Dana

2007-04-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

2007-04-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

Point Douglas: Discovery - Tree Branches make contact with Fences

As I was walking through Point Douglas I began to notice and hear that same thing over and over. Which was the simple contact and noise that is produced when a branch brushes against a fence. From this I decided to further explore Point Douglas and find the street with the most varieties and quantity of fences.

2007-04-09T23:36:00.001-07:00

Point Douglas: Site visit #1/#2

Exploration in finding sounds, textures and textures that produce sound when rubbed together.

2007-04-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

Point Douglas: Site

2007-02-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

Installation:

For the white wall I created a serious of recording devises that I have worked with through out the term. In essence it shows the process of how sound has been recorded and heard in the early stages. By using a three track system I was able to create up and down movement that would allow phonograph, tone arm and magnetic tape recorder head to move across their designated material. In addition to the up and down movement I incorporated left and right movement as well. By taking apart a typewriter and extracting sensors form the tab and shift keys I was able to produce this left and right movement. So as the three tracks moved up and down they would also move in a left and right.

In the first track were the phonographs, which I constructed out of metal. The top phonograph was used to pick up the sounds of the room as well as the noises produced from the tone arm and the tape recorder. As it moved up and down it would also move in a left and right motion etching the recordings onto the wax background. At the same time of the recording the second and smaller phonograph would then pass over these etchings and amplify the etchings which could be heard by placing ones ear to the horn.

In the second track there is a tone arm that I removed from a record player. In essence the tone arm is the same as a phonograph just the electronic version. As the tone arm moved up and down the tone arm would pick up the scratches I made in the piece of vinyl I constructed producing loud scratching noises that could be heard through the speakers I wired the tone arm too. Both the phonograph and the tape recorder could then pick up the loud scratching noises.

In the third track there was a tape recorder head that I extracted from a tape recorder. I also extracted the microphone from the tape recorder, so that it could pick up the noises of the phonographs and tone arm. As the magnetic tape head moved up and down it would also move in a left right motion and record the sounds on to the magnetic tape background. In theory I will be able to remove the magnetic tape strips form the background and splice them together and hear a recording of my installation.

2006-12-03T23:12:00.000-08:00

Installation Description

- To construct a piece of plastic 8” by 5’ that is etched and embedded with record imprints.
- This piece of plastic will be attached to the wall of the installation and to a track that will move in a vertical motion therefore causing the plastic to move slowly up and down the wall.
- In conjunction to this vertical movement the phonographs attached to the typewriters will move horizontally.
- Sensors from the typewriter will be placed either within the installation or room and whenever activated will cause the phonograph to move left or right.
- Record player tone arms will also be placed beside the plastic and move in a circular motion.
- The goal is that by having the plastic be etched and embedded with record imprints, when the phonograph and tone arm pass over it sound will be amplified (both will have microphones for listening).
- Even though they will be playing the etchings they will also be recording too as the needles from both will etch the plastic as well.
- Therefore the plastic becomes a devise for recording and playing sounds and a continues loop as it is always being played and etched on to.

2006-12-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

Crit Notes:

- refine idea and develop further
- has to go beyond just recording sound
- can it be looped?
- components can be pulled apart
- inscribe sound onto the wall
- level of craft necessary fro the sake of precision
- phonograph is constantly recording and playing back
- could you record and play wall surfaces?

Troubleshooting/Precision

I have reconstructed some of my phonograph in the hopes of recording the human voice. In order to get it to function at a much higher quality I reconstructed the horn out of metal flashing and reinforced the tuna can and needle with extra support. The cylinder was also reworked by adding to new ends to the piece of plumbing tube in order to make sure both sides were both moving in perfect unison. Lastly the supports for the threaded rod that spins the cylinder were fastened more securely to the stand. In doing these upgrades I was hoping that the phonograph would perform at a higher quality. However unfortunately I was still unable to record the human voice but I am able to amplify and pick up textures on surfaces using the phonograph, which in itself is very interesting to me, and I hope to incorporate this phenomenon into my installation.

2006-11-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

Project To Date:

Installation Description:
For the wall I am planning to have a serious of microphones places through out the piece. These microphones in turn would pick up the sounds or “voices” of each students contribution. Attached to each of the microphones would be a speaker that would allow each sound to be projected directly into the horn of the phonograph. In order to prevent confusion the microphones and speakers would have a relay allowing only one objects “voice” to be recorded at a time. Once the sound passes through the horn of the phonograph the vibrations would cause the needle at the end to move accordingly causing it to “draw” or inscribe the “voice” onto a piece of aluminum foil. The aluminum foil would be a continuous feed allowing for sound to be recorded through out the duration of the installation. The idea being that once the installation is complete one could essentially rewind the aluminum foil and play back the recording.

This Week:
My work has currently focused on the construction of my phonograph. After rethinking the cylinder and replacing it with some plumbing tube I was on my way to try recording. Over the last couple of days I have tried numerous times to record the human voice however much to my dismay I have been unable to do so ☹. Thomas Edison was one smart dude. However I plan to continue troubleshooting and hopefully I will have some success.

Problems:
- There is too much noise being produced when the needle inscribes into the aluminum foil.
- Is the cylinder moving evenly?
- Is the needle to big/sharp? Cause it tends to rip the aluminum foil.
- Am I moving the cylinder fast enough during recording and playback? Or at the same rate?

Resolution:
Troubleshoot all problems noted above. However if I am still unable to get my phonograph to work I might be forced to purchase the kit off the Internet or try Plan B.

Plan B:
I would keep the serious of microphones and speakers with the relays as previously noted but instead of projecting the sounds into the horn of the phonograph I would place a piece of Plexiglas over the speakers. Attached to this Plexiglas would be a thin vertical piece of steel, which in turn would have a second horizontal piece of steel, attached to it and from that would be a pen. Once the sound passes from the speakers the vibrations would cause the piece of Plexiglas to vibrate. The vibrations would travel up the vertical piece of steel continue to the second piece of steel and then on to the pen. When the pen vibrates it would cause it to “draw” or inscribe the “voice” onto a piece of paper. The paper would be a continuous feed allowing for sound to be recorded through out the duration of the installation. In essence I would be taking the essential components of the phonograph idea and I would still be able to record the vibrations of the sounds through creating a simple version of a seismograph.

Main Questions:
- Should I go ahead and continue to troubleshoot?
- When do I stop troubleshooting?
- What if by Monday I can’t get it to play back?
- Should I order the kit off the Internet as a backup?
- Should I just adapt it and go with Plan B?.............I don’t want to run out of time

2006-11-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

The Human Ear:

Within the human ear there are three basic parts the outer, middle and inner ear. The outer ear is where sound is collected and channeled to the middle ear. The middle ear serves to transform the energy of a sound wave into the internal vibrations that are read by the bone structure of the ear. The inner ear serves to transform the energy of the compressed wave within the inner ear fluid and turn them into nerve impulses, which can be transmitted to the brain.

Sound Waves:

Are a series of compression waves the move through out the air and are created by the vibration of an object. Waves are detected when they cause and object to vibrate. A good example of this would be the human ear as noted above. Sound waves show amplitude, velocity, wavelength and frequency.

2006-11-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

Phonograph:

2006-11-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

Phonograph:

I was able to find some blueprints online of someones tinfoil phonograph that they built. Apparently it works much like Edison's recorder so hopefully it works so that I can record my very own version of Edison's "Mary had a little lamb".

Edison's version:
"Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go"

2006-11-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

Research:

2006-11-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

The pneumatic structure the students from RPI constructed for Montreal was a 39 feet long wall that went from 6 feet to 10 feet. As a group we choose to use this sense of progression as an additional means to help guide the occupant into the space. Placing the wall parallel to the wall of the room from smallest end to largest did this. The wall was constructed of two air chambers, one for each side of the wall/structure. When one side is being inflated it causes the wall/structure to curve.

Using an optical sensor and relay we connected two vacumes as the projected light source changed the relay was switched. Causing one of the vacuums to turn on. Each vacume was connected to one side of the wall/structure. When one air source was off the other on this would cause the curving. When the wall began to move sensors mounted between the air pockets would then be activated. These sensors were then connected to the elmo/theramin and the keys of the electronic typewriter.

When the sensors connected to Elmo are activated it causes his motor to move and the theramin that is attached to the motor. As the theramin moved it would act accordingly to the movement. Elmo was also occupied with a voice distortion kit, which only allowed a few recognizable words to come out.

When the sensors connected to the keys of the typewriter we activated it recorded the movement of the wall. The magnetic tape head and tape were connected to the typewriter and as the keys were pressed caused the magnetic tape head to move along the magnetic tape. Distorted music would play as the typewriter completed a line and returned to the beginning.

A video recorder was set up to also record the typing and projected in real-time the footage with the help of some basic computer programming to switch the footage from its original black and white to it negative. The optical sensor connected to the relay positioned to read the switching in light from the video informing the vacumes to inflate one side of the wall/structure.

In the end the electronics and pneumatic structure worked as one and as an autonomous piece.

2006-10-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Montreal:

So I had a great time in Montreal, meet some really rad people. Learned a lot about pneumatic structures that I hope I can use in the future. Montreal was a fantastic city and I can’t wait to go back.

Here's some movies of what we did:

2006-10-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Final Idea:

So I got the magnetic tape head out of the children's tape player and got them to still work when the play button is pressed. YA!!! When I pull magnetic tape over the head it makes a mixing sound similar to a DJ scratching a record. I also created a devise that moves from left to right hopefully it will work in unison with the walls. The idea is that when the devise moves the magnetic head will also move and therefore move across the magnetic tape making the scratching noise.

2006-10-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Magnetic Tape/Magnetic Tape Head:

The magnetic tape head is fastened to the bottom of the structure and the magnetic tape fabric is placed on the floor beneath the structure. The idea is that when the structure is blown up or deflated it would cause the magnetic tape head on the bottom of the wall to move over the magnetic tape fabric on the floor producing a sound.

This could also be reversed by placing the magnetic tape head in the floor and wrapping the bottom of the structure with the magnetic tape fabric.

2006-10-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Group for Montreal:

Carl: Accordion/type writer
Kyle: Theremin/optical theremin
Me: 8 track/walkman and magnetic tape heads/tape
Chelsea: Elmo

Pneu Studio
Erica, China, Barbara and Matt
Idea: Three circulation/entry/exit spaces that lead one into a center gallery/exhibit space

2006-10-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

Concept Ideas:

2006-10-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

Idea:

So today I have been de-constructing a walkman to get at the magnetic piece that reads the magnetic tape in cassettes. The idea is to mount that magnetic piece on to a glove that is then connected to headphones allowing the user to hear the noises made as they drag there finger over the magnetic tape.

2006-10-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

Research:

I came across this really cool project that uses magnetic tape. The idea is to take the magnetic tape a weave it to create a fabric that has the ability to be listened to. By using the magnetic head of a tape player you can listen to the fabric as you move the head across the tape/fabric. :)

Check it out: http://www.sonicfabric.com/index.html

2006-10-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Some Ideas:

Using an etch-a-sketch is hard, hooking it up to a mouse might seem harder, but in the end, likely more appropriate and accurate. here comes the electr-o-sketch--hack a mouse to control and draw on the classic and ever present etch-a-sketch.

It used ultrasonic sensors to determine orientation and could detect four different positions per finger. The finger's resistance varies depending on how much it is bent, so Brandon used an LM339 comparator to determine the mouse clicks. For the actual mouse interface he used the guts of a Gyration mouse.

2006-10-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Vivisection:

The vivisection is complete! After realizing the complexity of the 8 track player I choose to concentrate just on it and the mac mouse. I was able to pull the mac mouse apart very quickly and with a little research and computer knowledge figure out how it worked. (the attached images show the documentation of the vivisection and explain how it works)

Click here for a closer look: The_mac_mouse.pdf

However the 8 track player was a different story. After two days of re-wiring I was able to pull the 8 track player apart in order to see how it works. I then grouped the wires together and mapped out a diagram explaining where the wires come and went from which allowed me to better understand what they did. I also gathered some research as to how the 8 track tape moves through the cartridge and interacts with the player and plays the song. (the attached images show the documentation of the vivisection and explain how it works)

Click here for a closer look:8_track_player.pdf

2006-10-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Final Mechanism:

So I reconstructed my mechanism for the third time and it works great. I used metal screws and nuts and set them into holes that were a size large for easy movement. I also put soap on all the connections so that the wood slides over one another more freely. Now when you put weight in the basket it causes the opposite weights to rise and fall when the weights are removed. In addition to the up down motion that is created through the addition and subtraction of the weights the arm connecting to wind mill is also forced to move and there moves the wind mill.

2006-09-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Electronics Selected for Dissection:

1.) Polaroid Camera
2.) Apple Desktop Bus Mouse
3.) 8 Track Player (plus 8 track)

Lets begin the operation :)
(pictures to follow)

2006-09-25T08:49:00.001-07:00

Electronic Goods:

1.) Polaroid Camera (with hand book)
2.) GE World Wide Travel Iron
Works Anywhere in the World
3.) Apple Desktop Bus Mouse
4.) Charlescraft Puff&Curl hair curler
5.) Merit 1500 Blow Dryer
6.) 8 Track Player

2006-09-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

The Final Mechanism:

It works! (kinda) The marble goes through the zig zagging shout falls into the cup and pushes the mechanism down and causes the pin wheel to turn and the weight to move up. However when the marble is taken off the weight does not fall back down. I am hoping that with some more fine tuning I will be able to resolve this. If anyone has any suggestions let me know.

2006-09-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Combination:

The idea is to combined the two mechanisms to make one super mechanism. From looking at the two I am going to use the circular turning motion of the"golden section" to power the motion of the turning abject in "linkwork flexible-link mechanism of a pan-type balance". Lets see how it goes.

Through drawings I was able to see what the highest, mid and lowest point would be as the mechanism moves. This also provided me with information as to how long I would have to make the two new arms that connect to the pin wheel and cause it to move.

2006-09-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

Creating the Mechanisms:

After selecting my to mechanisms the "golden section" and the "linkwork flexible-link mechanism of a pan-type balance" (images above) I exsplored the two through the process of drafting and constructing a sketch model I was able to fully understand how the two worked. When constructing my sketch model I was able to use the process of elimination to figure out how to draw the "golden scetion" by using the mechanism to creat it. At first I thought the two main arms were fixed along the horizontal line but after further examination I realized that in actual fact only the center arm was fixed and the other one was positioned parellel to it on the outer side of a moving wheel. Through the combination of fixed and semi-fixed arms on the roting wheel I was able to draw the "golden section".

The second mechanism the "linkwork flexible-link mechanism of a pan-type balance" however was much easier to understand. Just by looking at the drawing I was abel to see how it works and there move on to constructing the two out of strathmore (ya!).

2006-09-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Project 1: The Actuator Theater

Select two mechanisms for drawing/construction. One must be a geometric machine and another a motion inducing mechanism from the provided list. The drawing/construction of the mechanisms must be done using strathmore paper.