Synovatron Documents Downloads

EDIT 31May 2015:

For those who have tried to download from links printed on kits, fliers and data sheets etc without success: I apologise but the original file hosting site has shut down without warning in recent weeks. All Synovatron docs have now been rehosted onto Google Docs where they can be viewed or downloaded. The new links are shown on the Support tab above where all downloadable documents will be maintained from now on - if you experience any problems with file downloads please email me at synovatron@btinternet.com. Keep an eye out for new and updated documents. Any additions or significant updates will be announced on the blog as they occur.

The documents added to Google Docs are:-

CV Tools User Manual 
CVGT1 User Manual 
cvgtMM User Manual 
GTPulse Data Pack 
ASM2DB Adaptor Fitting Instructions & uZeus Tech Note 
DM2ASB Adaptor Fitting Instructions 
5ASM2DB Adaptor/Expander Bare Board Data Sheet and Fitting Instructions

Wishing you all a happy 2013

2012 for various reasons has been for me a real struggle and so am hoping 2013 will turn out to be a better year. My wish on this first day of 2013 is that it will be a very happy and healthy year for you and your loved ones.

2012 saw just a few successes:-

The first was the power system and trunk-line modules I designed and built for Gregg Wilson's wonderful wall sized monster synth.

The second was the development, prototyping (including two custom built modules) and preproduction run of the CVGT1 Euro Buchla translator module which are now delivered to the pre-order list customers who are putting them to good use.

Related to the CVGT1 was my first foray into surface-mount boards - the preproduction run of 30 CVGT1 modules used through-hole components which meant that I could, and did, hand build those modules. However they were so time consuming to build that I got quotes for getting them made but the cost was was prohibitive; I was advised that surface mount assembly would be much cheaper and so I set about relaying the boards for surface mounted components.  This worked well and they worked first time albeit for the most significant financial commitment I have made in Synovatron to date. 

CV Tools may get the same reworking but will keep the through-hole version in existance for you DIY enthusiasts; the CV Tools DIY Kit has continued to be a succesful product with more plaudits about the kit presentation, clear instructions and ease of build.

The downside for 2012:-

  
Following a personal loss in July I took some time out and then I pushed very hard in the last 2-3 months to produce a large batch of CV Tools and CVGT1 modules for the end of 2012 but due to supplier quality issues it now looks like those modules will not ship to distributors until late January to early February. 

I had to reject two thirds of CVGT1 front panels due to scratches and had to reject a batch of 1000 jack sockets due to varying quality from stiff to non-functional (i.e. can't insert a patch lead); unfortunately many were assembled on boards before I discovered this. So all in all a huge amount of effort and frustration with no output but I have learned lessons from this. 3.5mm connector quality is certainly the hardest component problem that Eurorack manufacturers seem to face followed closely by front panel quality issues.

Another problem encountered but Eurorack users is the ease of misconnecting the power cable. 

This was brought sharply into focus by a client who reverse connected his RS-35 using one of my ASM2DB Adaptors and blew up the tantalum capacitors and a CA3046 IC on the RS-35; notably all the TL072 ICs survived as did the F-V converter chip. 

The connection instructions are clear but we are human and our capacity to f**k up goes with the territory (hence the disclaimer in the instructions); I still do it even though I know to be careful. I have fixed his module for free as a goodwill gesture but it does worry me - my plea to all designers of new modules is use protection diodes.

Euro and Buchla working together

Here's a short video by Eldancer showing the buchla and Euro systems workng together. Both the CVGT1 and a custom euro Buchla interface module I made a while back are in use here (top right hand corner). They don't get the limelight, they just allow the conversation to occur, working quitely in the background :)



mutipatch 1 from Eldancer on Vimeo.

A quick update on CVGT1 Modules

About half of my pre-order list for CVGT1 modules have been delivered and the rest will go out within the next month. Within a couple of months they will appear with distributers but I am having to look at relaying the boards for surface mount to keep assembly costs down - I don't want the price to go up and I cannot keep building them myself - after building 60 CV Tools and 20 CVGT1 modules (220 circuit boards in all) I am all soldered out. CV Tools will also get relaid for surface mount but I will still keep a through hole stock (currently sold out) for DIY kits.  Watch out for my next update in a month.

1200HP Monster Synth

I met with Gregg Wilson at the last Brighton Modular Meet. We had talked about the possibilities of this project prior to the meet as he had bought a CV Tools from me. Anyway I ended up building the power supply and Trunk-line modules for his brainchild 1200HP wall mounted synth over the ensuing months so thanks Gregg for placing your trust in me. It is not only amazing as an instrument but also also as a visual feast - a fine piece of active wall art - well conceived and nicely built. The surrounding backlighting sets it off a treat.

The fantastic Wenge wood case was made and installed by Ross Lamond of Lamond Design; This guy rocks!.

Here are a couple of videos of what any synth does best - being used! Enjoy.



Modular Synth Live Performance 1 from Gregg Wilson on Vimeo.

Modular Synth Live Performance 2 from Gregg Wilson on Vimeo.

Modular in a tool case

I had a day free on Saturday and set about putting a modular in a tool case. To be exact it is a Doepfer A-100 DIY kit #1 fitted to a Halfords engineers tool case. The point of this was to have an easily transportable demo system so I can take to shows, meets etc in order to show how lovely my CV Tools module is and to let people have a play.

In a follow-on to my cheap DIY store front panels post a few weeks back I used anodised aluminium angle strips in the construction from Homebase - the case is bigger than the 6U 84HP of the rack kit.
(Note to non-UK readers Halfords is a motor accessories store and Homebase is a DIY store)

Here's the case

Prep the case - remove separators, tool panel and unecessary fixings.

All done, ready to start serious modding

This will be powered by a 15VAC supply so a nice big hole for an XLR connector

XLR in place (EDIT: this is eventually replaced by a plug version as a power lead with exposed pins is bad karma)

A bit of judiscious foam cutting to neaten it up

Markout and drill the regulator boards fixing points - 4 x M3

Regulator screwed in place

I used M3 washers to spread the load - the case is just hardboard with a thin aluminium veneer

Position the bus boards and drill mounting holes - long M3 screws with tapped spacers fitted

All electrics now in place. Note this is temporary - there will be wiring to a front panel power switch on the next installment!

Next make the rack end pieces out of 10mm x 20mm anodised aluminium angle strip. These make the rack the perfect width to fit the case.

Similar to above I made top and bottom strips to fill the gap - I used 25mm x 25mm anodised angle, again an almost exact height fit - starting to look good.

Here's a view showing the fixings (ok I drilled a hole in the wrong place. Motto: measure twice, cut once!!!).

As I said a near perfect fit in the case. At this point just resting on the foam and not screwed in. That's in the next installment.

Loaded with modules and powered up. Take no notice of the modules selection, I've since changed it to a more coherent set.

Even a nifty scope showing VCOs, Synovatron DioDe and CV Tools in operation - now that's a waveform!

 Next installment will add a power switch and fixings to anchor the rack to the case. It will also make use of all that front panel space top and bottom for passive and buffered mults, bus access, simple LFOs, gate logic, 3.5mm to 6.25mm/RCA adaptors, etc etc (the thought of the lovely goodies that will get built in is going to keep me awake a night - so sad!!)

Here's a short clip of it working:-

New file hosting for Synovatron Downloadable Documents

The latest Synovatron documents can be downloaded from these links following difficulties some people had with the Google Docs links.

CV Tools Build Info Rev 3

The build info gives you a good idea of what is entailed in building the kit. Further build info (schematics and items list) is available when you place an order for the kit.

CV Tools User Manual Rev 1.5

ASM2DB Adaptor Fitting Instructions Rev 1

DIY Prototyping Kit Data Pack Rev 3

Please contact me if you have any problems downloading files.

CV Tools arrives in the USA

Finally after many trials and tribulations a batch of CV Tools Modules has arrived at Analogue Haven in Santa Monica USA.

Watch this space for a distributer in Australia too.

Having sold all of the first batch of CV Tools I'm now hastily preparing the next batch of 50 of which 10-20 will be allocated as kits. 

Some may also remember my DioDe module, well that took a back seat to lots of things, but am actively completing the design and will announce some news soon.

CV Tools US Distributor Announcement

I am very pleased to announce that Analogue Haven will be distributing CV Tools Modules (not kits) in the United States. I am aiming to get a sizable stock to AH by mid-July. (Sorry 2 months late but they are there now: Edit)

Any enquiries for kits or specials (e.g. plain front panel, faster/slower slew rate, less/more gain etc., please e-mail me.

First review comments and user's video for the CV Tools Module

Over half of the first batch of CV Tools have been sold, many in kit form. Here is some feedback from a few kit builders and module users:-

"Finished the CV Tools module. It works as advertised ;) No warts!

I must compliment you on your kit. The packing and organisation of components are as good as I've ever seen. Documentation is on the money for newbies ... All in all, I'm extremely satisfied ..." Steven H (VICMOD)

"An excellent simple tool. Great for cascading polyrhythms. Really easy to use and very surprising differences depending on where you tap the signal." Stephen R (VICMOD)

"...I was really impressed with the documentation and the way everything (in the kit) was bagged/labelled...CV Tools seems like a real Swiss Army Knife. I can already think of countless ways I'll be using it with my Oberheim SEM ... and humble modular." Alex M

"Tinkerbell lives!  Tonight I patched a triangle wave LFO into channel 3 of CV Tools and took the slew output into a quantizer (A156) set up to run minor arpeggios.  I can control the range of the arpeggiaic ascend/descend and even build in rhythm just using pots 3 & 4 - then out to two VCO's tuned apart. Out through a digital delay and reverb in ProTools and  . . . instant magic - fairy dust!  What fun . . " George B

Also check out this thread on Muff's entitled Some thoughts on the Synovatron CV Tools
 

Just to keep things balanced some people have expressed a lack of enthusiasm for the front panel, some about the font and some about the fact that the graphics is on a matt laminated laser printed vinyl overlay. The beauty of the overlay is that multiple colours, shades and fading effects can be easily implemented, the down-side (for me) is they are expensive and difficult to fit accurately. 

The solution is that the second batch of CV Tools will have a standard screen printed front panel (something like TipTop Audio quality). I will be offering either a very low cost swappout or a low-cost retro-purchase to existing users who would prefer a more conventional graphic - I prefer happy customers over a few extra £. Hopefully you'll come back for more!

Here is the current overlay panel next to the artwork that will be taken to the screen printers (where there is grey it will be the brushed anodised aluminium showing through so it will look a bit better). Any comments, likes and dislikes gratefully received - I will give the artwork to the screen printer in just over a week's time.

CV Tools UK distributor announcement

Updated 20/04/2011: The Synovatron CV Tools Module is now available from Post Modular in the UK - see their website now!.

Check out Post Modular's huge range of cool and unusual modules while you're there!

US distribution is currently being arranged and details will be posted as soon as possible.

In addition to the ready-to-use modules from Post Modular CV Tools DIY kits are available now directly from Synovatron for £85 GBP plus delivery. Please e-mail for details. The kits are complete with all components, pre-built & tested ribbon cable assemblies, circuit board assembly instructions and setting up procedure. You only need to provide the solder, tools and time. 

Note: This is a medium complexity kit and is not recommended for a first time constructor - you will need to be able to solder well and use a digital multimeter for setting up. It is recommended that you take anti-static precautions to protect the ICs.

CV Tools DIY Kit contents

CV Tools User Manual available

Hi and thanks for all the interest and well wishes.

The User Manual is now complete - Click here to download the latest manual (23 Oct 2011). There will also be a set of construction steps (basically just my assembly data sheets) for anyone interested in buying the module as a DIY kit.  As per my last post I'm still working on pricing of modules and kits and distribution details - all will be revealed in due course.

CV Tools Modules are now in production

It's been a while in coming but CV Tools Modules are now coming off the production line and going through a burn-in and test process to weed out any faults. The launch date is just over a week away - 9th April. The user manual is nearly done too. Details of distributors and price will be available very shortly.

So what's taken all this time? Well I just wanted to get the design right and pack all the features I could into it that make sense - I had several good suggestions from Muffs and other places and have built the best ideas into the design - the main one being the signal polarity LEDs to replace the channel routing LEDs (they really didn't add a great deal). There are jumper selectable coarse and fine normalled offsets for each channel and Channel 4 can be jumper configured to pass an accurate normalled bus CV into the mix for mixing VCO CVs. Check out the preliminary spec below.

Someone asked about these being available in kit form - if you would prefer to do this then please contact me.

Here is a preliminary spec:-

CV Tools Specification (updated 08.04.2011)

4-channel Polarizing Cascade Mixer

Channel 1

Input: 3.5mm jack IN1

Input impedance: 100kΩ (±1%)

Normalled input: VREF - jumper selectable to +5V, 0.5V-2.5V or none

Bandwidth: DC-15kHz (-3db)

Gain: LEVEL control variable 0 to ±2 (±3%)

Output: 3.5mm jack OUT1 - Normalled to Channel 2 output mixer

Output impedance: 1kΩ (±1%)

Output indication: ±LEDs

Channel 2

Input: 3.5mm jack IN2

Input impedance: 100kΩ (±1%)

Normalled input: VREF - jumper selectable to +5V, 0.5V-2.5V or none

Bandwidth: DC-16kHz (-3db)

Gain: LEVEL control variable 0 to ±2 (±3%)

Output: 3.5mm jack OUT2 - Normalled to Channel 3 output mixer

Output impedance: 1kΩ (±1%)

Output indication: ±LEDs

Channel 3

Input: 3.5mm jack IN3

Input impedance: 100kΩ (±1%)

Normalled input: VREF - jumper selectable to +5V, 0.5V-2.5V or none

Bandwidth: DC-15kHz (-3db)

Gain: LEVEL control variable 0 to ±2 (±3%)

Output: 3.5mm jack OUT3 - Normalled to Channel 4 output mixer

Output impedance: 1kΩ (±1%)

Output indication: ±LEDs

Channel 4

Input: 3.5mm jack IN4

Input impedance: 100kΩ (±1%)

Normalled input: VREF - jumper selectable to +5V, A-100 Bus CV or none

Bandwidth: DC-15kHz (-3db)

Gain: LEVEL control variable - jumper selectable to ±2 (±3%) or 1 (set by RV7)

Output: 3.5mm jack OUT4 and Slew Limiter input

Output impedance: 1kΩ (±1%)

Output indication: ±LEDs

Slew Limiter

Input: 3.5mm jack IN

Input impedance: 1MΩ (±1%)

Normalled input: Channel 4 output OUT4

Slew range: 0.5ms-1s

Gain: 1

Output: 3.5mm jack OUT

Output impedance: 100Ω (±1%)

General

Dimensions

3U x 12HP (128.5mm x 60.6mm).

Power consumption

+12V @ 20mA max, -12V @ 20mA max, +5V is not used.

Reference voltage (VREF)

Jumper selectable at each mixer input. Channels 1-3: 5.00V (set by RV6), 0.5V-2.5V (set by RV8), Channel 4: 5.00V (set by RV6), CV from A-100 bus.

A-100 Bus utilisation

±12V, 0V, CV used; +5V and Gate are not used.

Contents

CV Tools Module, 200mm long 16-way ribbon cable, 4 sets of M3 cap head socket screws, nylon washers and a 2.5mm hex key.

Preview 2011 - the next module

Here's a sneak preview of the next module on the drawing board with a working title of "Diode". I'll leave you all to guess it's function - hopefully if I've done the front panel design right then that should be an easy task for you. Answers on a postcard.....


What's happening with CV Tools? Just having a last minute ponder and double-double-check before I commit to copper (and expense). I expect the first batch of production models to be available by the end of January.


Here's a question: The colourful high-res graphic front panel designs are cheap and easy enough for me to produce for prototypes but will be a more expensive for a production run. 

Does a nice front panel in a range of bright and colourful styles interest anyone or are we only interested in function?

I'd be grateful for any comments.


This will probably be my last post in 2010 so I just want to wish you all a happy, safe, fun and rewarding 2011. Keep those analogue modulars throbbing out amazing sounds.... Tony

Progress Update

Well, over the past few weeks Synovatron Electronic Music has been registered (the tax office now knows about me), the first batch of DIY kits are half sold and I have customers in UK, Sweden, France and Turkey. 

I have had a really nice write-up from a great synth enthusiast Pierre Serné.  Thanks for that Pierre! Please visit his blog.

I have added some new pages to the blog - Feedback, Modular Sounds and CV Tools Project. Feedback is a place to make any comments or suggestions (and a bit of shameless self-promotion). Modular Sounds is about the 'music', or you may prefer sounds, that I have made with my modulars. CV Tools Project is a blog-style, step-by-step, account of the design lifecycle of my CV Tools module which aims to be both educational and a subliminal sales ploy (_8-(|) doh!