CYGN-B

[Greg]

I remember reading the book "A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" years ago. One episode which stuck with me was, in my interpretation, a cautionary tale directed toward givers of gifts. The narrator takes it upon himself to seek out a sorcerer whom Don Juan had mentioned. On finding and meeting the person, the narrator name drops Don Juan, and the sorcerer gives the narrator a gift of rare plants, and cryptic instructions regarding their care. Unfortunately, the narrator is not the accomplished sorcerer he was mistaken for, and the gift is wasted and lost. The takeaway being, make sure the person to whom one gives a gift actually recognizes the full scope of what is being given.

It's a drag, but I have to travel again. Fortunately, an entirely unexpected shipment arrived today. Two days later and I would have missed it. There is much to present and discuss regarding what was sent. The item of immediate use which I am thrilled to receive is the (see photo) plate of metal from a V!b panel in which the CYGN-B controls get mounted.

Something of great potential significance that was also graciously sent to me, is a collection of four un-populated printed circuit boards that are obviously modules of the mark 6 or perhaps the mark 4. Of course I would very much like to know which modules these boards are. I'll post photos once I get where I'm going, and we'll see if anyone has some educated guesses to throw.

I have photographed the newly sent materials, put most of it in a bank vault awaiting my return, and packed up the CYGN-B to take with me, as I expect to be able to complete the build while I'm away.

An update regarding the DOGN: This project is basically complete now, except for porting the DOGN algorithms to the cyc emulator. See the photo for the three small pieces of hardware needed. One is the SD card reader that replaces the 1541 disk drive. All that is on the card is a less than 2K file containing the assembled code. Another item seen in the photo is the DigiMAX stereo DAC. The third is an easy to build set of two potentiometers (paddles) which connect to game port 1. This setup requires only the C64 keyboard and power supply, SD reader, DAC, and dials box. In other words, the monitor and disk drive do not need to be set up in order for the DOGN code to load and run.

I have set up the Catweazle galvos and obtained video footage of all the DOGN effects and patches, and also a demonstration of using the pots to offset the frequencies of the dogloid oscillators. This footage will become available as a short documentary on the DOGN Which I will edit and post while I am away.

Ron, would you care to describe the exhibit in which your yellow HeNe is being used? I remember in the 1970's, the Ontario Science Center had two HeNe (red) lasers used in exhibits, apart from their world class laser demonstration. None of this now exists. One was a demonstration of audio transmitted by modulation of the light, and the other was showing the internal reflections of a laser beam in a glass rod, representing an optical fiber.

[laserist]

I apologize, but there's still stuff to come... including a thumb drive that will ID the boards - most of Laserium's boards were 44 pin Vector wire wrap boards, I'll be sending some of those too. What you do (or don't) is up to you... ;-)

[ronhip]

Greg,

The exhibit I mentioned is basically a laser demonstration table. Sorry, I don't seem to have a photo right now. Maybe after the pandemic. On this table, and protected under a plastic cover, we have RGB laser diodes, and the yellow HeNe. The beams come out parallel and separated by about 6" and travel across the length of the table about 1" above the tabletop. We keep them down low on the table to increase safety. All beams are 5mW or below. We have various optical devices (mirrors, lenses, cylindrical light pipes, shower-glass, diffraction gratings, and much more) that our "Explainers" (what we call our student docents) can use to demonstrate principles of light. We also have an ultrasonic mister they can use to reveal the beams. It's all pretty basic, but you get the idea.

Ron

I remember reading the book "A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" years ago. One episode which stuck with me was, in my interpretation, a cautionary tale directed toward givers of gifts. The narrator takes it upon himself to seek out a sorcerer whom Don Juan had mentioned. On finding and meeting the person, the narrator name drops Don Juan, and the sorcerer gives the narrator a gift of rare plants, and cryptic instructions regarding their care. Unfortunately, the narrator is not the accomplished sorcerer he was mistaken for, and the gift is wasted and lost. The takeaway being, make sure the person to whom one gives a gift actually recognizes the full scope of what is being given.

It's a drag, but I have to travel again. Fortunately, an entirely unexpected shipment arrived today. Two days later and I would have missed it. There is much to present and discuss regarding what was sent. The item of immediate use which I am thrilled to receive is the (see photo) plate of metal from a V!b panel in which the CYGN-B controls get mounted.

Something of great potential significance that was also graciously sent to me, is a collection of four un-populated printed circuit boards that are obviously modules of the mark 6 or perhaps the mark 4. Of course I would very much like to know which modules these boards are. I'll post photos once I get where I'm going, and we'll see if anyone has some educated guesses to throw.

I have photographed the newly sent materials, put most of it in a bank vault awaiting my return, and packed up the CYGN-B to take with me, as I expect to be able to complete the build while I'm away.

An update regarding the DOGN: This project is basically complete now, except for porting the DOGN algorithms to the cyc emulator. See the photo for the three small pieces of hardware needed. One is the SD card reader that replaces the 1541 disk drive. All that is on the card is a less than 2K file containing the assembled code. Another item seen in the photo is the DigiMAX stereo DAC. The third is an easy to build set of two potentiometers (paddles) which connect to game port 1. This setup requires only the C64 keyboard and power supply, SD reader, DAC, and dials box. In other words, the monitor and disk drive do not need to be set up in order for the DOGN code to load and run.

I have set up the Catweazle galvos and obtained video footage of all the DOGN effects and patches, and also a demonstration of using the pots to offset the frequencies of the dogloid oscillators. This footage will become available as a short documentary on the DOGN Which I will edit and post while I am away.

Ron, would you care to describe the exhibit in which your yellow HeNe is being used? I remember in the 1970's, the Ontario Science Center had two HeNe (red) lasers used in exhibits, apart from their world class laser demonstration. None of this now exists. One was a demonstration of audio transmitted by modulation of the light, and the other was showing the internal reflections of a laser beam in a glass rod, representing an optical fiber.

[Greg]

Here is the link to the dogloids catalog video:
https://youtu.be/fJ7kAR7D8yU

Attached photos show oscillator 2 of the CYGN-B now working. That means all three oscillators are now done except for the minor bug seen in the photo. The discontinuity in the sine wave shows a wiring error involving the rows of resistors.

I'm away from home for a while, and the only oscilloscope I could scrounge up doesn't have xy mode. I did stuff a 2W RGB system into my back pack though, so I should be able to document the operation of the CYGN-B with that and post the results. There was only one staff screening carry on, and that person seemed to be completely unfamiliar with the sight of bags of resistors, a soldering iron, a guitar capo, the CYGN-B, etc. But the thing that most flustered the person was simply a gimbal mount. Kept asking WHAT is this?

Brian, I'm super psyched with the possibility of seeing and testing specimens of the wire wrap vintage technology. As mentioned though, I'm not at home to receive shipments, so please contact me for arrangements prior to sending anything.

[laserist]

Here is the link to the dogloids catalog video:
https://youtu.be/fJ7kAR7D8yU

The DOGN board could never have run as fast as your video does at times. Its timing was based upon a 555 timer generating a reset signal. At some point the reset stepped on the image algorithm and that's all she wrote until you turned down the speed control.

[Greg]

That is interesting. I wondered what the 555 was for. It also explains why the entry point to the code in the documentation is labeled RESET.

Here is a repost of information provided previously by Brian regarding the CYGNB panel controls:

The CYGNB was built around a 44 pin Vector form factor (4.50" x 6.50" x 0.062"). Some of the early boards were wire-wrapped - and were geek Artwork. It used 10K - 10 turn pots for frequency. There was a 10V reference on the board for the frequency pots. The gain/symmetry used Allen Bradley triple coax modpots dual 10k for X&Y and a single 20K for symmetry. The symmetry worked by exposing the X or Y summing junction to ground. The AM & FM gain each used 10K dual coax modpots. Polarity was done with EAO switches. The master Gain was a 10K dual pot. All the pots were linear. (end quote)

Attached photo shows the Allen Bradley coax modpots. I've figured out how to mix and match these to get what is needed. I'm short a 20K, but I can work around that.

Something I'd like to know is if the other side of the frequency control pot receiving the 10V reference voltage connects to ground, connects to the wiper, or is not connected.

[laserist]

That is interesting. I wondered what the 555 was for. It also explains why the entry point to the code in the documentation is labeled RESET.

Here is a repost of information provided previously by Brian regarding the CYGNB panel controls:

The CYGNB was built around a 44 pin Vector form factor (4.50" x 6.50" x 0.062"). Some of the early boards were wire-wrapped - and were geek Artwork. It used 10K - 10 turn pots for frequency. There was a 10V reference on the board for the frequency pots. The gain/symmetry used Allen Bradley triple coax modpots dual 10k for X&Y and a single 20K for symmetry. The symmetry worked by exposing the X or Y summing junction to ground. The AM & FM gain each used 10K dual coax modpots. Polarity was done with EAO switches. The master Gain was a 10K dual pot. All the pots were linear. (end quote)

Attached photo shows the Allen Bradley coax modpots. I've figured out how to mix and match these to get what is needed. I'm short a 20K, but I can work around that.

Something I'd like to know is if the other side of the frequency control pot receiving the 10V reference voltage connects to ground, connects to the wiper, or is not connected.

First, I've been looking at old hardware to send out and I may have been wrong about the am/fm pot either I've got a bunch of stuff for something else or the am was 10k the fm was 100k.

Second, the 10k - 10 turn frequency pots had ground and 10 volts across the pot and the wiper went to the input of the VCO.

[Greg]

Ok, that's great info, thanks Brian. I'll keep that in mind when testing the build which is nearing completion. If you do decide to send materials, please contact me for an address update so nothing irreplaceable gets misplaced.

Ron: in case you want to send me your board at some point and have me repair it and send it back to you, I'd be happy to do so. I doubt there is anything on that board I couldn't diagnose and fix, and the legacy inventory I'm currently holding has spare parts.

[laserist]

Ok, that's great info, thanks Brian. I'll keep that in mind when testing the build which is nearing completion. If you do decide to send materials, please contact me for an address update so nothing irreplaceable gets misplaced.

Ron: in case you want to send me your board at some point and have me repair it and send it back to you, I'd be happy to do so. I doubt there is anything on that board I couldn't diagnose and fix, and the legacy inventory I'm currently holding has spare parts.

Oh, I've got some odds and ends lying around that I'm never going to use for lasers since my design philosophy has evolved a bit over the years, but it can wait until you get home. At the moment I want to build up a box that will take The Radiator's ILDA output and insert Laserium style Color Mod I, II, and chopper. The Radiators #9 preset has something like a Laserium color mod using a LFO, so you can do gain (somewhat), but the gain has visible steps & isn't remotely as responsive as I'd like. I've thought about buying a MIDI surface, but - old school... Next step, four output channels with master x/y gain, individual gains, variable rotation, fixed rotation, and joysticks with damping and overrides. We'll see how it goes from there.

[swamidog]

Oh, I've got some odds and ends lying around that I'm never going to use for lasers since my design philosophy has evolved a bit over the years, but it can wait until you get home. At the moment I want to build up a box that will take The Radiator's ILDA output and insert Laserium style Color Mod I, II, and chopper. The Radiators #9 preset has something like a Laserium color mod using a LFO, so you can do gain (somewhat), but the gain has visible steps & isn't remotely as responsive as I'd like. I've thought about buying a MIDI surface, but - old school... Next step, four output channels with master x/y gain, individual gains, variable rotation, fixed rotation, and joysticks with damping and overrides. We'll see how it goes from there.

i took a look at preset #9.. I don't if by "gain" you mean intensity or something else, but LFO1 and LFO2 are sending some data to the intensity channel and that may make it less responsive than what you're expecting. If you unroute those signals, it might be smoother for you.