Propeller Synth

This was a fun, spontaneous project. I had found this very fun looking remote control at the thrift store, looked like the ones my grandfather used with his model airplanes. When I got home to open it up, I realized the joystick was made using potentiometers. I figured that you could align the two pots in the joystick using the trim tabs and some extra knobs so that two oscillators would sync in the center, and desync when the joystick is moved, which makes it sound like an RC airplane, when you turn and the propellers go out of sync. Added the CMOS chips, some other bits, and here we have it!  Sadly I have sold this, but I hope to find another RC controller.

Lucky Lion Keyboard

This project started as a personal circuit bend. In trying to find bend points, I found that the board inside has an alternate output pad that had yet to be filled. There wasn't much bending opportunity, but there WAS a perfect 2nd output. Add some passive elements, and we now have a playable keyboard that can interface with pedals, amps, and more.

Realistic Ranger

I found this (frankly useless) preamp, and I was enthralled by the enclosure. Eventually, I decided it should be a rangemaster/treble booster as the case suggests. I made it using 90% recycled components, picking out a beautiful vintage, mid-gain transistor, and putting it all together sans-PCB. It's a nice little analog-ifier, and I highly recommend adding input gain control to these circuits. The RCA jacks act as a tone selector.

SpeedMaster Auto-Filter + Overdrive

Vintage model train 'motors' make excellent pedal enclosures, and this one was a must-have for me. These power packs are nearly always non-functioning, and are in need of a new life. For this one, I managed to be able to replace the wirewound "resistor" (a useless 100 ohms!) on the speed lever with a bunch of resistors in series instead of the wire. I used a WOW Filter PCB (this is the only one available so far!!) which is a modulated LPF. I added a waveform switch as well, which is this strange ramp-like thing with an extra step at the top. Very roomy, very fun, love this unit.

Ivy's Synth-O-Phone

My local thrift store always has these great looking vintage telephones. I decided to get this one,and see if I could do anything with it. Turns out, I could do quite a lot! I'd been working with keypad matrices and Arduino, so I hooked the keypad up to a Nano and now, the keypad is a synth with a full chromatic scale! I added a frequency divider circuit, and a rotary switch to scroll through the 3 different octaves. The code had a difficult time handling multiple or repeat presses, but eventually I worked it out to where it plays perfectly when using one finger (as one would with a telephone). Next was the microphone and speaker in the handset. I messed around with a few different preamps until I found one that was passable. Added a switch for 'normal' and 'too much' gain. Handset speaker is connected to the mixer output, so you can hear your voice and the synth from it. Lastly, there is a a beautiful but complicated switch for the hanger, and the mic turns off when the handset is hung up. I will be making miore of these, hopefully...