Field Recordings: Audiofile Engineering FiRe

These field recordings were created over the last few months using the iPhone app FiRe by Audiofile Engineering. This app is so much more convenient than carrying around a Sony MD.

Roland Juno-106: Battery Replacement

The Juno-106 battery failed last year and since I was in a rush to move, the synth was packed away into storage. Well since I am entirely moved and settled in, today became the fateful surgery day to help get some presets back online. At first, I figured it would be a simple procedure so I reached for a screwdriver and the soldering station. Opening the enclosure up is as easy as six screws. Each side has three screws towards the bottom of each end cap that release the top and bottom. Once they were removed, the entire top assembly along with the end caps flipped up to reveal the analog/digital guts to be examined. Located almost in the middle is the PCB that holds the battery. The little bugger was still soldered in just like the day it left the factory. I carefully removed and labeled each connector as I removed them to eliminate any confusion during reassembly. Easy enough. Next I took out each of the four screws that secure the PCB to the wood bottom. Again this was another easy step. Now I was in for the "work" part of this whole process. The battery was soldered in really, really good. I had to slowly work the battery clip free while being very careful not to heat the board up too much. Too much heat and I would run the risk of destroying one of the neighboring ICs or even destroying the PCB itself. Finally after some time I popped the part out and replaced it with a new battery holder. Soldered, screwed, connected, and the moment of truth was now upon me. I turned the synth on, loaded in the factory sounds, powered the synth down, and unplugged it. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the true moment of truth but I had some homemade chicken soup waiting and besides the synth needed some time without power just to make sure the battery was really doing the job. I came back about an hour later and turned everything back on. The Juno was working like a charm.

More images can be found on Flickr

x0xb0x Progress

Monday was a day off from work so I decided to spend part of it putting together the x0xb0x main PCB. I felt as though I finally had the time and the focus to sort through hundreds of resistors. Apparently I had a lot more focus than I thought because I almost finished the entire board in one day. I should be able to finish the rest of it today which means I can start on the second one very soon.

Modular Synth

A few years ago I became fascinated with modular synthesizers and decided that I would start putting one together. At first I could not decide if I wanted to buy an assembled system or if I should build it from the ground up. Eventually I decided that an entirely DIY approach would be to my benfit since I could learn a lot more about the system in the process.

I began reading schematics and lurking around in the DIY section of the electro-music messageboard. The community is really informative and very helpful. During the last six months I participated in a few group buys and have since partially stuffed a couple PCBs. The modules I chose to start with are 1 Buchla 281 Clone, 1 Buchla 292 Clone, 2 Thomas Henry UD-1, 2 Thomas Henry MPS, 1 Thomas Henry SN Voice, and 2 Klee Sequencers. Next month I will be receiving 2 PS3100 Resonators along 2 X-panfaders and a Thomas Henry Super Controller PCB. Recently a clone of the Buchla 266 Source of Uncertainty has popped up as a PNP layout. I would like to add this module eventually but my plan is to get a few PCBs manufactured to suit my needs. A manufactured PCB would give me a good opportunity to try PCB design in Eagle CAD. I still need to decide on an additional envelope but this should keep me busy for awhile as well as fuel my excitement. Stay tuned for some photos.