DRAX 2: revision 3.3

so i have really gone crazy. i realized while using the sequencers i have allready made that i love to use them and need more.. but being me and unhappy with they way they are .. i modiy and modify. why? cause ive always wanted to know how to do this kind of stuff. and sequencers are the only better than synths :) they are the brains that tell the arms and hands what colours and how to paint them. anyway.. so ive started this monster and figured out how to do several crucial things. 1: buffer the cmos digital control signals (allowing for longer wire runs with no defective artifacts in the controls), 2:use the cool dpdt switches that are oh so cheap (5 for a buck from allelectronics.com) and how to mount them in several style of enclosures. 3: the system for making wiring all the posts and crap much easier and faster. 4: how to build them physically so they are easier to repair or modify in the future.

so.. ive printed out a full size 300 dpi black and white copy of the face plate overlay. then rubber cemented it to the rack plate ii salvaged a while back. , then punched all the holes so as to not have the drill bit wander at all. then drilled baby. drilled. and drilled. some i couldnt do on the press since the span from the post on the press to the bit wasnt large enough any which way to fit the plate in.. so they were done the old fashioned way by hand and a power drill. anyway did every hole. for everything. alot.. then fit everything through with actual components to test fit and placement. especially all 48 of the switches. they were crucial since they have to be thru the holes so the 4/40 thread quarter inch bolts can thread into the body of the dpdt switch. i had to drill each switch hole out and re thread it to that size. they were TINY and just couldnt find the tread anywhere for them.. i imagine they were metric. but very small. so anyway i modified them and have it now..

so its all drilled. i also began making/laying/designing the armature and arrangement of the boards behind the face plate. i have 2 analog boards, one digital board, 2 led buffer boards, one gate channel board, and a cmos control line buffer board. so its not crowded but not spacious. it will be ok to wire if im careful and neat. also have been planning out how to face the boards so they are easy to remove and repair without dissambleing everything. im cutting the back fot he enclosure to have a hinged door so it will allow access without removal of a thousand screws or anything. good physical design goes along way. something i think manyfactures now forgot. they just design that shit to be throw away. fuckers.

anyway the ther projects on the bench are the cr-8000. i had to clean several of the swiches on it.. no fun. but not too bad. so i decided to mod it with trigger ins and individual outs. easy job. but i also found alot of info on the net as to how to make it into a big drum synth. im totally diggin that. so its getting a partial mod now and a big one later.

the other thing is the POLY 6 . needs the typical battery board repair. what a mess. it can live though. just needs a whole lot TLC. that guy is LUUUUUUUSH. he needs to work.