motorised pots and other controls

[Frank Lemieux]

>Imagine a primo modular synth with motorized pots and LEDs for indicating
cable patching end points!!  You get the flexibility of programming a
modular with the ability to recall patches with the assistance of software.
 That's my dream instrument (a la NASA budget)!

Last week I actually had a dream where my ideal synth appeared to me...  It
may have been heat-stroke from being outside at a music festival for days,
but it was very clear... I saw flat black (ala star trek next generation)
panelling lit from underneath to show the labelling when required, and
motorized sliders that moved when I changed patches...  I've always liked
sliders...  In my dream, I saw all the schematics, though they are beyond
my means to recreate...  I even got a look at the micro controller code
that ran it all...  It seemed very efficient the way it was put together,
its switching matrices making modular mapping simple and easy, and allowing
powerful self-diagnostic processes...  I only hope its as easy in real life
as it was there!

I've taken it as a sign...  I'm designing slowly, as I learn how...  The
relevant question in all this is are motorized sliders available?  I'm
gonna build it even if it kills me. :P

Has anyone here worked on capacitance sensors?  I'm trying to figure out
how those star-trek like panels worked :) Inductance, maybe? hmm...