dJ dAb wrote:Finally got around to building an expander (LEDs temporarily placed behind jacks for testing. Soon to be panel mounted)
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Nice!
I'm actually thinking about back-lighting the jacks in my 5U system. I set it up in front of a monitor the other day, and the light coming through the jacks was pretty cool.
I'm actually thinking about back-lighting the jacks in my 5U system. I set it up in front of a monitor the other day, and the light coming through the jacks was pretty cool.
Does look really cool but such a bummer once patched up though... no more light. Need illuminated jacks ;o)
Hmmm... been dabbling in Electronic music & DJing for 25+ years. Collector & curator of a fairly large vintage recording studio. Ran a couple record labels featuring DJ ESP, Hakan Lidbo, Jacob London, Martin Venetjoki, Vitamin D, Chris Anderson, etc. and licensed to greats like Carl Cox, Dave Angel, Chris Simmonds, etc. Oh yeah, I'm also a builder of D.I.Y. electronics junk, including a mighty fine modular synth.
Great thread. I have one Blacet rack. Didn't see any mods for the Final Filtre here. One thing I want to do is convert the gate button into a switch. Do you think that can be done? I have limited circuitry skills, but have a tech that can do just about anything. Also, my gate input for the FF doesn't work, but the gate button still works. Maybe that is something I can fix myself? Any suggestions?
Spectra wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 5:23 am
One thing I want to do is convert the gate button into a switch. Do you think that can be done? I have limited circuitry skills, but have a tech that can do just about anything. Also, my gate input for the FF doesn't work, but the gate button still works. Maybe that is something I can fix myself? Any suggestions?
Yes, this should be an easy thing for any tech. Simply run two wires from the holes-pads currently occupied by the pushbutton to a new ON-OFF-(ON) toggle switch in a newly drilled hole on the gate graphic line and in a column above the LFO-AD toggle. You don't even need to remove the PB. If you want to keep the existing PB -rather than using the (ON) down - then the toggle can be ON-OFF SPDT or ON-ON SPDT. <--You'd only wire one side lug and the middle one. The ON-ON SPDT is much more common and may even cost less than the SPST type. I personally *really* like an ON-OFF-(ON) toggle for this type of function. To use this switch, wire both outer lugs together and take that to one of the PB pad-holes. then take the middle lug to the other pad of the PB. The PB will still work and you have the added up gate and down momentary gate action. The toggle is farther from the knob so it's easier to press during use.
One fine point is that the bat handle of a two position toggle will of course always be either up or down -unless you mount it side to side! Whereas the ON-OFF-(ON) type will be centered at rest or up if continuous gate is selected. This may be more 'playable' for you. And it will mean more space between the two toggles if you do mount them in a column.
I'd need to see the FF schematic to answer in detail about the failed gate input. But you can always clean the jack itself and look for any loose wires or poor soldering. <--Might have been soldered marginally or old rosin has etched the connection and it has now failed.
Treat utility modules as stars instead of backup singers. Treat power supplies like Rockstars instead of roadies! Chase magic sound, not magic parts.
KSS wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 8:45 am
Welcome to ModWiggler, Spectra!
Yes, this should be an easy thing for any tech.
Thanks for the info. I might be able to do the switch mod myself after you kindly described how to do it. My tech has the original FF schematics, but doesn't share them. I can live without the gate jack working if I get the switch mod rigged up.
I agree with KSS, this would be a very simple mod. There's very little going on with gate input, if the push button is working the problem is most likely the soldering. Here is that part of the circuit...
Thanks for the schematic. If I manage to do this without ruining things, I will probably do it to my EG1 and Dark Star also. Any idea where I should buy the switch hardware? I haven't bought this type of stuff before.
It depends where you are. In the states my go to place for hardware has always been small bear. Unfortunately they've recently announced they're closing up but they are still selling the stock they have on hand. This would work... https://smallbear-electronics.mybigcomm ... pdt-on-on/
If you haven't done this before and are concerned about things looking neat I would recommend using a punch and drilling a small pilot hole first.
I'm in the US. That pointed me in the right direction. Thanks. A $1.80 switch will be the cheapest thing I've ever bought for modular besides cables. Unless I wreck something. It sounds doable though. But if anyone more experienced wants to do it first and make a video tutorial, I would gladly pay for their switches!
Small Bear doesn't have the ON-OFF-(ON) type. Arrow.com does. If you're thinking about doing this for more EGs, i again say this type of toggle is really an excellent addition. Puts both modes in the same physical location which makes playing the modes easy and productive. I first modded an EG in this way in the early 70s and have looked for ways to do it on newer modules ever since.
Trust yourself. If you can use a drill -or punch- and solder, you can do this. Buy a fresh 1/4" drill bit so you know it's sharp.
KSS wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 3:05 pm
Small Bear doesn't have the ON-OFF-(ON) type. Arrow.com does.
Trust yourself. If you can use a drill -or punch- and solder, you can do this. Buy a fresh 1/4" drill bit so you know it's sharp.
I like the idea of on/off/on for this. If I understood you, this gives me a "gate on" with the switch up, a "gate off" with the switch down and a "jacked gate" with the switch in the middle. Is that right? Best of both worlds.
I'm not too worried about the drilling. I do that sort of thing often. Getting the correct parts and supplies is more of a grey area. I was on Mouser and got lost quickly. Too many choices. Then I saw switches with LEDs and I'm a sucker for lights, but couldn't easily find a match. Then I gave up for a bit.
I'll have to practice some soldering. Haven't done that for a long time. But it looks like I can do this. Thanks.
With on/off/(on)
Up is sustained gate.
Middle is off. Gate input jack still active.
Down is a momentary gate. aka it's equivalent to your existing manual gate pushbutton.
on/off/on is *not* the same as on/off/(on). The parenthesis mean momentary action.
on/off/on means you have sustained connection either up OR down. With the middle position being off.
on/on is the same electrically as on/off/on. There are two choices. But in this case you cannot have both of them off because there is no mechanical ability to stop in the middle.
on/off is a single switch. (on)/off means the single switch is momentary.
Here's an NKK on/off/(on) from mouser: 633-M201902
I probably would have got the parts wrong. It's confusing since I'm not familiar with the terminology. So I guess I just need that switch, a nut, a wire and some soldier for supplies. Thanks for all your help. I won't be able to do this project right away, but looking forward to doing it in a month or three.
Yes, it can all be quite confusing at first. That's why I went ahead and found you a correct mouser part number.
I normally prefer C&K switches but the mouser parametric search is not as good as digikey's and it kicked them out of the parametric search for some reason. NKK are very good switches too and for this use you do *not* want to use cheapies. I mention C&K because you can download their 7000 series catalog, which is the miniature toggle switches they sell. It allows you to put together a part number which you can then search for on mouser, digikey or a parts search site like octopart.com
As with anything it will get easier over time and as you search for more parts. Switches are one of the hardest type parts because there are so many options. But the first pass in the mouser search where I entered SPDT ON-OFF-(ON) mini toggle returned only 9 matches, so its mainly about knowing what to search for. Next I refined that by selecting in stock, normally in stock and 1/4-40 bushing, silver contacts, solder lugs. That gave me 4 choices.
We were *all* beginners at some point so don't worry about asking questions. The whole point here at MW is to be of service to each other!
You might want to order the switch -or switches since you plan to fo your other EGs too and that will save on shipping- sooner than later with the way shipping is going lately. Also because the NKK I gave you the part number for has a fairly low present stock level of 75 units. But if you need to wait we can find you a suitable switch later too.
I think the inverting chip will affect the timing of the divisions rather than the actual divisions available, i.e. whether the divisions fall on the rising or falling edge of the pulse.
There was a DIY divider from fonitronik that did something similar a few years ago, if you look that up it will explain things better than I can!
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