New FV-1 based module

[Ice-9]

Fantastic, I just oirdered the chip at £21.55 delivered, Looking forward to building a test module of my own. One question i hope you can answer for me Frank, what is the package/pattern for the chip for PCB  making. (eg 28 pin soic, TSOP,etc)
Thanks again, this chip has really got me thinking again.

OOPS sorry just re-checked the datasheet and it does indeed say 28soic

[markeebee]

I've been discussing with Frank the possibility of arranging a UK group buy his lovely reverb & delay module.  The plan would be to get the boards delivered to me in a batch and then I'd post them on in the UK.  I would do this as a kind of favour, I guess, and not as a way of making any kind of profit. 

Based on a quantity of 10 boards in total, the price would be £21.85.  This comes down to 15.90 to buy the board, 3.80 to ship it from the states, 1.65 to deliver signed for in UK, 0.50 for a padded envelope.  No charge for the couple of bits of old cardboard box to pack it 

Obviously, less quantity = more expensive and vice versa.

Please leave a message here or, ideally, PM me if you want one.  Or more.

[SeanCostello]

Hi Frank:

Any ability for the user to program their own algorithms directly onto the board? Or, any possibility for a socketed EEPROM solution, for putting your own EEPROMs into place?

I definitely want a few of these, but am not at a position where I can commit to 25 programmed with the same code.

Thanks,

Sean Costello

[octfrank]

Hi Frank:

Any ability for the user to program their own algorithms directly onto the board? Or, any possibility for a socketed EEPROM solution, for putting your own EEPROMs into place?

I definitely want a few of these, but am not at a position where I can commit to 25 programmed with the same code.

Thanks,

Sean Costello

Actually, yes. The 2-pin header on the top of the board is wired to the data and clock pins on the EEPROM. I use a hacked FV-1 development board along with SpinAsm to program test sets into the module I use for development. All the board needs in this case is power and gnd on the 16-pin header and clock and data to the 2-pin header (clock is the pin with the little "C" over it, the one next to the FV-1, the other has a "D" over it for data), you can leave all other pins un-connected (the S0,1,2 pins are pulled low through 10K resistors on the module).

[SeanCostello]

I use a hacked FV-1 development board along with SpinAsm to program test sets into the module I use for development. All the board needs in this case is power and gnd on the 16-pin header and clock and data to the 2-pin header (clock is the pin with the little "C" over it, the one next to the FV-1, the other has a "D" over it for data), you can leave all other pins un-connected (the S0,1,2 pins are pulled low through 10K resistors on the module).

Excellent! Where should I pull the signals off of my FV-1 development board?

Thanks,

Sean

[SeanCostello]

Is this the sort of thing that could use a cleverly wired 8-pin socket connecting to a 2-pin cable, where the socket plugs into the existing EEPROM socket on the FV-1 development board? That would be neat, as it would be a non-permanent hack to the FV-1 development board, although mine sounds a bit iffy right now (I might have damaged the FV-1 with static).

Sean Costello

[octfrank]

OK, first all the standard disclaimers: OCT does not support or encourage users re-programming the modules, you do so at your own risk. OCT does not support or encourage users making modifications to the FV-1 development system, you do so at your own risk.

So, what I have done (and OCT does not support or encourage etc., etc.) is removed the FV-1 and EEPROM from the board, added a 16-pin header, wired the 5V power and gnd to the header and wired a 2-pin header to the serial clock and data pin where the EEPROM was on the dev system. The dev system schematic is available on the Spin web site so you can see where to tap power, ground, etc.

I did it this way so there would be no conflict between the FV-1/EEPROM on the dev board and the ones on the module because after loading a new program into the EEPROM the dev board toggles the int/ext signal to reload the program into the FV-1 which would cause the EEPROM on the dev board to drive the data line and maybe conflict with the module EEPROM.

[puretube]

 

[octfrank]

Here's my board. There are a lot more changes than required to just program the module, I've removed the 3.3 regulator from the dev board so that I could drive the pots and selector with the 3.3V from the module, wired the pots and selector to the header (under the module) and removed all the passive components and wired the audio jacks to the header.

[Ice-9]

Hi Frank,
I received my FV-1 chip today and looking forward to making up a pcb for my own module.

I have two tech quesions if thats ok to ask,
I was wondering if its possible to use a different eeprom from the 24Lxxx series for the external program  chip ?
I was also wondering if the internal FV-1 chip programs are flashed to the dhip after manufacture meaning the factory could change the 8 standard programs, or are they a part of the chip die proccess ?

I've been discussing with Frank the possibility of arranging a UK group buy his lovely reverb & delay module.  The plan would be to get the boards delivered to me in a batch and then I'd post them on in the UK.  I would do this as a kind of favour, I guess, and not as a way of making any kind of profit.  

Based on a quantity of 10 boards in total, the price would be £21.85.  This comes down to 15.90 to buy the board, 3.80 to ship it from the states, 1.65 to deliver signed for in UK, 0.50 for a padded envelope.  No charge for the couple of bits of old cardboard box to pack it  

Obviously, less quantity = more expensive and vice versa.

Please leave a message here or, ideally, PM me if you want one.  Or more.

@markeebee, If you are getting some of the modules i will definately buy one. Thanks

[octfrank]

I have two tech quesions if thats ok to ask,
I was wondering if its possible to use a different eeprom from the 24Lxxx series for the external program  chip ?

Not really, you really do need the 24LC32A or equiv.

I was also wondering if the internal FV-1 chip programs are flashed to the dhip after manufacture meaning the factory could change the 8 standard programs, or are they a part of the chip die proccess ?

It's part of the die process so they cannot be easily changed. Custom programs at the chip level require orders in VERY large quantities.

[SeanCostello]

Just ordered 3 of these. I'll report back when I get the things up and running.

BTW, just need to reiterate what a nice chip the FV-1 is. The assembly language is simply, and you have enough power to do most of what you want to do, as well as a few limitations that have resulted in me getting very creative with the code.

Sean Costello

P.S. I have a free VST/AU plugin, ValhallaFreqEcho, available at http://www.valhalladsp.com/plugins.html, that originally started as a FV-1 algorithm. The FV-1 was able to run a frequency shifter, interpolated delay with smoothing, low and high pass filters, and soft clipping in the feedback path. Pretty nice for such a low-cost part!

[octfrank]

The mono-in/mono-out guitar program set G01 is now released http://www.oct-distribution.com/datasheets/SKRM-C8-G01.pdf

The reverb and effect are processed in parallel and summed together for final output from the module. A number of professional players provided input on the set and I must say, listening to a real pro play the echo+reverb program sounded incredible.
Aron, you were so right to mention that set.

Prg #	Description	POT0	POT1	POT2
0	Echo+Reverb	Reverb level	Delay	Echo level
1	Echo/Repeat+Reverb	Reverb level	Delay	Echo level
2	Chorus+Reverb	Reverb level	Rate	Chorus level
3	Flange+Reverb	Reverb level	Rate	Flange level
4	Phase Shifter+Reverb	Reverb level	Phase rate	Sweep width
5	Tremolo+Reverb	Reverb level	Rate	Tremolo level
6	Vibrato+Reverb	Reverb level	Vibrato rate	Vibrato width
7	Auto-wah+Reverb	Reverb level	Sensitivity	Level/filter Q

NOTES: Prg 0 only has a single echo ( no repeat), delay adjustable from about 50mS to 600mS
Prg1 has a fixed feed back, trails off quickly, delay adjustable from about 50mS to 600mS

[Jay]

Frank,

Good to see you've got it done.  I've expressed interest to markeebee for buying one here in the UK.

Are there any sound samples available for this set?  Even if it's just a bit of playing with the reverb only that would be good to hear.


Thanks,


Jay.

[octfrank]

We are working on getting samples up but we have been so slammed by module inquiries we are running behind on things like that. We have almost sold out of the first run of modules, the demand was much greater than anticipated!

[jacobyjd]

We are working on getting samples up but we have been so slammed by module inquiries we are running behind on things like that. We have almost sold out of the first run of modules, the demand was much greater than anticipated!

Awesome! Looks like you've got a great product--I may try to get in on the second run

[octfrank]

Some samples posted on the OCT website. Need to re-do a few, volume a bit low or effect not as pronounced as it could be (never claimed to be a recording engineer ) but will give you a taste of the different programs. Please keep in mind that the parameters can be changed so you could make longer reverb tails, more vibrato or longer delays in the echos.

[Ice-9]

Thanks for getting some demo clips up Frank, sounds promising. One thought i had was about maybe having the effects banks independant , ie. 1. Reverb, 2. Flanger, 3 chorus etc.

I think having multiple effects isn't really going to blend well in a playing situation. as if i turn off the flanger then i lose the reverb, i would much rather have a couple of pedals and get the reverb i want then just leave that one on leaving the other effect to be turned on/off . Or maybe banks 1-4 could be single fx and banks 5 -8 could be combined fx.  

[octfrank]

Thanks for getting some demo clips up Frank, sounds promising. One thought i had was about maybe having the effects banks independant , ie. 1. Reverb, 2. Flanger, 3 chorus etc.

I think having multiple effects isn't really going to blend well in a playing situation. as if i turn off the flanger then i lose the reverb, i would much rather have a couple of pedals and get the reverb i want then just leave that one on leaving the other effect to be turned on/off . Or maybe banks 1-4 could be single fx and banks 5 -8 could be combined fx.  

(Frank walks over to the test pedal with G01 set and starts to mess with it...)

Have not tried this but it should work...

Using the example schematic from the G01 pdf, tie the 3.3V sides of pots 1 and 2 to a SPDT switch so they switch between 3.3V and gnd. When the switch is flipped to 3.3 you will get the effect based on the pot1 and pot2 settings, when flipped to gnd then you get no effect (both ends of the pot are connected to gnd so 0 volts on the control pins). Label this switch "Effect on/off"

Put a SPDT switch on the 3.3V side of pot0 to also switch between 3.3V and gnd. When switched to 3.3V you will get the reverb based on the setting of pot0, when switched to gnd you get no reverb. Label this switch "Reverb on/off"

Now, an effects only (no reverb) set as you describe above would also be of value. So people, what should this set consist of? I consulted with pro players and amp makers on the G01 set, what would the DIY people want to see in a set designed for them? Remember the module can do stereo so don't limit yourself to thinking mono only.

[e178453]

Maybe I am missing something obvious-if you ground the 3.3V connection of one pot, aren't you grounding all the pots?
If you just turn POT0 all the way down, would this eliminate the reverb from the output entirely?
These modules are just too cool!  As for an effects only module, I like everything on the GO1 but would give up the flanger for a compression effect.
How the heck do you make any money form these?  Good work!
Scott