Re: [LAD] [ANN] ALPHA: jiss - Jack Interactice Sequencing Software

On Monday, November 14, 2011 12:20:10 PM Florian Paul Schmidt did opine:

> Hi again, hijacking this thread to announce that I created a WIKI page
> to give a short sumary/tutorial on jiss here (WIP like everything in
> jiss right now):
>
> https://github.com/fps/jiss/wiki
>
> Answering your post further down:
>
> On 11/14/2011 06:10 AM, gene heskett wrote:
> > Yeah, the compressor is added 'cause I happen to like that 30db
> >
> >> breathing sound ;D The wicked.lua jiss-script itself only sends the
> >> midi notes out (in my case to jass which then goes through jack-rack
> >> with reverb and compressor)
> >>
> >> It's maybe not the best example to demonstrate jiss, cause it might
> >> put many listeners off (especially with the clipping, too ;D). I'll
> >> upload a cleaner rendition sometime tomorrow..
> >>
> >> Thanks for the comment..
> >
> > I almost didn't send that, but the sound reminded me of the sound I
> > inherited when I became the CE at WDTV-5, back in '84, here in West
> > Virginia. That put me off so much I told the GM I hadn't heard so
> > much heavy breathing since shortly after lights out last night, when
> > I asked for permission to replace a brand new piece of gear with
> > something I knew would do the job and be essentially transparent to
> > the listeners, an old CBS Labs AudiMax, followed by, on the other end
> > of the studio-transmitter microwave path, an equally ancient CBS Labs
> > FM Volumax. They worked, but it was extremely rare and took a
> > trained ear, to detect that they were working.
> >
> > As a C.E.T., I had fun keeping them running, first replacing all the
> > small electrolytics used for coupling capacitors with paper/mylar,
> > which put a stop to the twice annual rebuild by shotgunning all the
> > caps, then eventually the gain controlling tetrode nuvistor vacuum
> > tube faded away (they are made of pure unobtainium now) and I had to
> > adapt a dual gate Mosfet transistor to handle that. But those 2
> > processors made it to about 50 years old by the time we switched to
> > all digital in mid 2008.
>
> I can never hope to have my software reach that age and still function
> ;D Too much dirty hacking for that :D
>
Yeah, but back then we didn't even have the concept of null pointers, it
was all analog, hopefully linear stuff and thd's were in the 1 to 2% areas.
We've come a long way since then, and I hope its been an improvement. :)

But that does bring up the unspoken requirement that a modern digital
version of such a device has to be capable of withstanding huge
longitudinal over voltages from nearby lightning strikes and the EMP
associated which means power strip types of varistors to absorbed them, and
absolutely un-crashable, fully capable of year+ uptimes. Such code can be
written, I've done it, without benefit of watchdogs, and some of my code
has been in continuous use at the broadcast facility I wrote it for, for
open ended periods that have approached 2 decades with only hardware
failures and repairs thereof interrupting it. One was written in 1802 hex
code, and one written in Basic09 for the os9 operating system on TRS-80
Color Computers.

But my little helper scripts I use here, today, were all done in bash & I
haven't quite managed to make my kmail helper immune to out of order
startups, yet.

Am I prolonging the agony of old age? Probably, but no one knows better
than I that I am not the coder I was 20 years ago on far simpler hardware
than this quad core phenom picking up my keystrokes now. Besides, I have
waaaayyyy to many interests, including making sawdust and furniture in my
waneing years. Currently working on a gunstock for a black powder rifle,
one that hasn't been seen on such primitive weapons yet, modern thumbhole
style, my 5th such project in the 50 years since the first one.

> > Now I'm going to wander off topic, sort of.
>
> Please feel free :D
>
> > Frankly, broadcasters sorely need such a characteristic device in the
> > digital path right now, and if some enterprising coder were to write
> > that code to interface with the usual EIA digital audio format, and
> > build it into a black box with the usual connectors on it, he/she
> > would find themselves busier than that famous cat on the equally
> > famous tin roof until they had filled up the market, which is, here
> > in the states, 1500 to 2000 tv stations. Multiply that by the number
> > of channels the digital broadcaster is using today, which for us is
> > 4, and you'll have to hire help building them for 2 or 3 years.
>
> Sounds like a plan. I might actually look into that. I'm unemployed atm,
> that's why i have time to hack on jass and jiss, so creating something
> like that might be an option.. Even if it takes some serious
> research/hacking/board-design, etc.. Free time is almost all you need
> these days to create stuff. It's a bit more resource-intensive to create
> a box with the required interface, but that is kinda independent of the
> software actually running on the device..

Pretty much, the i/o itself will be mostly cut & paste from existing
designs. The art in box metal will likely be limited to the cutting and
bending/punching for connectors, a decent paint job (black is not a
requirement, but a euphemism) and silk screening or engraving the labels.
Connector costs will be perhaps 15% of out of pocket once the design is
committed to production.

That sort of hardware can be farmed out lots cheaper than you can set
yourself up to do it, see the back pages of most any issue of Circuit
Cellar for a choice of those.

> > I don't know if there is all that much info out on the net on how the
> >
> > Audimax worked, but surely any patents have long since expired. In
> > the maintenance manual there was a rather complex test method to
> > determine if it was working correctly, but its only controls were
> > input and output gain T-pads so one could establish the correct
> > internal levels for optimum operation.
> >
> > The Volumax is much easier to explain as it was designed to prevent HF
> > over modulation only, caused by the 17db of pre-emphasis the 75
> > microsecond boost caused, allowing full mid-range levels, but rolling
> > off the high end to prevent the HF stuff from exceeding the allowed
> > occupied bandwidth, +-75khz for FM's and +-25khz for tv. Its gain
> > control response was sub millisecond, both ways. But in digital, no
> > such control is needed, but we surely, sorely need the equ of the
> > Audimax.
> >
> > In fact, that is one of the reasons I have remained subscribed to this
> > list. If somebody does this, I will be in the GM's office asking for
> > a P.O. for 4 of them tomorrow morning. So please somebody do it
> > before I fall over. Now 77 YO& diabetic, retired (insert laugh
> > track here, they never really let you) for 9 years, I still appear to
> > have that sort of clout on the 2nd floor.
> >
> > Thanks Flo.

Cheers, Gene

-- 
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-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
My web page: <http://coyoteden.dyndns-free.com:85/gene>
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