Staircase CV (Control Voltage) Generator

Use this circuit with your circuits to output a staircase-style CV. The 4516 Binary UP/DOWN Counter is controlled by a two 4093 CMOS NAND Gate oscillators; one controls the clock speed, the other controls the direction of the binary count. A R-2R resistor ladder converts the binary output into a scalable voltage, which is then limited by a potentiometer and buffered for use with synthesizers that can accept a Control Voltage.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 71 words · Steve Senkus

555 Monostable Multivibrator

The 555 timer can be configured with external components to output a single pulse for a fixed duration. When the switch is toggled to “ON”, the output will go high/1/ON for a brief moment of time, then go back to its stable state. You may find that some switches will need to be debounced, which is a pain in the ass reality of dealing with physical components.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 67 words · Steve Senkus

True Bypass Passive Ring Modulator

A simple 2 Transformer, 4 Germanium Diode Ring Modulator with a true bypass switching scheme. Includes input for Carrier Wave modulation. Power is only required for the status LED.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 29 words · Steve Senkus

Passive A/B Box

A simple switching circuit that allows you to route a signal to two different paths. LEDs help indicate which signal path is active, although this circuit can also be used without battery/DC Jack power.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 34 words · Steve Senkus

Coron DS-8 Drum Synth Clone

Originally made by Coron, the DS-8 Drum Synth circuit is a fairly complex circuit that generates some awesome analog synth tones.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 21 words · Steve Senkus

PT2399 Echo Application Circuit

The PT2399 Echo Application Circuit comes straight from the Princeton datasheet, providing the simplest functional delay circuit possible with this impressive chip. This minimalist design demonstrates the PT2399’s core capabilities using approximately 15-20 components—perfect for breadboarding and learning how digital delay chips operate. Circuit Overview This basic echo circuit includes input coupling, the PT2399 chip itself, delay time control via Pin 6 potentiometer, feedback regeneration control, and output coupling. The elegant simplicity makes it ideal for first-time PT2399 experiments. You can breadboard this circuit in under an hour and immediately hear functional echo effects. ...

March 28, 2013 · 2 min · 341 words · Steve Senkus

PT2399 Surround Delay Application Circuit

The PT2399 Surround/Delay Application Circuit represents Princeton’s second datasheet example circuit, designed for creating ambient “surround” effects that approach reverb-like characteristics. While single PT2399 chips inherently produce echo rather than true reverberation, this circuit demonstrates techniques pointing toward more complex reverb implementations. Understanding “Surround” Effects Princeton’s “surround” terminology suggests spatial effects beyond simple echo. This circuit configuration uses specific feedback and filtering strategies creating denser echo patterns than the basic echo application. While not achieving authentic reverb—which requires multiple delay taps with varied timing—this design moves beyond discrete echoes toward more continuous decay characteristics. ...

March 28, 2013 · 2 min · 412 words · Steve Senkus

Atari Junk Console

A highly modified Linear Feedback Shift Register circuit with a lot of oscillators. Sounds a lot closer to vintage Atari than the much-more-famous Atari Punk Console.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 26 words · Steve Senkus

Atari Punk Console

The Atari Punk Console schematic.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 5 words · Steve Senkus

Center Negative Polarity Dual Power Supply

A simple circuit that allows for power to be switched between a 9V battery and an AC-DC Adapter. This snippet is useful for the beginning of power supply design for electronics that may need a backup power supply.

March 28, 2013 · 1 min · 38 words · Steve Senkus