Apologies if that earlier post appeared to be aimed at you defaced it wasn't intended to be. I hadn't seen your preceding post when I wrote it, must have posted at the same time, I was using tapatalk and it doesn't warn of new posts.
No worries.
hey defaced...don't give up yet. i may have mis-spoken.
I'm all ears, and true to spirit, I'm workin my case because this is a cool idea I have
So let me ask two yes or no questions of the judges:
1) Components that are are utilized as analog in/analog out devices are allowed. Example: PT2399 and Tap Tempo. Correct?
2) Components that are utilized as digital in and/or digital out are not allowed.
Example: Micro controllers that digitally communicate with other components. Correct?
My 2 cents (no I'm not a judge, and yes I have a vested interest in the outcome, but well, I'm an engineer and working out definitions are part of what we're really good at):
-I think your PT2399 example is spot on, but as you point out, doesn't comply with rule 8 because it's DSP.
-The TT is a micro-controller, takes special hardware to program (not a tool a novice builder would have), and by definition, takes a digital input (stomps are just pulses of high/low, i.e., digital). I could entertain arguments that the output is analog (square wave out gets a little sticky).
-But, and you'll love this one. By the second definition in your post, and the current wording of Rule 8, the flip/flop circuit used in Boss pedals that takes the momentary stomp and toggles the effect is digital. It's discrete digital, but digital none the less. Or taking it a step further, as the rules stand, you couldn't say for example, use two inverters of a 4049 to build a flip/flop to control the on/off of the effect and the rest as distortion stages.
Are all of these common in pedal building? Yes. Are they all digital by definition? Yes. Per the current Rule 8 and the comments thus far on the topic be should ALL of these circuit/elements be barred from competition? IMO, yes - they're "digital" by definition. But as I said in a previous post, "digital" in the pedal vernacular is different than "digital" as a technology, and that point is a BIG sticking point (as we're seeing).
So engineer's definition-o-rant over. For once in a lifetime, I'll offer my opinion. Do I personally think the PT2399, TT, BBD clocks, Belton reverb bricks, flip/flops and other common digital elements used in basically analog pedals be allowed? Yes - but only if my commercial off the shelf bone stock cook book digital control circuit is allowed too. Why?
All of them are easy to acquire and build. None of them require special hardware (assuming you buy a TT chip), SMT, or are outside the scope of what a novice could reasonably build - and from my readings of the rules and the judge's comments, that's the primary thrust of this comp and part of what Rule 8 was intended to work toward.
In all honesty, the control circuit I want to use
I learned as a novice because someone posted it to a thread I made over at the Music Electronics Forum about four years ago (+1 point if someone can find it and post a link before the deadline to enter passes). Oh, and it's also a non-MCU way to build a very popular pedal controlling accessory, and I planned on posting the schem with submission so it benefits the community and isn't just a show boat thing (it's not THAT impressive really, you'll probably wonder why I even argued this hard for it). Lastly (I'm running out of breath, I promise), the same chip from a different TTL logic family has been discussed here before, back in 2007.
