New Pitch Computer

[opcode66]

Here's a picture of the interface panel that will go inside a vms in place of a standard PS66. I also have a pic chip talking to a pc desktop application via USB. Two way communications have been implemented.

The next step is to connect cabling to the interface panel and build out the switchable PS66 circuitry. Once built I can hook up the pic chip board to switch the transistor gateways in order to set size and speed from the computer desktop application.

The final step will be to mimic the potentiometers of a PS66 with DAC's. I'll use an ohm meter to determine the current resistance of each pot on my two PS66 boxes (33, 45). That in combination with the input voltage will determine the output voltage that I need to mimic via DAC's.

[mossboss]

Excellent Keep at it Cheers

[Nickou]

nice , is it carton or wood ?
I heard than wood is better than carton for high frequencies

[opcode66]

@Nickou - really man? give me a break. it is version 1. it is made from masonite with metal supports. i can put it in the lathe and remove it with no problems. i will be wiring it to my custom USB device. version 2 will be fabricated from a metal plate. seriously, tell me why it matters what i've made beta 1 out of? sorry i don't have a metal machine shop in my house.

@mossboss - thanks for the encouragement. i'm working on the perfboard circuitry in the upcoming weeks. I forsee banks of transistors to switch pathways through the circuitry. ins from this interface panel will connect to transistors that will control what circuit they connect to. Outs will connect to all circuits. This will allow me to switch speeds. Each circuit represents a speed (16, 22, 33, 45, 78). The diameter changes are transistor switches within each circuit.

[Nickou]

I think it is nice !
about the frequencie response , of course I was joking .. but why not ?

go on, and post more things about this project , it is very interesting !

[opcode66]

By the way, my friend Ken Paul fabricated this in about a day. He is an awesome studio engineer/tech and all around handy guy.

At this point the only other thing I could post is a video clip demonstrating input and output over usb between my chip on breadbaord and the desktop application on the computer.

I've got led's lighting up. I've got transistor gates switching between resistors of different values to make one led light up more or less intensely. I've got button input sensed and sent to computer and desktop application displays state of button.

That is all I need to have the chip do. The signals from the lathe can be considered the same as a button being pressed. The transistor swithcing is all that will be required to make the ins and outs swithcable through different circuits to make the various speeds and diameters.

Lighting an LED and doing I2C with a LCD screen is all that I would need for user interface. So, the nuts and bolts are done. I just need to take the time to plan and build the perfbaord with the circuitry for roughly 5 PS-66's and banks of transistors. Not hard. Just time consuming. Be done with that over the next few weeks. Ordered DSubs to connect the wiring to and from the plate and my custom usb device. Having a friend source some cabling for me.

After the UltraPS66 is done I will move on to expanding the desktop application to control base LPI and Depth on the lathe. Possibly also take a camera input to show on screen so you could use a cheap usb camer on the scope. Final part is to interpret a preview input signal. I have the equations I need to run. An initial version won't be tough to make. Finetuning it will be the time consuming part...

[Nickou]

My father did something similar this summer with his washing machine, he added it a usb controller, and , he is at the top of the technologies ,wifii ... to do not have any cable between his pc and the washing machine was very important for him , and for myself too ...

so the washing machine is still washing clothes , but you need a computer to run it, wich is nice if you have the last laptop of mac : elegance is not free ...

the software records all the data of each wash , and so you can know what you did ,when , and if you need it , remake exactly the same wash.


It has been a very big change in the everyday life of the house ... usb interface is the future for a better life ...

I can post some pict , if somebody has interest

[opcode66]

Relevance to this thread??? Why did you computerize something that requires manual interaction anyway. How hard is it to twist the dial and press the start button after loading clothes and soap?

There are several distinct advantages to do what I'm doing. You never have to change out PS boxes. You will have every speed including 78. You will be able to store all of the customizable settings of the PS on the computer and restore them at any time. And it will be linked to the new pitch computer.

[Nickou]

just receive that

"Nickou or Yann or whoever you are,

[Content Deleted by Steve E.]


Sincerely,

Opcode66"

no more comment is needed

[Steve E.]

Listen.....

I don't know who is right or wrong here. I have no context for Opcode66's PM, which included a couple of mean things, but may or may not have been in reaction to perceived taunting, correctly or incorrectly. Clearly this started prior to this thead.

What I do know that I am getting tired of this kind of childishness going on on the board, by any and all parties.

Reposting a PM you didn't like, on the board, is no longer appropriate behavior, even if the post was inappropriate or mean to you. Taunting each other is no longer appropriate behavior. If you are having a problem with someone, I want you to private message ME. Not the other Mods, specifically ME. and include all correspondences, not just the last one that the other person wrote you. I need context if I am to take action.

I set this board up to encourage experimentation, creativity, and the open trading of ideas and knowledge. There are ways to set people straight that are helpful, positive, constructive and encouraging.. There are ways to receive information, from experienced people, that encourage more wisdom being shared.

CIVIL and FUN are main rules of this board. Both of those things, at the same time. I regret the extent to which I have allowed the board to deviate from this. I am going to redouble my efforts to keep this board a fun and civil place.

Thank you.

[Zuma Group]

I get several inquiries a year about purchasing a new Zuma Computer, but no one wants to pay the price. Yes, it's true that the price of computer hardware has decreased drastically since 1979 when the first Zuma went into Capitol Records, but the market for disk cutting equipment has done likewise.

Many people do not understand that the cost parts is not in any way equivalent to the cost of building a commerical product. Creating a new design from scratch, the development, testing, documentation, and support cost far more than the parts today.

So the price I quote is for a single one-off unit customized to the client's specifications. If I could be guaranteed sales of a minimum of 5 units, that price could be reduced by 30 to 40%.

Five units represents just 10% of the 50+ Zuma Computers that were sold worldwide, but I honestly don't believe that market exists.

The last Zuma produced was a Zuma 2000 unit that was built for Roger Seibel's studio 1998 and is still in use.

John B

[opcode66]

Price is not the only factor. As you said, the last version of the Zuma was made approximately 14 years ago. What I am working on is a completely new computer integration project. And, I believe the final product will be flexible enough to be usable on many types of lathes, not just VMS systems.

Pitch and Depth control are only one conponent. The unit will also replace the need for the PS66 programmer boxes using a computer controlled Hybrid PS66 that does all spees and sizes. All potentiometers become computer controlled values that can be saved and changed on the fly via the graphical interface. This includes control of LPI, depth and heat settings. I can also automate the Start/Time/Fast/Spiral/Stop buttons as well as the automatic head drop button. You will have a variety of information displayed to you graphically on a standard computer monitor. I am also integrating a simple camera atachment to the scope that will appear in a corner of the computer screen.

The hardware will be very minimal. A USB connected box that will connect to the lathe via the PS66 programmer socket and a few other points on the lathe. There will be very little that would require repair over time. And, upgrades can be pushed to the USB device via the connected computer. No swapping of physical chips would be required.

I'm hoping to make it so the final version won't requrie a delay line by interpreting a wave file as it is opened. Using ASIO drivers to communicate with a wide range of D/A converters. The software could be a standalone package for control of the lathe as well as being the audio source. I can even incorporate the use of standard plugins like VST and AU.

As always, I think having some choice is good for any market! It is cool to see that maker of the Zuma take such an interest in this project that they registered and made their first post here.

[Zuma Group]

Price is not the only factor. As you said, the last version of the Zuma was made approximately 14 years ago. What I am working on is a completely new computer integration project. And, I believe the final product will be flexible enough to be usable on many types of lathes, not just VMS systems.

There was a Scully Zuma Computer that I built as prototype in 1985 and cut with for many years. Unlike the VMS version, it had its own DC servo lead screw drive, and all cutting parameters were digitally programmable and controlled and displayed on digital alpha numeric display. I sold it to Carl Rowatti when I closed down my cutting room in the late '90's and I think it wound up in Washington state. I call it a Scully Zuma, but basically it was a universal Zuma, but it was too late to the market.

There was also a Cybersonics Zuma that I did on a custom basis for Future Disc that used an unmodified ATR100 for the tape transfer machine without any digital delay

So it wasn't that it was not possible to do what you are doing, I did it, but the fact of those days was that the labels and top mastering houses were all Neumann based and that's where the market was.

I did a totally new Zuma design about six years ago for a client, but it was never built because the money didn't show up. Doing a new version would be a fun project, but I have a lot of other fun projects that actually would provide some compensation for the time and effort.

I designed the first Zuma for me because I wanted to cut better records. If you can do the same and make it a viable product that you can sell for less than the current competition, Go for it, but experience tells me it may be more work than you think.

John B

[flozki]

opcode
"The hardware will be very minimal. A USB connected box that will connect to the lathe via the PS66 programmer socket and a few other points on the lathe. There will be very little that would require repair over time."


just a little hint:
the main problem is the whole motor block. with its regulator, mechanics just all:
... feeding into ps66 will have almost all the problems as stock pitch...all the errors. and most vms70 dc tachs are totally worn out. all belts...so not sure about the repair over time...
but it will be easy to plug in thats right.

[opcode66]

I cut records because I love to. I created a vinyl mastering business, but I don't rely on it for money. I have a career in IT and do just fine with the day job.

I am creating a P/D system and the hybrid computer controlled PS66 for my lathe because this is what I want for me. I will sell copies of the system to anyone who wants one. But, again, I am not relying on this as a source of income. I am also working concurrently on a project that does have a potential to be marketed. It has nothing to do with record cutting.

It is a fair amount of work. But, I have a lot of good resouces that I have learned from. And, the capabilities of a modern computer are phonomenal. Finally, there are many SDK's for both audio and graphics. So, the amount of work decreases exponentially when you consider that I am going to leverage as much of this as possible. Additionally, I will have the benefit of fully visual debugging at every step. Making mine computer based instead of chip based will make the development and troubleshooting go a lot faster. And the final product will be very intuitive and user friendly since it will be a graphical application. It will look and function much like a lot of the audio software we all already use. There will be no limiting alpha/numeric displays. Full graphical display of the waveforms, stereo seperations, peak meters, LL, LV, V values, etc. Plus I'll have the ability to create deeply customized installations. Much more so than any microchip based stanalone solution.

Music and technology are my passions. After I got my lathe, I couldn't stop thinking about how I could integrate more modern technology into it. And, well, here I am.

John, since you are now posting... You may want to give some advice to one of your users here in this thread regarding your Zuma Pitch Computer.

https://lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?t=2936&mforum=lathetrolls

[opcode66]

@Flo - I am aware of the tachometer/motor control in the VMS70. I am planning to replace the system entirely. I have not gotten to this stage yet. But, I am thinking about a number of ways to determine the actual speed at which the motor is turning. Eventually, it would be nice to replace the pitch motor entirely with a dc servo type but let me get one piece of this project done first. I appreciate the heads up though!

[dietrich10]

Welcome to the forum John B

[45rpmdude]

i spent 100 dallars on a head.. and it couldnt fiure out why i either never got a reduced repaire.. or a complete refundd.. i was told to spend more money,,.. aint happening.

[opcode66]

What? Why are you posting on this old thread for a pitch computer I've been working on? That has nothing to do with this thread. I've never sold you any cutting equipment.

[Babooino]

LOL