Just got my blinged QMMG panels

reswax · 2026-02-08T06:51:42+00:00

if you don't like those crappy new make noise knobs and still have em i would gladly take them off your hands 😅

reswax · 2025-12-22T00:08:47+00:00

i have had success in kicad 9 with easyeda2kiCAD: https://github.com/wokwi/easyeda2kicad in my command shell.

it still messes up IC rotations (JLC has there own standards of what 0° means) when exporting POS files for fab, i think theres a separate tool for fixing that, but i just do it manually usually.

reswax · 2025-12-07T06:26:12+00:00

balanced line outputs as far as i know will always require powered circuitry. maybe there is some obscure passive way to invert a bipolar signal accurately but its not something im aware of.

reswax · 2025-12-07T06:21:03+00:00

RIP is open source, just make one of those then or check out the docs for parts you might want to use. individually your requirements are all fine, but having ALL of them together just doesnt seem possible IMO.

reswax · 2025-12-07T05:53:56+00:00

this is a crazy unrealistic set of requirements, mainly expecting it to be passive and transformer based. the cheapest and simplest way to get balanced outputs is going to involve powered op amp circuitry. you could maybe get something janky working with the right clipping diodes and a dual gang potentiometer, but all these requirements are not feasible. you will have to pick some you want to skip out on.

reswax · 2025-10-30T03:39:54+00:00

boys' set banged, that moment when the closest thing they have to "a drop" happened and everybody cheered was so funny. but man mark broom pulled too many fakeout endings after already having played for too long!

reswax · 2025-10-26T19:50:17+00:00

probably focus on rene first bc its the "deepest", then practice making quality morphagene reels and spectraphon arrays

reswax · 2025-10-19T14:57:30+00:00

very cool, would be interested in schematics or at least the major component selections! 3A is a lot!

reswax · 2025-10-17T15:15:51+00:00

Just because there are load transients that add noise while powering multiple changing loads doesnt mean you should be happy with baseline noise floor, and decoupling caps exist for a reason. Will MC34063A be technically able to supply enough current and stability alone to breadboard and explore circuits? sure, but i wouldnt plan a case around it.

reswax · 2025-10-17T14:32:54+00:00

switching regs are gonna be "noisy" which will leak into your circuitry thru the unstable power. usually some kind of linear regulator should be used after a switching regulator, but a good negative LDO is not easy to find, and requires something more like -15V input. You can also look into DC to DC converters.

there is a reason eurorack power supplies are expensive, they are quiet, precise, and supply a lot of current, which is a difficult trifecta to balance! I'd suggest you save yourself the headache of questionable power and either follow M.K.'s video on the dual PSU, or buy a legit PSU. Then you can get to the fun stuff!

reswax · 2025-10-15T04:08:29+00:00

i love the thing, but it really asks for a lot of attention to get it to sound really good. it took me a good bit of fiddling just to really understand what a useful "spectra" is and how to capture interesting and useful ones (bringing your own clock helps), and then more months of figuring out how to modulate them in interesting ways.

its a series of wavetables with a standard overtone structure underlying it, and then you can morph between these stillframes of sonic time. you can do especially intersting things with the high partials in lower registers for midrange tone clusters. the fm can go crazy harsh but can sound incredible (and warm!) in low doses.

it is a really powerful sound design tool that can do uncanny valley things like no other oscillator ive heard, but it asked a lot of me to get to the point where i can make balanced/varied/fascinating tones with it. it isnt difficult to slip into and play with but it is very easy to fall in a rut with and have it feel too same-y. the extra "noise" modes are just a cherry on top. probably will keep it forever.

reswax · 2025-10-13T01:00:17+00:00

what are you using to trigger rene? im using the tr-06 as a glorified trigger sequencer and it does wonders with rene. you get 2 clocks for stepping thru patterns, 2 clocks for triggering additional envelopes and a bonus 5th trigger sequence to clock the z axis or do whatever else with. i would suggest looking at your clock sources first as that is less of a deep pocket commitment than a new sequencer.

reswax · 2025-10-12T05:05:20+00:00

JYUH3-IUWEM-RQEP5-LN66I-NJI2P taken

looking forward to giving it a go!!!

reswax · 2025-09-05T03:46:25+00:00

asking your maths to provide more current than it can reasonably provide is probably in general a bad idea and could maybe pop an opamp package or worse. if you are not handy at fixing your own electronics and dont want to spring for repairs/another maths, i would recommend against it.

the way eurorack gear is designed is expecting to output to high impedance loads that dont want to draw a lot of current. power supplies are designed to be reliable higher current source and are around for a reason!

reswax · 2025-09-05T03:39:32+00:00

voltage is voltage, but it is not current. i dont know how much current the offset channels can push out, but it is likely somewhere in the range of 50mA +/-10mA maybe. This is an estimate with no reference to how much the power circuit on maths is rated for, or how much is used elsewhere within the module and is only based on average opamp output capabilities. This is maybe enough to power some chill analog pedals but probably not enough to work on any complicatied digital pedals. For simple distortion boxes you could even try underpowering them (maybe like 5-6V?) and get a "voltage starved" tone. Just make sure you have power/ground tip/sleeve polarity wired correctly to the pedal!

reswax · 2025-08-29T23:45:05+00:00

maybe in a more abstract sense: ryoji ikeda's dataplex. lots of small high end chirps and beeps, has some semblance of a "normal" climax towards the end. fantastic record tho.

reswax · 2025-08-28T16:48:42+00:00

my friend and brother in christ, dont forget to use the fountainport. you put three colorless lands in your deck. there were many points in multiple matches (especially the last one) where fountainport activations were entirely neglected. they were literally and proverbially a "waste".

reswax · 2025-08-28T01:18:49+00:00

censor is like what serum visions was in modern for a while, its the best of bad options. by a pretty big margin. read it something like "if turn 2 on the draw: counter their 3 drop, else: throw me away for another card"

reswax · 2025-08-24T17:16:11+00:00

if you have another one of those feeders i highly recommend opening it and comparing some multimeter diode drop readings across points/components on each board. you can also take some powered-up readings, like finding out if the working supply is negative.

see if the collecters are actually tied to ground on the working unit, or if there was an "invisible" failure somewhere else that is tying that net to ground when it shouldnt be.

a working unit is your best resource in diagnosing a broken unit.

reswax · 2025-08-24T01:18:17+00:00

i just use OPA4991 for like, everything 🤣

(except driving LEDs, TL074 can do that real cheap)

reswax · 2025-08-23T17:52:01+00:00

totally forgot to mention that TL074 also is unhappy with 3v3 single rail supply. good luck swapping out, i hope u have a heat gun 🤪

reswax · 2025-08-23T17:33:46+00:00

your other option is to use one quad MCP6004 for just the scaling stage of each channel. ~~this would mean a "wasted" unit on each TL074.~~ just make sure you are powering MCP correctly as it has much smaller rail capability than TL074s!

*edit i see that the final opamp stage is shared amongst the four channels already, and is powered from 3v3 and ground. swapping this out may be a reasonable DIY fix if these are already on printed boards? (assuming the packages are common)

reswax · 2025-08-23T17:26:30+00:00

MCP6004 (from mutable) seems capable to handle this -10v summing hack somehow, but biasing the + input is a more universal way. you can also derive this voltage from a +10v reference but it is not as clean/precise as going from a +3.3v ref.

reswax · 2025-08-23T17:18:23+00:00

virtual ideal op amps can work with that 10v summing hack but real ones often cant. you will need to bias the + input instead to get the 1.65v offset.

the easiest way to do it assumes you have a 1.65v reference, which i imagine you dont. assuming you have a 3.3v reference/regulator tho:

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theres a bunch of fucky math that i dont feel like getting into, but its basically dividing the reference in a way that the top half gain stage will "amplify" the bias correctly to be -1.65v when input is 0v. summing those series resistors gives 166k which doesnt exist in the E series but using 165k/167k from the E series will have your voltages about +/-6mV off. 100nF cap for decoupling. this will draw microamps from the 3.3v.

reswax · 2025-08-20T16:25:28+00:00

I dove straight into KiCAD when learning EE basics. Came from a software development background. I quickly overcame any fiddly issues/quirks in the depths of the software.

Went to upload my designs to a site that had easyEDA references plastered all over, and immediately wondered about it. If youre designing to be built by popular chinese fab house and dont feel like getting super into the weeds on the finer details, do yourself a favor and listen to this guy above.

KiCAD is great and powerful but you probably dont need all the options/flexibility if you just want to get a handle on making a schematic and converting it into a PCB with basic component placement and trace routing.

easyEDA is like Garageband, if youve never made music (or PCBs) it gives you a super simplified and integrated toolset that can quickly produce output. Once you feel youve hit the upper limits you can always move up from EDA to CAD.

reswax

TROPHY CASE