Wave Mode/Tap Tempo/Expression I'm currently sort of pondering my options.

But it's pretty much almost done! All my major problems are solved, and I only have design decisions left!

Drilled and Painted Enclosures

A pedal is brewing

So what's going on?

On the breadboard I was trying out different wiring configurations for LDRs, and that's the one I found gives the best expression sweep- two LDRs. Now of course they need to be seeing opposite things- one needs to be in the dark and the other is in the light. I'll be rolling some optoisolaters later.

Up on top of the bench is a collection of old stamps I bought at a flea market. Free art!

And what's with the box?

Well, I'm making a low-frequency-oscillator that you can plug into any pedal with an expression jack with four modes:

1. Sine Wave
2. Square Wave
3. Random Fuck (sample and hold on PCP)
4. Step Sequencer/ Arpeggiator

Controls?

• rotary switch to choose the mode

• rotary switch to choose the preset (5 presets total.) Each preset has a default mode it brings you to, but you can switch out of that mode and use that preset's settings in another mode. On top of having memory of all the switch positions, each preset can also store one sequence from the sequencer mode.
  

• flip switch to control whether the expression pedal input controls depth (think synth mod-wheel) OR controls center (with depth all the way down, you can use your expression pedal like normal in this mode)
• center, depth, rate, and shape controls.
  
• depth switch that either automatically trims the depth so it doesn't clip past the range limits, or doesn't automatically trim depth so that the wave can clip
• tap-tempo with ratios
• step sequencer can go in different patterns, can auto-run, or be stepped through

All of this will be done with a microcontroller, which I'm in the process of programming. I've got most of the code written, I'm just waiting on a debugging cable in the mail so that I can tweak the equations.

This blog will be updated soon with some drilled and painted enclosure pics and other stuff. I'll also make a real header and make a real blog design, and later a website.