MOTM

I'm forwarding this from the Synth-DIY list because I know there are 
people here that would be interested.

If you're one of those people, please drop Andrew a line @
amartens@...



----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Martens" <amartens@...>
To: <synth-diy@...>
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 10:00 PM
Subject: [sdiy] touchpad controller project, please read and respond


> I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to read 
this and
> respond (just respond to me privately - no need to copy to the 
list).
> Within a few days or a week, I'll compile the feedback and let 
everybody
> know how things stand for this project.  Okay, here we go:
>
> Having done a bunch of reading up on Tactex's touchpads for a 
previous
> project (my SID synthesizer almost used one to control the filter, 
but I
> still haven't gotten around to finishing off the synth), I've been 
doing a
> bit more thinking about them since I found out Bob Moog was using 
one in
his
> new synth.  That led me to contemplate a new project that may be of
interest
> to people on this list.
>
> And so, I have a lot of questions regarding whether or not anyone 
would be
> interested in this.  So please, reply to me privately with a "Yes, I
would"
> and other answers to the questions below - or a "No, I wouldn't"... 
and if
> you do say no, if there is a specific reason why (ie, a feature 
missing
> below), or if it's just not of interest to you.  This'll only take a
minute
> for you (and far longer for me to compile the results), so if you 
can find
> it
> in your heart to respond, that would be great :-)
>
> I can't comment on pricing of the touchpads yet.  From talking to my
> professor (through whom I dealt with Tactex), the prices sounded
reasonable.
> From looking at the price on their website, I am starting to become 
far
less
> hopeful.  Far, far less.  If people on the list are interested, I 
will
check
> with Tactex about their OEM pricing.
>
> (1) Would you be interested in:
> (a) a touchpad->CV controller (ie, three CV outputs, one for X, Y, 
and
> pressure);
> (b) a touchpad->MIDI controller (selectable channel & message type 
for
each
> dimension);
> (c) one controller that incorporated both (a) and (b);
> (d) neither.  You can stop now and just send this back to me.  Tell 
me
why,
> if you aren't interested. :-)
> (e) you have better ideas, like way more CV, and a bunch of cool 
controls
to
> save presets, morphing between different outputs, etc.  Feel free to
> elaborate.
>
> (2) Would you want to buy:
> (a) a fully assembled unit, just give it a wallwart, plug'er in, 
and go;
> (b) a kit, with PCB, preprogrammed microcontroller and an OEM (ie, 
no
> case/cable) touchpad included;
> (c) just PCB included (you buy your own consumer-level touchpad from
Tactex
> yourself for a ridiculous amount of money and connect it up via a 
serial
> port, and I give away the firmware for the microcontroller for you 
to
> program yourself)
>
> (3) What size would you want the touchpad to be?
> (a) a standard size, like the MTC Express's 5" x 3.75"
> (b) (fill in your own size) __________________________
>
> (4) What sorts of things would you like to be able to do with the
touchpad:
> (a) just track a single point (X, Y, and pressure)
> (b) glide between multiple points on the pad (rate determined by a 
Glide
> pot)
> (c) (something else cool) __________________________
>
> (5) What price would you be willing to pay for a PCB + OEM touchpad?
> (If you're touchy/suspicious about this question, feel free to omit 
it).
> I'll bring up the pricing issue again once I figure out what the 
OEM price
> is for the touchpad size that I'm thinking of using for the design.
> (a) (in US $, or your own currency - just specify what it is) 
_________
>
> (5) Comments.  Ideas.  Suggestions.  How complete a MIDI 
implementation
you
> want.  Criticism.  Anything.
>
> That's the survey.  I'm not really trying to make any money on this.
Maybe
> get a free unit for myself, but that's about it.  In an ideal 
world, I'll
> get an evaluation OEM pad from Tactex, develop a prototype 
schematic,
write
> some firmware for the thing, and get it working.  Then, someone with
better
> board-layout and design experience on this list could do a proper 
layout
of
> it.  Then, take some orders, print up some PCBs, get some 
touchpads, and
> ship
> them off to people.
>
> So yeah... let me know what you think, and whether or not I should 
bother
> building this.  I'll compile everyone's feedback into a final 
version of
the
> design and see how many people would be interested in ordering one, 
before
I
> actually get an OEM unit from Tactex and start building this.  And 
if you
> take this idea and market it yourself... well, kudos to you for 
being a
> shrewd businessperson.  I just like designing stuff :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Andrew Martens
> 4th year Computer Engineering student
> University of British Columbia
>