P L I N K Y W O R K S H O P R O U N D 2
EDIT APRIL 30th 2024 - There was one person that dropped out of the workshop, so I have one kit available to take home. This kit has the SMD preassembled on the front panel.
The first workshop went really well, and it looks like there's enough interest for another!
Come hang out at the shop and solder with friends. We'll be running a Saturday and a Sunday workshop - starting at 11:00 AM both days, and will take us until 3 or 4PM (most were done around 2).
What are we building?!?
Plinky is an 8-voice polyphonic touch synthesiser that specialises in fragile, melancholic sounds. It fits into 24HP eurorack cases, but can also be played as a standalone desktop mini-synth, with line-level stereo input and a headphone output, all powered from a micro-USB connector.
Plinky has been open sourced recently under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CERN-OHL-P licenses. As usual, I'm not hoping to make a profit on these workshops, I just want people to have access to DIY projects that otherwise they would not be able to build without guidance. :-)
We are going to be building Plinky together, this means soldering! If you've never soldered before, that's OK. I'm here to hold your hand through the process.
The front panel has a grid of 72 surface mount LEDs that we will be assembling by hand. A solderpaste silkscreen will be used to apply solderpaste to each point, and LEDs will be placed by hand and then cooked on a hot plate. This may be a challenging process for some, and I can offer to do this for you if you'd prefer. The remaining surface mount components will be pre-soldered, and the processors will be flashed prior to the workshop beginning. There are many through-hole jacks, pots, encoder, and screen. I anticipate an hour to assemble the front LED panel, and another hour or 2 to solder the rest of the components.
You don't need to bring any tools, just bring what you need to be comfortable for the day. There is a microwave, mini fridge and coffee machine. There are also a few food options in the neighbourhood - Tartan Toque, Subway, Origin Bakery and Cafe.
Links