Arduino !

Yesterday my Arduino microcontroller arrived by mail!

I used the class notes from this blog to get started. And 2 to 3 hours later, I made the video below. The arduino controls 7 blue LEDs [and yes, those are just straws on top of the LEDs] and animates them in many different ways. A potentiometer controls the speed of the animations. The Arduino makes everything really easy, it comes with software in which you can program the controller with a C-like language.

It has 8kB of Flash program memory, 1kB of RAM and a clockspeed of 12MHz. It has 13 digital in/out pins and 5 analog in pins. Analog output can be done with PWM [pulse-width modulation].



Below is a picture of the setup. The digital pins and ground of the Arduino are connected to the LEDs, the analog-in pin, the 5V and the ground to the potentiometer.

Schuif Fuzz

I made this effect for a friend of mine. We call him Schuif. Hence the name of the effect.

It is basicly a Fuzz Face. A good explanation of the technology of the Fuzz Face, can be found here.

I've added two LED's to this effect. They are used to indicate four modes of operation.

00: The effect is off

11: The effect is on, like a normal Fuzz Face

10: The effect is on, and an additional low-pass filter is added to the effect.

01: The effect is on, and an extra [germanium] diode from the signal ouput to the ground is added to the effect. It generates a very asymmetric signal, sounds horrible if you try to play a chord through it. I like it :)

The LED's are manipulated by the two switches on the side.

[Yes, I took the Bass Fuzz apart to create this effect]

Bass Fuzz

The Bass Fuzz, it's the first guitar effect I've ever made.
I started with this one because it's just so simple! [And because I play the bass, obviously]

I based my work on this site.
I also added the Dirt-pot after the transistor.

What it looks like.

Yes.. err.. well, remember it was the first one I made :)



What it looks like on the inside.

Yup.. it's ugly.

Projectify

Projectify? Is that even a word?
No, it is not.
I will use it as The act of turning some kind of desire into a project.

Why do you need to do that, then?

Mainly, to learn new things. Also, to fill in some other kind of need.

Can't you just do that without projects?

Well yes.. and no.
A project is defined as follows: A planned endeavor, usually with a specific goal and accomplished in several steps or stages.
When you have a goal, it is much easier to keep on doing it. The learning or the need itself as a goal usually just doesn't work that well.

Ok, so what kind of projects are we talking about?

Everything, anything. But most will be related to music, electronics and programming.

First !

A new blog, to log my hunger for little projects.