Tools - Hardware

Computers - general / Engineering / Tools - Hardware — No Comments
9
Jun 11

iOS

It has been way to long since the last post, so here is a brief notification about what’s going on at work (FourMs):

I am currently working on an app for iOS-devices that spits out data from any sensor available via Apples API. This is nothing new since we already has TouchOSC and many others, but I am doing it for a couple of reasons:

  • GDIF – All sensor devices of the same species are created equal, or not. With a common namespace for similar observations (sensor data about the world) we wouldn’t have to care so much about hardware variations and I think GDIF can come to the rescue.
  • Analysis – Some analysis is already available via Apple’s API, but there is more to analysis than pinch and rotate. To get control over these things it makes sense to make an app that can serve as a framework for testing of new ideas.
  • Communication – I’ll come back to the whys on this in an official article
  • Visuals – We need control over the screen. This is not a button/slider app.

So this is for sure a brief post about something that deserve something a lot longer, but first things first! There is more in the pipeline.

cheers
Arve

Engineering / Tools - Hardware — No Comments
16
Apr 10

Short post: Just sharing some exiting MIT sensor news

This came in via the MIT-feed today:

“The CBA researchers’ device can do the work of at least six different micromechanical sensors. It can measure linear motion in three dimensions, which would ordinarily require three accelerometers. But it can also gauge its orientation — whether it’s tipped sideways or forward, or it’s been rotated — which would usually require an additional three gyroscopes.” (source: MIT)

Design / Engineering / Music / Tools - Hardware — No Comments
30
Oct 09

Contact microphones

Sensors are often a requisite for a successful end product when making a new interface for human-machine interaction. Contact microphones are one of my favourite sensors, and now we have a new batch of them in the workshop.

Contact mics are designed to pick up sound transmitted through hard materials: A contact mic glued to a table will pick up sounds that are made when things hit the table, but not what those around the table talk about.

Glue it on your floor, and make your computer aware of feet, toys, parts hitting your floor. By using a grid of contact mics you can even get a rough approximation on the position of things that are moving around!

Contact mic on my MacBook touch plate

Contact mic on my MacBook touch plate

Cheers
Arve.

Computers - general / Engineering / Tools - Hardware / Tools - Software — No Comments
27
Sep 09

Active speakers

I have set up a pair of active speakers and a subwoofer in my rehearsal studio: Two dB (dB Technologies) Opera Live 402 fullrange speakers, and one dB Sub15.

This is a setup that is sufficient for small gigs in clubs and such. The 402 speakers are rated at 500+100 watts, the Sub15 is rated 800 watts.

Point is: I sell this stuff, and want you to know about it. If you need speakers, microphones, cables or anything related to this, please contact. I have tested a lot of this for years, and I am confident that the products I sell is high quality, reliable and reasonably priced.

So why buy from Avols? Because Avols is about custom software and hardware. This means that you can buy speakers (and related stuff) and get software and/or hardware made for you and your needs.

You can save a lot of money if we set up a complete system running advanced, good sounding custom software creations for audio processing.

Please contact if you want more info. I will post more about projects that Avols has done in the past to illustrate how we do things.

cheers
Arve

Computers - general / Concert / Guitar / Tools - Hardware / Tools - Software — 1 Comment
19
Feb 09

Bulkyness or elegance?

I have bought me my very first mp3-player, and it is an iPod. Now I am one of them. One of those with a white headset, except I really dislike walking and listening to music at the same time. It is like driving and eating, both things are fun, but it is best to stop, eat and drive again. Enough! Now to the bulkyness and elegance.

I have seen the Lemur (Jazzmutant multitouch screen) up close and personal, and I think it is bulky. It definitely has a bulky price tag, I don’t need a big screen with multitouch, I want several small ones, and there comes the elegance of the iPod Touch. It is super thin, super light and super affordable, and the battery last more than long enough for a soundcheck and a concert.

If you have an iPod touch or an iPhone, then buy one of the OSC-apps in the appstore. I have downloaded two, and a third one is on its way. The first one I tested was the TouchOSC, and it made me happy. However I am excited about the text definable interface in MRMR, and will definitely spend some time exploring it.

This is my first post about this, but it will not be the last. Keep an eye on this, and I think we will have something beautiful for your hands and ears.

cheers
Arve

Tools - Hardware — 2 Comments
11
Dec 08

Multitouch

Found this video, and multitouch for 50$ seems like a good deal!


Multitouch Prototype 2 from Randy Jones on Vimeo.

Tools - Hardware — No Comments
14
Jun 08

So I’ve been Phidgeting…..

Phidgets has many nice products but I do not like to rely on anything USB. Therefore I have avoided those tempting Phidgets until now. It is easy, it is small, has 8 analog ins and 8 digital ins and outs. This is obviously called PhidgetInterfaceKit 8/8/8 and it is growing on me. I like the ease of Phidgeting so much that I am going to build me an instrument and find out how reliable USB will be in my setup.

My Avols interface (I will post more on this later) will still be my first choice, but the Phigdets might turn out as a very good alternative in many cases where high quality AD, DA or Ethernet is not required.

If you want to phidget then make sure you get the right crimps and housings for your cable (see phidget manual for part numbers). And I almost forgot: That insanely priced crimp-tool is required as well (See the company that make the crimps (Molex in this case) for tools). In Norway these things cost around 400$. Please correct me if I’m wrong!

Computers - general / Tools - Hardware — No Comments
3
May 08

Macbook and RME Multiface I

Back in those cold December days when I bought me a macbook I thought to myself: What a wonderful day. Then it struck me, as by lightning, that to get enough money to buy a fire-wire audio interface that would fit my Macbook, I would have to let my Multiface go. But I couldn’t. Because it would be stupid to get rid of such a good audio card when it would be a perfect adat break out box for another card. So I kept it, tried the audio inputs on the Macbook and it worked. Not pristine, but it worked.

Yesterday I thought to myself: This is a great day for some optical SPDIF. Clas Ohlson had the toslink to jack cables, my Macbook has its optical in- and outputs and the Multiface has SPDIF on coax but also (selectable) on its ADAT-in and out. Perfect. The internal routing on the Multiface is a beauty. From my Ecstacy to the Multiface and then out on SPDIF (optical) to the Macbook and back again.

As if this wasn’t enough, the Multiface is still connected to my Windows horse running the great Samplitude. Two computers – one audio card. Sounds good to me. Now I have my guitar software running on the Macbook and Samplitude on the Windozer and the Multiface handles both of them.

As if this wasn’t enough the Multiface can be disconnected from the PC-Card and ramble on in standalone mode. No need for a cardbus to use its ins and outs, just for setting them up each time the Multiface has been unpowered. Tedious.

EDIT: I was a bit to happy about this the other day when I thought that the Multiface remembered its settings…. No internal memory. It would have been a very nice feature if it could rememeber it self. And I mean, come on, home much memory would you need for something like that? It’s probably just a register setting anyway.

Cheers

Guitar / Tools - Hardware — No Comments
15
Mar 08

More make up…..

Electro-Harmonix has given their web site an overhaul and since they promise more content, and since they are synonymous with the early days of guitar pedal innovation I hope they have something new and really exiting up their sleeves for guitar artistry.

Tools - Hardware / Tools - Software — No Comments
28
Feb 08

Freescale is on the ball

http://www.freescale.com/files/multimedia/TSP-12837_8Ball_071008.wmv

I played around with a similar thing from freescale two years ago, and it is very nice to handle a sensor that knows if it is free falling or not. I like it.

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