The Stepped Tone Generator circuit by Forrest M Mims III has been around for ages. Recently the same circuit was rediscovered and reborn catching the attention of the Internet as the Atari Punk Console for its coarse and crunchy tones. When it became apparent that the demand for this sound was still great it was decided that offering a Kit is not such a bad idea. The original schematic and PCB transfer drawn up by Matthew Helm seemed like a good place to start, however it is riddled with needless complexity and was not something one could wrap their head around easily. Plus it was not taking the advantage of superior PCB mounting capabilities. Behold the Atari Punk Console (APC) 2.0! Redesigned entirely from scratch and based on the original schematic from the Radio Shack Book. The APC 2.0 is designed so that its components solder directly to the matching traces on the printed side of the board. It is quick and easy to put together even for a novice.
There are three major differences between the APC 2.0 and previous designs. First is that it is missing the volume knob. The volume knob seemed superfluous since the APC will typically be run through mixer. The second change was replacing the power switch with a trigger button to allow for short bursts of tone when it is pressed down. This change also saves the battery when not in use. The last improvement was the addition of a Capacitor Bank, which can be filled with various values of caps and switched on by connecting them to Ground through a second set of buttons. This allows for different tones based on how the buttons are pressed. Much time was spent documenting the assembly process so that anybody without prior experience can put this fun noise maker together. Everything you need is for sale in a Kit form at a low price of $22 ( Includes International Shipping ) and can be purchased through the GetLoFi.com/Shop Page.
Those who prefer to source their own parts feel free to order the PCBs À la carte, 5 Boards for $20 Shipped. The mask file for the board will not be published, however it is not rocket science to figure it out from the pictures if you choose to spend time doing that.
For me personally the best part about the APC 2.0 is not necessarily the sounds that it produces, but rather the variety of cases that could be used for housing the APC 2.0. Discarded objects destined for the landfill can be repurposed into musical instruments, from salad bowls to VHS tape cases, the sky is the limit.
what’s extra in the deluxe kit? just knobs? looks like i have some moneys to save.
In the Deluxe kit there is a Speaker, Photo sensor, LED, Extra Buttons for the Cap Bank, and extra Caps. All the links should be working just fine now. Thanks for catching that.
Hey man, nice work! I know how much work it is to put something like this together and get it documented.
The board layout looks sweet btw.
This is a very nice rendition of the stepped tone generator circuit. As I posted elsewhere, it’s nice to see this circuit in such wide use after all these years! Though it’s very simple, it’s among the most entertaining circuits I’ve ever designed. CdS photoresistors across one or both pots will allow you to control the sound sequences with a small LED light or laser pointer–or you can keep the room lights on and simply wave your hand(s) over the photoresistors. For very subtle manual control, mount levers on the pot shafts.
Forrest
Forrest M. Mims III
http://www.forrestmims.org
twitter.com/fmims
Dude…forrest Mims commented on your APC … that rules!!!!
Yeah I know! I’m flabbergasted!
If the bending/diy synth community doesn’t want to call it the Stepped Tone Generator, Ive always thought the APC should be renamed the MPC for Mims’ Punk Console!
Who’s with me on this?
Is it possible to mod this APC so the pitch or other functions are under CV control?
[...] ordered this wonderful kit from http://www.getlofi.com/?p=1462 bought myself a soldering iron, some solder and got to making following the pretty straight [...]
I wired the kit up – and it works like a charm – except for the speaker (6,1mm) output. as soon as I plug standard e-guitar cable into the output – the box goes dead. just like that. when i unplug the chord, i can use it as intended with the supplied little speaker ( I ordered the deluxe kit). what did I do wrong? I wired exactly as shown on the provided schematic?!
I would bet that you wired the output jack backwards. Its switching so when you plug something in it is supposed to disconnect the speaker. Because you have it backwards, it disconnects the APC signal. Please double check that. It should be fairly clear if you follow the wires and see the jack going in.
Cheers.
CM
that makes perfect sense. THANK YOU!!!
another question!
I just watched a youtube video – One of my pots (the one that does NOT alter the pitch – but does the glitch stuff) doesn’t seem to work right. It has a very small pitch variation during the first millimeters and very little (almost none) glitch/noise effect throughout the rest of the potentiometer. Could it be a cold solder point? any hints?
Yeah it could be, should be a nice range. Try heating those points again.
is there any way to controll this via midi? please send a responce to insanejuggalo10@hotmail.com thank you for the time
MIDI to APC is possible, you do need a MIDI to CV converter of some sort though.
Check out these Properboy videos he explains it a little bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2sEPoOK4GY
damn this is sweet,im getting one of these babies!!!!!!!!!
I just completed my build of this kit yesterday. I had some issues due to operator error (yes, I screwed up a few times) but I had fun doing it!
I agree with CM in the original post that finding a cool and interesting container/case was the best part… and then playing of course.
Here are some pics of my unit. I still want to do some paint/art and fix the LEDs. Note that my build contains parts from the Deluxe kit too (on/off switch, LEDs).
Photos of the built unit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alienmeatsack/sets/72157623092266847/
And 2 videos of it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtTVE36e3O0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XID6reILql8
I was almost as beginner as you could get when I started. I made some stupid mistakes, but I gotta tell ya, CM came thru, sent me new parts as needed, etc.
I have a 2nd kit (Deluxe) at home that is in a state of “what’s wrong with it?” that I am going to pull apart and build out next. Woot!