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Still just a DREAM ......
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State Machine
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PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2007 6:41 pm    Post subject: Still just a DREAM ...... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

......... still coming ........ ??


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v-un-v
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

It is Very Happy

In fact we've now been told that the first PCB's should be arriving this coming Friday Very Happy

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-12175-25.html

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State Machine
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 6:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Oh man, Once again ... EGG is on my face ............ Embarassed Wink I should keep my big yap shut sometimes .... No disrespect was intended, I guess I really want one ........ Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Bill
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bitmonkey



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 6:57 am    Post subject: Off by a week or so... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

v-un-v wrote:
It is Very Happy

In fact we've now been told that the first PCB's should be arriving this coming Friday Very Happy


Bill, no harm in asking -- we're glad that people are excited about it. (MagSmoke's Mankato prototypes have spent their whole lives in northern Cali. As MagSmoke's east coast guy [in FLA], even I have yet to see one -- so I am chomping at the bit, myself!) Anyway...

The latest word from the PC house is that they are shipping (from China -- we're in this global market, too) on the 18th, so we'll have them in our sweaty palms about a week later than we had expected. Not that an extra week is significant, at this point.

As for the front panel shown in Tim's rendering, we'd love to hear any/all opinions on that. So, please allow me to start an informal poll:

Which form factor(s) are people interested in? Euro, Frac, MOTM, and/or Moog/Dotcom? And need they be any certain color?

Suit & Tie Guy will be producing Moog-style panels, so that format will be covered. His photo-etched panels look super cool; the graphics are very detailed.

The new Stooge (Doug Wellington) is to go-to guy for MOTM, now, but we've made no arrangements with him and I'm not aware of anything happening with respect to a Mankato panel. (Are "generic" VCF panels for DIYers a good idea? I think there's some potential.)

That leaves Frac and Euro. Discuss! Smile

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v-un-v
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 7:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

could they ship without front panels?

What about bare boards too?

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bitmonkey



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 7:06 am    Post subject: Bare PCB boards, for sure Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

v-un-v wrote:
could they ship without front panels?

What about bare boards too?


Absolutely and positively! Smile Bare boards will ship first.

Just wondering what people want/need/expect in the front panel department.

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v-un-v
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Okay.

There's the popular Modcan format too Very Happy

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State Machine
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 8:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Personally, I like the FRAC rack form factor BUT I really am starting to hate 1/8" jacks. I am starting to build FRAC rack stuff from now on with 1/4" jacks. I know they may be a bit wider but I like how the bigger jacks hold up.

Unfortunately now my patching has to go between 1/8" and 1/4" as I have lots of 1/8" already built ... uggg

Thanks for the report and poll Very Happy Very Happy

Bill
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State Machine
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:
Bare boards will ship first.


Sure, thats what I am doing with the UD-1 stuff. I am offering kits as well along with select parts ... Fantastic !

Bill
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Danno Gee Ray



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I'd love to see front panels in Euro rack format with silver face.

Thanks
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mono-poly



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Frack because it uses 15 volt.
12 volt sucks.
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para



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

so are you going to let us pre-order bare pcb's so we don't miss out or is there no need to worry about that? also how about a parts list so we can start stocking up and get them running right out of the mailbox.

steven
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bitmonkey



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 9:42 am    Post subject: availability and parts list Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

para wrote:
so are you going to let us pre-order bare pcb's so we don't miss out or is there no need to worry about that? also how about a parts list so we can start stocking up and get them running right out of the mailbox.

steven


Thanks for your input and your interest.

I wouldn't worry about the availability of boards. The initial run is only 10 boards, in order to make sure there are no faults in the layout and to make sure that we like the fab's work. (The only thing worse than getting stuck with a load of crappy boards is shipping a load of defective ones. "Cut this trace, add a jumper here..." No, thank you!)

Once everything is proven to be good, we'll do a run of a few thousand boards. Just kidding! We will make more than enough to go around, though.

The first notice of boards for sale will go out through our irregularly published (you can read that however you like Wink newsletter, Smoke Signals. So, if you want first dibs, send a note to magsmoke@gmail.com and we'll put you on the list.

As for publishing a parts list, I will discuss it with Tim.

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State Machine
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:
Frack because it uses 15 volt.
12 volt sucks.


I would suppose as most operational amplifiers will have the least distortion about 1.5 volts under each supply rail. The 15 Volts just gives you that extra "headroom". So with 15 volt rails, you get a clean 27 Volts peak to peak or about 28.5 dBV. With 12 volt rails, you get a clean 21 volts peak to peak or about 26 dbV.

Bill
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State Machine
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:
There's the popular Modcan format too Very Happy


Thats the "banana" jack format right Tom?

Bill
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mono-poly



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Problem with modan would be to get the same panels.
Making inverted colored ones is much easyer.

And yeah 15 volt is more gain!
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bitmonkey



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:

Quote:
Frack because it uses 15 volt. 12 volt sucks.

... The 15 Volts just gives you that extra "headroom". So with 15 volt rails, you get a clean 27 Volts peak to peak or about 28.5 dBV. With 12 volt rails, you get a clean 21 volts peak to peak or about 26 dbV.


You guys feel that the difference is significant? I've not dealt with 12V synths, but it seems to me that both 12 and 15V machines have quite "hot" signal levels.

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v-un-v
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

State Machine wrote:

Thats the "banana" jack format right Tom?


yup.

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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 2:48 pm    Post subject: Still just a DREAM... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hey Guys and Gals,

Yeah, John definitely has all the right answers. The very first rev 01 initial preliminary prototype unproven untested fresh from the oven run of boards is due to ship from our friends in the Far East on the 18th. We need to get them, test them, populate at least one and torture test it before we can really do anything else. Like John said, "cut this trace, add a jumper... no thanks!" I'd rather not ship at all than ship something that requires major surgery or re-reading a decade's worth of archived forum emails to catch all the "gotchas." I hate that crap and MSE definitely won't go there.

BTW, State Machine, you sure got the BIG photo of the Mankato!

Anyway, all is proceeding well, and I'm excited about these boards. I've spent about equal time using my prototype as a VCF and a VCLFO and a VCO, and it's a gas. We've got some other stuff coming out this month, so we're pretty busy at MSE. I'm working on a parts list, so that will be available soon to those interested in getting a bare board. Thanks to everyone, especially Scott for sticking with us on this long, strange journey.


Tim (wasn't Long Strange Journey a group from SF in the 70s?) Servo
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 3:00 pm    Post subject: Still just a DREAM... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

One more item - the Mankato is designed to run on +/-15V. Even the Euro version is meant for 15V supplies. It will PROBABLY work on 12V just fine, but it has not been tested for that. The PCB has pads for .156 4-pin (MOTM/Blacet style) and .100 6-pin (DotCom style) power connectors. If you don't have one of those styles in your system, you'll need to build an adapter cable. If you're ready to solder and wire up something as busy as a Mankato, you should easily be up to the task. Personally, I would not recommend the Mankato as a first project. It's pretty straightforward and calibration is a snap, but there's just a lot of parts and you should have some soldering skills before attempting something like this.


Tim (tested for 12V, but works better at 15V) Servo
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State Machine
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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 4:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:
ou guys feel that the difference is significant? I've not dealt with 12V synths, but it seems to me that both 12 and 15V machines have quite "hot" signal levels.


Actually, I just pointed out the difference. I really don't hear any difference between modules that are powered by 12 or 15 volts.

maybe the 12 volt "sucky" factor can be explained by someone else .... Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Bill
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goodrevdoc



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PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I'll put in a vote for frac. I also like the silver-y panel, like it the pic SM posted. Jacks at the top would be my only concern, but in this instqance it seems that they are more to the side, which is OK.
-justin
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kryptic



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PostPosted: Sun May 13, 2007 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I like the frac format as well, but I would prefer the frac panel be black with white print (instead of silver w/black print as pictured) so it will match all of the other frac modules I have.
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v-un-v
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PostPosted: Sun May 13, 2007 5:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

bitmonkey wrote:

You guys feel that the difference is significant? I've not dealt with 12V synths, but it seems to me that both 12 and 15V machines have quite "hot" signal levels.


I think there is a difference. IMO, modulars using 12v sound less 'gutsy' than those with 15v rails. But then again, my Korg MS20 (15v) oscillators sound pretty thin and weedy, so I suppose a lot is also down to the design of the circuit?

Again, I suppose its all down to a matter of personal taste?

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fluxmonkey



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PostPosted: Sun May 13, 2007 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

another vote for frac format (black panel white lettering).

also, as far as the layout goes... i tend to do a lot of knob tweakage, so segregating the controls and th jacks would be preferable. most of my diy panels have knobs on top, jacks across the bottom... and inputs left or top, outputs right or bottom; john blacet's jacks left/knobs right also works.

finally, you might consider the oakley route of offering boards, optionally components, but supplying FPD files for the panels... easy enough to make one layout that could be laid onto either a frac or euro panel. could also add HPGL tickmarks, but folks would have the option of deleting them to save a few bucks...

bbob
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