MOTM

Dear all -

Will's high-school spring break is over, but we made a bunch of
progress over the last week. We took a bunch of photos of our motm101
and motm120 construction. This is probably boring to most, but our
goal in doing so has become twofold. First, to hopefully point the
way for other DIYers. Second, to document our efforts.

Explaining the second point first - years ago, over a couple bottles
of wine with a sculptor and a poet friend of mine, in response to my
complaining that I always feel like I'm never accomplishing anything,
they recommended that I try doing what they do - keep copious records
of everything... reciepts, photos, newspaper clippings, etc. So I've
done so every since. So I cann look back at what I've done - and not
have it just just disappear (like tears in rain).

And as for the first point, well - when we started building this
synth, we hadn't done anything like it before. Oh - I'd made some
simple things like microphone cables - speaker cabinets. A very cool
road case for my Hammond. I'd done maintainence on my analog tape
recorders... but never anything so involved as this synth. And we're
so encouraged by our successes - we want to share this with others who
are new to all this.

Especially in light of Paul's completely understandable move away from
kits - maybe this'll help the newbees.

OK - so - anyway - here's the URL of our synth project home page:

http://www.dragonflyalley.com/billAndWillMOTMSynth.htm

And here's the 120 constrruction page:

http://www.dragonflyalley.com/motm120Construction.htm

Please proof-read and comment about how we can improve things.

Thanks so much, all - for your support and help.

Bill and Will

Your pics will be a boon to DIY. It's appreciated. I never imagined my
simple circuit mod for the 120 would be so popular. I still have the
original perf board version in my parts bin, which was replaced with a
DB-120 board. Couple of points:

I tend to solder some wires directly to boards, like the DB-120 power.
I did that to simplify the power cabling. I also soldered directly the
four coaxial inputs from the 120 board, rather than use a connector, as
you see in the top left in this photo.

http://www.pugix.com/images/MOTM-120R-back.jpg

Using a header and connector does make final assembly a bit easier, and
later you can separate the boards for maintenance (not often needed,
though). You struggled with how to hook the coax into the small MTA-100
connector. I *always* solder these. They have a press-fit design that
takes insulated wire of the correct size (the MOTM power cables are a
good example). But unless you have the right tool, you may not get a
good electrical connection. Just jamming the wire in leaves the way
open for oxidation and loosening. Soldering is advisable, but a little
tricky. I use a small plastic vise to hold the connector and do one
wire at a time. You need a fine pointed soldering tip, preferably on a
temperature-controlled iron. You can make a good solder joint without
melting the plastic connector (maybe singeing it a little, which does no
harm -- I have never ruined one). Then you have a good electrical
connection. Solderless connectors are OK, but only when they are fitted
to wires with the proper tools.

One more tip: I balked at the Mouser price for 100 feet of RG-174/U
coax, when my supply ran out. I found some military grade RG-174/U on
Ebay that was selling in 25 foot lots for $2.00. ($5.37 total with
shipping.) Remember to check Ebay for odd parts.

Richard Brewster
http://www.pugix.com


wjhall11 wrote:

> Dear all -
>
> Will's high-school spring break is over, but we made a bunch of
> progress over the last week. We took a bunch of photos of our motm101
> and motm120 construction. This is probably boring to most, but our
> goal in doing so has become twofold. First, to hopefully point the
> way for other DIYers. Second, to document our efforts.
>
> Explaining the second point first - years ago, over a couple bottles
> of wine with a sculptor and a poet friend of mine, in response to my
> complaining that I always feel like I'm never accomplishing anything,
> they recommended that I try doing what they do - keep copious records
> of everything... reciepts, photos, newspaper clippings, etc. So I've
> done so every since. So I cann look back at what I've done - and not
> have it just just disappear (like tears in rain).
>
> And as for the first point, well - when we started building this
> synth, we hadn't done anything like it before. Oh - I'd made some
> simple things like microphone cables - speaker cabinets. A very cool
> road case for my Hammond. I'd done maintainence on my analog tape
> recorders... but never anything so involved as this synth. And we're
> so encouraged by our successes - we want to share this with others who
> are new to all this.
>
> Especially in light of Paul's completely understandable move away from
> kits - maybe this'll help the newbees.
>
> OK - so - anyway - here's the URL of our synth project home page:
>
> http://www.dragonflyalley.com/billAndWillMOTMSynth.htm
>
> And here's the 120 constrruction page:
>
> http://www.dragonflyalley.com/motm120Construction.htm
>
> Please proof-read and comment about how we can improve things.
>
> Thanks so much, all - for your support and help.
>
> Bill and Will
>
>