Saturday, March 21, 2015

Signal Generator interface design

The concept for this project was to be a signal generator, inspired by hardware oscilloscope. This device is used for testing sound output and frequency response in speakers or microphones. Control parameters were defined and assembled into a front panel, graphical elements illustrated as bitmap.

DOWNLOAD DEMONSTRATION VERSION
Download VST Version

Disclaimer:
Consider this a test unit, it may not work entirely as expected, and will be improved and updated as i learn.
Take care in its operation, as it can produce a wide range of signals; some settings could produce sounds with the potential to cause damage to your ears, and sound equipment. explore at reasonable levels. you will assume the risk.


functions include:
power (on/off): volume control, decibel level meter
modes: noise, sine, sweep
signal filtering: lowpass / highpass (with on/off)
oscillator module (on/off): dual oscillators with independent multiplier
channel shifting: 
 (a/b faders): channel delay, L/R shift
 (switches): delay invert and fade type(crossfade or blend)
main display: switchable(waveform/spectrum), sweep rate, frequency control, image hold.

Operation Overview:
Before switching power on, ensure the large volume dial is set at its lowest value (S/W direction) by clicking  and dragging down while over its image. tap the switch labeled "power"; a green light will confirm generator activity. slowly rotate the volume dial by vertical drag. choose an emitter type with the small silver dial below output volume. this can select either noise, tone, or sweep. following to the right of this selector, 2 small inset dials on the display, control sweep velocity and tone frequency. above them, the monitor shows their current values. also nearby, it shows decibel value. a switch at the top right of the display can flip between waveform or frequency graph projection (still in need of adjustment). at the lower right of the unit, two black faders have an effect on channel offset. the top can delay a channel up to 500 samples. the lower shifts left or right dominance. when the light below illuminates, center position is absolute. there are some tiny little switches on either side. the first indicates which side is being delayed. the other determines whether the sliders fade or blend across channels. very slight differences, mainly experimental. filters can be activated with the switch between filter dials. on the left increase lowpass filter to cut off high frequencies. on the right, highpass can exclude low frequencies. the oscillator module next door will modulate a tone at a wide range of speeds. the switch give can access to even higher rates. there happens to be a co-oscillator, to add further disruption. sometimes a complex or unpredictable tone can be created.

No comments:

Post a Comment