on my bench

Whoa... I was sick this weekend past but in a feverish blast of creativity and hacking I built a custom feedback sound machine for use in the Shadow Machine performances in Vancouver. Inspired by a bench top lathe, the hand wound electromagnetic coils I've been working with, one string scrapyard guitars and the ideas behind the performance project, I was able to create something fun and new. The tool box acts as a frame and a resonator. The depth of the feedback is controlled by a potentiometer on the front and the harmonics are controlled by a worm gear driven coil transducer above the guitar string. Another coil is an audio pickup and there is a small amplifier circuit to help induce the feedback.



The aftermath.

electronics for lunch

My favorite electronics project boxes are second hand Tupperware/Ziploc/whatever soft plastic food storage containers.



The prototpye is mostly done. We'll rebuild the whole thing in Vancouver and add some fun details. Now it's disassembled and ready for crating.



Nothing leaves the studio without extensive testing. Chris takes the prototype for a ride.

in the studio

In addition to all the work with the garden, I've been spending a lot of time in the studio getting things ready for upcoming shows in San Jose and Vancouver. There's lots to do. With the final drop off of crate contents to be prepared for shipping to San Jose, I shifted from work on wind coil sound flow to the preparation of devices for the Shadow Machine in Vancouver.





I finally wired up this hacked mobility scooter so it can be controlled by remote control. This forms the base of a 'wandering' workbench which will be used during the performance. So far it works well but now it's time to sort out all the wiring and mechanics for the final version.



It's easy for me to be distracted by an interesting challenge. We learned how to crack the combination for the safe that was left here by the previous tenants. With Tim Hunkin's lecture about the fine art of safe cracking in the back of my mind, we carefully worked out the 6 numbers to the combinations and the opening procedures for the two exterior door locks. What made it relatively easy was the fact that the door was already open and we could look inside the tumbler enclosure to see what was happening with the mechanism. I found a 3D animation of how tumbler based combination locks work too.