DIY Electronics Course with Ewa Justka
During the six weeks you will build The Ultimate Headbutting Machine – 10 step sequencer with drums and cymbals. You will learn principles of electronics starting from simple circuits to more complex ones. Each class (4h per week) will be focused on building different modules of the UHM, exploring CMOS technology in depth. Participants will be encouraged to experiment with circuits, hack toys and use organic materials implemented in the machine in order to modulate the sounds.
The classes will not only be focused on building final musical device but also on learning principles of electronics. After the course hopefully you will be able to read schematics and build devices yourself.
After each class you will be given hand outs with resources.
Price: £300. All the materials are included in the price and you take the final machine with you.
At the beginning of each module the participants will work on breadboards to freely experiment with the circuits and play around with different components in order to familiarize themselves with CMOS technology and feel more comfortable with circuit design experimentation.
Next, after the participants are introduced to the principles of the electronic circuit’s mechanism and they are happy with the design they will solder each module on copper strip boards / or PCBs.
The whole 6 weeks course will be focused on those modules, where participants will start from building simple oscillators to more complex circuits.
For more information contact curators@stagingmhs.local. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
Module 1
Date: Wednesday 7th of October (18:00-21:00)
Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS
Subject: Noisy Oscillators.
TOPICS:
Introduction to electricity: current, voltage, resistance, capacitance, Ohm’s Low.
Basic functions of a circuit.
Introduction to components .
How does the sound look like? introduction to measuring tools.
How does the breadboard work?
Introduction to oscillators.
Combinational logic.
During this module we will work on breadboards, experimenting with different frequencies of oscillators and different resistive materials. We will learn how to build oscillators that modulate each other and use them to control pitch, timbre and speed.
Module 2
Date: Wednesday 14th of October (18:00-21:00)
Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS
Subject: Melting solder and making noise.
TOPICS:
Introduction to soldering.
Looking at different soldering techniques and different kinds of copper boards.
Troubleshooting principles.
Module 3
Date: Wednesday 21st of October (18:00-21:00)
Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS
Subject: Sequencing in silicon.
TOPICS:
Introduction to sequential logic.
Building LED driver.
Controlling the sequence with fruit ‘n’ veg.
Audio sequencer vs. Gate/CV sequencer
Driving circuit bendet toys in sequence.
Building a 10 step sequencer.
During this module we will build different kinds of simple experimental sequencers, playing around with various triggers. We will explore decade counters.
Module 4
Date: Wednesday 28th of October (18:00-21:00)
Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS
Subject: 808 Cowbell demystified.
TOPICS:
What is a harmony mixer?
What is a frequency modulation?
Introduction to XOR gates.
Metallic sounds vs percussive sounds.
Introduction to control voltage.
Transistors and buffers.
We will build the cymbal/cowbell module. We will experiment with different values of components in order to produce various sounds: from metallic ones, to high hats, cowbell and cymbals.
Module 5
Date: Wednesday 4th of November (18:00-21:00) and Saturday 14th of November (12:00-16:00)
Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS
Subject: Filters and Drums.
TOPICS:
Active and passive filters.
Introduction to op amps (Operational Amplifiers).
Why does drum sound like a drum?
Simple distortion effect.
During this module we will learn about importance of an amplification. We will build simple drum module, that will be implemented in the final machine.