Marc's Final Physics Project - 8 Step Analog Synthesizer

This is my final project for PHYS 3180 - Intermediate Lab. We were given a couple of class periods to make whatever we wanted. I made an 8 step analog synth that uses 555 timer chips for both the clock and the square wave output. The tempo is controlled by a pot in the upper right corner. The pots I am controlling with screwdrivers control each step synth chip. This process was originally going to use just one 555 chip for voice and then connect 8 different pots to it via transistors, but that wasn't feasible with the equipment that was available so I had to create 8 separate 555 voices that are mixed down into two 7432 OR gate chips. The LEDs are selected by a system where a 555 timer chip is sent to a ripple counter that sends out a 3-bit binary counting signal to a 8 to 1 decoder chip. This chip selects which "channel" is being played at the moment.

For anyone wondering why this is in a physics class, the class is basically an introductory circuits/electronics class. This knowledge comes in handy in the later, upper-level classes when you have to know how the experimental electronics capture and process the signals you want to measure. Understanding electronics is crucial in experimental physics.

Видео Marc's Final Physics Project - 8 Step Analog Synthesizer канала Marc McClain