[sdiy] learning from early drum machines?

[harrybissell at wowway.com]

"Tactile" implies a click, thunk, pop or some other feedback
you can FEEL when it activates.

thats all... :^)

H^) harry




On Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:52:36 -0700, Adam Schabtach wrote
> Hi David,
> 
> I bought a couple of the Mountain Switch tact switches and did not 
> like them as well as the Omron switches. It was something of an 
> esthetic choice so maybe other people would like them. The Mountain 
> Switch caps have a colored insert with a hole in its center, inside 
> a clear cover. The Omron switches have a solid, translucent white 
> cap so the LED illumination diffuses through it evenly. The Omrons 
> also seemed to be of slightly higher build quality but I wouldn't 
> say that the Mountain Switch units were actually shabby.
> 
> I decided to not use separate LEDs in my project (a behemoth step 
> sequencer, which some year will reach a state of completion at which 
> it's worth talking about) because while you save a little money, you 
> incur greater expense in the complication of the PCB and the 
> machining of the panel.
> 
> I may have come in on the middle of a conversation without really
> understanding the topic, but my understanding was that the whole 
> point of the flip-flop was to hold the state of the step, either on 
> or off. The original poster specified a "MO" switch, i.e. Momentary 
> On, which means that the switch itself would not hold the state of 
> the step. I don't think that push-on/push-off tact switches are 
> common, if they even exist. (Does the term "tactile" imply a 
> momentary mechanism?)
> 
> --Adam
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: David G. Dixon [mailto:dixon at interchange.ubc.ca] 
> > Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 1:35 PM
> > To: lists at studionebula.com; 'sdiy'
> > Subject: RE: [sdiy] learning from early drum machines?
> > 
> > Adam,
> > 
> > Yes, I guess they are a bit pricey (the cheapest I found 
> > quickly was $1.39/100 + $0.39/100 for caps, Mountain Switch 
> > TS55 series from Mouser).  A less elegant solution is a plain 
> > tactile switch (very cheap) with an LED mounted directly above.
> > 
> > Also, please correct me if I am misguided, but I thought that 
> > the whole point of the latch was to provide effective debouncing.
> > 
> > Dave
> >  
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> > [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of 
> > Adam Schabtach
> > Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 10:58 AM
> > To: 'sdiy'
> > Subject: RE: [sdiy] learning from early drum machines?
> > 
> > 
> > > > What about using a pcb-mounted MO tactile switch and a 
> > flip-flop?   
> > > > With a
> > > > backlit LED in the switch, this would be very cool, very 
> > intuitive, 
> > > > and I think it would also be pretty cheap (depending on 
> > the switch).
> > > >
> > > > Dave
> > > 
> > > Yeah, that *would* be very cool. All depends on finding some cheap
> > > (ish) buttons with LEDs, I suppose. Flipflops aren't a lot.
> > > The circuit board to connect it all together might be a pain though.
> > 
> > The contact bounce of the switches could be really annoying. 
> > Basically you'd have a 50/50 chance of the flip-flop ending 
> > up in the desired state when you press the button.
> > 
> > Recently I bought a bunch of Omron illuminated tact switches 
> > which would fit the bill. B3W-9 is the series number. Price 
> > in small quantities is around US$2.50; whether or not that's 
> > "cheap (ish)" depends on your budget. :-)
> > 
> > Dan: the current popular way to get your feet wet with 
> > microcontrollers is the Arduino system. See 
> > http://arduino.cc/ . The boards (there are several models 
> > from several vendors) are inexpensive and the development 
> > software is free. They're very popular with people who want 
> > to do interactive stuff with computers but are new to 
> > microcontrollers (and programming in general).
> > There's lots of example code and discussion. I've never used 
> > one but were I starting from scratch with microcontrollers 
> > today I'd get an Arduino board.
> > 
> > --Adam
> > 
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> > 
> >
> 
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Harry Bissell & Nora Abdullah 4eva