"Wind Machine" - you know you want it!

[frequencycentral]

The transistor and first opamp form a noise generator, stolen from the Maestro FSH1. The transistor must be handpicked for noise. I recommend a really old mushroom type BC208 salvaged from a broken '70s Farfisa home organ. The second opamp is the filter part of Dr Q/Nurse Quacky, but with a frequency pot instead of the envelope follower. You can have at least an hour of fun twiddling the frequency control. That fun time doubles to at least two hours if you feed it through a phaser and delay. Also fun to make the resistor between the filters -ve input and output into a pot for adjusting the filter characteristic, though this also affects the volume.

Alternatively, ditch the noise generator, plug in your guitar and you have a stuck wah.

[daverdave]

That looks absolutely awesome, I'm well up for having a go at that. I've been wanting to mess around with some noise generators for a bit, maybe use a basic sequencer to control them, sort of a pseudo rhythm maker.

Top notch matey 

[frequencycentral]

Thanks!

Soundclip:

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeoooooouuuuooooooshhhh!"

[CynicalMan]

Why not use a quad opamp and add in LFO modulation (volume or frequency) and guitar envelope modulation?

[frequencycentral]

Why not use a quad opamp and add in LFO modulation (volume or frequency) and guitar envelope modulation?

Cool! Can you type in an approximated sounclip? 

[CynicalMan]

Why not use a quad opamp and add in LFO modulation (volume or frequency) and guitar envelope modulation?

Cool! Can you type in an approximated sounclip? 

ummm..  wsshheeiieeoouuooeeiieeoouuooeeiieeoouuooeeiieeoouu
or maybe sheiiiiiouuuuuuuuuuusheiiiiiouuuuuuuuuuusheiiiiiouuuuuuuuuuusheiiiiiouuuuuuuuuuusheiiiiiouuuuuuuuuuusheiiiiiouuuuuuuuuuu 

[oldrocker]

Make the freq pot an LDR and make it light controlled.  Wave your hands to create wind sounds.  Thanks this looks like a cool project.

[Nasse]

I got sounds I liked when I used a not so high q notch filter

[Strategy]

been thinking about a machine like this that I can make for my girlfriend- modulated white noise helps tinnitus sufferers to drown out the ear ringing. She's got bad tinnitus and I thought something like this would be good for when she is preparing for final exams, etc.

- Strategy

[sean k]

I used to get ringing in the ears when I was stressed out and noticed it especially when I'd lay down to rest. Okay maybe thats not tinnitus... or maybe a really mild form but I used imagination to eventually cancel it out and it works.

First I'm try and sort out a dominant frequency and then I'd imagine that frequency and flip it over, invert it, then "play it over the noise and it would cancel... repeat until noise is gone. The first time took ages but over the years it got easier and the actual occurences became further apart to the point where I think my mind knows the drill and gets rid of it naturally now.

My Dad suffers badly from the affliction but won't hear of it being self cured... I think some people just get off on their maladies. Underlying self importance issues going on maybe.

Now I'm going back up the top to copy out this schematic... I love noise machines Rick... Good man.

[sean k]

Actually, could you replace both the 470k reistors, one on the - input and the other between the - input and the output, with a dual 500k pot so when the resistance in the feedback goes down the resistance to the input goes down as well so the volume way well stay the same but the impedance changes and would that effect the volume and/or the filter characteristics.

I know, as Pete would say, breadboard it and find out!

[Slade]

Thanks, Rick! Awesome work!
You rock! 

[chi_boy]

Rick,

Does it sound like either of these?

TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME BEFORE DOWNLOADING!!!


http://home.comcast.net/~gprause/track2.mp3

http://home.comcast.net/~gprause/track3.mp3


-George

[earthtonesaudio]

What kind of a name is "wind machine?"  C'mon, Rick.  That just blows.

[birt]

who needs electronics anyway? :p


http://www.natf.org/wad/foley.htm

[frequencycentral]

Does it sound like either of these?

The noise generator itself is closer to the first clip you posted. Or course the resonant filter makes it sweeter and (a little) less monotonous.

What kind of a name is "wind machine?"  C'mon, Rick.  That just blows.

Well it's working title was "Johnny Fartpants"..................

[deadastronaut]

hmmm..the hawkWIND MACHINE?...........sorry couldn't resist..!.

the wooden one looks good...any clips?.......??

[chi_boy]

Rick, any chance you could post a clip? 

I made R.G.'s lofi telephone pedal and it also has a noise generator. It's a nice simple white noise from the first clip. I was looking for something with more "character" and was curious what you had there.

The second clip is a bastardization of RG's white noise. I just added stages and some caps. Not elegant, but is noisy. My plan is to blend both of the sources to make a composite sound.

[NPrescott]

So curiosity got the best of me and I breadboarded it. I haven't got any bc208's or much in the way of mojo so the best I could manage was a 2n2222 and while it's probably not ideal for white noise generation is does the job a sight better than a 2n5089. Part subs include a 50k(b) frequency pot instead of 47k(b) and two .0022uF caps in parallel instead of the requisite .0047uF.

I played around with the caps and there isn't a huge difference until you make large changes as far as I can tell, with higher values yielding more low-pass filtering.

One thing I did notice is that anywhere below ~4.6k Ohms on the frequency pot I get a hiss/whistle/oscillation. Otherwise vowel sounds galore 

Thanks Rick!

[R.G.]

You might try shorting the base of the noise transistor to the collector. The resulting sound should not change, but it will have a DC voltage closer to the middle of the power supply, easier on the opamp biasing. Right now all the base-emitter adds is one diode-drop offset on bias.