I definitely went a little OCD the last week or so while I built out these modules. My goal was to have them completed by October, reality had me building them to be ready by September. This was ultimately a good move, as I’m beginning to realize that a great deal of testing and calibration is still involved after building, and I have run across several problems in my initial tests which have required some desoldering and pulling bits in the wrong places.
The other realization is that I am somehow short on a great number of basic components, while at the same time having many remainder components. Something wasn’t right with my component orders, either with the Mouser project lists provided by Pharmasonic or with my ordering process using those lists.
Another order has been dispatched to Mouser and Thonk to obtain the lion’s share of these missing bits, and all that remains are 2 IC’s for the phase shifter that apparently was never ordered.
Initial tests proved good for the patch bay (no surprise there, it was the easiest module to throw together and contains no active components in it), and the VCA’s both behaved consistently in testing, which I initially presumed meant they were problematic but I have since been assured that they are probably fine, but they are merely not calibrated yet. Much of the calibration instructions appear to come from the original System 700 manuals, which are somewhat vague. Fortunately, Pharmasonic has been helpful and prompt in answering questions.
The current issue I’m running into is the calibration instructions involves using a 10V signal, which I seem unable to produce with my current equipment. The 2hp MIDI module only outputs 5V. The Amp/Env Follower/Integrator unit should be able to boost this to 10V, but the Amp portion of the module doesn’t seem to work. I think I will need to start there and then move on to testing the VCA’s once I can produce a 10V signal to test with.
Pictures!
