[sdiy] Starting a synth project

[Roy J. Tellason]

On Monday 27 December 2004 02:36 pm, Gene Stopp wrote:
> Holy schlemoly there are a *boatload* of nice synth-DIY supplies for cheap,
> under "power one" alone on eBay today. The ones I mentioned below were just
> the first ones I came across doing a highest-price first search. +/-12v is
> almost as good as +/-15v, and many have +5v also which is good to have for
> the digital experimenters.
>
> - Gene

Even if you're not doing much of anything with digtital,  it's handy to have a 
+5 supply for driving LEDs,  displays,  and similar stuff -- keep those 
particular switching transients out of all the audio circuits!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rude 66 [mailto:rude66 at xs4all.nl]
> Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 11:32 AM
> To: Gene Stopp; synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] Starting a synth project
>
>
> smart words indeed.. i asked a 'wiser one' than myself to build me a power
> supply, and it cost me around 25 euro.. first, it's one thing to mess with
> 15v, but another to mess with 230 direct. on top of that, if i screw up,
> most of the boards i try to power, could turn to toast. and that's just not
> worth it.
> as long as i know i'm still a relative newbie and not totally comforatble
> with these things, a power supply is where i draw the line of diy for me..
>
> r./
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gene Stopp" <gene at ixiacom.com>
> To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
> Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 8:24 PM
> Subject: RE: [sdiy] Starting a synth project
>
> > Harry speaks much wisdom. I remember learning synth modules by
>
> concentrating
>
> > on the modules themselves and taking the power supply for granted. After
> > a while you get a feel for things like when a 1/2 watt resistor should be
>
> used
>
> > instead of 1/4 watt, or when and where to place bypass caps, things like
> > that. Power supply design goes much better once you have "the feel".
> >
> > And a quick glance at eBay shows, let's see... aha! TWO Power One +/-15 @
>
> 5
>
> > amp supplies for $19.99 for both with no reserve and zero bids, one day
> > to go on a seven day auction. Not bad! Those are going to be big and
> > heavy,
>
> but
>
> > at five amps per rail you could power about a hundred modules. And have a
> > spare.
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=58288&item=386212915
>8
>
> > &rd=1
> >
> >
> > - Gene
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> > [mailto:owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl]On Behalf Of harrybissell
> > Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 2:04 PM
> > To: tlax at hellfish.org
> > Cc: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> > Subject: Re: [sdiy] Starting a synth project
> >
> >
> > Hello Tero...
> >
> > to tell you the truth, a lot of people post "starting a synth project"
> > and many
> > times
> > they come to the same conclusion as you.  I would advise that your first
> > project
> > NOT be a power supply. In fact I'd recommend you BUY a small, commecial
> > linear
> > power supply such as a PowerOne, or one of the many other manufacturers.
> >
> > Brand new they would cost about $45 (US) but surplus they could be as low
>
> as
>
> > $10.
> >
> > You need to trust your power supply.  I use an 800mA +/-15 supply from
> > PowerOne on
> > the bench and have never fried it. They have pretty sophisticated
> > overcurrent
> > protection
> > and will survive a lot of mistakes.
> >
> > For a first project, I'd recommend a simple VCO, or LFO... followed by a
> > VCF. This
> > way you
> > get to hear some results right away.
> >
> > Power supplies are cheaper to buy than to build...and they are not much
>
> fun.
>
> > If your
> > power
> > supply does not work, or fails suddenly... it can trash all the rest of
>
> your
>
> > work !
> >
> > H^) harry
> >
> > tlax at hellfish.org wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > I've been thinking of starting a synth project. I thought it might be
> >
> > convenient
> >
> > > to start from the power supply and surfed for them on the net. But one
> >
> > thing was
> >
> > > almost never answered, what kind of transformers do people use in
> > > these?
> > >
> > > I've been thinking of something like this:
> > > http://www.ori.org/~aaronc/synth/PowerSupply_V1.pdf
> > > but with the 120V -> 2x24V transformer changed to a one with the
>
> european
>
> > 230V
> >
> > > -> 2x24V, but with 13VA, 22VA or more or even less than 13VA?
>
> Farnell.com
>
> > has a
> >
> > > lot of these to choose from. :P
> > >
> > > Or maybe a better power supply schematics are lying on the net, but I
>
> just
>
> > > haven't runned into them. Might even buy a commercial one if I find a
>
> good
>
> > one
> >
> > > inside the europe and could move to the nice part of project like VCO.
> :
> :)
> :
> > > --
> > > Tero Laxström <tlax at hellfish.org>