My final for my Sustainable Energy is the SolaSystem, which was co-created with Justin Downs & Florica Vlad. It’s a solar powered amplifier to be used for guitars, mp3 players, computers, or whatever you want. Right now, it’s at 14watts power at 16v, give or take 1amp, but we’re gonna upgrade the amplifier to a class D amp that’s more efficient and powerful. The panel outputs more volts and amperage than was listed, so we installed a voltage regulator to control how much power we’re feeding the amp. The sound still gets a little fuzzy at points. The current amp just needs to go.

Here’s some videos of the SolaSystem in action.

RAD!

My ITP thesis, the EM Brace, is up and running. The EM Brace is a wearable device for physically engaging with ambient electromagnetic frequencies emitted by computers and other electronics. It does so by turning these frequencies into sounds that are sent into a “bass-shaker” speaker in the back of the device. Metallic arms reaching around the wearer help distribute the vibrations coming from the speaker.

Here are some testing videos and photos of fabrication and “guts” (preamp circuit, amp circuit, speaker). For specific component parts, check out the previous “thesis” entries.

Here are some photos from the prototype version of the EM Brace. The final version will be in a more streamlined case, but I’m using this heavy metal box first so to work out my measurements before transferring everything to the final enclosure, which will house the bass shaker and amplifer. So far, input on the design has been positive. One friend referred to it as evil looking, another said it looks like bondage gear. I’m happy with both evocations.

I’m no great illustrator, but here’s a rough sketch of the device, scaling mistakes and all. From this perspective you would be facing the back of the wearer and the extended “arms” would be wrapped around the persons stomach.

Here’s a video of me testing out a half assembled version of the device. I’m using inductive coils to create sound from the electromagnetic waves emitted from my computer and surrounding electronics. These sounds are being amplified and sent into a bass shaker speaker. The bass shaker is installed inside the metal box, and the gooseneck “arm” I’m holding onto is rumbling with the sound, as is the whole box.

I plan on embedding this device into a leather vest of sorts with buckles on the front for tightening and fastening. The coils will extend down the arms into gloves.

I perfboarded my preamp circuit for my thesis project, the EM Brace. I’m using this circuit to boost the electromagnetic frequency signals before they are sent into the larger 40-watt amp that I’ve showed in previous posts. The circuit uses two OPA134 chips, which are really great audio preamp chips, so the mono signal is getting boosted twice. I based the circuit on the original Chu Moy headphone amp & used this site for help with the power supply, which requires negative and positive voltage (+4.5v and -4.5v). On the chu moy circuit, I changed the feedback resistors from 10k to 100k on the first chip and 1M ohm on the second chip. This yielded substantially greater amplification. My initial signals are weaker than signals that would come out of, say, an iPod or computer, so I don’t think I would change these resistors if I was building a headphone amp, as the original schematic yields plenty amplification to drive a pair of headphones.

May 15th – 17th at the the Kitchen is devoted to Arthur Russell, which pleases me immensely except for the fact that there’s very little chance I’ll get to go see any of the events due to graduation and other obligations occurring that same weekend. Uggh, such deep pangs.

Anyhow, there will be a showing of Matt Wolfe’s Wild Combination as well as homage performances. I love Arthur Russell. Go see this if you can.

Here’s a few photos of my ROUGH prototype. I’ll try to get a video up soon.


I’m using two phone pickup coils as EM antennas and sending the signals into two pre-amp circuits (which utilize the op134 chip as found in many DIY headphone amps) and sending the signals into the Ramsey amp I built.

This thing fits me well, and it rumbles in the presence of EM radiation, but it’s real loud because these tactile transducers have a range from 20-20k hz (the range of human hearing, natch), and thus they often get more screechy than vibratory. I don’t mind the sound, but it’s not what i’m after.

This prototype has led me to realize a couple of things.
1) I need to use bass shakers, which I’ve now procured. I’m using the Aura AST-1B-4.
2) I need to boost the signal more. Which means either more antenna or more pre-amp. Probably both. I plan on working on a new circuit tonight.

Of course, my thesis project is always in flux, and I regret not posting more about it more regularly as I think writing more would help me sort things out. So on that note, here’s a draft for my thesis abstract:

The vast majority of work in the field of human-computer interaction has involved programming computers to better sense and understand our inputs, yet little work has been done in terms of how we humans can better sense and understand computers. Computers, and electronics in general, reach out to us by creating fields of low and very low frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. These ubiquitous frequencies penetrate and permeate our bodies at a molecular level, so spatially intimate experiences with electronics can be understood as a merging of physical bodies with the computer’s electromagnetic embrace. As we humans have no natural means of sensing these frequencies, the “EM brace” provides a means of physically engaging with these frequencies by combining two of our natural senses, touch and hearing. The EM brace accentuates the microscopic merging of body/computer and the boundlessness of the quantum. As well, it points towards the ineluctable direction of human evolution towards the cybernetic post-human, an evolution that can be understood in terms of a Deleuzoguattarian becoming, specifically a becoming-electronic.