Exhibition

Not all by projects are completely documented for a variety of reasons. This could be due to lost code or schematics, the use of now obsolete components, me not quite having finished the project to my satisfaction, or client confidentiality. Here is a chance to have a look at some of these.

Some of my other projects.

Arduinocaster

A Stratocaster is a very famous type of guitar, the Arduinocaster is not, but it causes quite a stir whenever shown. Basically it’s just switches and LEDs modelled to behave like a guitar. However unlike conventional keytars, as these things are called, this one is not designed to emulate the crashing power chords of metal, but the finger picking styles of acoustic folk. Each string is reflected by an LED and light when it is sounding. By pressing keys on the neck each of the strings can sound according to the basic major chords. By pressing down more than one key you can get the minor, seventh and augmented fifth of each chord. These are exactly the same as would be produced by a guitar with all the limitations of silent strings and incomplete chords.

H.A.R.P - Hand Activated Remote Player

The HARP is a follow on from my Sound Square. It is basically a linear array of 16 Infra Red LEDs and sensors arranged on two arms. However unlike the Sound Square, which requires a connection to a computer to operate, this is a stand alone instrument. When the path from top to bottom is interrupted a MIDI note is generated and a blue LED is lit. It has a LCD to show the current state of the instrument and five push buttons for changing the settings. The system can store 16 different settings in non volatile memory, this includes the scale, MIDI instrument octave and mapping. Each individual beam can be mapped to any MIDI note allowing some settings to generate a tune or phrase when the hand is just waved through. During play the up / down buttons can shift the octave of the playing scale. It is very responsive and highly addictive.

Lost in translation

Here are some quotes from the web coverage of this project, they have been translated into some language and then translated back. Web based translation has got a long way to go!

Maker Faire UK - Newcastle upon Tyne

O’Reilly, the publishers of Make Magazine, organise Maker Fairs where makers can come and show off what they have done. These are normally in the U.S. but first fair in the UK was in 2009 at the Life Centre at Newcastle upon Tyne, mainly in a marque in the large square outside the museum. In 2010 they moved it to inside the building and in 2011 it had doubled in size. I exhibited on all occasions and here are the videos I took documenting not only my stuff but a flavour of the other exhibitors.

Hexome

A Monome is a well known undedicated controller much used in music. Traditionally these are an arrangement of switches and lights in a rectangular grid. This imposes a certain restriction on the sorts of interaction the user can have with the controller. In an attempt to explore other configurations I built the Hexome, a Monome with a hexagonal layout. This project has taken almost three years to come to fruition with other Monome projects like the Mini Monome and the Econo Monome acting as test beds for my ideas, I even had to construct my CNC miller to fabricate some parts, most notably the PCB. However, it was with the help of the Manchester Fab Lab, that I was finally able to get laser cut parts to allow the keys to be made.

The Hexome consists of an arduino processor, 16 bit port expander, and three multiplexed fully dimming TLC5940 LED drivers. Each switch is illuminated by an RGB LED allowing flexibility of display colours.

Full construction details will follow shortly and it will have a page of it’s own, along with full software listings and schematics. In the mean time here are some images and a video. However, note it is notoriously difficult to get a good picture of illuminated LEDs

Harp Player

Well what do you do with a whole heap of scrap CD drives. I decided to make an automatic harp player using the read head mechanistic. Problem was that the drives were very different inside. So this is just the first stage with five strings being plucked and the computer filling in the missing notes. The next stage is to fit the motors and electronics for another five or six strings. Then build something that attacks the shorter strings from the other side.

It has a MIDI input and controlled by an Arduino and port expander chip, as well as a lot of TTL doing the actual motor switching.

I showed this at the UK Maker Faire, such was the noise at the event, it was hard to actually hear, but it drew some admiring reactions.