Jaco’s Random Writings

So here it is. The project page for “Duimdla” is posted up. Why so long after the project has been completed for almost a month now? Simple, side projects, the hunt for a job, and the arduous task of making sure all the documentation for the project was up to scratch and that the proper licensing has been applied. Well, the proper licensing has been applied. Now the project is open source and will stay that way.

So, there are a few things that still need to happen with “Duimdla”. First off, I need to come up with a better material for the case. Bondo, while it is hard and all, is remarkably brittle. Wood is too expensive for me to make cases for other people and quite frankly can be just as fragile as Bondo. Suggestions are welcome.

Second on the agenda, I need to get some footage up from the public presentation of “Duimdla”. Tim was kind enough to take some video of people playing the instrument. I just need to get the footage from him.

And finally, I need to create a 3D CAD model of the instrument. This will allow anyone who would like to reproduce it to be able to feed it into a CNC and create a case (or a casting mold) for Duimdla. This will allow me to be able to create a casting mold using a CNC should I go with a casting material like epoxy. Once I have that done, it will be posted up under the same license as the circuit schematic.

Last order of business is a call for help! If you are interested in this project, I can use some help. Currently, the Arduino code for Duimdla is inaccurate and inefficient. As a first iteration prototype, it needs more work done on it. Should anyone be interested, I will be more than happy to explain the logical progression of the code. Actually, I should probably put that up on the page anyway. Right.

Really, I need to update this blog more. So much happening all at once. But worry not, I have some motivation now. Ian (from Aberro Specus), Brandon (from Extant Musings), and I have come to an agreement. If one of us updates our respective blogs, the other two have 24 hours to update theirs. Failure to do so would result in instant emasculation and humiliation. I’m probably exaggerating the punishment for failure, but that’s the general idea. He who cannot meet the challenge is a little sissy boy who should go home crying to his mummy for porridge.