[Closed] UltraFade VCO, Pico VCO, Sample and Shift

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:09 pm

Update:

Since Comcast is horrible, and deleted all user-web-space, here is a ZIP file containing all of my project docs. It's not an elegant solution, but it will work for now. (see linked post) I also recommend looking at the LoudestWarning link below. VERY HELPFUL!!!

viewtopic.php?t=150552&highlight=

Original Post:

Schematics:

http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/UltraFadeVCO.pdf
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/PicoVCO.pdf
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/S&S-LFSR.pdf
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/S&S-S&H.pdf

Wiring:
UltraFade:
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/UFO-Wire.jpg
S&S - LFSR Switches
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/S&S-LFSR-Wire.jpg

Note that the Sample and Shift has a schematic for each section.

Link to The Bad Producer (Loudest Warning) notes, diagrams, and more for 4U building.

http://www.loudestwarning.co.uk/portfol ... afade-vco/

Hello all,

My lovely wife has decided that she's got enough time on her hands to sort, pack, and ship orders for me, so I thought I'd do a private run of each of these boards. These are both part of the new 4U series of PCBs that I've been posting about for a while now. I'll be posting new audio when I get home from work, and will re-post the old audio that I deleted from my web space on accident in just a bit. This is just to get a rough idea of who might want some of these. Here are the descriptions for the two boards. If these sell decently, I will follow them up with batches of the rest of the 4U DIY designs shortly after. These of course are not limited to just 4U. They use the same dimensions and mounting positions as CGS to facilitate 4U use. I've used them quite a bit in 5U situations, and there is no reason they can't be turned sideways for 3U use.

UltraFade VCO:

This is a 3" x 6" full featured triangle core VCO. It has waveform crossfading similar to the 258. While it sounds very similar to the ear, it uses different (in my opinion better) circuitry to do so. The individual waveforms available are: saw, sine, triangle, 50% square, PWM, logic level 0-10V PWM pulse, and both a mixed and inverted mixed waveform. The mixed waveform will either fade from sine to saw or sine to PWM based on switch position. (No complicated switch wiring here like on the 258. Just a simple SPDT On On.)

The fading is done via CV or knob. When fading to PWM, both pulse width and wave shape can be faded simultaneously. There is also a reset-type sync input that brings the core to 0V for as long as the sync input is high. So short pulses sound a little more traditional, while long pulses can generate some interesting pulsed waveforms (somewhat similar in sound to some types of shift register) There are also AC coupled Linear and Exponential FM inputs.

Pico VCO:

This is a 1" x 6" small VCO. This is intended to be used where cramming a VCO in a small space is desired, adding a modulation VCO to another function, or even as an LFO or clock. Simply swapping the timing cap size easily determines its core use. (It has two cap spaces with switch for selecting rate.) The core is the same triangle core as the UltraFade. It has the same reset sync input as well. It outputs Triangle, Square, and Logic level 0-10V square. It has linear FM ability as well.

Both VCOs track very well. Easily up to 7-8 octaves, and possibly beyond. I'm only able to test to 7-8 though currently. The output is +/-5V (as typical in most formats) The CV inputs are also bipolar as that seems to make the most sense for fading Pulse Width and Wave Shape using an LFO or other modulating VCO. The output for the unipolar pulse is 0-10V. This is easily modified if desired though to be anything up to nearly the +V rail. (so if 10V is a little hot for your build, it can be scaled back with a resistor swap)

Building these is QUITE straight-forward. There are no difficult to source parts at all, and no complicated wiring of any kind. I'm working on the build docs now with detailed notes where needed, images to compare with, along with additional recommendations, etc. These will be ready in a couple of days.

Sample and Shift:

The Sample and Shift board is a combination of an 8-bit linear feedback shift register and a Sample and Hold function on one board. They are individual functions that can be patched together or independently.

There are two DPDT On-On-On switches to control the combinations of taps getting sent to a block of XOR gates. The output ranges from digital noise to interesting pulse trains. In conjunction with a Volt per Octave VCO, it can make some nice complex tones similar to old Ataris and furthermore things like the MiniWave (though the two methods of sound generation are completely different.) For an example listen to the Pico/S&S demos below.

The Sample and Hold is exactly as you'd expect. Clock in, Signal in, S&H out.

I'm not going to run this interest check for too long. If it looks like people might want some, I will open an ordering thread shortly.

The pricing would be as follows:

UltraFade VCO - $25 per board.
PicoVCO - $10 per board.
Sample and Shift - $10 per board.

Shipping (per package, not per board) would be $6 in the US for Priority shipping, and $12 for international first class. If you want a different method, I'd be willing to work it out in special cases, but to make things easier on my wife, I'd like to keep it as uniform as possible in general.

Here's the first UltraFade demo that was posted before in the 4U thread. It's a little rough as I was still working on a few things. I have three more that I will post this evening that demonstrate a bit more. I will also post a PicoVCO specific demo.

UltraFade:
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/UltraFade.mp3
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/NewUltraFade.mp3
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/Ult ... brated.mp3
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/UltraFadeSync.mp3

Pico:
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/PicoBlast.mp3

Pico Controlling LFSR in Sample and Shift board and same through the dual LPG board. (These two are just to give a bit of context of some of the upcoming boards)

http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/PicoShift.mp3
http://home.comcast.net/~r3cogniz3r/PicoShiftLPG.mp3

Here are a couple of images of some of the interesting waveforms that can be created on the UltraFade:

PicoVCO BOM (Rev 1.1)

Code: Select all

Bill Of Materials
=================
Design&#58;   C&#58;\Users\DS\Desktop\Design110\PicoVCO\PicoVCO.DSN
Doc. no.&#58; <NONE>
Revision&#58; Rev1.1
Author&#58;   Dustin J3RK Stroh - Stroh Modular
Created&#58;  12/23/11
Modified&#58; 03/18/14

QTY  PART-REFS           VALUE               CODE                          
---  ---------           -----               ----                          
Resistors
---------
2    R1,R15              330R                                              
4    R2,R6,R9,R48        10K                                               
1    R3                  499R                                              
1    R4                  4.99K       **12V - 4.7K                                      
1    R5                  11K           **12V - 6.8K                                  
1    R7                  20K                                               
2    R8,R14              1k                                                
5    R47,R49,R50,        100K                                              
     R101,R102
1    R103                2.2M                                              
1    R105                47R                                               
1    R106                820R                                              
1    R107                1M                                                
1    R108                1.5M                                              
1    R109                22k                                               
1    R110                8.06K                                             
1    R112                10R                                               

Capacitors
----------
1    C101                220nF                                             
1    C102                1nF                                               
1    C103                2.2nF       ***Main Timing Cap &#40;C0G/NP0 or Styrene&#41;                                             
6    C104, BP1-5     100nF      ***C104 is LFO Timing Cap
2    Power Filter      100uF                                       

Integrated Circuits
-------------------
3    U4,U103,U108        TL071                                             
1    U101                     LM13700                                           
1    U107                     TL072
1    U102                     LT1013                                             
1    U105                     LM311                                             

Transistors
-----------
2    Q1,Q2               2N3904                                            
1    Q4                  MPF102                                            
2    Q101,Q102           2N3906                                            

Diodes
------
1    D1                  LED-BIRG                                          
1    D101                DIODE                                             

Miscellaneous
-------------
3    COARSE,FMLVL,HF     100k  &#40;HF - Trim&#41;                                              
1    SCALE               100R  Trim                                            
1    SW1                 SW-SPST                                           
1    TC101               2K    ***2K Tempco

2 Ferrite Beads

UltraFade BOM 1.3

Code: Select all

Bill Of Materials
=================
Design&#58;   C&#58;\Users\DS\Desktop\Design110\UltraFadeVCO\UltraFade-Production.DSN
Doc. no.&#58; <NONE>
Revision&#58; 1.3
Author&#58;   Dustin J3rK Stroh - Stroh Modular
Created&#58;  12/23/11
Modified&#58; 03/17/14

QTY  PART-REFS           VALUE               CODE                          
---  ---------           -----               ----                          
Resistors
---------
3    R1,R2,R23           15k                                               
4    R3-R6               470R                                               
6    R7,R8,R35,R37,R42,  20K                                               
     R123
2    R9,R10              13k                                               
2    R11,R12             27k                                               
17   R13-R16,R19-R22,    10k                                               
     R24,R26,R33,R34,
     R38-R40,R48,R49
8    R17,R18,R43-R45,    330R                                              
     R124,R500,R615
2    R25,R27             30.1k                                             
3    R28,R29,R112        10R                                               
1    R30                 180K                                              
1    R31                 3.3M                                              
9    R32,R47,R50,        100K                                              
     R101,R102,R122,
     R210,R211,Init
2    R36,R41             9.1K                                              
1    R103                2.2M                                              
1    R105                47R                                               
1    R106                820R                                              
1    R107                1M                                                
1    R108                1.5M                                              
1    R109                22k                                               
1    R110                8.06K                                             
1    R120                60.4K                                             
2    R121,R614           1K                                                
1    R201                3.3k                                              
1    R202                2.2k                                              
1    R203                499R                                              
1    R204                4.99K                                  
1    R205                11K                                              
1    R206                2K                                                
1    R207                220K                                              
1    R212                330K                                              

Capacitors
----------
6    C1-C6               47pF                                              
2    C7,C101             10uF                                              
20   C8, BP1-19          100nF    ***C8 is LFO timing cap                                            
1    C9                  330pF    ***Saw smoothing for join glitch &#40;between 330pF and 1nF&#41;                                         
1    C10                 33pF                                              
1    C11                 100pF                                             
1    C102                1nF                                               
1    C103                2.2nF    ***Main audio rate timing cap &#40;C0G/NP0 or Styrene&#41;                                          
2    Power Filter      100uF
Integrated Circuits
-------------------
2    U1,U101             LM13700                                           
2    U2,U6               TL074                                             
1    U3,U102             LT1013   ***U102 can be LF442 &#40;or TL072 in pinch&#41;                                            
3    U4,U103,U107        TL071                                             
2    U104,U106           TL072                                             
1    U105                LM311                                             

Transistors
-----------
3    Q1-Q3               2N3904                                            
1    Q4                  MPF102   ***Or most other N-Channel FET                                            
2    Q101,Q102           2N3906   ***Matched or use SMT SSM2220 &#40;footprint available&#41;                                         

Diodes
------
2    D1,D101             DIODE                                             
1    D601                LED-BIRG ***BiColor 2-lead LED                                         

Miscellaneous
-------------
2    RV1,RV2             200R Trim                                             
9    RV3-RV5,            100k   &#40;104,Init Trim&#41;                                           
     RV101,RV102,RV104,Init
     RV202, passive PWM attenuator on panel.
2    RV6,RV7             2K
1   TC101                 2K   ***TC101 is Tempco                                                
1    RV103               100R Trim                                              
1    RV201               25K Trim                                                                                                
1    RV203               500R Trim                                             
1    SW1                 SW-SPST                                           
1    SW2                 SW-SPDT
2    Ferrite Beads

12V mods&#58;
R23 Change to 11K
R24 Change to 12K
R25 Change to 24.3K
R27 Change to 24.3K
R204 Change to 4.7K
R205 Change to 6.8K

Sample And Shift

The Sample and Shift BOM is divided into two halves. The Sample and Hold, and the LFSR. There is a silk-screened line between the two on the board.

Code: Select all

Bill Of Materials
=================
Design&#58;   LFSR
Doc. no.&#58; <NONE>
Revision&#58; <NONE>
Author&#58;   <NONE>
Created&#58;  12/21/13
Modified&#58; 01/10/14

QTY  PART-REFS           VALUE               CODE                          
---  ---------           -----               ----                          
Resistors
---------
4    R1,R204-R206        10K                                               
4    R2-R4,Stabl           100K                                              
1    R207                3.3k                                              
1    R208                330R                                              
1    R209                47k                                               

Capacitors
----------
1    C202                22uF
2    BP		         100nF  &#40;Bypass&#41;                                              
2    Power Filter       100uF

Integrated Circuits
-------------------
1    U1                  4094                                              
1    U2                  4070                                              
1    U3                  TL071                                             

Transistors
-----------
2    Q1,Q2               NPN                                               

Miscellaneous
-------------
2    SW2,SW3             DPDT On-On-On &#40;wired as 3-way selector&#41;                                         
2    Ferrite Beads



Bill Of Materials
=================
Design&#58;   S&H
Doc. no.&#58; <NONE>
Revision&#58; <NONE>
Author&#58;   <NONE>
Created&#58;  12/06/11
Modified&#58; 08/22/13

QTY  PART-REFS           VALUE               CODE                          
---  ---------           -----               ----                          
Resistors
---------
2    R1,R6               10K                                               
2    R2,R5               2.2K                                              
1    R3                  12K                                               
1    R4                  3.9K                                              
1    R7                  100R                                              
1    R8                  330R                                              

Capacitors
----------
1    C1                  470pF                                             
1    C2                  1nF 
4    BP                  100nF  &#40;Bypass&#41;                                              

Integrated Circuits
-------------------
1    U1                  4093                                              
1    U2                  TL072                                             
1    U3                  LF398                                             

Transistors
-----------
1    Q1                  2N3904                                            

Diodes
------
1    D1                  DIODE                                             
1    D2                  LED-GREEN

CLee · Post by **CLee** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:17 pm

2, maybe 3 of the Pico for me please.

Craig

oldenjon · Post by **oldenjon** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:24 pm

2 ultrafade and 1 pico for me please

mush · Post by **mush** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:33 pm

2 + 1 +1 for me, please.

microfauna · Post by **microfauna** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:49 pm

J3RK, you mentioned that the Ultrafade crossfades between sine and pulse/saw like the 258. I always assumed that the 258 morphed between sine and square/saw. Is this incorrect?

To clarify what I mean by morph rather than crossfade
square to sine would see the corners of the square gradually soften to form a sine.
sine to saw would see the sine slope over and sharpen up to form the saw.

Thonk Support · Post by **Thonk Support** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:59 pm

at the waveform level, 'crossfade' and 'morph' are kinda interchangeable really?

microfauna · Post by **microfauna** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:05 pm

Monobass wrote:at the waveform level, 'crossfade' and 'morph' are kinda interchangeable really?

Do you mean they sound the same?
I posted a clarification above.

Thonk Support · Post by **Thonk Support** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:14 pm

microfauna wrote:J3RK, you mentioned that the Ultrafade crossfades between sine and pulse/saw like the 258. I always assumed that the 258 morphed between sine and square/saw. Is this incorrect?

To clarify what I mean by morph rather than crossfade
square to sine would see the corners of the square gradually soften to form a sine.
sine to saw would see the sine slope over and sharpen up to form the saw.

your square to sine description can definitely be achieved with a crossfade, the devil is in the detail though and the shapes of the fades.

lintfresh · Post by **lintfresh** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:34 pm

Cool!

I'm in for several of each.

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:25 pm

I've found that the biggest effect (just during experimentation as I'm not a certified expert in transforms) on how a wave looks when it's crossfaded is the phase of the two waves being faded. (though shape also has a big impact)

My circuit uses two OTAs to fade the shapes, whereas the 258 uses a FET. To this day I still don't have a 100% understanding of Don's fading circuit. I'm simply using two simple VCAs and a CV circuit to control them.

Depending on the shape and phase of the waveforms, you can get some similar shapes between the 258 and the UltraFade. Instead of trying to copy the waveforms though, I wanted to achieve a similar type of effect and sound, using what I feel is a better method. Not that there is anything wrong with the 258 shaper sonically, (it sounds amazingly good.) However, as someone that's built a fair share of them, the FET always seemed a bit fiddly to me. Hand picking components for specific values rubs me the wrong way. I want to be able to grab the parts in the BOM, and have it sound the same from one board to the next.

The saw to sine on the UltraFade is similar to the 258 where it gets somewhat ripply during the transition, kind of flips over so to speak, and reforms as a sine. However, as asked above, with the square, it's a simple rounding down of the corners directly to a sine wave. I'm happy to grab some pics or maybe a quick video of what it all looks like tonight if that's helpful. I find the really interesting part to be PWM at the same time as wave shape fading though. That's something completely not possible on the 258. It adds a second dimension to the animation of the sound. Adding sync on top of that adds even more. IMO the operations occurring are basically two different methods of linear transform or crossfading.

I'm trying to think of how I can do an experiment showing what using different phases does to the transform. Everything on the UltraFade (short of the inverted mixed output) is in the same phase.

Anyway, more info and demos shortly, and please let me know if I can answer more questions.

microfauna · Post by **microfauna** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:31 pm

J3RK, thanks for the explanation.

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:44 pm

No problem at all! I'll grab a few pics or a video later of some of the more interesting fades possible.

okelk · Post by **okelk** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:17 pm

Don't know how many/which one yet, but i'd love to have a versatile tri core vco with a wide range in my setup. so yeah, i'm interested.

Synesthesia · Post by **Synesthesia** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:23 pm

2 + 2

idiotunderground · Post by **idiotunderground** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:29 pm

I may be interested in a Pico, is there a BOM available?

Isaiah · Post by **Isaiah** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:40 pm

J3RK
Could you post a list of all the inputs, outputs, controls and switches for each VCO please, Dustin?
Thanks!

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:42 pm

idiotunderground wrote:I may be interested in a Pico, is there a BOM available?

Not yet. However, I can give you a rough idea. I'll have the final BOMs exported by tomorrow night. I'm just tweaking a couple of smoothing capacitor values, and a couple of resistor values, and want the final ones to be in what I put out there. That said, the board layout is finalized, and ready for production.

The Pico uses one LM13700, a few op amps, and LM311N comparator chip, one general purpose N-Channel FET for sync (MPF102 works, but since it's not being manufactured now, I'm looking for a good alternative that is. That said, they're around 40 to 50 cents at Tayda I think.) I will have a list of several easy to get alternatives listed in the BOM. I've tried a few J-series ones, and I'm fairly certain the 2n3819 will work too, which is easy to get. I've socketed mine so I can keep plugging in different ones.

The rest is easy. 2n3906es for the exponential converter. (matched if you're looking for temperature stability) I recommend Synthcube and Thonk for through-hole tempcos. I actually tend to build my own using two 1206 SMT 1K tempcos in series, with leads soldered to them. Works great, and they're available at Mouser. A pair of unmatched 2n3904s for the logic level comparator.

Otherwise it's all passives. Resistors and caps mostly.

The core is just a very slightly updated version of Bernie Hutchin's triangle core. I use the comparator chip instead of discrete parts, include the later addition (can't remember off the top of my head who first implemented it, though Thomas Henry told me a while back...) the HF feedback for high frequency tracking. The sync input is pretty standard stuff too, just an op amp input going to a FET.

Using the LM311N, a decent DC accurate op amp (LT1013 or LF442 or the like) and using the feedback path seems to really help the tracking over the 258J. Where those get typically between 2 and 5 octaves, these go much higher without much effort at all on the user's part.

idiotunderground · Post by **idiotunderground** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:52 pm

J3RK wrote:I'll have the final BOMs exported by tomorrow night.

Hey no rush just curious

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:12 pm

Isaiah wrote:J3RK
Could you post a list of all the inputs, outputs, controls and switches for each VCO please, Dustin?
Thanks!

Sure! I'm at work, so this is from memory.

UltraFade:

Knobs:

Coarse Tune
Fine Tune
Wave Shape
PWM
PWL (Pulse-Width-CV-Level)
Linear FM Level
Exponential FM Level

Switches:

Wave Shape - SPDT
High Low - SPST/SPDT (either works)

LED:

Rate/Phase LED - BiColor 2 Conductor (I use red/green Lumex 3mm.)

Jacks:

V/Oct CV Input
Linear FM Input
Exponential FM Input
Wave Shape CV Input
PWM CV Input
Sync Input
Saw Output
Triangle Output
Sine Output
Square Output
PWM Output
Logic Pulse Output
Mixed Wave Output
Inverted Mixed Wave Output

PicoVCO:

Knobs:

Tuning Knob
Linear FM Knob

Switch:

High / Low - SPST/SPDT (either works)

LED:

Rate/Phase LED - BiColor 2 Conductor (I use red/green Lumex 3mm.)

Jacks:

V/Oct CV Input
Linear FM Input
Sync Input
Triangle Output
Square Output
Logic Pulse Output

I believe that's all of them.

amdagan · Post by **amdagan** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:14 pm

Might be up for 2-3 picos, assuming they can run on 12V.

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:22 pm

amdagan wrote:Might be up for 2-3 picos, assuming they can run on 12V.

They most assuredly will. I haven't tested to see what (if any) changes need to be made. Absolutely worst case is that two resistors in on the comparator might need a tweak or two. When I'm working with these tonight, I'll put them on the bench supply, and do a quick check. This is for the Pico.

The UltraFade may need a couple of extra resistor changes in the crossfader section. I've powered a very similar VCO (my older MultiFade VCO) from 12V with no changes though, so this may not even be necessary. I will verify that the full x-fade range is possible though, and make sure the comparator in the core is switching where it should be.

Simple stuff either way.

I wasn't going to add a 10-pin DIL header, since Euro wasn't the primary focus with these. However, it's not terribly difficult if anyone thinks this might be useful.

Post by **Joe.** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:42 pm

J3RK wrote: PicoVCO:

Knobs:

Tuning Knob
Linear FM Knob

Are these 50k or 100k linear knobs? I need to know for my poly project (I can only get Quad Ganged 50's and 100's)

If they are I'd like to order 4 please

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:45 pm

Just about anything will work for them. I use 100K Linear, but 10K, 50K, will work just fine.

Isaiah · Post by **Isaiah** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:50 pm

LoFi Junglist
Poly-synth?

J3RK · Post by **J3RK** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:09 pm

I think it's safe to say that there is a bit of interest here. I'll leave this thread open, and feel free to keep chiming in if you want any of these. I will change the title to say [Order] when I open it for orders later or tomorrow. I'd like to try what I've seen others do. I will be a bit more rigid about the information I need, and put those requirements in the first post at the top when this start. (I just want to make sure I have addresses, names, forum names, email address/Paypal address, etc. all in each transaction. My wife is ten times the record keeper that I am, but I want to make this as easy as possible for her to keep track of.

It'll just be a simple thing like I've seen with Clarke's panels, etc. more or less. I will also do the standard list of names in the first post. This way it will be visible to the buyer and myself in a central location in case of questions.

Other than that, easy stuff as usual. I'll leave orders open until things slow to a trickle, and then try to get a few extras just in case. I'm going to get those other sounds up tonight, more images, and all that. I will also try to whip something up that uses a few of the completed 4U boards, so one can get an idea of what they will do together.

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

[Closed] UltraFade VCO, Pico VCO, Sample and Shift

[Closed] UltraFade VCO, Pico VCO, Sample and Shift