[sdiy] Newbie alert :-)

[Scott Gravenhorst]

Nicolai Czempin <nicolai.czempin at alcatel.de> wrote:

>Yes, looks nice, but I'm wondering whether (watch out, more stirring!) 
>people are really reading what I'm writing. I want something simple to 
>get started! All these fascinating links I will save and look into at a 
>stage when I'm a little more advanced. But for now I just want THE 
>SIMPLEST THING THAT COULD POSSIBLY WORK (tm).

An avalanche device (4 layer diode), a cap and a resistor.  Also can be done with
a neon light bulb, a cap and a resistor (but more volts).  But this will suck
greatly, it won't be linear, therefore won't be musically useful.  A simple 555
timer can be used as a VCO, again, without a current source, it won't be linear
and will suck for music.  The complexity you see is due to the need for some/most
musicians that require a recognizable scale.

I still say that the 4069 design I pointed to is about the simplest and cheapest
you'll see.  Simplify it a bit more by eliminating the PWM part.  The VCO itself
is really just 3 of the gates, a diode and a couple of resistors and a cap.  Two
transistors are need for the expo converter which makes the whole thing "linear"
and therefore musically useful.

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-- Scott Gravenhorst | LegoManiac / Lego Trains / RIS 1.5
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