SMs Audio Electronics Appendage Manuel utilisateur

Building the sMs Audio Electronics

Appendage

Touch Ribbon Controller

Issue: 1.1

This document may be freely reproduced and distributed in its un-altered form.

Building the Appendage Touch Ribbon Controller

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Planning Your Appendage…………………. …………………………1

Chapter 2: Designing the Appendage Panel……………………………………….4

Chapter 3: Mounting Parts to the Front Panel…………………………………….15

Chapter 4: Strap Wiring the Front Panel………………………………………….31

Chapter 5: Building the Cables……………………………………………………47

Chapter 6: Installing the Panel/PCB Connection Wiring…………………………53

Chapter 7: Building the Appendage Board…..……………………………………76

Chapter 8: Appendage Calibration Procedure…………………..………..………152

Appendices

Appendix A: Appendage Board Bill of Material…..........................................A1

Appendix B: Front Panel and Wiring Bill of Material…..…………………….B1

Appendix C: Ribbon Assembly Bill of Material………………………………C1

Appendix D: Appendage PCB Schematic……………….…………………….D1

Appendix E: Appendage Panel Schematic……………………………………E1

Appendix F: Appendage Integrated Schematic.........................................….….F1

1. Planning Your Appendage

The main thing to keep in mind is that the Appendage is designed to do a lot of stuff, so it

is not as uncomplicated as a “normal” ribbon controller build. By the same measure, the

build is not nearly as complicated as, say, the Apollo command module or an electron

microscope. This build document is written so that if a person starts at page one (this

page) and works procedurally through to the last page, at the end of the rainbow one will

have a shiny new Appendage Touch Controller that meets all expectations.

Appendage Module, Rack, or

Stand-Alone Chassis

Integrated Into a Keyboard

Stand-Alone

IntegratedAppendage

Controller

Appendage Configuration

Now that you have decided to build an Appendage (or at least are thinking about it,

unless you’re just really hard up for reading material and this tome was the first thing

handy), you should probably start thinking about what you want your Appendage to do,

and what you want it to look like. With this project, there really are two main elements –

the portion of the Appendage that contains the controls – the circuitry, panel and

associated spaghetti - and the playing surface (the ribbon itself) which interfaces with the

portion of the Appendage that contains the circuitry, panel and spaghetti. If this approach

is taken, the playing surface can be a separate entity that connects to the panel, so you can

strap it on and hop around stage while playing the ribbon, like some unholy meld of Jimi

Hendrix and Clara Rockmore.

While you’re dealing with that mental imagery, consider, of course, if one should want to

produce an Appendage that contains the controls, circuitry, spaghetti and the ribbon all in

one unit, this would perfectly acceptable as well. This approach may make it more

unlikely that one could simply strap it on and play it with one’s teeth; the PCB is rather

large, which would dictate at least a portion of the dimensions of the single-unit build,

making it physically larger than if the ribbon were a separate, simple control surface.

Additionally, the performer would likely be a layer closer to mains voltage, so playing it

with moist surfaces (tongue, teeth, etc.) could conceivably put a player at risk of losing

bodily control at some point, though admittedly still not as close as said technique using a

Fender Stratocaster driving an amplifier powered by half of the New York metropolitan

electrical grid.

Figure 1-1: A Ribbon Assembly Manufactured by RibbonControllers.com

Some intrepid builders may wish to incorporate the Appendage into a larger project, such

as making it a component of a keyboard, such as the sMs Audio Electronics IKC

keyboard. This, too, is perfectly fine, and perhaps even lawful in certain portions of the

world, so have at it, if that is your predilection.

This all takes planning, because how you configure the Appendage determines, to some

degree, what you leave in and what you leave out. For example, in the event that one

wants build the ribbon and Appendage together as one integral unit, it should be realized

that the Ribbon Input connector would not necessarily be needed. This build document is

written with the intent of helping you make those life-changing decisions, and more.

For now, the main thing to keep in mind is that the Appendage experience is really made

up of two elements – the electrical guts and the ribbon that controls the electrical guts.

For expediency, in this build document the control portion (the electrical entrails, PCB,

controls, switches, connectors, LEDs) will be referred to as the “Appendage” and the

actual control surface will be referred to as the “Ribbon”, “Ribbon Assembly”, or “Flat

Thingy That One Should Press to Actuate An Appendage Event”.

Ribbon Length

The Appendage is designed around the SoftPot® membrane potentiometer series

manufactured by spectrasymbol™. The SoftPot® ribbons are available in a number of

various lengths.

Spectrasymbol™ also manufactures the HotPot® line of membrane potentiometers,

which also work with the Appendage circuit. These ribbons are specified for a much

larger number of actuations (>10 million as compared to SoftPot® range of >1 million),

and have a decidedly better surface feel. However, it takes a bit more force to actuate the

HotPot® ribbon, but it is still playable, though perhaps less “agile” because of the

increased force required. The non-glossy surface, however, is an advantage.

The length of the ribbon is obviously a major consideration during the planning phase of

your Appendage. Generally, a longer ribbon makes it easier to control pitch across a

wide range, whereas a smaller ribbon may be more suitable as a sort of bend or

modulation controller, so one obviously must decide on what length of ribbon to use.

This decision affects not only the physical dimensions and possible intended main use of

the controller, but also the ultimate build of the PCB itself. Generally, SoftPot® ribbons

200mm in length and less have an overall resistance of 10 kor less, while ribbons

larger than 200mm (for example, the 500mm model) have an overall resistance closer to

20 k. This affects how the ribbon will respond with the Appendage. The Appendage

can accommodate either range of ribbon size/resistances; that determination is made by

the selection of a jumper position on the Appendage PCB itself.

50mm

100mm

200mm

500mm

Figure 1-2: Available SoftPot® Ribbon Lengths

The Ribbon Assembly

The SoftPot® ribbons are self-contained units that adhere to a surface using an adhesive

substance on the back of the ribbon. One merely strips the backing off the ribbon and

applies it to a smooth surface –nice and straight, and smooth, with no bumps, ideally.

The surface the ribbon adheres to should be smooth and certainly must be sturdy.

Another consideration is that if the ribbon is applied to a metal conductive surface, it may

be essential to ground that surface in order to avoid any environmental electrical noise

from being picked up by the ribbon. Wooden or hard plastic surfaces appear to reduce

this risk and may be preferable in order to avoid any extra wiring that may need to be

added in order to ground a metallic surface.

Figure 1-3: Example of a Pre-Manufactured Ribbon Assembly

A wonderful alternative to building the ribbon assembly would be to purchase a ribbon

assembly built to interface with the Appendage. Figure 1-1 and Figure 1-3 both

illustrate the quality of ribbon assembly that can be provided by RibbonControllers.com.

If you would prefer to have an attractive ribbon assembly built and ready to go, you can

order an assembly from RibbonControllers.com. Not only does RibbonControllers.com

know what is required of the assembly to interface with the Appendage, they can also

provide additional functionality such as a ribbon pressure output voltage to add to the

selection of voltages supplied by the Appendage.

Inverted Voltage Control Outputs – Optional?

There are a number of voltages generated by the Appendage: Initial Voltage, Slide

Voltage, Bend Voltage, TFS Voltage, and Mixed Voltage. The Appendage PCB supplies

all of these voltages as well as the inverted copies of these voltages: Inverted Initial

Voltage, Inverted Slide Voltage, Inverted Bend Voltage, Inverted TFS Voltage and

Inverted Mixed Voltage. The normal voltage outputs range from 0V to a maximum

positive voltage (standard configuration is 0 to +10V) with the exception of the Mixed

Voltage, which can be offset to negative values, and the Bend Voltage, which goes

negative as easily as it goes positive. The inverted copies of these signals therefore range

from 0V to a negative maximum voltage (standard configuration would be 0 to -10V),

again with the exception of the Inverted Mixed Voltage, which can be offset positive or

negative, but will move in a direction opposite of the Mixed Voltage output and the

Inverted Bend Voltage which is bipolar by nature, and which also moves in the opposite

direction of the Bend Voltage output.

If your planned Appendage build has a limited amount of space for panel elements, the

inverted voltages can generally be left out without too much loss of function – if one has

a modular synthesizer, for example, the standard output voltages can be inverted by some

type of processing within the modular, such as by a voltage inverter (imagine that!).

The one inverted voltage that is particularly useful is the Inverted Bend Voltage. Even

though Inverted Bend, too, could be generated with an external module, you may find

that you use it enough to keep it around as a dedicated output. In other words, if you

must lop off the inverted voltages, but do have room for that one extra connector, we

recommend the Inverted Bend Voltage output. A close second would be the Inverted

Mixed Voltage.

Output Voltage Levels

The Appendage fixed output levels were designed to output a voltage in the range of 0 to

10V. The Mixed Output and Bend voltages are designed to output a range in a maximum

range of -10V to 0V to +10V, because the Bend Voltage is an element of both signals,

and is bipolar in nature.

Gate and Trigger signals are selectable between 0 to 10V or 0 to 5V levels through

selection of resistor values when soldering up the Appendage PCB.

Connectors or Hardwire?

The Appendage PCB can be connected to the panel using cables made up of connector

housings and crimp pins. These connectors can be eschewed for hardwire point-to-point

connections as well, using this documentation as a guide. The advantage of using the

connectors is that the panel can be easily strap-wired and connected to the PCB using the

connectors, and the connectors allow the unit to be easily disassembled for servicing.

Power Requirements

The Appendage has been tested using both a +/- 12V power supply and a +/-15V supply.

The Appendage draws around 100 mA per voltage rail at +/-15V operation, with a power

dissipation of approximately 1.5 Watt per rail (3W total). A linear supply is

recommended, but it is possible to use an appropriate switching supply. If a switching

power supply is used, it is recommended that one not use an open frame switching

supply, and use ferrite beads on the power supply lines connecting to the Appendage. In

any event, never bundle the power supply lines with the signal lines of the Appendage –

keep them separate.

The Appendage has also been successfully tested using a wall adapter supplying 12VDC

to a Cincon™ EC6A +/-15V DC to DC converter.

Power Connections

The Appendage PCB is designed to accommodate a number of different power

connections in the attempt to make it compatible with the majority of modular systems

available on the current market. The Appendage PCB can accept the following power

supply connections:

Blacet™/PAiA™/MOTM™ style 4 pin connectors.

Doepfer™ Power Bus 6 pin connectors.

Synthesizers.com™ style 6 pin connectors.

4 Pin User Connection (two separate ground pins).

3 Pin User Connection (terminal block with a single ground pin).

Get Good Quality Parts

An extremely wise, venerated and incidentally quite handsome person once wrote

“Sometimes, when you’re looking for and buying parts, you may see a “good” deal on

surplus parts. With the ICs, you’re probably OK. The pots, maybe so. The switches?

Do not risk it.”

That maxim holds true, even on the Appendage. Get good name brand switches, really.

The same goes for jacks. Replacing a crapped out jack is just no fun for most people,

even demented DIY people such as our selves.

2. Designing the Appendage Panel

It’s Your Appendage – Do What You Wanna Do, within Reason

While designing your Appendage panel, be aware there are number of elements that will

need to be wired a certain way to make them do what they are intended to do when you

tell them to do it. For pots, LEDs, and connectors, this process is a no-brainer. A pot

generally makes something do its thing more when rotated clockwise and less when it’s

rotated anticlockwise. An LED turns on and turns off at the appropriate times. A

connector transmits a signal when it’s connected to some other connector. But a switch

can be not so forgiving – it has to invoke one non-specific function when set to one

position and something else when set to some other position. In other words, a switch

doesn’t have some more-or-less universal standard, because switches do all kinds of

things. The thing to remember is that you want the switch to do a specific thing when it’s

pointing to some particular legend on your panel.

Why bring up all of this detail when one is ostensibly talking about designing a panel?

Simply put, this build document deals with switch positions according to a specific panel

legend orientation. This approach is necessary to reduce the complexity of the build

document and the build itself. Some switches have more than one connection, some

connect to other switches, and most of them have more than one section. The simplest

approach is to depict the switches in one specific orientation (up it does this, down it does

that). A DIY project is an open-ended thing – a lot of, if not all of, the decisions are left

up to the builder. The approach in this document assumes everyone agrees that a switch

will perform a specific function when in the up, down and (sometimes) middle positions.

If you don’t agree, and wish to make a switch do something in the down position that this

documents says it will do in the up position, then have at it, we have no problem with

that. Just make sure you are very careful about moving switch connections around to

accommodate your twisted and unstable view of what the Appendage should do, heretic.

Appendage Panel Elements

To get an idea of the number and type of panel elements that make up the panel of the

Appendage, and to give one a reference while building, the following tables are supplied

indicating the type and number of panel components required on the Appendage panel.

Table 2-1 Pots

Label Function Position Legend

Initial

Amount

Controls the amount of Inital

Voltage present in the mixed

output

Anti-Clockwise: No Initial Voltage

Clockwise: Max Initial Voltage

Slide

Amount

Controls the amount of Slide

Voltage present in the mixed

output

Anti-Clockwise: No Slide Voltage

Clockwise: Max Slide Voltage

Bend

Amount

Controls the amount of Bend

Voltage present in the mixed

output

Anti-Clockwise: No Bend Voltage

Clockwise: Max Bend Voltage

TFS Amount Controls the amount of TFS

Voltage present in the mixed

output

Anti-Clockwise: No TFS Voltage

Clockwise: Max TFS Voltage

Mod Level Controls the amount of external

modulation signal present in the

mixed output.

Anti-Clockwise: No External Mod

Clockwise: Max External Mod

Coarse Offset Mixes a large positive or

negative DC offset voltage with

the Mixed Output

Anti-Clockwise: Negative Offset

Clockwise: Positive Offset

Fine Offset Mixes a small positive or

negative DC offset voltage with

the Mixed Output

Anti-Clockwise: Negative Offset

Clockwise: Positive Offset

Glide

Amount

Controls the amount of

AutoGlide on Slide and Bend

Voltages.

Anti-Clockwise: No Autoglide

Clockwise Max Autoglide

Sample Level Controls the input level of the

External Sample signal.

Anti-Clockwise: No Signal

Clockwise Max Signal

Total Number of Pots: 9

Table 2-2 Toggle Switches

Label Function Position Legend

Trigger Mode Selects Output Trigger Mode. Up: Re-Trigger

Middle: Hyper

Down: Single

Gate Mode Selects Gate Input Mode. Up: External

Middle: Gated

Down: Ribbon

Input Mode Specifies the type of voltage applied

to the Sample Input connector.

Up: Stepped

Down: Universal

Input Selects input between ribbon and

signal present at Sample Input.

Up: Ribbon

Down: Sample

Ribbon Mode Selects between Voltage and Current

mode of ribbon operation.

Up: Current

Down: Voltage

Total Number of Toggle Switches: 5

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