Remember the famous floppy drives? They’re back… with multiplied force (yes, THAT „force”) and some friends!
I have bought some more drives in order to expand the previous project back in 2012, which spent four years in a carton box. Together with new floppy drives, some more hardware has arrived: hard disk and optical scanners. Now I have the whole computer hardware orchestra – 64 floppy drives, 8 hard disks and 2 scanners – The Floppotron.
How does it work? The principle is simple. Every device with an electric motor is able to generate a sound. Scanners and floppy drives use stepper motors to move the head with sensors which scans the image or performs read/write operations on a magnetic disk. The sound generated by a motor depends on driving speed. The higher the frequency, the greater the pitch. Hard disks use a magnet and a coil to tilt the head. When voltage is supplied for long enough, the head speeds up and hits the bound making the „drum hit” sound. The disk head coil can also be used as a speaker to play tones or even music, but… that would be too easy and too obvious.
Every column of 8 floppy drives is connected to one 8-channel controller built on ATMega16 microcontroller. One controller acts as one voice with envelope simulation – the higher the volume, the more drives are playing. This allows to make ADSR-like shape and simulate a musical instrument, like a piano (exponential decay) or string instrument (sine, „vibrato”). The boards which were made a few years ago, were designed as a stand-alone „players” with optional USB-to-UART bridge and was not intended to be chained. My goal was to re-use old stuff and get the job done as fast as possible, so I used the on-board ISP (which in fact is a SPI interface) connector to link 8 drivers in a SPI chain. Long SPI chain with unidirectional communication is not an example good and reliable design, but it did not require any hardware modification and took a minute to build a controller network, so let’s call it… good enough for this kind of project.
Scanner and disk head controllers share the same base with floppy controllers, but have a different „instrument interface”. For driving the coils, I used 2 push-pull outputs (H-bridge) built with discrete SMD MOSFETs. Scanner head controllers were built using of-the-shelf boards – an Arduino Uno (firmware also builds for ATMega328 using AVR-GCC / Atmel Studio; none of this Arduino crappy software and libraries was used) and L298 breakout to save time needed to draw and etch the boards. PC interface (another Arduino board) receives the data over UART (USB-UART), buffers the messages and keeps the timings while passing packets to „musical instruments” over SPI interface, so a Windows hiccup will not affect the playback. It can also be driven by anything else like Raspberry Pi, Android smartphone (with USB-UART or UART-over-Bluetooth adapter) or another microcontroller.
Host application was written in Python 2.7. I wrote it mostly on some boring lectures when I was still studying at the university, so it’s a one big mess, but… at least it does the job. It parses the simple language used for writing note sequences arranged in tracks tied to a specific controller / channel and merges those parallel tracks into one command list which is transferred over COM port. It can also partially generate „song script” from MIDI file which speeds up the „song porting” process.
[…] that is used to write note sequences and arrange tracks that go to a specific controller. You can read more about the Floppotron here, or just listen to the Pokémon anthem […]
[…] disk drives, eight hard disks, and two scanners in his native Poland, Zadrożniak created a computer symphony that he’s now using to play everyone’s favorite pocket monster […]
[…] some basic computer programming (which you can read about here), Pawel has turned this collection of obsolete devices into instruments. This odd orchestra has […]
[…] and eight 8-channel controllers with envelope stimulation. The device was shown in a video on his posted to his blog. showing off the improvement made from the original two-drive setup over the course of five […]
[…] aufeinander ab. Wenn Du wissen möchtest, wie genau der ganze Aufbau funktioniert, sei dir die Website des Bastlers ans Herz gelegt.Musik in deinen Ohren oder doch eher krächzender Lärm? Können […]
[…] evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] wel eens in een muziekinstrument willen veranderen? Als je het Paweł laat weten, kan hij misschien zelfs wel wat voor je betekenen… Delen (0 keer gedeeld)In dit artikelInspirerendcomputersmuziektechniek Tim EngelbartTim […]
[…] Flash is a master of many things and a true disruptor in the industry. But have you ever heard flash create a single sound? When storage was still magnetic and computing environments revolved around moving parts, home computers, offices and data centers were a cacophony of noise. But what if that noise was turned into music? A student of the Polish AGH University of Science and Technology built an orchestra made of floppy drives. It might be the best thing you’ve seen (and heard) all day. […]
[…] an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] The Floppotron by polish hacker SlieNT is a hugh array of 64 floppy drives, 8 hard disks and two scanners. It uses the controls as we have seen have it before but the project shines with its mass and build-quality. Also it implements volume control which gives it moch more musical possibilities than similar hacks. Percussion-like sounds are realized with salvaged hard drives which are run agains the casing to make the percussion “plopp”. Electronically, everything is realized with arduinos, which are wired as one big SPI-Chain to be finally controlled from a desktop computer. Every device with an electric motor is able to generate a sound. Scanners and floppy drives use stepper motors to move the head with sensors which scans the image or performs read/write operations on a magnetic disk. The sound generated by a motor depends on driving speed. The higher the frequency, the greater the pitch. Hard disks use a magnet and a coil to tilt the head. When voltage is supplied for long enough, the head speeds up and hits the bound making the „drum hit” sound. The disk head coil can also be used as a speaker to play tones or even music, but… that would be too easy and too obvious. […]
[…] conocer más del proyecto de Paweł Zadrożniak, no dejen de visitar su sitio, donde además incluye dos versiones más que serán de su agrado. Por lo pronto, mientras preparo […]
Can you please also provide some general guidance regarding compatibility of the Floppotron with the Cinco MIDI Organizer (demonstrated in that video I just linked)? It seems the 10 floppy disk bundle should be no problem, but I am specifically concerned about interfacing with the Tully Toggle.
A most beautiful work, thank you. I am in awe.
Please do „Camptown Races” next, to set the stage for the
greatest MIDI-video mashup in history, with this majestic piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSwqnR327fk
[…] “Every device with an electric motor is able to generate a sound,” he explains on his website. “The sound generated by a motor depends on driving speed. The higher the frequency, the […]
[…] as an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] as an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] | Entretenimiento, Videos El ingeniero eléctrico polaco Pawel Zadrozniak es el creador de The Floppotron, una orquesta muy peculiar compuesta por 64 disqueteras, 8 discos duros y 2 […]
[…] and some hard drives. The end result of this musical instrument, which Zadrożniak calls the Floppotron, is a computer-created cover version of one of grunge’s most iconic songs: Nirvana’s […]
[…] Zadrozniak volt. Arról, hogy hogyan is működik a The Flopporton névre keresztelt szerkezet, itt ír részletesen a megálmodó (angol nyelven). Hatalmas gratuláció neki és köszönjük az […]
[…] В видео Павел Задрозняк представляет собранный им «Флоппотрон», большое устройство из 64 дисководов и восьми восьмиканальных контроллеров. Звук достигается с помощью моторов сканеров и дисководов, а также контроля над скоростью и напряжением. «Чем выше частота, тем выше тон», — пишет Задрозняк. […]
Just Fabulustastic! I wish I had such talent and habilities. This is Art!
HI…Hats off to your creativity. Awesome!!!
Fantastic!
Super! I’d love to hear „Axel F” on the new Floppotron. Greetings from Munich!
[…] that is used to write note sequences and arrange tracks that go to a specific controller. You can read more about the Floppotron here, or just listen to the Pokémon anthem […]
[…] disk drives, eight hard disks, and two scanners in his native Poland, Zadrożniak created a computer symphony that he’s now using to play everyone’s favorite pocket monster […]
[…] some basic computer programming (which you can read about here), Pawel has turned this collection of obsolete devices into instruments. This odd orchestra has […]
Next do „Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune”
[…] saber cuál fue el método (si eres un ñoño que disfruta del detrás de cámaras da click aquí y entérate de […]
[…] and eight 8-channel controllers with envelope stimulation. The device was shown in a video on his posted to his blog. showing off the improvement made from the original two-drive setup over the course of five […]
[…] eso no es nada comparado con el Floppotron. Su nombre lo dice todo; un bicharraco compuesto por 64 floppys, 8 discos duros y 2 scanners que ya […]
[…] Zadrożniak jest właścicielem czegoś, co określa jako The Floppotron. Składają się na niego 64 stacje dyskietek, osiem […]
[…] aufeinander ab. Wenn Du wissen möchtest, wie genau der ganze Aufbau funktioniert, sei dir die Website des Bastlers ans Herz gelegt.Musik in deinen Ohren oder doch eher krächzender Lärm? Können […]
[…] 너바나의 명곡(Smells Like Teen Spirit) 연주에도 도전한 바 있다. 관련 내용은 이곳에서 확인할 수 […]
[…] evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] wel eens in een muziekinstrument willen veranderen? Als je het Paweł laat weten, kan hij misschien zelfs wel wat voor je betekenen… Delen (0 keer gedeeld)In dit artikelInspirerendcomputersmuziektechniek Tim EngelbartTim […]
[…] Flash is a master of many things and a true disruptor in the industry. But have you ever heard flash create a single sound? When storage was still magnetic and computing environments revolved around moving parts, home computers, offices and data centers were a cacophony of noise. But what if that noise was turned into music? A student of the Polish AGH University of Science and Technology built an orchestra made of floppy drives. It might be the best thing you’ve seen (and heard) all day. […]
[…] an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] The Floppotron by polish hacker SlieNT is a hugh array of 64 floppy drives, 8 hard disks and two scanners. It uses the controls as we have seen have it before but the project shines with its mass and build-quality. Also it implements volume control which gives it moch more musical possibilities than similar hacks. Percussion-like sounds are realized with salvaged hard drives which are run agains the casing to make the percussion “plopp”. Electronically, everything is realized with arduinos, which are wired as one big SPI-Chain to be finally controlled from a desktop computer. Every device with an electric motor is able to generate a sound. Scanners and floppy drives use stepper motors to move the head with sensors which scans the image or performs read/write operations on a magnetic disk. The sound generated by a motor depends on driving speed. The higher the frequency, the greater the pitch. Hard disks use a magnet and a coil to tilt the head. When voltage is supplied for long enough, the head speeds up and hits the bound making the „drum hit” sound. The disk head coil can also be used as a speaker to play tones or even music, but… that would be too easy and too obvious. […]
[…] possibile scoprire come funziona il Floppotron (questo il nome della peculiare orchestra meccanica) di Paweł […]
[…] conocer más del proyecto de Paweł Zadrożniak, no dejen de visitar su sitio, donde además incluye dos versiones más que serán de su agrado. Por lo pronto, mientras preparo […]
haha~ it’s very cool~
Can you please also provide some general guidance regarding compatibility of the Floppotron with the Cinco MIDI Organizer (demonstrated in that video I just linked)? It seems the 10 floppy disk bundle should be no problem, but I am specifically concerned about interfacing with the Tully Toggle.
A most beautiful work, thank you. I am in awe.
Please do „Camptown Races” next, to set the stage for the
greatest MIDI-video mashup in history, with this majestic piece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSwqnR327fk
[…] “Every device with an electric motor is able to generate a sound,” he explains on his website. “The sound generated by a motor depends on driving speed. The higher the frequency, the […]
[…] detalles sobre como hizo el creador de esta orquesta en su sitio web. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || […]
I wish I had the skills to build my own floppotron, just awesome!
Гениально!!!
[…] as an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] as an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] an evocative diversion, Smells Like Teen Spirit on [SileNT]’s Floppotron. The Floppotron is a music player composed of a huge array of floppy drives, hard drives, and a couple of flatbed scann…. The scanners are controlled by off-the-shelf Arduino boards and the hard drives have ATMega16s […]
[…] польский программист Павел Задрожняк (Paweł Zadrożniak) решил доработать свой музыкальный инструмент 2012 года, состоявший из […]
[…] ソース：Return of the Floppies » Silent’s Homepage KORG USB MIDIキーボード microKEY-25 マイクロキー 25鍵Amazon.co.jp で詳しく見る […]
[…] | Entretenimiento, Videos El ingeniero eléctrico polaco Pawel Zadrozniak es el creador de The Floppotron, una orquesta muy peculiar compuesta por 64 disqueteras, 8 discos duros y 2 […]
[…] ιστολόγιο του Ζαντρόζνιακ μπορείτε να ακούσετε το «Floppotron» να […]
[…] el blog oficial del proyecto Zadrożniak explica a mayor detalle el proceso que atravesó para elegir "los […]
[…] and some hard drives. The end result of this musical instrument, which Zadrożniak calls the Floppotron, is a computer-created cover version of one of grunge’s most iconic songs: Nirvana’s […]
[…] Return of the Floppies [silent.org.pl] […]
[…] a video posted to his blog on Wednesday, Zadrożniak shows off what he calls the “Floppotron,” a large assembly that […]
[…] tiempo y chatarra tecnológica? Entonces entra en el blog de Paweł Zadrożniak y anda practicando para armar tu banda […]
[…] Fonte: Silent’s Homepage […]
[…] el blog oficial del proyecto Zadrożniak explica a mayor detalle el proceso que atravesó para elegir “los […]
[…] Silent’s Homepage (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Recomendado para você:Colecionador […]
[…] [Silent.org] Tags: nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit On Air Now 3rd String Mornings @3rdStringShow Search WQLZ.com […]
[…] more at Silent’s Homepage. (Thanks to Christopher for the link.) amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; […]
[…] eso no es nada comparado con el Floppotron. Su nombre lo dice todo; un bicharraco compuesto por 64 floppys, 8 discos duros y 2 scanners que ya […]
[…] Zadrozniak volt. Arról, hogy hogyan is működik a The Flopporton névre keresztelt szerkezet, itt ír részletesen a megálmodó (angol nyelven). Hatalmas gratuláció neki és köszönjük az […]
[…] Return of the Floppies Paweł explica el funcionamiento —ahora bastante más complejo— y la configuración técnica […]
[…] Fonte: Silent’s Homepage […]
[…] В видео Павел Задрозняк представляет собранный им «Флоппотрон», большое устройство из 64 дисководов и восьми восьмиканальных контроллеров. Звук достигается с помощью моторов сканеров и дисководов, а также контроля над скоростью и напряжением. «Чем выше частота, тем выше тон», — пишет Задрозняк. […]