LyksoNov 18

A shift register would pair nicely with this VCA matrix. Been a long time since I've designed any circuits, and I've never done anything with eurorack-level voltage, but I *do* happen to have a couple 5V 8-bit shift register ICs gathering dust in a drawer...

#eurorack #synthdiy

Show threadLyksoNov 19
Looks like I'm going for it.
Show threadLyksoNov 20
This is rough. I've forgotten a lot, and I didn't know much to start with.
Show threadLyksoNov 20
After a couple rewires, my perfboard is missing quite a few copper pads. Some of the components are attached only to each other, not the board. I wonder if epoxy would be sufficient to hold them in place.
Show threadLyksoNov 20
This project quickly went from being one of my cleanest perfboard prototypes to one of my messiest. All because I decided I wasn't *actually* comfortable with cutting the corner I was cutting.
Show threadLyksoNov 20

Less-recent self: "I can skip the resistors for the LEDs, right? They're salvaged, they'll be blinking on and off anyway, and I only have them on here in the first place because these jacks can't fit in 2hp and I didn't like having all that unused space when I went to 4hp. Plus it'll be interesting to see how it works out, right? Yes. I will leave them off For Science! "

More-recent self: "Why did I wire these up like this? This is Wrong and Embarrassing. I must correct this IMMEDIATELY."

Show threadLyksoNov 20
There are two wolves inside me. One cares so little about correctness that they must never be let near a soldering iron or production code. The other will bootstrap their own Linux on the only fully open source hardware available at the time just for the assurance that everything is Correct. When they fight, the perfboard loses copper.
Show threadLyksoNov 20
I also momentarily got Ohm's Law reversed somehow and spent a minute thinking I'd have to put the LEDs in serial with the shift register pins when I'd already soldered them in parallel, but fortunately I got my head on straight again before any perfboard was harmed.
Show threadLyksoNov 20
No shorts. Gonna design and print a plate before applying epoxy because the board is a little curved and it definitely won't be happy about bending at all once it's epoxied up.
Show threadLyksoNov 22

No epoxy yet because I don't have proper PPE for that shit at the moment, and won't until December 3rd at the earliest. Still gonna wire it all up and test it out a bit. Here's a progress photo.

Hope I don't fry anything!

Show threadpixxNov 22

@lykso wait shit PPE is needed for epoxy?

oops

Show threadLykso

@pixx I have potting compound. Bought it online years ago but never used it after reading all the warnings on the side. Figured I oughta at least use gloves and a mask that can deal with acid gases. Which, ordinarily I do, but my mask is out of cartridges.

Unfortunately the only way to dispose of it responsibly seems to be to mix it all up and let it cure, and I figured I might as well get some use out of it if I've gotta do that anyway.

Nov 22 at 6:37amWeb