Task

Your task is to reverse engineer a very simple synthesiser - the Mt. Brighton Avalanche Oscillator - assembling and soldering your own hand-built version. An avalanche oscillator is a simple audio circuit that generates a continuous waveform, that is ideal for learning basic electronics and synthesis. Due to the limited set of parts, the project will allow you to go from breadboard to a prototype circuit board without (hopefully!) being too overwhelming. Learning soldering/circuit testing is a must and trial-and-error will definitely be part of the process! Use of circuit simulation and/or CAD software is allowed, though by no means necessary. Your circuit will need between 12-18 volts to function properly.

If you want to take your synthesiser with you, we ask for a small donation towards the cost of the materials.

Components

In the kit you will find:

two 9v batteries
two battery clips
a 330Ω resistor
a 22kΩ resistor
a 2.2µF capacitor
a 2N3904 transistor
a LED
a linear 10KΩ potentiometer
a 3.5mm Thonkiconn audio connector
a small piece of prototyping board (perfboard or stripboard)