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"If Internet advertising has proven one thing, it’s that you simply cannot annoy people into liking you."
G.M. O'Connell, Modem Media
Some of the things we don't do are:
Need more information? Contact Rick:
If you don't get a reply within a reasonable amount of time then you most likely didn't give me enough information or maybe my spam filters ate it. Again, overkill rather than underkill.
© 2004-2008 by Rick Chinn. All rights reserved.
The materials on this page and pages linked to it (including any drawings or photographs) are copyrighted and I am the copyright holder unless otherwise noted. I reserve all rights to this material. If you want users on your site to access this material from your website, please link to this site.
The article on the Theremin appeared in Popular Electronics in 1967 and they hold the copyright on it.
Christopher Hicks holds the copyright for the PZM modification page bearing his name.
The acronym "PZM" is a trademark owned by Crown International, a Harman International company. It's appearance here in no way alters their ownership of same. Likewise, Radio Shack is a trademark of Tandy Corporation. They still own the trademark; why would I even think I wanted to own it?
Other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners.
Universal Attenuator Pad board now available.
Add-on 2.6lb counterweight for Beyer/AKG/KM boom stands. Helps balance the boom arm, especially when using heavy microphones like the RE20.
New circuit board for RS PZM microphone modification (2006).
The Artful Solderer is a handy reference book about the art of soldering.
Ampex Transistor Cross-Reference
Design your own attenuator pads.
A program for finding the nearest standard value of a resistor or capacitor.
Articles of varying sorts.
Phantom Powering for condenser microphones.
Theremin construction article.
Sound System and Other Stuff
M-S Recording Resource.
Radio Shack PZM microphone modification.
Miscellaneous Stuff of various sorts.
Tingler Innovations has been working on a new version of this handy tool. The new Solder Buddy
will be made from hardwood. That's all the details I have right now. A preliminary version is headed
this way for testing.
Stay tuned.
Enter The Artful Solderer. This handy booklet takes you though the steps and shows you the way. Even if you can't join two wires together with bubble gum, Lee Tingler shows you how to do it with solder. It's as easy as one, two, three! By the way, he also shows you how to use bubble gum in an emergency to join two wires.
The Artful Solderer is available from Uneeda Audio. Click here for more information.
First I tried creating something with FoxPro, The Fox app worked, but the thought of having to enter thousands of lines into the database was totally daunting.
Next I tried hacking one of the sample apps that comes with Access into something potentially useful. It worked ok. Just OK. I already had an Excel spreadsheet of my CDs, but it was limited to artist and title. I thought it would be really nice to have track listings in the database, which would facillitate finding a particular song when you don't remember the artist, or you want to know what other versions of that tune are in your collection. Now coding (programming) issues aside, think about how much work is involved entering the data. It's not a coding problem... IT'S A HUGE DATA ENTRY PROBLEM!
Well, it's all done here. Plug and Play. Inexpensive at that! I tried a shareware copy of CD Trustee and liked it enough to buy it!
CD Trustee solves this quite handily by using the CDDB online music database. To enter a disc into the database, open your computer's cd drive and insert the disc. CD Trustee enters it into a list, and then opens the drive and prompts you for the next disc. When you've run the discs thru the drive that you're going to catalog, you tell the program that you're done, and off it goes into cyberspace to locate the cds that you entered, and when it does, it retrieves the track information and other data. Then it does the next item in the list. There is little or no interraction from you. It takes perhaps 20 seconds to load a CD into the drive, read it, and spit it out again. By batching the read process, the program really cuts significantly into the drudgery of this simple task.
So, why am I devoting space on my website for some other programmer's product? That's a good question, and I'm not going to answer it. But the CD Trustee website will answer it, and it'll become crystal clear why I'm helping to advertise this great program. Oh! Windows only...Sorry Mac Guys!
November 2002: I just got Mike's V2 program update and it makes his already great program even better. He added several features that I wanted, like additional user-specified fields (Try that with Microsoft!), and added a spreadsheet-like facility for editing many entries at once. If you have to make a lot of additions to your database, this is a much easier way to do the deed than pointing and clicking.
I just can't say enough good things about CD Trustee. If you have a pile of CDs and need to catalog them, you need this program.
There, I've said it. Now go buy it. It's a good thing.
November 2003:
I just upgraded to the pro version of this program. The big deal (to me at least) is the local copy of the CDDB database stored on your local machine. This is handy for those times when you're not connected to the Internet. Another new feature allows cataloging non-cd media (vinyl?). This also lets you look up all albums by a particular artist or all artists who have done a particular song (limited to what's already been entered into CDDB).
Arthur Harrison's way-kewl Theremin page DIY here!
You can learn more about the different RS PZM and boundary microphones here.
A small kit of parts is available for this modification. It consists of a circuit board, and all resistors, capacitors, and semiconductors needed to construct the transformerless output module. It does not include a case, hardware, or any connectors. There are instructions to help get the board assembled. You need to know how to assemble a printed circuit board in order to complete this. Click here for prices.
RoHS update. The kit is intended to extend the service life of a non-compliant article that was place in service prior to adoption of the RoHS directive (2006 July 1). For this reason, the kit can be considered a repair activity. Repair parts are exempt per the RoHS Directive, Article 2, section 3. I will only ship RoHS compliant parts to EU member states, but I believe this considerably eases the burden of proof.
I will now offer additional services, such as assembly. The board has been revised (from 2003), and the circuit modified slightly. There are now provisions for an optional power LED. There is no difference in audio performance.
The circuit board can be used with all three of the different RS PZM/Boundary Microphone products. The board must be stuffed differently for the PZM than the later two models. In addition, the board can be stuffed to operate as an active direct box suitable for use with acoustic instrument pickups, and it can also operate with a generic electret condenser capsule. In direct box mode, there is no provision for ground lifting, so it is not suitable for use with an instrument amplifier. The new board is available now.
I can accept payment via PayPal. Be sure to send email first so that you have the correct paypal address.
NOTE: No license is granted with respect to this circuit. Permission is hereby granted to construct the circuit and use it for your own use. Permission to use this circuit in a commercial context (i.e. turn it into a product for sale) is not granted.
Price List
The PZM Page
Assembly Guide (2006, 800kb pdf)
Assembly Guide (original kit, 377kb pdf)
the RoHS Directive (21k pdf)
Have you ever had the idea of making adaptors to convert a common-ordinary extension cord (with NEMA 5-15 connectors) into a speaker cable? Did you shelve the idea quickly after the briefest reconsideration?
This guy got the idea and actually tried to take it to market, but I guess he never thought twice about what he had really done.
Don't even think about trying this. Do you know the expected lifespan of a 8-ohm loudspeaker that has been connected to 120VAC? Don't tell me about Cerwin-Vega (who used to do this); that's a special case.
This data sheet is real. At least the developer/inventor(?) of this product thought so. I picked this up at the 1996 AES convention.
There may be a way to do this using the phantom supply from the mixer, but I had an idea for an instant solution (instant from my perspective), and if someone wants to pay me to research the other solution, then that's what will have to be done. Don't complain to me. This is free.
Schematic Diagram
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This is the best that I can do: I respect your privacy. Please respect mine.
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