images via this auction. via z.Note these are not modular synthesizers but analog computers. If anyone out there has integrated Analog Computers with their modular gear, I'd be curious to hear about your experiences. Feel free to post them in the comments or send email.
Some details on these pulled from the auctions:
"CSI Model 6F13 Analog Computer. Serial number: 75
This computer contains the following 6 modules plus the main controller:
* 1 A/D Converter 8-bit
* 2 Summer Integrators
* 1 Comparator
* 1 Function Generator
* 1 Multiplier
CSI Model 6F13 Analog Computer. Serial number: 38This is a very rare analog computer that was built by Compumedic Sciences Incorporated. It was originally owned originally by the NTDC, (Naval Training Device Center) of Orlando, Florida and put into service in 1970. There isn't much information about this machine on the web and what information is out there is from people who purchased one of these from me a few years ago. You can see one of them here on the Old Computer Museum website.
Please note that I do not have a manual or any documentation for this machine! I also do not have any of the mini-banana patch cables that are needed to operate it. The plugs can be readily purchased from most electronics suppliers such as Mouser or Digi-Key.
The reason I had this and the other computers like it was that they can be used in experimental electronic music as they are electrically compatible with any modular system. Many analog computers such as the Heathkits have 100V signals! The CSI computer uses +/-15V signals which most modular systems can handle. Also, unlike most other analog computers, this one comes with a very good set of modules, some rather unique to this one, like the digital converters.
This computer contains the following 10 modules plus the main controller:
* 1 A/D Converter 8-bit
* 2 D/A Converter 8-bit
* 2 Summer Integrators
* 1 Summers
* 1 Differential Amplifier
* 1 Comparator
* 1 Function Generator
* 1 Multiplier"
Update via Tommy (also check out the comments of this post for more):
"this is a link to just the first page (ugh) of an article which appeared in vol 22 issue 2 of the computer music journal.
Its an amazing publication, most of it goes right over my head...theres some far out academic shit in there. Personally I'd rather just switch on a device, twiddle some knobs and see what happens "
what is this? Some kind of logic modules?
ReplyDeleteand the ad and da what do you do with these, bitcrushing?
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty rare, afaik only some police forces in Las Vegas, NY and Miami use them.
ReplyDeletefor what? New police sirene sounds? torturing people?
ReplyDeletestarting to understand a bit when looking at more at this but still dont understand what the ad and da modules are for, is it to take an external signal in and out of the machine, does it not work at all with analog signals? And whats the police got to do with this? Or what does afaik mean, I don`t know this interweb language that good.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's baffeled Floridians for years why there is a naval traning base in the middle of the state. It's kind of ironic when 95%of the state is coastline.
ReplyDeleteafaik means "as far as I know"
ReplyDeletei don´t understand
ReplyDeletei'd say at a guess the D/A module is for getting digital signals IN to this, and A/D getting them OUT
ReplyDeleteJB's making a joke. The company is called CSI...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that the ad and da was hooked to some diagnostic equipment...thermometer, spectrograph, etc.
ReplyDeletethere was a really good article in the computer music journal a couple of years back about using analog computers for music. they had it hooked up to a buchla and were making all manner of crazy chaos patches.. will try and dig out a link
ReplyDeletethat article is in Vol. 22 Issue 2
ReplyDeletedont think its available online though
a good library should have a copy
the first page is here, how annoying
ReplyDeletehttp://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0148-9267%28199822%2922%3A2%3C12%3ACSS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage
RE: Dan Slater article. It used to be online at his site, but I'll be darned if I can find it anywhere. Dan works for Nearfield, the people that used to make the Buchla Marimba Lumina. But his other stuff (biking, fisheye cameras, etc.) is pretty interesting, too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nearfield.com/~dan/
-andrew bunny
When I studied electronics we had such a machine. I had to use it for learning PID controllers. The other students used a more modern computer. I quit liked it because it was easy to understand. We had to plug in wires and be careful not to sit too close to the machine. Our body influenced the outcome. We used a plotter to plot the results on paper.
ReplyDelete