Cool DSP algorithms from the 70's
cgracey
Posts: 14,133
Does anybody remember, or better yet, HAVE one of those old electronic toys which synthesized top-fuel, alcohol, and other race car engine sounds? I believe Radio Shack used to make these in the 1970's.·They had a selector switch for different engines, and then a binary gas pedal (press to rev the engine). It sounded amazing! All the herky-jerky clicks, pops, and hiccups at low-RPMs, and then screaming full-throttle sounds.
Back in those days, there was no massive amount of memory to abuse into regurgitating samples, and not much computing power to implement DSP the 'obvious' way. You HAD to use efficient algorithms on sub-1-MIPS processors to synthesize and handle signals. Nowadays, we have LOTS of computing power and TONS of memory, but little know-how about this type of programming. This stuff is amazing, and on modern chips, the sky should be the limit. I would like to see the Propeller become a magnet for this sort of development.
It's really fun to see simple algorithms do amazing things. It's like leaving the normal dimension we work in, and then flying high overhead. It's liberating! It's almost science fiction. What can be done with a few passives, a sensor/transducer, and some cool programming has yet to be seen.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chip Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Chip Gracey) : 4/13/2006 11:09:11 PM GMT
Back in those days, there was no massive amount of memory to abuse into regurgitating samples, and not much computing power to implement DSP the 'obvious' way. You HAD to use efficient algorithms on sub-1-MIPS processors to synthesize and handle signals. Nowadays, we have LOTS of computing power and TONS of memory, but little know-how about this type of programming. This stuff is amazing, and on modern chips, the sky should be the limit. I would like to see the Propeller become a magnet for this sort of development.
It's really fun to see simple algorithms do amazing things. It's like leaving the normal dimension we work in, and then flying high overhead. It's liberating! It's almost science fiction. What can be done with a few passives, a sensor/transducer, and some cool programming has yet to be seen.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chip Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Chip Gracey) : 4/13/2006 11:09:11 PM GMT
Comments
Link to some tech data (no relation):
http://www.robotroom.com/BigTrak.html
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Mike
That's a neat page you've made about the Big Trak toy.
This sticker is profound, I think:
·
Man, those were the days! We used to make everything here. Now, we make almost nothing. This Big Trak came from a time when sensibilities were quite different. I doubt anybody would bother to serial-number anything like this, anymore. Think, some American factory worker did this labor, and then went home, popped a can of soda and watched TV. I wonder what that person is doing today.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chip Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Chip Gracey) : 4/13/2006 11:03:07 PM GMT
Like I posted no relation to Robert Cook, he has done most of the documentation, on his web page, for this toy.
One of my projects is to replicate all of the Big Trak's original sound effects, using a SX, and then all of the toy's other functionality. I believe using a Propeller chip I can copy the toy's original functionality and then have a whole lot of resources left to do fun stuff like wireless remote control or remote internet operation with web cam capabilities. The sky the limit!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Mike
Post Edited (Mike Cook) : 4/14/2006 10:22:42 AM GMT
Chip, I can't express how excited I am about the power and flexibility of the Propeller.
Mike, Big Traks!!! Oh, how I wanted one of those when they first came out.
Both products are/were ahead of their time.
Now, both together at last.
Anyway, this thread resonated with me.
Hats off to you both.
Jack
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
You both have inspired me.
I just signed up at Ebay (first time) and currently have two bids on two Big Traks.
One with the box and dumper. The other is some what raggy.
Guess what I am going to do with the raggy one.
Jack
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
Be careful buying these on ebay, of course they may be impossible to find elsewhere. Sometimes you luck out and get one that just needs some cleaning. MOST of the time what you are buying is parts, and you'll need several to make a completely restored one. If your interested PM me and I'll send you a link on some info that I have.
If your planning on installing a propeller in one of these, there was an article a few years back, still in the internet archive, on putting an OOPic in a Big Trak. Required removing the TMS1000, installing a socket for the chip and then mounting the new controller on the back of the Trak. Used all the original electronics and required minimal plastic modification. This is the approach I'll try first on one of my parts Big Traks.
TIP: The one's that don't have decals are the cheapest to purchase!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Mike
Post Edited (Mike Cook) : 4/15/2006 11:54:29 AM GMT
I lost the bid on the collector Big Trak but won the bid on the one I'm going to modify.
$44.00 gets it to my door.
Can't wait.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.