ASM-1 and other questions

[Robot]

Hrm.  I'm still hesitant.  It's been nothing but a hassle to try and get a
post through.  Maybe this time it is all okay.

I have a question about the ASM-1 for those of you who have built one.  What
would you estimate the cost of all the parts came to?  Please exclude the
price of the PCB and a faceplate as I plan to buy them both from Gene and
Chris respectively.  Also please exclude estimate of small things like wire
and solder and such.  I'm just interested in a rough estimate of the
circuitry, pots, switches, and jacks.

Another question I have is about power supplies.  I have the Craig Anderton
book as well as Terence Thomas's book and they both discuss building a power
supply.  Is it absolutely necessary to build one or is there a simpler
solution of buying one?  It appears that a DC power supply is the standard
for audio electronics (for stability I'm to understand).  Is it just as easy
and possibly more secure to build my own power supplies or might it be
easier to buy them pre-built with the specs needed for audio?

On a similar note, I'm curious about grounding.  Is it better to ground a
board to the ground plug from the AC wall outlet or should I plan to ground
to the chassis of the gear I build?

Oh, and does anyone have any corrections of the Terence Thomas Sound
Synthesis book?  I'd like to explore some of the designs in there but I've
been warned about mistakes and such.  Also his book recommends building some
test circuits to test things like transistors.  Is this absolutely necessary?

One last question.  I'd really like to get a scope but I'm on a student
budget.  I'm planning on hunting for one at flea markets and such but when
it comes to older OS's they get more confusing than the ones we use at
school.  What features should I look out for so that I can trim down my
costs to the bare minimum needs for audio testing.

I'm sorry for so many questions but they've been building up and I've been
having the worst time trying to post.  Thanks for all who help me in getting
my feet wet and thanks to all on the list for providing VERY informative
reading.

BTW I built a Fatman for a friend and I posted my opinions on AH.  I can
re-post them here if anyone is interested but I'm assuming most of you are
beyond that sort of project anyway.  Besides I know a lot of you are on AH
and most likely saw it.
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