Build Log #3 Space Echo Ripoff

Combination delay and spring reverb unit

Functionally approximated 'work-a-like' of the RE-201 Space Echo by Roland.
As my interest in tape delay was in full swing by this point, it was inevitable that I would end up learning about Roland's famous tape unit.

A favourite in Dub, Reggae, and often used as a gimmicky focal point in mixes, when it wasn't adding lush unpredictable swirls of background echo.
Having  reached quite a revered status online and amongst gearheads like myself.
It almost seems like your studio isn't really a studio without one of these and a pair of NS-10's!

With prices going up and reliability going down on these units, the attraction seems to have slipped from having a usable piece of gear to just owning a collectors item. Always a shame.

Anyway, the idea was to make a functionally and aesthetically correct but legally distinct version which would actually get used on some mixes and not just to collect dust.

I made 3 of these units simply because the process for the front panels seemed economic that way.

However the final unit sat around unfinished for a few months because I ran out of bits, It was then just shifted as parts. Speaking of which...

The Parts

Some old furniture chipboard for the box

broken metal digibox/dvd player lid bent to shape for the front panel

Similar VU's sourced on Ebay (Around £5 each)

Tayda for pots and switches etc. (Maybe £10-20)

Paints and lacquers

Salvaged reverb tank

Perf/proto PC Board

PT2399 IC

other scrap wire and components

The Case

The Size was determined by the width of the furniture off-cuts again, and made long enough to ensure I could house the reverb tank. Just butt joints screwed through from the outside.

The empty shell was then covered with some thick vinyl stuff which resembled tolex but came free from a boatyard sometime ago.

The front panels were measured, bent to shape with pliers and some lengths of metal from the scrap pile, this was before I got a vice so it was not even approaching perfect. the holes for pots, switches and the VU were drilled and filed, test fitted then some more filing.

The front was sprayed with the colours and some clever placement of cutout legend markings, these were inverted before B+W laser printing then blended into the black background nicely.

Then a few clear coats, taking care on the first couple to only lightly 'dust' them.

(this is important because lacquer will melt the laser printed words!)

The Electronics

There were some simple ideas behind each section of the project but putting them all together took some time.I learned a lot about how different VU meters can behave and some of the ways to integrate them if your circuit doesn't have enough juice to move the needle. Although I don't make any claims about it's accuracy, it does look good, and works well as a reference when you get used to it.

You can break down the internals like this

Power supply

Input mixer, buffer and splitter

Reverb Circuit

Echo Circuit

Selector switch

Post mixer

VU and clip light

There are a few options when you are making multi-effects and after trying a couple of different paths for the audio I settled on the most usable and jammed it together. You can probably hear the order of the effects in the video.

The switch, as per the original unit gives the option of dry, just echo, just reverb or both.

The circuits, if you are curious, are straight out of the datasheets with the exception of the reverb.

This was slightly modified from the 'CENTRE STAGE SPRING REVERB' design which can be found on many DIY guitar effect sites

They were all drawn out in block diagram form on the back of a napkin first, as is standard procedure.

Bartop Arcade Machine

A Bartop Arcade Machine from scrap

Another project based on scraps and left over parts.

A Mess of Parts
This was an emulation based arcade simulator with many games and was a lot of fun. 

So much so in fact, it prompted the purchase of our second proper Jamma machine and more parts to upgrade the first one! 

The idea here is not to get into the details of how mame works and where you might get roms. So don't ask!

The point is more of a personal build diary about this spur of the moment, 'use what you have' type DIY build scenario.

The Brain

Although initially setup to use an old windows based P3, it worked fine but the physical size was just too large for my already built cabinet, I switched the PC out for an original xbox without too much of a headache.

The Cabinet

If you look at the side of the machine you can see it is a non-traditional shape, this is because the curve was traced exactly from the topside to the bottom side of an old computer desk.

The shape almost resembled an arcade machine so it started there.

Using the top piece directly on the bottom and drawing around it gave me the two sides. Then the remaining parts were made up of what was left.

The frame was screwed together with butt joints and corner blocks and the outside was lightly sanded to create a better surface for the paint to grip to. There is no edge banding/t-strip. just sanded then painted edges. If you have MDF and a router... Even Better!
Round it off and keep sanding and painting for a smoother, more professional finish.

The Screen/Bezel 

This was made from a masked and spray painted glass from a large picture frame!

The back was mounted to an off-cut of plywood
the measurements are the same square mounting, 100mm for all LCD TV's.

 The control panel 

Was left over from a full size machine (original was modified for 6 buttons).

The controls break down to 9 Normally open micro switches for each player with a common ground. It's an easy pad hack or an equally cheap USB Joystick encoder if you are using mame.

You could also use a hacked usb keyboard, This involves tracing out some of the key matrix and replacing the keys you need with buttons. It's that simple.

In my case, I already had the joysticks and buttons laying around but there is no rule which says you must use a certain type of button. in which case you could probably get a 2 player setup for about £10 using standard cheapo panel mount switches.Even less if you opt for a dedicated cabinet of something like space invaders which only has 3 buttons.

The monitor 

was an old LCD TV DVD combo.
Worth noting, because unlike PC monitors TV's don't go into standby and wake up when you power on.

TV's need to be told to come on, as with many low power standby appliances, The TV relied on a 5v logic signal being fed to the correct place on the PSU.

After checking the grounds were common with the Computer and the TV, It was easy to establish which trigger the ON for the TV.

Using two forward biased signal diodes from each device (just in case), I wired up the standby power switch of both the TV and the computer to one side of a single SPST Momentary Switch. The other side is tied to ground. and it all comes on together after pressing a single button.

The Marquee

The one thing I did buy was the StreetFighter 2 marquee sticker to add that finishing touch.
The light behind was usb powered and also comes on when the computer does.

Many hours of fun! Works even better with whiskey.

First Blog Ever: Studio Racks... on the cheap

My Cheap Rack Studio Furniture!

These were made from the remains of some kitchen units that have been stored in the garage for some time. (3/4" or 18mm) I Didn't want to throw the pieces out but have always considered any kind of chipboard to be sub-standard.

The idea for the banding down the edge which hides the ugly chipboard was probably what prompted the build. Having used a table saw for the first time recently, I was impressed with the thin strips that ended up in the off-cuts pile of my last project.

I drew up some measurements to fit my remaining 19" audio gear, The maximum height was so I could roll the finished units under my current desk, but this ended up being determined by the width of the wood.



Measuring out the Cut lines to the pieces I had on hand ensured matching angles and the most economic use of all the bits. The nice finishing wood strips were glued tight to the visible edges on the front and all the pieces were given a light sanding.

The whole thing was then butt jointed, glued (GORILLA GLUE RULES!) and clamped. Then screwed into place. The space behind the rack ears gives plenty of room for the joining blocks even if you didn't make the units with an angle like mine.

You can't really sand Conti board or other covered chipboard like this, as it is usually a cheap vinyl or plastic which does not take well to any kind of treatment.
I had assumed they may end up painted black. But with some care not to go through the veneer whilst lightly sanding these particular pieces, they look great after some Poundshop Yacht varnish.

There was one Major error on my part which I managed to rectify with the use of a router.

I had, for the second time, Failed to take the circular saws blade width into account, and the precise 19 1/8" clearance for the front panels was not the same after cutting.

You can see my 2mm skim of the surface on the inside. Keep this in mind ;)

I have probably spent about 3 hours total on both units combined, so far. This does exclude lots of procrastinating, which I'm assuming nobody else rivals me in.

I'm currently waiting on some rack strips to complete the project, but having only spent £5.30 total for two 11U rack units so far (Varnish and 8 wheels)... even if I end up paying full price for mounting strips it will still be a bargain.


Finished picture to follow If I keep up with the blog.


As I have never posted a blog before I thought I would use my very first post as more of a feature testing page than a proper blog post.

Having actually tried very hard in previous years to avoid all the 'Create your own blog' buttons.
For fear of ending up like one of the many thousands of other desperate internet whores, who will seemingly stop at nothing until you click their 'like' button.

I have also attempted websites.. and instructables articles. But with random project of the day often just turning into a brief rant it never really worked out. Then there's the domain maintenance, HTML and of course, the fees!

Guaranteed... By my fourth post I will be so desperate for some praise on my life changing blog, that I'll be investigating as to why I didn't receive all your heart-felt compliments and congratulatory E-Mails.