More oscillators

Late recap from last week: we forged ahead with a second oscillator design based on the 4093 quad-NOR chip. Some folks are still working with the 40106, which is fine--there's a ton of options in there, and you could play with just that one chip for weeks and not exhaust it. The 2nd circuit adds some twists, and most people got something going. I think a couple folks even started connecting the two together... we're starting to get dangerous.
A couple more hints based on last week's troubleshooting:

• On the solderless breadboards, make sure not to shove the wires in so far that the insulation gets into the breadboard hole... insulation = no connection = no love.


• Likewise, don't strip an inch of insulation off and then shove the whole thing into the board... it'll curl over underneath and short out to something you don't want. Practice the Middle Way.


• If you're starting to transfer your designs to those perfboards, think ahead: work out your layout before you start soldering (on the breadboard, or paper). Use a fine-tipped soldering iron and just enough solder--no big blobs. Try not to use any more heat than necessary, you will eventually cook either your components or board traces. For IC's, use sockets.


• The 386 amplifier is apparently a little power-hungry, and can drain your battery pretty fast (6 hours or so). You might want to put it on it's own battery, and make sure it's off when you aren't using it

Very glad to see some "finished" projects evolving out of this whole process. Almost everything we've built so far can be interconnected, and we're starting to see some frankensynths emerging. Keep bringing in your projects-in-process to show, or troubleshoot. Ted sent this pic of his monster Victorian synth, can't wait to hear it: