FM Stereo Transmitter

October 14, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 20 Comments

Reader [Mike Y] responded to our “What are you working on?” post with his stereo FM transmitter project. If you’ve ever used an FM transmitter for your portable audio, you know that even the best consumer level ones can be difficult to make sound decent.

He obtained an NS73M FM Transmitter module from Niigata Seimitsu Company, but it required a controller to handle pre-emphasis, modulation level, frequency, and power level. He decided on an Arduino which would also control his LCD.

His results were quite good, with decent range and superb audio quality. His total cost thus far is $35, but he still needs to put it in an enclosure. You can find complete schematics as well as source code and helpful tips on his site. You may also want to check out the regulations on broadcasting(pdf) as well.

Controlling A Doepfer Modular Synth With A Wiimote

October 13, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 4 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOS2zg-0nI]

The Wiimote has turned out to be very versatile indeed. This video shows someone using it to control his modular synth. There is not a lot of artistic jamming going on, but explains in fair detail how to set it up. If you want to see Isadore getting down, check this out.

[thanks Louis]

Drawdio Kit Lets You Make Music While You Draw

October 9, 2008 by Kimberly Lau 20 Comments

[blip.tv ?posts_id=1345490&dest=-1]

Drawdio, designed by [Jay Silver], is a fun, simple toy that uses the conductive nature of pencil graphite to generate different sounds. When you use the Drawdio pencil to draw or write, you also simultaneously create music. The entire kit is available for sale at Adafruit Industries, or for the more adventurous, separate components and parts are listed. The circuit is fairly simple and we wonder what other devices people can come up with based on this theme.

8 Bit Digital Sampler Kit, Bendable Too

September 26, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 7 Comments

No, it’s not flexible, its bendable. As in, you can hack it to sound different by connecting parts in random ways. “Where’s the Party At?”, or “WTPA” for short is a bendable 8 bit sampler made by [Todd Bailey]. Still curious what it is? Watch his video showing it in action. The video is huge, 93Megs, so be patient. The overall attitude of this project is built around hacking. Consider this quote from his page ” I’ve got lots of things to poke, bend, illuminate, invoke, distrust, regulate, and otherwise get jiggy with. It’s like being 15 at the mall again! “. Sounds like fun to us.

[via Create Digital Music]

Arcade Button Monome: Moanonme

September 25, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 12 Comments

[Johan Larsby] built this pretty cool Monome clone. He was starting with a kit to build an Arduinome, but had issues getting his LED matrix to work correctly. After digging around in some old parts and hacking together some custom LED arcade buttons, he ended up with the Moanonme. Be sure to check out the video after the break.

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Arduino Solenoid Concert

September 25, 2008 by Ian 21 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_hiz-Kx0kM]

[jay] reminded us of this old video of solenoids banging rhythms on furniture and household objects. There’s no schematic, but in the video it looks like an Arduino drives a bunch of solenoids through relays. The PC interface is run on Pure Data, an open source programming environment for audio, video, and graphic processing. Thanks [Jay].

IPod Loaded Horn Boosts Your Tunes

September 23, 2008 by Patrick Lokken 14 Comments

Waveguide IPod dock

The Griffin AirCurve Dock is a nifty gadget that uses a coiled horn to increase the volume of your iPhone’s speaker. Griffin’s marketing claims that their passive device delivers “amazing amplification” and “you’ll swear there are full-sized speakers in there.” Meh. It does look like an interesting project for someone with a 3D printer. You could experiment with different passage and dock shapes. At least it gives us an excuse to post two massive DIY horns.

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