Until now there hasn’t been much on the interwebs on how to set up the Dangerous Prototypes Bus Pirate for decoding MIDI data.

Here’s my contribution, which happens to be on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Bus Pirate on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2dcZ9uS
Bus Pirate on SparkFun: http://bit.ly/2bKjZfT
TyMkrs MIDI In Me: http://bit.ly/2cihEdA

The post Video: Talk MIDI with the Bus Pirate on Talk Like a Pirate Day appeared first on Bent-Tronics.

I got my first miniAtmegatron (I have two as of now) about a year ago. I have to admit after I put it together and made this video of the assembly and a quick run through of its sounds, I let it sit a while. Part of the reason I let it sit was that it didn’t have any type of “Getting Started” guide, or even a manual (beyond the small 2-page pamphlet that named the Functions).

After making a video about the new case for the miniAtmegatron, I decided to make a video getting into some of its more in-depth features. Coincidentally, when I had a few questions for the synth’s creator Paul Soulsby, he mentioned he was working on a proper manual for the miniAtmegatron and sent me an advanced copy.

So check out my video below, and be sure to keep watch at the Soulsby Synthesizers website for the new manual.

Let me know what you think of the miniAtmegatron’s capabilities and sounds in the comments below.

The post Video: miniAtmegatron Demo & Sneak Peek at the New Improved Manual appeared first on Bent-Tronics.

Here’s a video of me assembling the case for the miniAtmegatron, which can be found here at the Soulsby Synthesizers site for about $20.

Click here to read my blog post and watch a video of the assembly and quick demo of the miniAtmegatron itself.

What do you think of the case? Let me know in the comments below.

The post Video: miniAtmegatron Case: Assembly & Overview appeared first on Bent-Tronics.

Tripods get in the way, boom arms are either unstable or expensive. For many years I struggled with shooting video or pictures from an overhead viewpoint. This week, I finally decided to do something about it.

With just a few pieces of extruded aluminum, some plastic brackets, an aluminum bar, and a commercial camera mount for car windows, I was able to successfully put an end to my struggle. The extruded aluminum and plastic brackets are Opensource Hardware from Openbeam. This means you could easily 3D print or mill accessories to further customize your own rig.

Parts  List

OpenBeam Starter Construction Kit: http://amzn.to/29VfZKc

OpenBeam Kossel Pro, Extrusions: http://amzn.to/29C8PhO

Alpen Car Window Mount: http://amzn.to/29VfOij

3-ft x 2-in 1/8″ Flat Aluminum Bar Stock: http://low.es/29tMP50

The post Video: Make this helpful Overhead Camera Rig using Open Source Hardware appeared first on Bent-Tronics.

The Soulsby Synthesizers miniAtmegatron was launched yesterday, and I recorded a video showing the unboxing, assembly, and a quick demo of the unit (video below).

The miniAtmegatron is an Arduino compatible shield in kit form. All the parts for the shield were included, along with some (very) basic instructions. Here are some quick thoughts on the assembly of the miniAtmegatron:

• Have a fine pencil/conical tip for your soldering iron, and hopefully very fine (small diameter) solder! (more on this below)
• Other things you’ll need: Arduino Uno or compatible board, soldering iron, wire cutters, mono 1/8 inch/3.5 mm audio cable, computer for uploading the source code & libraries and USB cable, optionally some machine screws to hold the shield to the Uno.
• Use the parts list as the order of assembly, i.e. proceed down the 1st column (left), then 2nd column and so on.
• Warning: the pitch of the leads from the RGB LEDs is tiny! I used a very small screwdriver type tip on my soldering iron and still made a solder bridge between two of the leads on each LED. After unsoldering with a solder sucker (solder braid/wick was too difficult for me to get in there) I had to switch tips to a fine pencil one, and even then it was tricky, even with .38 mm (.014 in.) solder.
• Some type of magnification will not only help double check your soldering of the LEDs but also to read the values of the caps (black on dark blue, small font – luckily there’s only 3)

The post Video: I unbox, assemble, and play the new $39 open source, 8bit/chiptune miniAtmegatron synth kit appeared first on Bent-Tronics.

Just released, the Atmegatron from Soulsby Synthesizers, is an Open Source 8-bit mono synth based on the Arduino platform.

There is already alternative software available so it can be reprogrammed as a drum machine, polyphonic synth (4-note paraphonic), SFX, bass synth, lead synth, and since the source code is open source you can experiment with writing your own. “It’s an electronic musician’s dream, combining the sounds of 1980s home computers with the flexibility and power of a modern synthesizer,” say the developers.

Features include:

• 32 waveforms
• 15 digital filter types
• 2 ADSR envelopes
• 1 LFO with 16 waveforms
• Arpeggiator with 15 patterns
• FX including phaser, distortion and the unique Wavecrusher
• 16 preset sounds and unlimited preset expandability via the Atmegatron Librarian software available for Mac or PC

The Atmegatron is available fully assembled or as a PCB version.

The post A DIY 8-bit Arduino based mono synth, drum machine and more appeared first on Bent-Tronics.