Not a whole lot to show for right now.

Somewhat major streamlining & redesign going on with the CNC build project due to a more in depth level of milling than I had previously planned for.

Over all build quality is looking to go up while material consumption (at least on the framework) is looking to decrease.

Of course, nearing completion on one stage just paves the way to contemplation of the next.

I recall at one point thinking the DIY route to a milling machine would prove the most inexpensive path.

What I had not fully taken into account is that when buying something one piece at a time, the climbing cost of incremental increases of quality is less immediately apparent.

Having drawn that qualitative line in the sand, holding to anything less seems foolish; but for a production push the potential reflected costs of the remaining elements are a factor I cannot overlook. In so far as this is an educational experience, the bang for the buck ratio remains pleasantly generous.

Rolling back to the Peavey EQ-27, it would appear that, with exception of the sliding potentiometers, all front panel mounted controls terminate in failed solder joints at the PCB.


This just fortifies my dislike of panel mount controls soldered directly to a printed circuit board, I view this build method as nothing more than a labor saving tactic to shave money off the manufacturing process. It is not as road worthy as a wire loom that will flex as opposed to transmit the jolt of an impact to the circuit.


The pot legs are even worse, having wicked oil into the joint. This material will be removed prior to repair.

It would appear (at least in my convoluted install/current rung on the learning curve) that the precision capabilities of SketchUp are somewhat limited, though being able to confirm my visualizations and having drawings upon which to base further visualization is well worth the quirks. I've executed reasonably correct renderings of the actual metal and finished dimensions of the gantry framework. Omitted (in addition to all linear movement components) are the end caps that will assist in rigidity and provide for motor and screw mounting.


Homage to TRON:


I doubt I'm going to wind up rendering the entire machine in 3D, since I can't use the files for anything other than eye candy. So expect some really boring 2D CAD stuff in the future.

Speaking of eye candy, here's a gutshot of the oscillator bank in a Baldwin 45 organ. This picture amounts to being essentially gratuitous since the Baldwin 45 is really, really low on my to-do list. I do really like their approach at the voltage buss (seen at bottom) though, one of the grey area aspects to a tubed modular.


I've sort of committed myself to guts or gear pics with each post, so while I'm busy on the data entry side of things I'll continue to dig up more or less random shots from the archives. I expect some actual current electronics shots soon.

In terms of being a documentarian, I seem to be having one of those weeks in which all of my forward push is transferred directly to a wheel I'm standing within. Bit pieces for the CNC project have been trickling in, I dug through the aluminium scrap heap at Coyote Steel last Friday and procured some C channel that will comprise my gantry. Before posting about that, however, I'd like to have some sort of 3D rendering/CAD cut-sheet of my gantry to accompany what would otherwise be a dull picture of a pile of metal.

This is where I'm reminded that my passions do in fact not lie in the realm of twisting software around to my needs and flexing my digital muscles. Shame that, since I'm morally locked into the Linux philosophy, which requires that I think for myself (ie: fit together digital puzzles) once in a while. So this morning I've installed wine so I can have another go at Google Sketchup, which as I recall has a nice and soft learning curve. We'll see if my mild apprehension in getting nested software to run is warranted. Then I'll be able to bang out a proper CNC update with eye candy.

Also, on the machinist front (remind me to self apply that label only AFTER I am pulling finished work out of the mill), I picked up a Mitutoyo digital caliper over the weekend, which will help me immensely in committing the correct dimensions to the drawings I'm about to draft.


For the record, these knobs are in fact different sizes.

And, so as not to rob ourselves of the pleasure of looking at guts, here's an internal shot of a Leader Electronics Corp. LCG-388 Color Bar Pattern Generator. Hailing from the days in which a television was repairable (I'll let you do the math on that). Given the compact nature of the unit I fully expected to see some ICs in there but no.. THIS:


Discrete transistors, germanium diodes and a lot of the letter "3".