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 Forum index » DIY Hardware and Software » Lunettas - circuits inspired by Stanley Lunetta
My second semi-modular Lunetta
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synaesthesia



Joined: May 27, 2014
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:11 pm    Post subject: My second semi-modular Lunetta
Subject description: bigger - better - beautiful
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The first semi-modular Lunetta that I built turned out to be a great tool. It helped me to try out many Lunetta circuit ideas and still is a lot of fun to play around with. However, it has a few shortcomings that I noticed over time: some of the modules simply don't work as expected, some turned out to be of limited use, some are simply missing, and last but not least the box is ugly. With a bit more experience now, I decided to build another one, this time bigger, better and beautiful.

The plan is to have several modules boards rather than one big board for the electronics. That should make building, exchanging or repairing a module easier. Then there should be a built-in speaker and amplifier with delay, removing the need to connect additional circuits. And there had to be more pots, many more pots. The circuits were easy, selecting which ones to use not so easy. The most difficult part for me, however, is the construction of the enclosure. Luckily I have a good friend with a CNC milling machine who was so kind to offer his help with the frame. So one night we sat down, thought about a general design, drew it with a CAD program, and finally created it with the CNC machine. From idea to completion in about six hours.

The frame is cut from medium-density fibreboard (MDF). The speaker is hidden behind a white cloth cover on the left side. Speaker and cloth are pressure-fit and then fixated with hot-glue. Above is an area for visual effects behind milky plexiglass, and below is some room for the main controls. On the right hand side there are six holes for the front panels of the modules. Two extra modules behind the frame will host the amplifier and the LEDs for the visual effects. The whole front is enclosed by two aluminum pipes. These pipes protrude at the sides and latch into notches in the vertical sides of the frame. This way the whole front also folds down in case there is a need to access the back of it. The two side pieces of the frame are held in position by three cross-links made from thick brushed welding wire that are pressure-fit to the side pieces. And finally, the frame is finished with clear varnish.

Each of the synthesizer module front plates has a size of 5 by 7 centimeters. There are two potentiometers on the side of each module. Some are permanently connected to the module itself, some are free to be used in a patch. The rest of the module front panels holds the pin connectors for the circuits in that module. There is labeling above all connectors that describes the function. Pins with a white base are inputs - every output can be connected here. Pins with a black base are outputs - two of those must never be connected together. The pins are arranged in the usual 2.54mm grid and will be patches together later by Dupont wires. All inputs and outputs are doubled, so that a signal can be distributed to multiple inputs by chaining the connections.

The labels are made from self-adhesive plastic foil and professionally printed in a shop. I have been lucky and there was some room left on the material for another order. The foil had to be moistened and then applied to the PCB. While wet, the design could easily be moved and perfectly aligned to the grid. However, here is where I made a mistake. The green PCBs I used for the front are double-sided. That means that when I solder on the backside of them, the heat goes through the via and reaches the foil on the front. The foil doesn't melt completely, but it shrinks a bit and you can see marks on those places where soldering was applied to the back. Too bad, I simply should have used single-sided PCBs for the panels.

Each module also carries the connectors for a second PCB behind it. That second board will hold the actual circuits so that I can use all space on the front for the pin connectors. The connections from front to back are made by long pin headers arranged around the perimeter of each board that fit into sockets on the circuit board below it. Space is a bit limited here because a lot of room is used for the potentiometers and the connector areas. About 40 to 50 connections had to be made between the two boards of each module. The modules the top two modules will have some additional LEDs that show the status of their elements. The board of the lower left will contain the output mixer and amplifier.


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PHOBoS



Joined: Jan 14, 2010
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

wow! that's looking great sofar!
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Steveg



Joined: Apr 23, 2015
Posts: 182
Location: Perth, Australia

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I like the white and wood aesthetic and the construction looks first rate but I would be driven batty trying to remember what all the anonymous pins are for. But if it work for you then it is a top build!
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synaesthesia



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PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Indeed, labels are important. At the side of each pin group is an abbreviation for the function, and all pins in a group have labels above them. They consist of one or two characters only, but are quite obvious, like C for clock, R for reset, E for enable, Q or digits for outputs.


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rico C



Joined: Feb 27, 2014
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

awesome. love the RGB LED inputs. just have to wonder if you'll have enough pots...
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synaesthesia



Joined: May 27, 2014
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 2:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Nah, probably not, because you can never have enough pots, right? It'll be a dozen on the modules plus three for the delay and amplifier this time.
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Sethkaine



Joined: Sep 26, 2015
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hello,

very nice pictures and clever labels. inspiring.
Love to see more pictures of the finished lunetta cabinet! Wink

see ya.

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L´Andratté



Joined: Sep 23, 2012
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Sethkaine wrote:
Hello,

very nice pictures and clever labels. inspiring.
Love to see more pictures of the finished lunetta cabinet! Wink

see ya.


ditto Wink
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