Build report: Ken Stone CGS59 Programmer/Sequencer
2006-09-01 by data2action
Just got my CGS59 Programmer/Sequencer working, it is absolutely
tremendous! here's a short build report and initial impressions:
* i built mine w/ 8 stages, very similar layout to the picture of
ken's prototype, w/ banana jacks. added 1/8" jacks to the summed outs
and up/down inputs for compatibility w/ my other system.
* building the boards was very straighforward, PC mounted pots
helped A LOT (pots are mouser part #313-1510F-100K)
* my front panel is pretty dense w/ parts and not much room behind.
the "A" boards had the taller components nicely arranged to provide
clearance for jacks using the recommended spacing. i mounted the "B"
board perpendicular to the panel towards the right, and had to remount
some of the components on the edge towards the panel to make them
lower-profile so as avoid interfering with jacks.
* wiring all the buss lines between the boards was easier than i
thought. once they're in place, it's a pretty monolithic assembly and a
little tricky to work on... especially with mount-from-the-front banana
connectors. i added nylon slip-on insulation on alternating buss wires
to protect against shorts.
* almost everything worked on first power-up, except the up/down
sequencing and CPO pulse out. Ken was a great help in troubleshooting,
eventually suggested replacing the 470pF caps on all A boards with a
larger value--i used 1n. kind of a pain, because the cap was behind the
buss wires, but i got it done, and it worked!
* still havent debugged the CPO pulse, but the all event pulse works
fine so it's not critical. i'm thinking of bypassing the second pulse
circuit entirely, and replacing it with a gate-out-on-key-press buffer.
* Up/down inputs seem to be reversed, but that's not a
problem--especially since my front panel isn't labeled. just a wire
swap, in any case. i think i'm going replace one of those jacks for a
spdt center-off switch, so there'll be one clock in and i can select up,
down or off. also planning to add a debounced manual switch to provide
a manual "advance one step" control.
* i've only had a couple hours to play, but the possibilities of
this thing are AMAZING. i'm using it now to set up "presets" for my
self-running chaotic patches. i also set it up in combo with my
sequential switch to get 32-step sequence--sweet. i can't tell you how
excited i am about this thing! thanks, Ken!
it pays to check Ken's site regularly... he adds new boards and doesn't
always announce them. there's a brand new VCA up there now, for
instance...
happy noising,
bbob
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
tremendous! here's a short build report and initial impressions:
* i built mine w/ 8 stages, very similar layout to the picture of
ken's prototype, w/ banana jacks. added 1/8" jacks to the summed outs
and up/down inputs for compatibility w/ my other system.
* building the boards was very straighforward, PC mounted pots
helped A LOT (pots are mouser part #313-1510F-100K)
* my front panel is pretty dense w/ parts and not much room behind.
the "A" boards had the taller components nicely arranged to provide
clearance for jacks using the recommended spacing. i mounted the "B"
board perpendicular to the panel towards the right, and had to remount
some of the components on the edge towards the panel to make them
lower-profile so as avoid interfering with jacks.
* wiring all the buss lines between the boards was easier than i
thought. once they're in place, it's a pretty monolithic assembly and a
little tricky to work on... especially with mount-from-the-front banana
connectors. i added nylon slip-on insulation on alternating buss wires
to protect against shorts.
* almost everything worked on first power-up, except the up/down
sequencing and CPO pulse out. Ken was a great help in troubleshooting,
eventually suggested replacing the 470pF caps on all A boards with a
larger value--i used 1n. kind of a pain, because the cap was behind the
buss wires, but i got it done, and it worked!
* still havent debugged the CPO pulse, but the all event pulse works
fine so it's not critical. i'm thinking of bypassing the second pulse
circuit entirely, and replacing it with a gate-out-on-key-press buffer.
* Up/down inputs seem to be reversed, but that's not a
problem--especially since my front panel isn't labeled. just a wire
swap, in any case. i think i'm going replace one of those jacks for a
spdt center-off switch, so there'll be one clock in and i can select up,
down or off. also planning to add a debounced manual switch to provide
a manual "advance one step" control.
* i've only had a couple hours to play, but the possibilities of
this thing are AMAZING. i'm using it now to set up "presets" for my
self-running chaotic patches. i also set it up in combo with my
sequential switch to get 32-step sequence--sweet. i can't tell you how
excited i am about this thing! thanks, Ken!
it pays to check Ken's site regularly... he adds new boards and doesn't
always announce them. there's a brand new VCA up there now, for
instance...
happy noising,
bbob
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]