Hi all!
Well, this has been well over a year in the making and I'm happy to announce that I have successfully completed the first console. I have worked out an agreement with the orignal designer of the P-x series of analog consoles to make the "Z-5" available for purchase. The Z-5 replaces the P-4, which was designed and built in the early 1980's!
All that being said, I don't anticipate selling many of these, if any at all. Fact is, you can buy a software/DAC package that is more than capable of producing abstracts that far exceed the Z-5's capabilities. I mainly undertook this project because I've always wanted a very capable console and the P-4 had all the features I was looking for. Now that I have it completed I'm offering to make more for those interested in taking a step back in time to what the early days of this industry had to offer.
Ok, so lets get down to the brass tacks; a completed console, fully assembled and tested will set you back $1700, plus $110 shipping (I originally estimated about $50, boy was I wrong!). The color knob box (more on this later) will be another $45, otherwise, the console will ship with a small loopback plug for the color connector. Eventually, for the diehard DIYer, I'll also offer a completed circuit board with logical block diagrams so folks can wire up their own panel. Currently looking at about $750 for a completed circuit board with logical block diagrams, this does not include the enclosure, potentiometer, switches, power supply, etc. It's just a completed circuit board.
Lets talk breifly about color. The original P-4 only handled X and Y, that's it. The P-4 relied on an external signal to control color modulation. My plan is to eventually build another console for manual color modulation. Until then, the Z-5, like the P-4, relies on an external source for color modulation. I have added on the lower panel a db-25 which will accomodate a future manual panel, and can also be used with the color knob box to turn on/off the individual color channels. This offers no real modulation, just a way to turn on or off the color channels. This can be used in conjunction with a DAC, where you can vary the intensity of a color signal from a DAC or turn it off completely with one of the switches.
I eventually plan on posting videos of what each section of the console does, and will edit this post and add the videos when I can.
So, purchasing a console. If you're interested in one, send me a PM. If there's no one in the cue then I'll need payment up front to order all the parts to complete a console. Lead time will vary between 1-3 months, just depends on how fast I can get parts in and dedicate time to build your console. If there are other folks in the cue, I'll put you on the list and request payment when I've finished the work ahead of you and ready to start your console.
Videos coming soon! Will try to get a couple up tonight!
Here's a pic of the completed panel for *my* console:
Any future panels built will have the following changes to the design:
Videos:
Z-5 Color Modulation
Z-5 Basic External Image Manipulation
Z-5 Voltage Controlled Quadrature Oscillators
Z-5 VCA, Clipping, Bypass and Shutter
Z-5 Zeroing the Console
Edited - Slight change to the audio out ports on the front panel. Originally, this was intended to attach to an adat for recording or for attaching to an audio amp. I've decided that the best method for recording the output of the console is thru the ILDA Out port, so I've added DC blocking caps to the audio out port to protect the speakers you have attached to your audio amp. This renders the audio out port useless for connecting to scanners, but safe for connecting to an audio amp.
Edited - Updated shipping price. Doubled boxed and shipped via Fedex, the price is about $96, plus another $12 for the shipping box.