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A Homemade 555 Four-Hand Sextet Synthesizer

April 2017

Gizmo, the Four-Hand Sextet Synthesizer



Cool. What does it?

Here are some photos of my Winter 2017 project. And Spring. And possibly Summer.

It started out as an integration of a dozen or so electronics kits that I had assembled over the years, but like the universe we live in it evolved into a seemingly infinitely expanding project.

Right. So What it does?

It also satisfies a longtime desire to do something cool with a couple of really neat control panels salvaged from some test equipment associated with a mainframe computer that Bishops University scrapped back in the '80s.

Ok, ok. So What it does?

The project is consists of six N555 astable multivibrators under the control of six variable interval timers which are in turn under the control of a master variable interval timer and four environmental sensors and all monitored by an oscilloscope and a digital counter.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What it does, man?

I call it the 4-Hand 555 Sextet. Model 456.

Are you going to tell us what it does or not?

Oh, did I say it will be Bluetooth enabled?

Tell me what it does or I'm out of here!

Very well then. What it does is, it does many things. It is multi-purpose, multifunctional, multi-sensoral, and highly versatile. You might think of it as a musical instrument capable of being played by 1 or 2 musicians.

It also functions as

Marketing is working on a bigger list. I'll keep you posted.

Whole Lotta Drillin' Goin' On!



Make Mine Swiss



Lots O'Parts



Begin Trial Assembly



Trial Assembly #27



Rigging Selectors



Wedding Cake Anyone?



Now for 200' of wire



Multivibrators



Interconnective Wire



Birds Eye View



O'scope & Counter



B Panel & Timers



Pre-Wiring Check



Man with a Plan



Oscillator Wiring



Environmental Wiring



Power Distribution



Timer Wiring



All Interconnective



Getting Wired