Antwort: [sdiy] Kinda OT: electro-mechanical instruments/ solenoids

[Andreas Gaunitz]

Wow, this guy has been pretty productive over the last 3 decades. It's 
excellent reading, almost enough to make me question my own project. 
However - it seems his machines are geared towards automation and midi, 
while mine will be more of a quartet orchestra, "optimized" for real 
time playability.

-Andreas



2004 dec 07  kl. 08.53 skrev Christian.Bergmiller at daimlerchrysler.com:
>
> try this link for some information about electro-mechanical 
> instruments:
>
> http://www.logosfoundation.org/instrum-god.html
>
> let us know how your project goes!
> I always wanted to build something like that too :-)
>
> Christian

Snip

> Hi!
>
>
> I'm planning to build electro-mechanical instruments; xylophone etc.
> Not really a synth, but close enough (?)
>
> Background:
> In Sweden (a small country) the cheapest solenoid seems to be about 12
> USD/ EUR. In the US some companies offer solenoids for less than 1 USD:
> http://www.mpja.com/category/Solenoids/Solenoids.asp
>
> The above company wants me to shop for at least 100 USD to ship
> overseas. This in itself is OK, I could always buy a soldering station
> or whatever. But how do I know that the solenoids are going to work in
> my project? I need about 30 of them, but it would be nice to check one
> out before ordering. Needless to say, the same brands don't exist
> here...
>
> Question:
> What should I look for in a solenoid? Do some solenoids have too slow
> response times? Could they be too weak? Why are some so cheap compared
> to others?
>
>
> any input appreciated
> -Andreas