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DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: Crontox102098 on November 03, 2012, 09:16:07 PM

Title: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 03, 2012, 09:16:07 PM
SUNTREM
Hey guys! mainly I speak Spanish so I apologize for my writing, it's my first circuit, criticize, comment and be nice for that reason.

Today I present a new project that I have had for a week and for which I killed to get and I finally realized that the solution was simple ... it is a tremolo based on a 555 with a square wave oscillating at no more than 40Hz (I think they are less than 40hz).

This tremolo works with LDR and oscillation circuit based on the 555, and with nothing more to say the circuit.
(http://www.subirimagenes.net/pictures/7ed14a11aaa583a71bb1af673ac49ade.png)
The version of the 555 should be CMOS.

Tanks for read... comment please.

Bye.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: timd on November 03, 2012, 09:25:58 PM
Do you have a link?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 03, 2012, 09:34:48 PM
U can see the image?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: timd on November 03, 2012, 09:55:24 PM
Now I can - thanks.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 03, 2012, 10:25:54 PM
I'm building one just as easy but with a sine wave generated TL072
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Muthauzem on November 03, 2012, 11:43:54 PM
I liked the idea of using the 555 as the LFO. They are quite simple to build and tweak. You could also use a pair of diodes and a pot to create some asymmetry.

2 or 3 years ago I created a sawtooth oscillator with 2 opamps, for a class at college. Basically it was a squarewave generator fed through a integrator stage. That, allied with your sinewave generator could end up in a very complete tremolo pedal, with the 3 kinds of wave.

I would improve is the signal path, though. Probably use the same as the Tremulus Lune, with the 2 inverting stages and the LDR changing the gain of the second stage.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 12:11:16 AM
Thanks for sharing, what's the meaning of the "10 lux" label on R4?  I know lux is a measure of illumination, but I have never seen it used to specify vactrols / CDS cells / LDR's....
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 12:42:42 AM
Quote from: Muthauzem on November 03, 2012, 11:43:54 PM
I liked the idea of using the 555 as the LFO. They are quite simple to build and tweak. You could also use a pair of diodes and a pot to create some asymmetry.

2 or 3 years ago I created a sawtooth oscillator with 2 opamps, for a class at college. Basically it was a squarewave generator fed through a integrator stage. That, allied with your sinewave generator could end up in a very complete tremolo pedal, with the 3 kinds of wave.

I would improve is the signal path, though. Probably use the same as the Tremulus Lune, with the 2 inverting stages and the LDR changing the gain of the second stage.

I thought of that, but so far I have only a square wave generator, and based on a triangular TL072, the sine wave I've failed to run .. and I like the idea of the sawtooth, and if we help each other and make a tremolo of 6 types of wave? Square, triangle, sawtooth, sine, and pulse edge ... not something crazy?

Quote from: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 12:11:16 AM
Thanks for sharing, what's the meaning of the "10 lux" label on R4?  I know lux is a measure of illumination, but I have never seen it used to specify vactrols / CDS cells / LDR's....

Actually if a measure of enlightenment, what happened is that I was creating when I took the picture .. and there appeared ..
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 01:21:01 AM
Hi--

My Spanish is fine for conversation, but not for describing circuits.

Have you actually built and tried what you show in the drawing? I'd be surprised if you got an output free of "ticking" noise from the chip. The bipolar version of the 555 is notorious for this. The CMOS version of the 555 will work well in the LFO of a trem if proper attention is paid to power supply decoupling and wiring, softening the edges of the square wave and layout of your board. I discuss my solutions in this article:

https://www.smallbearelec.com/Projects/TremBear/TremBear.html

Regards
SD
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 01:02:35 AM
Quote from: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 01:21:01 AM
Hi--

My Spanish is fine for conversation, but not for describing circuits.

Have you actually built and tried what you show in the drawing? I'd be surprised if you got an output free of "ticking" noise from the chip. The bipolar version of the 555 is notorious for this. The CMOS version of the 555 will work well in the LFO of a trem if proper attention is paid to power supply decoupling and wiring, softening the edges of the square wave and layout of your board. I discuss my solutions in this article:

https://www.smallbearelec.com/Projects/TremBear/TremBear.html

Regards
SD

Clearly took over a week experimenting with and looking for ways to keep out as quietly as possible, avoid using an operational amplifier and preferred to use an LDR and I isolated land LFO ... Better explaining what I did was put the LDR, the inlet and outlet on a circuit "Apart" oscillator so to speak, I just re-tested on the breadboard to rectify if you put some noise or some ticking and clearly not I hear absolutely nothing, just the guitar with a tremolo effect of square wave, If you want ... effect should try and see for yourself, and give some of the comments.

By the way, if I use a CMOS 555.

- Carlos
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Muthauzem on November 04, 2012, 01:36:17 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 12:42:42 AM
Yo pense en eso, pero hasta ahora solo tengo un generador de onda cuadrada, y triangular a base de un TL072, el de onda sinusoidal no lo he logrado hacer funcionar.. y me gusta la idea de el diente de sierra, y si nos ayudamos mutuamente y hacemos un tremolo de 6 tipos de onda? Cuadrada, triangular, de diente de sierra, sinusoidal, de flanco y de pulso... algo loco no?

I can read just some basic Spanish. Hahaha. The translated version would be something along: "I thought of that. So far I have only a square and triangular generators based on TL072, but I've still didn't managed to make the sinewave generator work.. I like the idea of the sawtooth, and what if we help each other and make a tremolo of 6 types of wave? Square, triangle, sawtooth, sine, (de flanco?) and pulse... not something crazy?"

That would be interesting. Actually, the sawtooth and pulse are basically the square and triangle waves, but asymmetrical. I'll seek through my files here to see if I can find the report I've made for the circuit I had back then. It would cover most of the cases.

Quote from: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 01:21:01 AM
Hi--

My Spanish is fine for conversation, but not for describing circuits.

Have you actually built and tried what you show in the drawing? I'd be surprised if you got an output free of "ticking" noise from the chip. The bipolar version of the 555 is notorious for this. The CMOS version of the 555 will work well in the LFO of a trem if proper attention is paid to power supply decoupling and wiring, softening the edges of the square wave and layout of your board. I discuss my solutions in this article:

https://www.smallbearelec.com/Projects/TremBear/TremBear.html

Regards
SD

Interesting article. I have never actually built a tremolo pedal, so it didn't occurred to me that it could have a ticking problem. The effects of the ticking from the bipolar 555 are that intense? Like, can't a carefully placed capacitor solve the issue?
And nice trick using the capacitor voltage as a triangular wave, since they are actually a exponential wave. If you think about it, it makes even more sense than a "linear" triangle wave, since we're talking about sound intensity, which we perceive logarithmically. Would be nice to compare them both to see if there's a perceivable difference.
What I haven't figured out is how do you compensate for the fact that the voltage across the capacitor actually swings from 1/3V+ to 2/3V+, versus the 0-V+ of the square wave. Is the "Bias" knob there to solves this?

Regards,
Mauricio
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 01:44:03 AM
Quote from: Muthauzem on November 04, 2012, 01:36:17 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 12:42:42 AM
Yo pense en eso, pero hasta ahora solo tengo un generador de onda cuadrada, y triangular a base de un TL072, el de onda sinusoidal no lo he logrado hacer funcionar.. y me gusta la idea de el diente de sierra, y si nos ayudamos mutuamente y hacemos un tremolo de 6 tipos de onda? Cuadrada, triangular, de diente de sierra, sinusoidal, de flanco y de pulso... algo loco no?

I can read just some basic Spanish. Hahaha. The translated version would be something along: "I thought of that. So far I have only a square and triangular generators based on TL072, but I've still didn't managed to make the sinewave generator work.. I like the idea of the sawtooth, and what if we help each other and make a tremolo of 6 types of wave? Square, triangle, sawtooth, sine, (de flanco?) and pulse... not something crazy?"

That would be interesting. Actually, the sawtooth and pulse are basically the square and triangle waves, but asymmetrical. I'll seek through my files here to see if I can find the report I've made for the circuit I had back then. It would cover most of the cases.

Quote from: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 01:21:01 AM
Hi--

My Spanish is fine for conversation, but not for describing circuits.

Have you actually built and tried what you show in the drawing? I'd be surprised if you got an output free of "ticking" noise from the chip. The bipolar version of the 555 is notorious for this. The CMOS version of the 555 will work well in the LFO of a trem if proper attention is paid to power supply decoupling and wiring, softening the edges of the square wave and layout of your board. I discuss my solutions in this article:

https://www.smallbearelec.com/Projects/TremBear/TremBear.html

Regards
SD

Interesting article. I have never actually built a tremolo pedal, so it didn't occurred to me that it could have a ticking problem. The effects of the ticking from the bipolar 555 are that intense? Like, can't a carefully placed capacitor solve the issue?
And nice trick using the capacitor voltage as a triangular wave, since they are actually a exponential wave. If you think about it, it makes even more sense than a "linear" triangle wave, since we're talking about sound intensity, which we perceive logarithmically. Would be nice to compare them both to see if there's a perceivable difference.
What I haven't figured out is how do you compensate for the fact that the voltage across the capacitor actually swings from 1/3V+ to 2/3V+, versus the 0-V+ of the square wave. Is the "Bias" knob there to solves this?

Regards,
Mauricio

It would be great to look at your files and please sit down with this project would really appreciate it :) I did not understand the other part of the message but then just recently placed a 0.1uF output potentiometer to earth and decreased slightly PSSSTT in the amplifier but I still do not feel any ticking in amplifier ... GREAT :D

When the 555 is not CMOS, usually produce a Tic-Tac neither solves a capacitor, even still and I say from personal experience, I had passed many times especially when the swing came out to power any amp, when connected to an operational amplifier did not sound a Tic-Tac if POP-POP intense even stronger than that generated the guitar sound.
However when using a CMOS 555 does not occur :)

You can explain better the other part of the message? please?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 02:51:06 AM
Welcome!

You might want to also read this thread:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=87322.msg803784#msg803784

Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 03:10:17 AM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 02:51:06 AM
Welcome!

You might want to also read this thread:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=87322.msg803784#msg803784



Thanks :D , That has no tremolo frequency limiter, itself, has no LFO, but thanks for the input;)
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 06:48:09 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 01:02:35 AM
I...put the LDR, the inlet and outlet on a circuit "Apart" oscillator so to speak...
By the way...I use a CMOS 555.

Yes, those two elements, carefully separating LFO and modulator and using the CMOS chip are basic to making the idea work. The problem I have with your modulator is that there is no buffering of input and output. I think it would likely load down a pedal chain. That's why my design, (and others like the Very popular Tremulus Lune), use op-amps at input and output.

One other suggestion: If the 250K speed pot is linear taper, the control probably gets "tight" at the top end. A reverse audio taper pot will give you better "spread."
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: deadastronaut on November 04, 2012, 09:43:55 AM
try a distortion in front of it...see what happens.. ;)
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 10:11:55 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 03:10:17 AM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 02:51:06 AM
Welcome!

You might want to also read this thread:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=87322.msg803784#msg803784



Thanks :D , That has no tremolo frequency limiter, itself, has no LFO, but thanks for the input;)

???

It's almost the same as yours except pins 4 and 8 are not connected and yours has a fixed resistor in series with the rate pot. The LFO is the 555 output to an LED/LDR pair.  Maybe I'm missing something, but it is essentially the same.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: deadastronaut on November 04, 2012, 10:15:09 AM
^ yep, it is...
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 12:56:15 PM
So far I have only a square and triangular generators based on TL072, but I've still didn't managed to make the sinewave generator work.. I like the idea of the sawtooth, and what if we help each other and make a tremolo of 6 types of wave? Square, triangle, sawtooth, sine, (de flanco?) and pulse... not something crazy?"
Quote from: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 01:21:01 AM

Hey guys- I've stumbled on a simple way to take the square wave from an LFO and incrementally convert it to something approximating a sine wave using passive components. This is part of my "Turkey Day Contest" entry, so I can't post anything on it until I submit my entry in a few weeks. I'll be sure to post some schematics here after I submit my entry.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 02:33:03 PM
The earliest circuit I've seen that uses the 555 timer in a tremolo application is a circuit from R.A. Penfold's book,  "Electronic Projects for Guitar" - it used a CMOS 555 timer to drive a JFet in series with a resistor on the input stage (guitar >resistor in series with JFET tied to ground).  The series resistance limits the loading effect on the guitar when the JFET is conducting fully, and there is another single transistor stage coupled to the JFET to boost the signal back up to unity gain or slightly above.  This book came out in 1980, I'm not aware of any commercial circuits or published schematics that came out before this time......

Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: deadastronaut on November 04, 2012, 03:20:57 PM
yep...i certainly wasn't the first to use a 555 as a tremolo, or the first to use a 555/ led/ldr......

considering the 555 is around 40 years old i would have had to come up with it when i was 6, .. ;D

anyway...

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/chickpea/TS555TINYTREM.gif.html
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 03:39:58 PM
Quote from: deadastronaut on November 04, 2012, 09:43:55 AM
try a distortion in front of it...see what happens.. ;)

I'm trying to do several different effects with the LDR and several opamp and transistors, so far I took a "Mini-Wah" and "Mini Envelope-Follower" based on two and one transistor OPAMP to do a buffer to the signal the guitar, I did not even see an outline example, doubly great!, and I had not thought of that .. i try with a simple transistor distortion to see what happens ... :)
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 10:11:55 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 03:10:17 AM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 02:51:06 AM
Welcome!

You might want to also read this thread:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=87322.msg803784#msg803784



Thanks :D , That has no tremolo frequency limiter, itself, has no LFO, but thanks for the input;)

???

It's almost the same as yours except pins 4 and 8 are not connected and yours has a fixed resistor in series with the rate pot. The LFO is the 555 output to an LED/LDR pair.  Maybe I'm missing something, but it is essentially the same.

Essentially Yes...

Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 12:56:15 PM
So far I have only a square and triangular generators based on TL072, but I've still didn't managed to make the sinewave generator work.. I like the idea of the sawtooth, and what if we help each other and make a tremolo of 6 types of wave? Square, triangle, sawtooth, sine, (de flanco?) and pulse... not something crazy?"
Quote from: smallbearelec on November 04, 2012, 01:21:01 AM

Hey guys- I've stumbled on a simple way to take the square wave from an LFO and incrementally convert it to something approximating a sine wave using passive components. This is part of my "Turkey Day Contest" entry, so I can't post anything on it until I submit my entry in a few weeks. I'll be sure to post some schematics here after I submit my entry.

It would be great if you please sit down with that ... I'm killing myself to get the sine wave on the other hand you help someone else :)

Quote from: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 02:33:03 PM
The earliest circuit I've seen that uses the 555 timer in a tremolo application is a circuit from R.A. Penfold's book,  "Electronic Projects for Guitar" - it used a CMOS 555 timer to drive a JFet in series with a resistor on the input stage (guitar >resistor in series with JFET tied to ground).  The series resistance limits the loading effect on the guitar when the JFET is conducting fully, and there is another single transistor stage coupled to the JFET to boost the signal back up to unity gain or slightly above.  This book came out in 1980, I'm not aware of any commercial circuits or published schematics that came out before this time......



That was my idea, but I opted for the LDR through a condenser that this is not the pop-pop hits in the amplifier.

Quote from: deadastronaut on November 04, 2012, 03:20:57 PM
yep...i certainly wasn't the first to use a 555 as a tremolo, or the first to use a 555/ led/ldr......

considering the 555 is around 40 years old i would have had to come up with it when i was 6, .. ;D

anyway...

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/chickpea/TS555TINYTREM.gif.html

Hahahaha I was not born when these components were built and no one has said who was the first to use them, is like saying Tim Escobedo stole the idea to Dallas Arbiter ...

Everyone does what he wants with the way we make it work better.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 06:43:29 PM
Right!  I used a 555 to build a metronome for a high school electronics class in 1978 or 1979. Not only have they been around for a while, but they're very versital. From sending out a continuous pulse like we're using for our LFOs, to a one-shot pulse, to flip-flop, to voltage multiplier, to voltage controlled oscillators, and a lot more.

I'll share my research here and follow up after the contest to show how my version works. The following are three examples of how to shape the 555 output signal. 

http://www.electronicspoint.com/attachments/1011d1285665527-convert-square-wave-sine-wave-sine-wave-output.jpg

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/CA5DC109-668B-46F3-BE44-4862532BAED6-3036-000002A21B75E29E.jpg)

http://www.designnotes.com/downloads/MK105_Assembly.pdf

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/FC321E9D-0FB7-40D4-BF87-C83A61735C3D-3036-000002A207E1B7E8.jpg)

http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/4EE9FB92-C796-49ED-B679-F75F007960C9-206-0000001B34F7B5B7.jpg

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/987F0E3E-82A2-4527-B9F7-EF470C0FD1F5-3036-000002A2310E95D8.jpg)

Steve's Tremulous Bear uses another method to modify the waveform, and might be best for minimizing some of the limitations I found with the methods above and described below.


I've played with the first and third method above and noticed several things.

1) As you make the waveform more sine-like, the attack of the sweep becomes more ramped or drawnout, but the decay is still pretty sharp. It gives the guitar signal a "backward" sound - kinda' like shhhhhhhhhp. This happens regardless of the duty cycle of the square wave. I don't know if this is a limitation of the filtering methods or if it is being caused by the LDR's on/off ramps.  I don't have a scope to help me figure out what is causing the long attack/short decay.

2)  In the first example above, I tested the output at each node where a cap is connected. It definitely goes from saw at the first cap to more sine-ish at the last cap. I noticed that the signal got progressively smaller at the second and third nodes. I assume that this is partially due to the increased resistance caused by the resistors in series. I used a Tillman preamp on the front end to provide a good signal through the LDR.

3) As you get closer to a sine wave, you lose the signal as you increase the speed. With example #1 tacked onto the 555 output, faster speeds work better with square waves than sine.

4) I experienced a lot of interaction between the filters and the timer's speed. I can't recall if the speed increased or decreased as I got closer to the sine waveform. This might have been caused by the types of filters I was playing with.

5) In example #1, I found it best to increase the capacitance of the second and third capacitors. I also reduced the resistance for the resistors toward the right to avoid making the LED too dim.

Anyway, there's a few ways to modify the waveform. I don't guaranty that any of them will sound very pleasant, but it's something you can try.   Good luck!

Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 06:45:30 PM

Hey guys- I've stumbled on a simple way to take the square wave from an LFO and incrementally convert it to something approximating a sine wave using passive components. This is part of my "Turkey Day Contest" entry, so I can't post anything on it until I submit my entry in a few weeks. I'll be sure to post some schematics here after I submit my entry.

It would be great if you please sit down with that ... I'm killing myself to get the sine wave on the other hand you help someone else


Dual ganged pot on the rate potentiometer, the additional pot controls a passive RC filter on the square wave output?  Proportional to 1/R, so for a first order passive filter match the 3db point to your pulse frequency, or as close as reasonably possible.  Should be close to a sine wave then.  Some amplitude loss could be compensated by changing your depth adjustment.  Question is, linear or audio taper?  Might work, might not, I hope this translates OK!

Dammit, there I go reinventing the wheel again! :icon_razz: :icon_razz: :icon_razz:
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 07:06:49 PM
Oh yeah, before I forget, here is a good reference that explains vactrol VCA's (tremolo) applications, geared more towards static applications but relevant in this case....

http://www.silonex.com/audiohm/pdf/levelcontrol.pdf

Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 08:25:06 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 06:43:29 PM
Right!  I used a 555 to build a metronome for a high school electronics class in 1978 or 1979. Not only have they been around for a while, but they're very versital. From sending out a continuous pulse like we're using for our LFOs, to a one-shot pulse, to flip-flop, to voltage multiplier, to voltage controlled oscillators, and a lot more.

I'll share my research here and follow up after the contest to show how my version works. The following are three examples of how to shape the 555 output signal.  

http://www.electronicspoint.com/attachments/1011d1285665527-convert-square-wave-sine-wave-sine-wave-output.jpg

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/CA5DC109-668B-46F3-BE44-4862532BAED6-3036-000002A21B75E29E.jpg)

http://www.designnotes.com/downloads/MK105_Assembly.pdf

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/FC321E9D-0FB7-40D4-BF87-C83A61735C3D-3036-000002A207E1B7E8.jpg)

http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/4EE9FB92-C796-49ED-B679-F75F007960C9-206-0000001B34F7B5B7.jpg

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/987F0E3E-82A2-4527-B9F7-EF470C0FD1F5-3036-000002A2310E95D8.jpg)

Steve's Tremulous Bear uses another method to modify the waveform, and might be best for minimizing some of the limitations I found with the methods above and described below.


I've played with the first and third method above and noticed several things.

1) As you make the waveform more sine-like, the attack of the sweep becomes more ramped or drawnout, but the decay is still pretty sharp. It gives the guitar signal a "backward" sound - kinda' like shhhhhhhhhp. This happens regardless of the duty cycle of the square wave. I don't know if this is a limitation of the filtering methods or if it is being caused by the LDR's on/off ramps.  I don't have a scope to help me figure out what is causing the long attack/short decay.

2)  In the first example above, I tested the output at each node where a cap is connected. It definitely goes from saw at the first cap to more sine-ish at the last cap. I noticed that the signal got progressively smaller at the second and third nodes. I assume that this is partially due to the increased resistance caused by the resistors in series. I used a Tillman preamp on the front end to provide a good signal through the LDR.

3) As you get closer to a sine wave, you lose the signal as you increase the speed. With example #1 tacked onto the 555 output, faster speeds work better with square waves than sine.

4) I experienced a lot of interaction between the filters and the timer's speed. I can't recall if the speed increased or decreased as I got closer to the sine waveform. This might have been caused by the types of filters I was playing with.

5) In example #1, I found it best to increase the capacitance of the second and third capacitors. I also reduced the resistance for the resistors toward the right to avoid making the LED too dim.

Anyway, there's a few ways to modify the waveform. I don't guaranty that any of them will sound very pleasant, but it's something you can try.   Good luck!



OMG!!! GREAT... GREEEEAAATTT I obtained the sine wave from a square wave :D , Right now I am still tell as resistors and capacitors changing aver that comes out better.

I test other way:

                    1K            470   LED
555 -> Out----\/\/\----------\/\/\--->|---GRND
                              |
                             __ +
                             ---       200uF
                              |
                           GRND
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 09:08:03 PM
Quote from: Mac Walker on November 04, 2012, 07:06:49 PM
Oh yeah, before I forget, here is a good reference that explains vactrol VCA's (tremolo) applications, geared more towards static applications but relevant in this case....

http://www.silonex.com/audiohm/pdf/levelcontrol.pdf



Thanks for the info. I scanned through it and it looks like some good stuff. I've got it in my reading list!
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 09:13:54 PM
@Mauricio > take long to start and I have no idea why.

Could you please explain?  The chip doesn't oscillate when you turn it on?  The chip oscillates but the LED responds too slowly?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 09:25:47 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 09:13:54 PM
@Mauricio > take long to start and I have no idea why.

Could you please explain?  The chip doesn't oscillate when you turn it on?  The chip oscillates but the LED responds too slowly?

We solved the problem ... I used a 2200uF capacitor and I did not realize ... : icon_eek: ... what I did was change to 220uF.

                   1K            470   LED
555 -> Out----\/\/\----------\/\/\--->|---GRND
                             |
                            __ +
                            ---       200uF
                             |
                          GRND

Specifically this schematic, R3 are 10K
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOKYv_xUUYg/T3QcAfx9c7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/AAzRh5R3m2k/s1600/square+to+sine.bmp)
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 05, 2012, 12:48:41 AM
Anyone know how to improve the tremolo? with more separation, soft stuff ...
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 03:35:33 AM
Steve (Small Bear) has a couple of features on the Tremulous Bear. He has two speed pots which interact with each other to allow you to adjust the duty cycle. You can adjust the duration of the cycles to have long or short time at zero or anywhere in between. He also uses a diode between pins 6 and 7 to quickly give you a 50/50 duty cycle.

For your filter, you could set up a chain of resistors and capacitors instead if just one and use a rotary switch to select how much "smoothing" you want. That way your last capacitor could be large enough to give you a very smooth waveform when the speed is set low. You'd have to reduce the resistor values if you chain several together or the LED might not light.

If you're not using a booster or buffers, you might want to put a small capacitor across the LDR the same as you would on a guitar volume pot to avoid losing the highs as the LDR sweeps.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 11:42:30 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 09:25:47 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 09:13:54 PM
@Mauricio > take long to start and I have no idea why.

Could you please explain?  The chip doesn't oscillate when you turn it on?  The chip oscillates but the LED responds too slowly?

We solved the problem ... I used a 2200uF capacitor and I did not realize ... : icon_eek: ... what I did was change to 220uF.

                   1K            470   LED
555 -> Out----\/\/\----------\/\/\--->|---GRND
                             |
                            __ +
                            ---       200uF
                             |
                          GRND

Specifically this schematic, R3 are 10K
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOKYv_xUUYg/T3QcAfx9c7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/AAzRh5R3m2k/s1600/square+to+sine.bmp)

Right. The problem I have with this filter is that I can't get a symmetrical waveform. I get a slow rise and quick drop like this:

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/0F5A29BF-C484-400F-86CA-32D042D3799E-3711-00000374261770F0.jpg)

Anyone know why this might be and how to improve the symmetry?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 05, 2012, 12:35:54 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 11:42:30 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 04, 2012, 09:25:47 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 04, 2012, 09:13:54 PM
@Mauricio > take long to start and I have no idea why.

Could you please explain?  The chip doesn't oscillate when you turn it on?  The chip oscillates but the LED responds too slowly?

We solved the problem ... I used a 2200uF capacitor and I did not realize ... : icon_eek: ... what I did was change to 220uF.

                   1K            470   LED
555 -> Out----\/\/\----------\/\/\--->|---GRND
                             |
                            __ +
                            ---       200uF
                             |
                          GRND

Specifically this schematic, R3 are 10K
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOKYv_xUUYg/T3QcAfx9c7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/AAzRh5R3m2k/s1600/square+to+sine.bmp)

Right. The problem I have with this filter is that I can't get a symmetrical waveform. I get a slow rise and quick drop like this:

(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q485/jdansti/0F5A29BF-C484-400F-86CA-32D042D3799E-3711-00000374261770F0.jpg)

Anyone know why this might be and how to improve the symmetry?

You could, but I have no idea how, my hypothesis is seeking a number of farads its accuracy and generate the necessary symmetry, but that's impossible, I think.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 02:23:31 PM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 05, 2012, 12:35:54 PM

You could, but I have no idea how, my hypothesis is seeking a number of farads its accuracy and generate the necessary symmetry, but that's impossible, I think.

220uF gives a pretty good front end ramp, but the tail still drops pretty quickly. 470-1000uF is even smoother on the front end, but I still get a quick drop on the tail.  I think smooth ramp on the front end is because the capacitors take time to charge. The quick drop on the tail is because when the square wave from the 555 goes to zero, the capacitor quickly discharges to ground. It seems that I need a way to slow down the discharge rate without affecting the charge up on the front end.

I just need to get a scope on it to know for sure. I think my brother has one of my Dad's old scopes that he's not using. I need to borrow it and see what's really going on.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 05, 2012, 02:54:46 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 02:23:31 PM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 05, 2012, 12:35:54 PM

You could, but I have no idea how, my hypothesis is seeking a number of farads its accuracy and generate the necessary symmetry, but that's impossible, I think.

220uF gives a pretty good front end ramp, but the tail still drops pretty quickly. 470-1000uF is even smoother on the front end, but I still get a quick drop on the tail.  I think smooth ramp on the front end is because the capacitors take time to charge. The quick drop on the tail is because when the square wave from the 555 goes to zero, the capacitor quickly discharges to ground. It seems that I need a way to slow down the discharge rate without affecting the charge up on the front end.

I just need to get a scope on it to know for sure. I think my brother has one of my Dad's old scopes that he's not using. I need to borrow it and see what's really going on.

This is not only for my guitar and share with others what I am using for a project of the University .. As you know if you got you help me regulate the wave?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 03:13:38 PM
[quote author=Crontox102098 link=topic=99839.msg876588#msg876588 date=
This is not only for my guitar and share with others what I am using for a project of the University .. As you know if you got you help me regulate the wave?
[/quote]

I'll post what I learn about this here.

Since this is for your university project, have you discussed this with your professors?  Maybe they could shed some light on this.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 05, 2012, 03:26:40 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 05, 2012, 03:13:38 PM
[quote author=Crontox102098 link=topic=99839.msg876588#msg876588 date=
This is not only for my guitar and share with others what I am using for a project of the University .. As you know if you got you help me regulate the wave?

I'll post what I learn about this here.

Since this is for your university project, have you discussed this with your professors?  Maybe they could shed some light on this.
[/quote]

He told me what the capacitor, but it should improve ... the LFO must not have a drop to 0 so abrupt.
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 06, 2012, 07:39:20 PM
Please do not leave the topic, I need ideas for regulating the wave, please ...
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 06, 2012, 09:48:55 PM
I'm still here...


I spent 3 more hours last night trying to get the 555 output to be symmetrical triangle or sine and was unsuccessful. It might not be possible.  ???

The "Tremulous Lune" is a good tremolo that is capable of a symmetric waveform. I recommend it if you want a symmetric waveform.

Here's the schematic: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/tremulus.php

And here's the symmetry mod:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=65107.0
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 06, 2012, 11:13:21 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 06, 2012, 09:48:55 PM
I'm still here...


I spent 3 more hours last night trying to get the 555 output to be symmetrical triangle or sine and was unsuccessful. It might not be possible.  ???

The "Tremulous Lune" is a good tremolo that is capable of a symmetric waveform. I recommend it if you want a symmetric waveform.

Here's the schematic: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/tremulus.php

And here's the symmetry mod:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=65107.0


MAN! ARE COMPLETELY GREAT, GRE-AT, a wave goes totally perfect (I have a tiny scope) :D :D :D :D
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Jdansti on November 07, 2012, 01:22:58 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 06, 2012, 11:13:21 PM

MAN! ARE COMPLETELY GREAT, GRE-AT, a wave goes totally perfect (I have a tiny scope) :D :D :D :D

Did you build a Tremulous Lune?
Title: Re: SunTrem, 555 LFO based Tremolo
Post by: Crontox102098 on November 07, 2012, 05:03:16 PM
Quote from: Jdansti on November 07, 2012, 01:22:58 AM
Quote from: Crontox102098 on November 06, 2012, 11:13:21 PM

MAN! ARE COMPLETELY GREAT, GRE-AT, a wave goes totally perfect (I have a tiny scope) :D :D :D :D

Did you build a Tremulous Lune?

Yes... with the diode ramp normalizes the wave...