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Curious Inventor - HowTo Guides, Tools, Parts and Kits for DIY'ers - Make your own technology.
by auxren 22 days ago
In order to get more out of your CV1 input on your VoS synth, we have come up with a simple mod that will help you do more with your synth. The mod should take only about 15 minutes and requires adding a new wire and moving an old one.
tip picture
by scott 23 days ago

Thanks for all the links to our videos, we just passed 1M views on our youtube channel, along with 1002 subscribers.

Let us know if you'd like any videos on specific topics.

by scott 24 days ago

Inspired by the desks at atlanta's hackerspace, we made a new work station with a white board as a surface. For $12, you can get a 8x4 foot piece of panel board from Home Depot / Lowes.

by auxren Feb 10 2010
For everyday tasks like tinning wires, it is difficult to hold the iron, solder, and wire in only two hands. To remedy this problem, you can jam the soldering iron in the coil of the iron holder.
tip picture
by scott Feb 03 2010
Jimmy silk screened his own steel panel for the VOS. Check out his sound/sculpture/performance harrier exhibit--the vos would have fit in well.

voice of saturn steel
by abhishek Jan 20 2010
Resistor

Why is it easy to find 4.7k resistors, but not 4.8k resistors? Where do common values like 1.2k, 2.7k, 560, and 820 come from and who decides them?

As you may know, resistors come in different tolerances, as indicated by the 4th band (gold = 5%, silver = 10%). A 100 ohm resistor with a 10% tolerance is expected to have a value somewhere between 90 and 110 ohms, so it wouldn't make much sense to buy a 101 Ohm resistor when it's actual value could be less than a 95 Ohm, 10% resistor.

The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) is the primary body that standardizes the values for resistors, and they publish value lists called "E" series. In the 10% series, known as E12, each value is spaced so that there won't be overlap. The min and max values are listed:

(min) value (max)
(90)100(110)
(108)120(132)
(135)150(165)
(162)180(198)
(198)220(242)
(243)270(297)

The number following the "E" stands for the number of logarithmic steps per decade.

Logwell has a table that lists common values from 10% through 1%

Here is a neat resistor selection tool from unHobby that allows you to select only legal values

by recompas Jan 16 2010

Voice of Saturn + PBR art entry from Travis Thatcher on Vimeo.

Modified Voice of Saturn Synth I made for the PBR Art show tonight in East Atlanta. There's a speaker in the can and it makes lovely noise.
by scott Jan 13 2010
If breadboard jumper kits seem too expensive, you can easily make your own with 22 AWG solid core wire. Just strip off a half inch of insulation from the ends and you'll be able to make hundreds of jumpers for the price of a small spool.

Cheap DIY Breadboard Jumpers
by scott Dec 09 2009


Have to admit the song makes some good points... :)
by recompas Dec 08 2009

Voice of Saturn Voltage Controlled Filter (Frac Format) from Travis Thatcher on Vimeo.

We'll be releasing modules and kits very soon with a Eurorack version to follow in January. Check out flickr for more pics!
by scott Nov 16 2009
A SMT soldering class was taught at Atlanta's new hackerspace: freeside. It focused on using stencils (from ohararp) and solder paste on a skillet and in a toaster oven. The video shows the amazing ability of the solder's surface tension to pull chips into alignment once the solder liquifies.






about:

We're a few mechanical and electrical engineers from GaTech trying to make it easier to make and sell inventions. We write how-to guides, sell cherry-picked parts and tools, and also manufacture kits...

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