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An Audio Sampler Rube Goldberg Would Love
Thiago writes "Here is an audio sampler I made with 4 IR LEDs and 4 IR sensors. When something reflective goes by one of the sensor/LED combos, it triggers an event on the computer. On the videos, I mount the device on a turntable and use coins to trigger sound samples of my choice. I'd also like to make the project open-source (or whatever applies to hardware) but know nothing about licenses for this."
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Video 1
Video 2
Rube Goldberg's inventions
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In the USA, you have a year after publication to file for a patent.
You'd think someone who can whip something like this together (although quite simple) would at least call it something appropriate. From reading the submission I was wondering how he had the IR pairs digitizing (no mention of DACs anywhere) to somehow make audio from coins, and why you'd want the coins to trigger events.
This isn't sampling at all. Sampling would be capturing the signal at a specific [sampling] rate (often in analog form), like sound cards use DACs to capture sound at 44.1 or 48KHz for example. He's just polling sensors and playing a sound when something is reflecting. It's trivial enough that I don't think it even deserves the name of sequencer either. Heck, the PLC emulator i had written in TP7+asm over 10 years ago was a lot more involved than something like this (something one could code in a few hours, the "only" hard part being programming the PIT and int handlers directly). This isn't much more than a "hello world" program, there's APIs to play sounds and libs (and lots of sample code) to check signals like this.
That'd make a nice submission to a page like epanorama.net or perhaps a quick and easy project for people being thought electronics and the basics of programming. There's no way I'd bother with licensing issues and all that for something so ridiculously trivial. I could code something like this faster...
Great story about Daphne Oram of the BBC RadioPhonics laboratory. She came up with a similarly inspired musical-thingy in the late 50's. Albeit entirely analog (analogue?) http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/oramics /
Oh, that link should have been: Raymond Scott's circle machine.
So, to repeat: this 1950s contraption used a photocell at the end of a rotating arm: " The intensity of each light in this circle is individually adjustable. At the tip of the arm there is a photo cell. This cell is a part of an electronic sound generating system, so adjusted that the more light the cell 'sees' the higher the pitch of the sound produced. The cell also moves around in a circle at adjustable speeds. One of the controls, above the circle of lights, changes the pitch center of the complete cycle when required. As you will notice, there are many variable functions possible."
The link has sound samples.
I will use the Preview button. I will use the Preview button. I will use the Preview button...
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