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Post by Morn Valley on Nov 24, 2020 18:45:25 GMT
I've been wanting to try this for sometime after reading about it somewhere.
Back in October I picked up a pack of those LED flickering tea lights. After dong a bit of research and taking one to bits it seems that the random flicker circuit is inside the LED case so there will be minimal electronics in this build.
I fired up my OMsynth and tested one of the LED's through the Audio Out section to listen to it and it seemed to create a random pitch, the batteries in this were 3.3v so feeding it 5v would be no problem, I did try a 1k resistor between 5v and the LED and it dimmed significantly (I've since tried a few more and it does vary the range so I may have space for a master pot), I assume this is because it's not just an LED but the circuit to control it needs some power too.
Heres the raw audio out from it through the OMsynth speaker.
I then connected the grounds between the AE and OMsynth and patched it into the CV input of an Oscillator.
The real sign of awesomeness was patching it into the CV input of the SV Filter...
I'm just waiting on some SIL sockets from RS and hope to wire up a board and panel this week so I'll post up my progress and finished design. I have 4 of these so that's 4 random CV generators with visual feedback. I might add a master pot as a voltage divider for the LED.
I'll be adding some sort of capacitor on the the voltage in as a kind of pump/reservoir and maybe a mult on the left hand set of sockets to keep the look of the module similar but that about it.
So the cost of this module will be about £2.50 once I've done, with the SIL sockets being the most expensive part of this build.
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Lugia
Wiki Editors
Ridiculously busy...ish.
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Post by Lugia on Nov 25, 2020 6:28:53 GMT
Nice kludge!!! Seriously, finding scroungy bits like this is awesome, and just highlights what a neat platform for circuit experimentation the AE is!
Of course, the next logical question is "Are you going to do a run of 'em?"  |
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Post by Morn Valley on Nov 25, 2020 19:11:59 GMT
Nice kludge!!! Seriously, finding scroungy bits like this is awesome, and just highlights what a neat platform for circuit experimentation the AE is!
Of course, the next logical question is "Are you going to do a run of 'em?" Thank you! I have made a few PCB's in the past, it's a bit of a learning curve lining up components with panel designs. I've spent some time with it and it really needs to go through the signal amp module for a bit of control, so I might need to look at using a couple of MCP6002 op amps as a buffer if I look at making some kits or a short run of builds with permission of course. The last thing I want would want would be for the voltage to damage anything so I need to do some more testing although its only being fed 5v so it should be all good. It's working pretty well though and would be an excellent DIY project for a beginner. I'll definitely document the final module and post it over here. |
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Post by slowscape on Dec 4, 2020 18:49:23 GMT
This is too cool. I'm definitely going to play with this idea!!
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Post by Morn Valley on Dec 6, 2020 14:40:38 GMT
Quick update on this, I wanted it to be a simple project so kept it that way. I think the idea came from looking at Dave Burraston's Noyzelab blog you might have seen it before from when he interviewed his mate, Aphex Twin, after the release of Syro. There's an excellent post he did after giving a talk at Unsound Adelaide a few years ago titled - MODULAR MORTGAGE OR HOW TO GET INTO MODULAR SYNTHESIS WITHOUT GOING BROKE - go listen to it, it's ace. Anyway, one of the things he mentions was using PN junctions as simple wave shapers, so diodes basically, an LED is a diode so this gave me the idea to try it these candle LED's, although my research tells me there is most likely some kind of shift register circuit in here as mentioned in my first post so it is different to Dave's cheap wave shaper but I wanted to share where the inspiration came from and introduce people to Dave's work. So I just simply wired up the LED with an INPUT and an OUTPUT to keep it simple. I also wired the Cathode leg to ground via a 100ohm resistor as I found that any more and the circuit would struggle with only 5v, I've even considered removing this completely and wiring straight to ground, if the LED burns out it's cheap to replace. I can drive each LED using an output of Attenuator module in +5v mode. I've also tried LFO's and VCO's and it works fine with varying effects. I have also used the Signal Amp Module with this too and if you take the output straight from the LED you will get a high pitched random tone. I won't make this into any kind of commercial module as I think it's better as a DIY project as it really is very simple and one of the things I love about the AE system is how easy it is to DIY your own modules, you've all got blank panels and can cut them easily through scoring with a craft knife! Grab a box of M3 spacers, some protoboard and have a go. WARNING! I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF THIS MODULE DAMAGES YOUR SYSTEM (I don't see how it could) SO PLEASE BE SURE IT IS WORKING CORRECTLY BEFORE INSTALLING!!! My finished module can be seen in action here - http://instagr.am/p/CIdQIuKhoPp    |
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Post by Morn Valley on Dec 6, 2020 17:59:07 GMT
If I were to create some kind of commercial module around this idea I'd probably look into something a bit more advanced like this - A simple chaotic circuit with a light-emitting diode, but I have some other projects to work on at the moment and will eventually revisit this again in the future. |
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Post by slowscape on Dec 7, 2020 17:08:50 GMT
This is just too cool. I've gotta try it. Maybe I can find some discounted Halloween branded candles now  EDIT: Oh, where did you get your patch inputs? I still haven't found a good source in the US
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Post by keurslagerkurt on Dec 7, 2020 17:51:59 GMT
This is great, now to find some of these cheapo candle lights! slowscape I bought some of these patch rows at tayda if i remember correctly. At least i suppose they will fit, i think they are originally meant for IC's right? |
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Post by Morn Valley on Dec 7, 2020 19:46:08 GMT
EDIT: Oh, where did you get your patch inputs? I still haven't found a good source in the US
I got them from RS Components in the UK, they're a bit short to be honest and need to find some taller ones. |
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Post by slowscape on Dec 9, 2020 18:07:54 GMT
This is great, now to find some of these cheapo candle lights! slowscape I bought some of these patch rows at tayda if i remember correctly. At least i suppose they will fit, i think they are originally meant for IC's right? Let me know if they fit, I bought some IC ones that were a little too small
@morn Valley, Yeah those sounds like the Namke ones, I was trying to avoid overseas shipping, I guess I assumed you were in the US  |
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Post by tIB on Dec 9, 2020 22:22:34 GMT
Fork handles.
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Post by rodney on Dec 10, 2020 10:11:27 GMT
vactrols from hell!
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Post by MikMo on Dec 10, 2020 10:23:36 GMT
yes exactly my idea. Connect the flickering LED's to LDR's and use that as a modulation source.
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namke
wonkystuff
electronics and sound, what's not to like?!
Posts: 686
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Post by namke on Dec 10, 2020 11:43:01 GMT
This is great, now to find some of these cheapo candle lights! slowscape I bought some of these patch rows at tayda if i remember correctly. At least i suppose they will fit, i think they are originally meant for IC's right? Let me know if they fit, I bought some IC ones that were a little too small
@morn Valley, Yeah those sounds like the Namke ones, I was trying to avoid overseas shipping, I guess I assumed you were in the US , Morn Valley: The ones I use are from Preci-Dip. RS only stock the 7mm tall versions, but Mouser do taller versions. The whole range can be found on the Preci-Dip website, I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide which are best for your particular needs (shorter ones can be used if the space between board and panel is reduced of course). |
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Post by Morn Valley on Dec 10, 2020 12:35:21 GMT
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Post by MikMo on Dec 11, 2020 13:34:25 GMT
So i took one of the flickering LED tea lights apart.
There is absolutely nothing besides the LED and the button cell battery in there, not even a current limiting resistor.
So the flickering effect must be built into the LED itself.
It's a fairly week LED, so i think i will try to run it at 5V with a 220R resistor to see if i can boost the light, and then put it next to an LDR hooked up as a voltage divider and see if i can use that as a variable CV generator.
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Post by keurslagerkurt on Dec 13, 2020 12:21:33 GMT
This is great, now to find some of these cheapo candle lights! slowscape I bought some of these patch rows at tayda if i remember correctly. At least i suppose they will fit, i think they are originally meant for IC's right? Let me know if they fit, I bought some IC ones that were a little too small
@morn Valley, Yeah those sounds like the Namke ones, I was trying to avoid overseas shipping, I guess I assumed you were in the US It took me some time to test haha, but today I checked it: the Tayda ones do NOT fit. They are also just a little too small. Got some Ali Express sockets which seem to just fit, but I wouldn't recommend it, they are also too close to being too small. |
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Post by Morn Valley on Dec 14, 2020 19:04:05 GMT
So i took one of the flickering LED tea lights apart. There is absolutely nothing besides the LED and the button cell battery in there, not even a current limiting resistor. So the flickering effect must be built into the LED itself. It's a fairly week LED, so i think i will try to run it at 5V with a 220R resistor to see if i can boost the light, and then put it next to an LDR hooked up as a voltage divider and see if i can use that as a variable CV generator. Quick update: I must have burned out an LED as I now have only three working. Oh well I still have 3 left. I may put a larger resistor in place when I replace it or make a mk2. The one that burned out was being fed 5v from the master bus. All others were being attenuated in some way. |
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