[sdiy] Embedded micros

[Dr Strangelove]

There are some formats of movie film that have an optical audio track on 
them, they use photoresitors to translate this optical audio track into 
amp-able waves.  I once thought an organ of some kind could be made by 
making a seet of plastic that had one of these kind of tracks on it for 
every key, more or less whatever sound was desired for that note.  You could 
have a small motor which turned a shaft and rolled the sheet (which would 
have to be in a loop), over some photo diodes.  It would be sort of like a 
Mellotron.

Later I read that the Optigan uses disks to do something like this, the I 
saw one at the audio playground, they soud pretty cool.  Since you mention 
using drills to drive a drawbar organ, maybe an optigan-like system could be 
created using a small motor like that.  The only thing I see as a problem is 
somehow isolating each audio producing track from every other audio 
producing track for photoresistors to distinguish them without somesort of 
bleedthrough.  Also, creating a disk with a bunch of opague to clear 
gradients which were perfectly calibrated to make musical scales at a 
particular rotational frequency would be a bitch.

         -=<Jonathan Pratt>=-
       (Phdinfunk at hotmail.com)




>From: Glen <mclilith at ezwv.com>
>To: Paul Perry <pfperry at melbpc.org.au>, synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
>Subject: Re: [sdiy] Embedded micros
>Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 00:23:41 -0400
>
>At 10:58 PM 8/20/01 , Paul Perry wrote:
>
> >I look foward to any synth-diy posts whether they are analog,
> >digital, or mechanical.
>
>Hmm...  Mechanical...
>
>That would include what? Making your own reverb plates and springs?
>Building one's own variable-speed-drill-powered, tonewheel oscillator
>synth? What else? How about a treadle-powered, mechanically bent and bowed,
>musical-saw "theremin"?
>
>Am I even close?  :)
>
>...but seriously, I DO agree with you.
>
>
>Later,
>Glen


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