A few years ago, back in the 'Perspex Period', I made a number of 1U tiles available - whilst they sold well enough, it was pretty obvious that in terms of format I'd backed the wrong horse; most folks seemed to have Intellijel-format tiles whereas I offered Pulp Logic-format. Unfortunately, due to the size of the PCBs it wasn't possible to retrofit the tiles to an Intellijel rack without some serious hatchet work.
Fast-forward to now(ish) and I'm going to have another run at it, with the following caveats:
- The tiles have been designed to fit Intellijel racks - the maximum height of the tile PCBs is 21mm, with widths ranging from 6HP up to 12HP+.
- Faceplates for 'alternative' formats (eg. Pulp Logic, or adapter plates for existing 4HP, 3U modules) will be made to order. These will be treated as custom orders.
- Panel files will be freely available should you wish to roll your own for A.N.Other format.
- Due to the PCB size constraints, the power connectors will be 3-pin JST-PH with +12V, -12V and GND lines. My experience is that JST connectors are pretty solid and reliable. They're also easy to get hold of. A 2x5 pin to JST adaptor will be provided with each module.
The designs
A number of modules are ready to be sent for fabbing, and a number of others are still on the drawing board. Most of the initial runs will be 1U versions of existing modules - if there's enough traction then I'll roll out additional 'original' stuff over time.
- Attenuator - pretty simple; a single channel passive attenuator.
- Opto - a single channel version of the OptoThing, but in a 1U-friendly format (a 1U adaptor plate for the 4HP module could be done in future)
- Lockhart Wavefolder - a 1U version of the Lockhart wavefolder.
- LFO - square/triangle LFO with adjustable slope.
- Clock - a simple Schmitt-trigger based square-wave generator; generates inverted and un-inverted output.
- Noise - white/pink noise generator
- Boost - 1U version of the vBST variable boost module
- 2WAY - 1U-friendly version of the 2WAY switch module
- Euro2JST - Eurorack to JST power connector; one of these will be supplied with each tile.
Modules on the drawing board which may (or may not) appear include:
- AVR VCO - an updated version of the AVR VCO built around an Arduino Nano. Whilst the old ATTiny version worked well enough, its use of the internal oscillator meant that tracking was often a bit iffy. Also, Nano boards seem to be a hell of a lot easier to get hold of (lead times for ATTiny MCUs are still the stuff of fantasy). The dimensions of the Arduino Nano also play nice with the Intellijel form factor, which opens up a few more possibilities.
- OTAVCA - the LM13700-based VCA. Both linear and exponential versions will be available. If I can get all the necessary chippery on the board without having to go down to 0603, then the VCA will be switchable between log and linear modes (watch this space - I'm still working on the board layout)
- tVCA - 1U version of the transistor VCA. Can be run passive or active.
- MULT - active mult. There'll likely be a corresponding passive mult as well.
I'm aiming for an ETA of around mid-late February, but much will depend on the turnaround times of the fabs. In terms of pricing, I will, as ever, endeavour to keep prices sensible - the initial run of tiles utilises components that I bought in bulk before things went crazy, so unit cost is pretty low - the bulk of the cost comes from panel fabrication.
I am, of course, open to suggestions for future modules - if your idea gets used then there'll be a freebie in it for you (no good deed should go unpunished, etc.)