Tuesday 28 February 2017

Integrated circuits - classification - Families & packages

ICs are mainly classified according to their family & packaging.
Building synths these days means ordering parts from various suppliers.
Olders synths often use parts developed decades ago.
IC packaging has evolved from the simple through hole in the 1970's  to mini SMD & STM today

It's essential to know pin numbers.
Each pin has a special function.
Pin 1 is always located  below the notch, dot or band in a DIP package.

Pins are numbered counter clockwise, starting from pin 1.
Thus, the last pin, is always located above pin 1.

ICs are also classified into families:
The 3most common are:
1. TTL (Transistor - Transistor - Logic)
2. CMOS
3. Linear - mainly amps, oscillators, regulators, etc


Packages
So many ......
The most common are:
1. Dual In-line Package (DIP)
2. Small Outline Package (SOP)
3. Quad Flat Package (QFP)
4. Ball Grid Array (BGA)

1. DIP = Dual inline package.
It's through hole.
It consists of two rows of pins . It connects to a circuit board with either a through-hole or a socket.
The pins are spaced by 0.1" (2.54mm). This is a standard spacing designed for fitting into breadboards and other prototyping boards.
          

The IC is designed to fit perfectly into the big gap in the centre of the breadboard.
There is a  0.3″ (7.62 mm) spacing between the two rows of pins.
This type of package is great for your synth DIY experiments.
You can have up to 64 pins on such a package.


2. SOP = Small Outline Packages
When it comes to Surface mount, you will often use SOP (Small-outline package) types for the ICs.
These usually have a rectangular shape with pins along two edges.
 ICs will also use the SOIC Small-outline integrated circuit package.

With SOIC packages, each pin is spaced by about 0.05" (1.27mm)

 Another common IC SMD package is the TSOP (Thin small-outline package).
TSOPs are common on ICs that power RAM and flash memory.
They are very low-profile (about 1mm) and have tight lead spacing (as low as 0.5mm).

SSOP (shrink small-outline package) is an even smaller version of SOIC packages.

 Notice that one edge has a bevel.
This bevel also lies on the side with the dot marking pin 1.
You can also see the notch .
Sometimes, the ICs are so small, that the dot isn't visible or present.
Thus, look for the bevel when trying to orientate the chip






TSSOP (thin-shrink small-outline package) is yet another variation.
It has a rectangular surface mount plastic package with gull-wing leads.
It is also smaller and thinner than a TSOP with the same lead count. 
The TSSOP comes in body sizes of 3.0mm, 4.4mm and 6.1mm. 
Lead counts range from 8 to 80. 





You may com across these adapters:
I get these from RS components
They are useful for converting various Small Outline packages
 (SOP/SSOP/TSOP/TSSOP/MSOP/QSOP) to dual in line package (DIP) format.



3. QFP = Quad Flat Packages.
Mostly, these are flat and square.
You will see the component with leads along each of the four edges.
QFPs can have pin numbers ranging from 32 pins to 304 pins.
It all depends on the pitch range.
The shape can vary too ... include low-profile and thin. 

These are really common in your microcontrollers
This is a Teensy 3.2
Micro-controllers are getting pretty common in Synth DIY, esp in Eurorack

4. Ball Grid Array (BGA)
You hopefully wont encounter any of these in synth DIY.

One side is covered with balls of solder. These are the connectors.
You will need special instruments ...either a reflow oven or hot air gun to work with these.
Specialised rework stations, vacuum devices to lift the IC, and  thermocouples to monitor the temperature are needed when repairing these.


----------------------------------------------------------
Transistors  and diodes often use this type

The old metal cans. These are named : TO-3/5/8/18/39/46/52/72
These can have many more than just 3 pins.
In the 1960's early chips were housed mainly in either TO-5 or TO-18 packages
These were commonly used to package bipolar transistors.
http://www.ti.com/lit/an/snoa033/snoa033.pdf

The metal can was ok, but as more and more leads were added something more
durable was needed.... thus the DIP package was invented.

Sunday 26 February 2017

Wait It Out - Larry Niven

This story takes place in the year 1989 AD
 

This novelette is included in Niven's collections "All the Myriad Ways" 
It's setting is the planet (Planetoid) Pluto.
At the time of writing, Pluto was still classified as a planet. 
It was first published in  "The Future Unbound Program Book", 1968.
It was later published in "Tomorrow's World's", 1969.
 
The previous two novelettes written by Larry Niven concerned manned missions to Mercury & Venus. This story concerns a manned mission to Pluto that goes wrong.
 
 
 

There are 3 characters: Jerome Glass, Sammy Cross &  the narrator.
They had traveled 3.5 years to get to Pluto and are now marooned on its surface. The ship uses ion-jets to get to Pluto, but Nerva-K type atomic rockets to land. It seems that the mission is under the control of the UN.
 
The ship lands perfectly on the icy surface, but melts the ice, resulting in:

"The heat draining out of the Nerva jet had melted that ice. The rocks within the ice had sunk, and so had the landing vehicle, so that when the water froze again it was halfway up the hull. Our landing craft was sunk solid in the ice."
 
 Is there life on Pluto?
The narrator encounters a helium-amoeba alien.
It sounds much like the one on Mercury ("The Coldest Place"). 
 
" Helium 11 contaminated by complex molecules? In that case the beast had best get moving; it will need shade come sunrise. Sunside temperature on Pluto is all of 50° Absolute."


Jeremey, the first man to walk on Mars removes his helmet. 

" he looks damn good. His frost-dusted skin is indistinguishable from marble, and his eyes are lifted toward the stars in poignant yearning."


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

--------------------------------------------

sci Fi Index

----------------------------------------------  

Buchla 237 - Keyboard

 The Buchla 237 is a rare keyboard.
 

Don Buchla preferred touch controllers like the 218 & 222e, 223e etc
 
 

 



The thunder 223e









 
 
 
Its usually seen accompanying the 212 - Dodecamodule
 Don produced a few system 101s that combined a 237, 212 & 258 (VCO).
 
 
I understand that these keyboards first appeared around 1971.
The 237 & 238  keyboards which were created were I understand, the first polyphonic modular controller keyboards ever. (Do let me know if I'm mistaken)


The 237 was one of the very few conventional keyboards that Don invented. Though he studied piano
Don wanted to free musicians from traditional Western music.


“A keyboard is dictatorial,” he said. “When you’ve got a black-and-white keyboard, it’s hard to play anything but keyboard music.”


The 237 keyboard is amazing however if you consider that it was made in the very early 1970s.
 
 
This is arguably the world's first modular polyphonic keyboard. It has four CV outs and gates.

Thursday 23 February 2017

Reese Baselines - Abelton - using Analog, Operator & Wavetable synths

 Reese Baselines can be made with virtually any subtractive synth.
It's that low grungy rumbling sound that you will have heard a million times.
The synth can be analog or digital.
The original name comes from  Kevin “Reese” Saunderson.
In 1988 he released the classic "just another chance"
 
 
This was the first documented recording of what history from then on named a "Reese Bassline" .
Though it started off in House music it's often associated with DnB, Dubstep.

There are lots of ways to do this and its really down to personal taste what you finally come up with.
It’s basically  two or more detuned saw/triangle/pulse waves that battle.
Because they are slightly out of phase they undergo phase cancellation with one another. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Using Abelton's Analog Synth
1.load up a saw wave on oscillator 1, and a pulse or saw wave on 2. 
2. Detune each oscillator.
3. Add a lowpass filter, and  play with the resonance. 
4. Add distortion./ another filter... Notch ??
 

Here are the abelton files
 
---------------------
Using Abelton's Operator Synth
 
 

1. Switch to the last algorithm mode
2.  Set voices to 3-6
3. Oscillator A to SAW D (SwD)
4. Oscillator B to Saw D
5. Set both VCOs to 12dB and detune Osc B by 25 (fine adjustment)



7.  Add a pitch envelope
     Turn on Glide. Adjust time 
8. add a Filter. Use this to reduce the highs.
9.  I like 24 db, 4 pole filter MS2 mode.
     Add Resonance to 53 about
10 Add EQ Eight
11. Add saturation

You can download the Als file here:


--------------------------------------------
Using Abelton's Wavetable Synth
 

 
Like the two examples above we need 2 oscillators
The Abelton Wavetable synth has just this ... 2 oscillators
 
Osc 1
 

 

Turn off SUB 
Set Oct to zero
Set Oscillator 1 to 100%
Set Osc to classic
& use Basic Shapes 
(Square or Saw)
PW=66%

Osc 2
use Basic Shapes 
(Square or Saw)
PW=66%
 
Remember to detune each slightly.
 
Or you can set it to a FM synth for a bit of crazyness.
 

I like to add something like a notch filter and distortion at the end of the chain.

The abelton file is here:

Wednesday 22 February 2017

Known Space - Larry Niven - Part 3 - Years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars)

 

Tales of Known Space - Larry Niven - Reading order 

 
This is part 3 of  a suggested reading order for Larry Niven's novels set in Known Space.
Parts 1 & 2 covering the Belter & Slower Than Light Stories are here.
There are about 9 novels and 35 short stories set in this universe spanning  over 1000 years in the future. The region covers a small portion of the Milky way.
Beginning with the first human explorations of the solar system, the later stories describe humanity's expansion into other near systems.
 
You can probably divide this time span into 4 periods:
1.  Early Exploration (Pre 2000 AD)
2.  Slower-Than-Light (2000 to 2350AD)
3.  Years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars)
 
This page covers the 3rd part -- Years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars)
Space travel still uses the slower than light ramscoop starships which travel very close to lightspeed in the early books, though later, hyperdrives are introduced, paving the way for the Faster-Than-Light (2651 AD and later) period.

Niven later joined the slower/faster than light periods into a single universe in the short story "A Relic of the Empire" (If, December 1966). Then in the 1980's he started writing stories of the Man-Kzin Wars. The first volume was published in 1988. This filled in the 300 year gap (between 2350 to 2651).

---------------------------------------

Years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars)


I think Neutron Star is a great place to begin exploring this period.
It was first published in April 1968.
Ballantine Books.
All stories are set in Niven's Known Space universe
between the years 2350 to 2658 AD 
This collection features the following eight stories:

 

The individual stories were published in If and Galaxy Science Fiction in 1966–1967, 
under Frederik Pohl as editor.  
 
A bit about the Kzin:
The Kzinti were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in Worlds of If (1966), collected in Tales of Known Space (1975)) and "The Soft Weapon" (1967), collected in Neutron Star (1968).
The Man-Kzin Wars, has so far reached fifteen volumes.
The first published in June 1988 
Kzinti also appear in Juggler of Worlds (2008) and Fate of Worlds (2012), novels.
They are extremely violent. Often described as anthropomorphic tigers.
They are larger than humans, standing around 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and weighing around 500 pounds (230 kg). 
One human gave an apt description of Kzin as "eight feet of death".  
MKW = Man Kzin War
There are 4 official wars (Wars 5 & 6 are unofficial)

-----------------------------------------------------------
 

  • [2361 AD]
     Protector (Protector)

 


  • [2326-2390 AD approx]
     Ethics of Madness (Neutron Star)

 Worlds of If, April1967 

the ethics of madness larry niven
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2360 AD approx]
     The Warriors (TKS)
  • If, February 1966

 The Kzin make a first appearance.

 + tHE Warriors - Larry Niven

 

 ***

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2360 AD approx] Telepath's Dance (MKW 8) Hal Colebatch
  • [2363 AD approx.] Echoes of Distant Guns (MKW12)

  •  First Man-Kzin War – 2367-2433 AD
  • The first wars begins when a Kzinti warship attacks the Earth colony Wunderland in the Alpha Centauri system in 2367.

  •  
  • [2367 AD] One War for Wunderland (MKW10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2367-2419 AD] Pick of the Litter (MKW13)
  • [2363 AD approx.] Misunderstanding (MKW13)
  • [2363 AD approx] The Colonel’s Tiger (MKW7)

 


  • [2375-2384 AD]
     Madness Has Its Place.

  Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, June 1990

Also found in Man-Kzin Wars III; N-Space;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  •  
  • [2380 AD approx.] Slowboat Nightmare (MKW8)
  • [2382 AD] The Trooper and the Triangle (MKW12)

 


  • [2383 AD]
     Choosing Names (MKW 8)

 Written by Larry Niven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2389 AD approx] The Man Who Would Be Kzin (MKW4)
  • [2391-2435 AD] The Survivor (MKW4)
  • [2400 AD. approx] Two Types of Teeth (MKW13)
  • [2402 AD] Trojan Cat (MKW6)
  • [2404 AD] Galley  Slave (MKW8)

 


  • [2408 AD]
     The Corporal In the Caves  (MKW10)
  • Author Hal Colebatch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2413 AD approx.] A Darker Geometry (MKW7, expanded and published as stand-alone novel)
  • [2413-2420 AD] Tomcat Tactics (MKW13)
  • [2419-2420 AD] Deadly Knowledge (MKW14)
  • [2419 AD.] The Children’s Hour (MKW2)

 


  • [2420 AD.]
     His Sergeant’s Honor (MKW9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2420 AD.] The Asteroid Queen (MKW3)
  • [2421 AD.] In the Hall of the Mountain King (MKW5)
  • [2425-2328 AD]  The Music Box (MKW 10)
  • [2427 AD] Three At Table (MKW11)
  • [2430 AD] Grossgeister Swamp (MKW11)
  • [2433 AD] Catspaws (MKW11) (Introduction takes place in 2406 C.E.)

 


  • [2435 AD approx.] 
    Treasure Planet (Man-Kzin Wars Stand-alone Novel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2435-2439 AD.] The Heroic Myth of Lt Nora Argamentine (MKW6)
  • [2437 AD.] A Man Named Saul (MKW14)
  • [2438 AD] The Marmalade Problem (MKW14)

 


  • [2440 AD.]
     Iron (MKW1)
  • Written by Poul Anderson

 An unarmed human space vessel is set upon by a warship from the planet Kzin - the super warrior aliens, however, discovering that the humans are not too bad at war either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2440 AD.] Inconstant Star (MKW3)
  • [2445 AD.] Windows of the Soul aka Windows on the world (MKW9)
  • [2445 AD] Pele (MKW9)

 

  • Second Man-Kzin War: 2449-2475 AD
  •  It begins in 2449 when the Kzinti launch  attack  Sigma Draconis and Barnard's Star  and ends in 2475 with the liberation of the Kdatlyno from Kzin rule.
  •  
  • [2449 AD] Heritage (MKW14)
  •  

  •  Neutron Star (Neutron Star)

 ***

Worlds of If October 1966
 
 
 This occurs around the year 2462 AD

 

 

 

 


  • [2490 AD approx]
    Destiny’s Forge (Man-Kzin Wars Stand-alone Novel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2504 C.E. approx] Teacher’s Pet (MKW11)
  • [2410 C.E. approx] Bound for the Promised Land (MKW13)
  •  
  • Third Man-Kzin War: 2490-2495 C.E. (approx.) (ended by the Wunderland Treatymaker)
  • This war is covered in Destiny's Forge
  •  
  • Fourth Man-Kzin War: 2500-2505 C.E. (approx.) (Ended with Covenants of Shast)
  •  
  • [2531 C.E.] Cathouse (MKW1) Written by Dean Ing
  • [2531 C.E.] Briar Patch (MKW2) Written by Dean Ing
  • [2531 C.E.] Hey Diddle Diddle (MKW5)
  • [2554 C.E.] Aquila Advenio aka Foreign Legion (MKW12)

 


  • [2560 C.E.]
     Procrustes (Crashlander)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2566 C.E.] At The Gates (MKW13)
  • [2570 C.E.] Zeno’s Roulette (MKW13)
  •  
  • Fifth Man-Kzin War: 2575 C.E. (approx.) (Unofficial War)
  •  
  • [2578 C.E.] Lions On The Beach (MKW14)
  • [2580 C.E. approx] War and Peace (MKW11)
  •  
  • Sixth Man-Kzin War: 2600-2618 C.E. (approx.) (Unofficial War)
  •  
  • [2610 C.E. approx.] Leftovers (MKW14)
  • [2630 C.E. approx] Prisoner of War (MKW7)

 


  • [2630 C.E. approx]
    Destiny’s Forge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2630 AD approx] Independent (MKW12)

 


  • A Relic of Empire
  •  ( ''If'' December 1966)
  • This story can also be found in Neutron Star.
     
     Niven joined the slower than light & faster than light periods with this book.  It's set in the year 2645 AD.
     
     

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2646 AD] At the Core (Neutron Star)

 

Worlds of If, November 1966

This story can also be found in Neutron Star.

 
 At the Core
the Quantum II hyperdrive is introduced
 









  • [2646 AD]
     Flatlander 
  • This story can also be found in Neutron Star.

 Worlds of If, March 1967

Flatlander

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  • [2647 C.E.]
     The Handicapped 
  • This story can also be found in Neutron Star.

 December 1967 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction as "Handicap". 

 
Set in the Known Space universe, the story introduces the Grogs, the sessile but sentient inhabitants of the planet Down.
 

 

 

 

 


  • [2648 C.E.]
     Grendel (Neutron Star)
  • The short story was originally published in Neutron Star (1968), and reprinted in Crashlander (1994)
  • It is the fourth in the series of Known Space stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • [2650 C.E.] The Borderland of Sol (Crashlander)
 
 The soft weapon is just 8 years into the "Faster than Light" period.

The soft weapon 2658 AD
Worlds of If , February 1967
 
This story can also be found in Neutron Star.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In alphabetical Order, The complete stories & novels set in the Known Universe are:
 
 
  • The Adults (short story)
  • ARM (short story)
  • At The Bottom Of A Hole (short story)
  • At The Core (short story)
  • Becalmed In Hell (short story)
  • The Borderland Of Sol (short story)
  • Choosing Names (short story)
  • Cloak Of Anarchy (short story)
  • The Coldest Place (short story)
  • The Deceivers (short story)
  • The Defenseless Dead (short story)
  • The Ethics Of Madness (short story)
  • Eye Of An Octopus (short story)
  • Flatlander (short story)
  • Fleet Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Juggler Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Destroyer Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Betrayer Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
    • Fate Of Worlds (novel, written in collaboration with Edward M. Lerner)
  • Fly-By-Night (short story)
  • Ghost (short story)
  • A Gift From Earth (novel)
  • Grendel (short story)
  • The Handicapped (short story)
  • How The Heroes Die (short story)
  • The Hunting Park (short story)
  • The Jigsaw Man (short story)
  • Madness Has Its Place (short story)
  • N-Space (anthology)
  • Neutron Star (short story)
  • The Organleggers (short story)
  • The Patchwork Girl (novel)
  • Procrustes (short story)
  • Protector (novel)
  • A Relic Of The Empire (short story)
  • Ring World (novel)
    • The Ringworld Engineers (novel)
    • The Ringworld Throne (novel)
    • Ringworld's Children (novel)
  • Safe At Any Speed (short story)
  • Slowboat Cargo (short story)
  • There Is A Tide (short story)
  • The Soft Weapon (short story, adapted into an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series)
  • Wait It Out (short story)
  • The Warriors (short story, introduced the Kzin)
  • The Woman In Del Rey Crater (short story)
  • World Of Ptavvs (novel)

Do let me know is there are any mistakes, errors or omissions. 

--------------------------------------------

sci Fi Index

----------------------------------------------