I thought I should have a page for news and to explain what I am working on and what
to expect next at Wise Guy Synth. So, here is it. Comments and suggestions are
always welcome. Just drop me some mail and tell me what’s on your mind.

7/7/04 – Well I have not done well keeping this up-to-date. So, I’ll just add a few
things here at once. Some of us got DBX VCA chips from a group buy made by
Michael Bacich. Here is the information that we have available about these chips.
Of course, success story information from you DIYers is needed to finish this off.

The voltage control for the Miniwave PROM expander is complete. The PCBs are
available from Scott Juskiw. I have several photos of the completed protptype and
one photo with the production PCB here.

12/30/03 – Protype of new voltage control circuit for the Miniwave PROM expander
is up and running. Testing is underway. PCBs are planned.

11/23/03 – 3 new parts are added to the Stooge bracket line. These "modular"
brackets now provide additional flexibility for your PCB mounting needs.

11/18/03 – My cabinet maker decides to go on vacation and winter in Florida. Sigh..
There will be no new cabinets until spring.

05/20/03 – Its time to order Stooge panels again. Hurry in with your order as we want
to print in June and deliver in July.

04/08/03 – Beautiful Black Walnut cabinet kits are coming!

March 2003 – Official Synth Tech Logo cables are now here!

01/28/03 – Roland CSQ-100 service manual added in PDF format. Thanks to Romeo Fahl for scanning.

01/23/03 – NAMM photos! NAMM photos! NAMM photos!

01/14/03 – Oakley North American parts supplier page has been updated to include
a link to Howard Ulyate’s site. Currently he has the US suppliers parts list for the VCA.
Also, you will find links here to Howard’s site for parts numbers to build Ken Stone’s
Cat Girl Synth modules.

01/07/03 – Photos of Blacet Klang Werk assembly have been added. You can
browse the thumbnails and view or download any photos you please here or go
to my Blacet Klang Werk page for assembly instructions.

01/02/03 – Added construction photos of MOTM-390 quad LFO module and
MOTM-490 uVCF ladder filter.

12/26/02 – New menu to link to synth related owners manuals. Many of these will be at
here at my site in PDF format. I may also have links to manuals at other’s sites.

12/06/02 – New menu with links to the Walnut wood related cabinet information on my
site. The photos of the cabinet that will appear at NAMM 2003 is shown. It will be the
basis for the upcoming cabinet kits I plan to offer in 2003.

11/26/02 – SKB pop up mixer case backs now shipping. Finished photos showing the beautiful black powderciat backs can be seen here.

10/25/02 – SKB pop up mixer case backs now available. Preliminary photos before
the paint shop are shown here.

09/16/02 – Charles Osthelder’s DIY ribbon controller project is posted here. The
electronics (the simple part) is not posted yet. But, the construction of a top notch
resistive element is detailed very clearly.

8/29/02 – Added photos of 2-row slant cabinet and power supply wiring shown on
cabinet pages 3 and 4

08/27/02 – Added wiring photos to my cabinet pages. Will soon be adding all of the
lower 2-row slant cabinet photos.

08/26/02 – Oakley North American parts supplier page has several updates including a new page for the state variable filter.

07/22/02 – MOTM modules reside in a Synthesiser.com cabinet. This new cabinet
page shows you how it all fits together.

07/08/02 – Connection details for Oakley Multimix Issue # 2 PCB have been added to the Multimix connection page to match the Stooge panel normalized implementation.

06/20/02 – New USA part numbers for Oakley TB3031 and more parts data
for the MIDIdac2.

06/20/02 – New on my links page - a collection of links (mostly Sound on Sound
Magazine) that really explain the elements of Analog synthesis. You will also find
the Emu Modular and Arp 2600 operating manuals.

06/19/02 – Added construction photos of MOTM-380 quad LFO module.

05/12/02 – New page for MOTM music. Find the music available from MOTM system
owners and hear MOTM is action.

04/30/02 – Added a page for the Akai S-162 sampler with information about how to
accomplish sample dumps via the MIDI port.

04/05/02 – Added MP3 versions of my PAiA vocoder sound bites for faster download.

04/04/05 – Added 2U high 19" rack prototype power supply for SKB pop-up case guys.

03/31/02 – Added instructions for replacing the DSM-1 disk drive including the testing
of a drive available from Route 66 studios.

03/23/02 – Added photos of my new beautiful walnut synth cabinet under construction.

03/10/02 – Added documentation for the DSS-1 (and others) visual sample editor.

03/10/02 – Added construction photos of MOTM-830 and MOTM-101 modules.

03/06/02 – Added a new MOTM user to the User’s Corner. Joseph Casbarian has
given us some photos of his beautiful MOTM case and keyboard stand.
Nice work Joseph. Check it out!

02/23/02 – Started a page to list USA parts suppliers and part numbers for Oakley
Synth module projects. The list will be "works in progress" and will develop as other
builders share their information with me for the lists.

02/17/02 – Added PDF file with entire Korg DSM -1 manual. This is an excellent
scan completely edited and available for download free of charge. A DSM -1 rescue
CD with a high resolution version of the manual (104 pages) and images of all my
DSM -1 disks is now available for purchase.

02/14/02 – Added PDF files of the 822 and 831 PCB screens to the 822 and 831
instructions page.

02/13/02 – Added photos to the 822 and 831 photo page showing an alternate
method of connection the rotary switches before attaching everything to the front
panel. Thanks to Al Wagner for sharing his idea and photos. Yet another tip for
connecting wires was submitted by Paul Bower and is in the FAQ.

02/12/02 – Added table for BPB (beat-per-minute) to time to frequency
conversion, and table of frequencies for each note in the chromatic scale.
Thanks to Scott Gibbons for providing AND formatting the information.

02/12/02 – Added construction photos of MOTM-850 module. The docs for my
breath controller modification are soon to follow.

02/10/02 – Added construction photos of MOTM-310 module. Also added a page
for modification of the MOTM-310 fine tune range to reduce it from 8 to 4 semitones.
Added links from the modification page to the Blacet Time Machine and Miniwave
modifications pages.

01/27/01 – Time Machine page complete including all photo links.

01/26/02 – Photos of Blacet Time Machine assembly have been added. You can
browse the thumbnails and view or download any photos you please here or go to
my Blacet Time Machine Page All modifications in the assembly document can be
seen in these photos.

01/22/02 – Instructions for assembly of the Blacet Time Machine in the MOTM format
have been added. Some helpful modifications are also documented in the assembly
instructions. Click the MOTM module text on my main menu and follow the 3^rd party
module link to the information. Or just click here. I am still working on assembling the
photos. Those will be available in a few days.

01/21/02 – Added a program to the DSS-1 page to extract the names of your programs
directly from the disk image file. This is a great tool for library organizing. This useful tool was written and submitted by a DSS-1 user. J

01/17/02 – Revised the Blacet Miniwave instructions. Found several typos and made
reference to the control voltage modification document. The only significant change
is that I had R20 listed as 20K and it is actually 1K. Thanks to Scott J for the catch.

01/10/02 – Added Control voltage modification for Blacet Miniwave here

01/04/02 – Blacet Miniwave and future conversion instructions have been moved
off the MOTM page and onto a main menu selection as "MOTM conversions"

12/31/01 - Instructions for the Blacet Miniwave and details photos are now complete
and available on line for your use. Click the MOTM module text on my main menu and
follow the 3^rd party module link to the information. Or just click here

MOTM-850 Breath control modification: The design is done, the beta testing is
complete. All I need to do is finish the documentation, do a PCB layout on a second
(and nicer) protoboard, take the photos, and format it for the web site. Look for this
information to be posted in the next week.

MOTM – MOAJI (mother of all joystick interfaces): In mid January, I will be building
the prototype for this module to send to Paul for his evaluation. Originally, the module
was planned as a 1U. There is a LED cluster or 17 LEDs. All I am saying about that
now is, "it will be cool." One control was planned for range and one for offset. The
joystick connector would be below that with 4 jacks at the bottom - each axis CV and
two gate outs (from the joystick buttons).

However, I have somewhat twisted Paul’s arm that the MOAJI should not be limited by
one control for range and for offset for both axis. Separate controls for each axis are
better. So, he has agreed to expand the joystick interface to a 2U panel. Now, my plans
are to have the same LED display centered at the top, followed by 4 pots (rows 2 and
3). The pots will be 2 each "range" and "offset." Below that in position 4 will be the
joystick connection port. The jacks at the bottom can now include the original 4 plus
two more CVs out for the (-) CV 180 degrees out of phase with the original CV. I like
the two outputs as opposed to making the range control "reversing" Better to have
both at once. Cool for panning!

I will also be writing instructions for the Blacet Klangwerk. (Miniwave and Time Machine
are complete) In my opinion, the assembly instructions for the Blacet module have
always had room for enhancement. And, the Blacet "MOTM version" kits have nothing
in the instructions to address the conversion to MOTM format. My instructions cover all
of the construction issues relayed to the MOTM conversion. You can expect a series
of photos showing the construction process.

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