Circuit Bending Night! 12/12/08

We're having an event to show off some of our bent creations. It'll be at Squeaky Wheel in Buffalo on Friday Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.

I'm making this event an open call to benders, so if you have a bent instrument you'd like to play, bring it along and we'll plug it into the mixer.

finding bends

At this point, our workshop has a half-dozen or so projects underway. Cases have been opened, warranties voided. Now the fun of finding the points on the circuit boards that will produce the warped, glitchy results we're after.

Here's one participant's solution to keeping track of where productive spots on the board of this "cheer leader" toy might be. Make a xerox and add notes in colored marker.

This disney book toy's sounds are triggered by a confusing logic. Here, hook-up wire has been soldered to each of the pads on the little circuit board, making the process of reverse-engineering the logic a little less frustrating. This will probably also be a good step toward the eventual repackaging of the finished bend.

This bender is having a go at the venerable sk-1, and keeping track of bend points by making marks with a sharpie directly on the board.

Choosing something to bend

Older devices can be easier than newer ones

Advances in technology have made individual components (ICs, resistors, capacitors, etc.) smaller. Surface-mount technology (SMT) means that circuits can be assembled on one side of a circuit board - without the pins poking through the board that make it [relatively] easy to attach bends. It is possible to bend SMT devices, but it can be much more challenging given their small size.



Well-known bend targets are easier, but ...

Casio SK-1s and TI Speak-and-Spells (or Speak-and-Maths) have been bent by many with great results, and there is a lot of documentation about them in the bending community. They're older machines, though, and can be harder to find (or can be expensive to buy on eBay ...). Don't pass something over just because you've never seen or heard of anyone bending it.



Choose something with interruptible sounds

Some toys have buttons that, when pressed, play a sound all the way through and cannot be interrupted by another button press. Applying bends to these things can still be rewarding, but being able to toggle and interrupt sounds is a fun and easy way to get new sounds out of a bent toy.



Look for non-proprietary fasteners

It's easier to take toys apart that are held together with Phillips-head screws or slotted-head screws – star fasteners and those strange triangular head things can be frustrating unless you have a really extensive tool collection.

some links to get you started

first, have a look at Reed Ghazala'a Anti-Theory Workshop - Reed is the Chuck Berry of circuit bending, or something. and his stuff is beautiful.



then, make sure you bookmark getlofi.com and check it often - lots of good news and stuff to be found there.



over the next week or so i will be posting photos from the workshop and links and some other stuff.



all best,

bill