Book Of The Day - Electronic Projects for Musicians

[tboy]

Electronic Projects for Musicians by Craig Anderton  
  
 
 
Written in simple language, with hundreds of clear illustrations, this guide gives you step-by-step instructions on how to build pre-amps, tone controls, mixers, a ring modulator, and many other inexpensive electronic accessories.
 
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[g1]

This one I also have. I'm interested to know whether this is an updated version as some of the projects used now unobtainable chips.

[Enzo]

Says revised edition, but it also says 1992. Unless it wants an SAD1024, all the old op amps are pretty easy to update, and transistors pretty much don't care, at least silicon.

[tboy]

...ome of the projects used now unobtainable chips.

4739 OpAmp, 565 PLL, and CLM6000 OptoIsolator all come to mind.

[J M Fahey]

The optoisolator can be replaced or kludged, I think thereīs an adapter PCB to convert regular dual Op Amps to 4739 pinout ... IF you want to use the original layouts.
If you breadboard or design your own PCB, any TL072, RC4558, etc. will work fine.
Not sure about 565 though.
There "should" be a modern functional equivalent, even if different pinout.

In any case, original PCB designs were very dated, if I remember well, Bishop Graphics type self adhesive pads and hand applied thin black crepe tape ... state of the art way back then of course, so anybody making them today "should" redraw them anyway using modern PCB software.

Not that hard because it would basically mean copying the old ones , and there is the opportunity to update pinouts.

[Dave H]

Bishop Graphics type self adhesive pads and hand applied thin black crepe tape ... state of the art way back then of course.

Now you are taking me back. I'd almost forgotten the black crepe tape. State of the art was red and blue translucent tape for double sided boards.

[J M Fahey]

I can take you back because , um .... letīs forget the calendar thingie for now

I started making my first PCBs in the late 60īs, using almost unobtainable copperclad board and copying Popular Electronics artwork with stolen-from-Mom nail enamel, go figure.

It worked but boards looked incredibly rough.

I read British magazines since forever and there I leant about this Hi Tech wonder, the Decon Dalo pen.
Absolutely unavailable here, of course, but I tried all marker pens around until I found one which worked.

So when Bishop Graphics appeared, it was a Godsend.
Besides, it was what real Pro high density board guys used, the main feature (and a VERY IMPORTANT one) was that you could "edit" your drawings without fully restarting from scratch, by pulling unliked track tape and rerouting.

To this day, PCB software has a "Rip and Reroute" feature which comes straight from the adhesive tape days.

[bsco]

I am lucky to have that book as well.....and I still have lots of pad and track tape for making pc boards.....

[nevetslab]

I too grew up using Bishop Graphics and one other company's crepe pasties for layout. I did everything on 2X layout. While tedious by today's standards, there was something very satisfying working on large PCB's over a warm back-lit glass-surfaced table with the plastic white diffuser sheet under the glass, and the large precision 2X grid line overlay. Major edits were, of course, a PITA, but all part of the fun.

[J M Fahey]

^^^^^^^THAT!!!

Since importing anything used to involve a mountain of red tape, regularly PCB aids such as Bishop disappeared for months, until next batch arrived, so I used Letraset drafting aids , similar in concept.

They also had narrow tape rolls , but black one was not made out of paper, which crepe or not could be persuaded to shift direction, the black one was some kind of polyester film, very rigid.

Excellent for straight runs but would-not-turn-curves, period, so they were managed with short tracks at different angles, a single 45 degree one if possible.
A very sharp knife was mandatory.

I stole my Dadīs surgical blades from his Medical office, go figure.

[Dave H]

They also had narrow tape rolls , but black one was not made out of paper, which crepe or not could be persuaded to shift direction, the black one was some kind of polyester film, very rigid.

Crepe tape was OK for gentle curves but it was difficult to make a 90* bend with it. For 90* we used pre-cut tape shapes like these - Prekut Tape Shapes