[sdiy] i'm just another annoying newbie

[Byron G. Jacquot]

>I think I'm
>gonna do the PAIA fatman, and the PAIA modular over
>the summer (they're cost effective for a college
>student, and I'm cooping so I'll have time),are these
>a good place to start in terms of DIY?

My first homemade synth was a Fatman.  It's a great way to start, especially
because a lot of the parts you might not think of when you're starting out
are included.  It's got the power supply, the knobs, the front panel, etc.
There are also some very knowledgable people who can help you out if things
don't work the first time.

 Also I keep
>hearing about Electronotes, and some sort of
>compilation book for the best circuits? Is this some
>sort of publication I can subscribe to? Can this
>volume of previous circuits be found in say a Borders
>type store?

Electronotes might be the "Whole Earth Catalog" of synth design.  It's
essentially an underground publication, done by Bernie Hutchins.
Supposedly, it's still being published, and you can get the whole shebang
for something like $300.  The Preferred Circuits Collection is sort of the
"best of" compilation, with enough circuits to build a respectable
synth...if I remember, it's about $50.  Does anyone have the straight skinny
here?

> What other publications should I consider
>subscribing to (right now I subscribe to none) for
>analog design or DIY info ( I don't mean keyboard mags
>like Future Music or any other magazines like that)?

You might look for some of the regular electronics magazines.  Circuit
Cellar, Poptronix, ETI and Nuts & Volts are all ocmmon.  They'll get you
looking at and understanding some general parts of the electronics game.
There are often helpful "cookbook" articles discussing families of circuits,
such as simple oscillators or filters.

Go to digikey.com and mouser.com and sign up for their catalogs.  They're
free, and they're probably the best resources for parts in the states.  You
might also check out some of the surplus vendors, like allelectronics.com.

There are some books that you should probably track down, too.  Horowitz &
Hill's Art Of Electronics will give you a lot of good background info.  The
little $2 Forrest Mim's panphlets from Radio Snack have some good
foundation, too.  A trip to a good library will give you lots of other sources.

>Anyways, I'm very glad to have found this list and
>find it a joy to be learning so much in so little time
>(it's a shame none of the faculty at my school are
>interested in this sort of thing, they're all
>uber-stiff engineers). Thanks for any help people can
>give.

Since you're a student, you might also look into a membership in the Audio
Engineering Society (AES).  It'll help you keep your education in
perspective, and keep you keen to the issues faced by audio electronics.
You might be a little surprised by the number of "stiff engineers" who
really understand what it takes to makes things sound good.

Byron Jacquot