At 11:10 AM -0800 03/08/01, Tony Karavidas wrote:
>
>> Anyway, since it seems that we will not get this feature from Encore, I'm
>> thinking that perhaps a daughter board or additional module could be
>> devised. I don't know if a trigger for each step can be tapped off of
>> the UEG's PCB. Since it is advancing and lighting the next LED on each
>> step I'm thinking that this information already exists within the
>> circuit. Are the schematics available??
>>
>> If not, then perhaps an "edge detector" could be devised. I'm no
>> EE, but I have seen flip-flop circuits that could detect negative or
>> positive going edges. We would need a circuit that could detect small
>> edges going in either direction from the CV output and output a trigger
>>>> pulse. This should work with the UEG Slope set to Step, or any sort
>>of
>> stairstep generator:
>
>Listen to you! All ready to hack into it!!! :)
Well, many of the motm folks are from diy :)
>The first issue is developing the code to add the feature. Not only do I
>have to modify things to make the feature work, but I also have to test
>everything else again to make sure nothing breaks. I already slipped a bug
>out as was documented earlier last month. People are sending units back for
>upgrades, but it costs me money, and time, and it costs everyone else
>money and time. The other problem isn't that I "have" to update, but I'll
>be requested to update.
I'm not asking Encore for an update. I had an idea for improving the UEG,
and I presented that idea to the list. If you don't like the idea, that's
OK :)
>Te third problem is that the more I add, the less intuitive it becomes.
>Right now the front panel is WYSIWYG with only one exception. (the level
>for stage 8 in GATED STEP mode is actually controlled by the TIME8 knob.)
>If I add the option you describe, where am I going to put it? Most likely
>in the SLOPE switch, since it's not used in this mode anyway. Well, now
>there would be this function that isn't at all obvious.
According to the documentation on your website, the SLOPE switch is used in
LOOP ONLY mode. It's just that the SLOPE switch would most likely be set
to STEP when using LOOP ONLY mode to sequence a VCO, although the other two
SLOPE settings could be used as well.
>Also, since the TRIGGER OUT is 5mS, it would limit the maximum clock rate
>>of the module, because if you clocked the module up at 1500Hz, the
>TRIG OUT would always be on.
That doesn't make sense to me. If it were clocked at 1500Hz, it wouldn't
be being used as a sequencer, nor would it be run that fast in LOOP ONLY
mode. Nor do I think the TRIGGER OUT would be useful when clocked in GATED
STEP mode at audio rates as it is (I think you would just get a pulse with
an eighth of the incoming clock's frequency).
>This wouldn't be useful in GATED STEP mode anyway. You already have an
>incoming "clock" for each stage. In the other modes, all the switches are
>used, so it couldn't be implemented anyway.
Like you just said, in GATED STEP the length of the note is set by the
required incoming clock. As I have previously explained, this feature is
not for GATED STEP mode. It's for sequencing with the UEG in LOOP ONLY
mode. In LOOP ONLY mode, the Time knobs set the length of each note. By
adjusting the voltage going into the TCV input you could then adjust the
length of the entire bar (the tempo of the loop) to fit the rest of the
track. No additional switches are necessary.
Furthermore, the Trigger out jack on the UEG could be replaced with a TRS
jack, so that a trigger is available on each step when the jack is inserted
half way, and that a trigger is available at the end of the entire loop
when inserted all the way (the way the UEG works now).
Anyway, I am not trying to get Encore to implement this change. I had
already accepted that they are not, and I have previously stated that
acceptance. So let us all try to move on by discussing further options.
If Encore has schematics available so I can tap the trigger off of the PCB,
then that's great. If not, I'll try to develop some sort of edge detector
and install it on a daughter board.
So if anyone has any ideas about how I could do that, or knows of any good
edge detecting circuits, please let me know.