Essentially a Pulse Train Generator, the Sputterizer emits a series of 5V pulses that either get longer or shorter. Additionally, a separate output has a CV signal that corresponds to the length of the pulses. Using these two signals and the controls, you can create a wide variety of complex control signals that will be sure to amaze and delight.
The Sputterizer is triggered either by a pulse input or by pushing the Mode Selector switch. It can also be triggered by pressing the ! key when a terminal is connected.
The basic unit of the Sputterizer is the Sput.
Sputs have four characteristics…
- Longest Pulse Length (LPL)
- Shortest Pulse Length (SPL)
- Decay Factor (DF)
- Random Factor (RF)
note: Shortest Pulse Length can only be specified in User Mode. Otherwise it is 10ms.
Sputs come in six flavors…
- Up – Pulses start at SPL and get longer until they equal LPL
- Down – Pulses start at LPL and get shorter until they equal SPL
- Top – Output goes HIGH after delay. (Toggle mode)
- Bottom – Output goes LOW after delay (Toggle mode)
- Charm – Pulses don’t change length. Delay, pulse length and repetitions are programmable. (Stretch mode)
- Strange – Pulses occur randomly. (Maytag mode)
Modes of Operation
- Up – Generates a single Up sput.
- Down – Generates a single Down sput.
- Up/Down – Generates an Up sput followed by a Down sput.
- Down/Up – Generates a Down sput followed by an Up sput.
- Up Repeat – Generates Up sputs until a new trigger is received or the mode is changed.
- Down Repeat – Generates Down sputs until a new trigger is received or the mode is changed.
- Up/Down Repeat – Generates Up/Down sputs until a new trigger is received or the mode is changed.
- Down/Up Repeat – Generates Down/Up sputs until a new trigger is received or the mode is changed.
- Stretch – Generates from 1 to 100 uniform pulses separated by a delay.
- Toggle – Toggles the output after a delay.
- Maytag – Generates random pulses for up to 10 secs separated by a delay.
- User – User programmable sequence of Up and Down sputs.
Terminal Control
Plugging into the mini-USB port on the Sputterizer with a VT-100 terminal emulator such as PuTTY gives the user additional visual feedback for all modes of operation and opens up User mode. The image below shows the Sputterizer in Up mode using PuTTY.
An Example in User Mode
Get the Assembly Instructions
Download the Latest Code
License Info
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