.AmpCMDR 1st prototype..
I have just recently finished (ok, not *completely*) my first prototype of what I call the AmpCMDR (Amp Commander). I actually did the code quite some time ago, and had it working on a solderless breadboard, but I finally packaged it in a footswitch -somewhat haphazardly- and soldered up the breakout board circuit.
What is the AmpCMDR, you ask? It's a propeller-powered programmable pedal (say that 4 times fast) for controlling any setting on an analog guitar or bass amp. All you have to do is remove the knob that you want to have control over, and replace it with servo-controlled knob. The servo-knobs then attach to the remote breakout board, which in turn connects to the pedal. This allows the user to pre-program various amp settings (up to 100), and recall them with as little as one push of a button.
A few details on this build:
1) The breakout board can theoretically drive up to 8 servos, but it currently only has two headers. The software actually supports up to 16 servos, using two sequential breakout boards, but I only have one breakout board, and that one doesn't have the circuitry necessary to drive another other board.
2) You need at least 2 servos since you need to apply some leverage against the servo chassis.
3) Like a lot of the other servo drivers out there, I'm using a SIPO shift register, the difference is that I clock in only 1 bit, and sequentially drive that bit for the duration of each pulse width. That way I could eliminate a wire between the pedal and breakout board, and create a simple PASM routine even I can understand
4) The servos that I'm using only have about ~100 degrees rotation, so they're not very practical. I have found some beastly ones that rotate almost 360 degrees for use on R/C sailboats, but I haven't bothered buying them yet. Besides being slow, they're also analog only, so they might not like the not-to-spec timing of my PASM routine.
5) WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SCROLL WHEEL?!?! In the pic, you can see a small hole between the toggle switch and the push button in the top left corner. I'm actually using a scroll wheel and the quadrature encoder from a mouse to set the level on whichever knob is selected, but it's not in the picture. WHERE DID IT GO?! I would have super glued it if I wasn't worried about ruining the encoder. Ah well. I'm sure it's around here somewhere.
What is the AmpCMDR, you ask? It's a propeller-powered programmable pedal (say that 4 times fast) for controlling any setting on an analog guitar or bass amp. All you have to do is remove the knob that you want to have control over, and replace it with servo-controlled knob. The servo-knobs then attach to the remote breakout board, which in turn connects to the pedal. This allows the user to pre-program various amp settings (up to 100), and recall them with as little as one push of a button.
A few details on this build:
1) The breakout board can theoretically drive up to 8 servos, but it currently only has two headers. The software actually supports up to 16 servos, using two sequential breakout boards, but I only have one breakout board, and that one doesn't have the circuitry necessary to drive another other board.
2) You need at least 2 servos since you need to apply some leverage against the servo chassis.
3) Like a lot of the other servo drivers out there, I'm using a SIPO shift register, the difference is that I clock in only 1 bit, and sequentially drive that bit for the duration of each pulse width. That way I could eliminate a wire between the pedal and breakout board, and create a simple PASM routine even I can understand
4) The servos that I'm using only have about ~100 degrees rotation, so they're not very practical. I have found some beastly ones that rotate almost 360 degrees for use on R/C sailboats, but I haven't bothered buying them yet. Besides being slow, they're also analog only, so they might not like the not-to-spec timing of my PASM routine.
5) WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SCROLL WHEEL?!?! In the pic, you can see a small hole between the toggle switch and the push button in the top left corner. I'm actually using a scroll wheel and the quadrature encoder from a mouse to set the level on whichever knob is selected, but it's not in the picture. WHERE DID IT GO?! I would have super glued it if I wasn't worried about ruining the encoder. Ah well. I'm sure it's around here somewhere.
800 x 600 - 291K