Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

I recall my Dad saying, after getting off the phone with you some couple
years ago, that it sounded like your concept for the smaller-format Morphong
Terrarium, for instance, would exclude a couple features that might be
available in the large-format equivalent module; perhaps because the
larger-format would have more space for the extra features or that you would
just design it somewhat differently or something. Perhaps I mis-recollect.
Perhaps your ideas have changed.

At any rate, we find the frustration of those who are truly fanatics
completely understandable. We share some of that frustration; Dad and I
have wanted a Cloud Generator for years. Speaking for myself, I am not
interested, however, in a lesser Euro-version even fitted out with big knobs
and jacks. I prefer a truly MOTM module; a no-holds-barred completely
stupidly-fanatically-engineered thing. I suspect this may be what you were
getting at when you were saying that these are Euro Modules as distict from
MOTM modules. They are different somehow?

So I am disappointed that I'll have to wait longer for the true-MOTM Cloud
Generator. I am sorry to hear it may never be available. Frustrating, yes.
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a) if you folks have not yet been to Will and Bill's site, go there NOW!
It's all kinds of awesome:

www.dragonflyalley.com

b) The fact that there is a LOT more available pc board area on a 5U/MU
panel versus Euro means that the current 2 board "stacked" design reduces to
1 board and yes, there is room to "add stuff".

c) for the Cloud: we built a Xilinx FPGA expander with a LCD display and
rotary encoders (yes, directly borrowed from the XPander UI). We had like 41
different things you could vary (not with CVs) via menu system. You could
store them as a "patch", though. It turned out that there was not that much
sonic difference to justify the expense so it was dropped.

The current Euro circuit has all the "stuff" needed. The only possible
option is to use a better external DAC rather than the built-in one. This is
little cost difference and would require a small firmware change. If we
wanted better anti-aliasing than the current DSP we could use a 2X faster
ARM-based DSP but that is a 100% code rewrite and that would depend on
Eric's time (and would delay the final product 2 months or so, this is his
hobby, too).

d) for the MT: there is definite sonic improvement to be done, which would
require the faster DSP and (you guessed it) another 100% code rewrite. Both
of these algorithms are portable, but the integration into the particular
chip architecture (the DMA structure, timing loops, interrupts, etc) is
tightly interwoven in the current code and not reusable when switching
platforms (the Euro modules currently use the MicroChip dsPIC33F processor).

Of the 2, the MT would benefit more from a "sonic upgrade". We would use the
same design for both: it's just different SW on the same DSP.

It's not much of an effort for me, it's all on Eric (for those who don't
know, Eric is my DSP guru). The price of the modules would have to be a bit
more, say going from $400 to $425 to pay for the newer DSP and to bribe
Eric.

Paul S.