RS-485 Sprinkler Control: Scaling Irrigation Across the FarmBuilding your own sprinkler system controller isn’t that difficult on the face of it, but what happens when your system starts to grow, adding more distant areas? To tackle this, [Vinnie] leveraged the tried-and-true RS-485 differential pairs to communicate reliably with ever-more-spread-out valves on his farm’s irrigation system.

The system uses a Raspberry Pi to control when each valve turns on and for how long. It does this via a custom RS-485 valve master board, whose code and design files are on GitHub. The master board communicates with the Pi over I2C and issues RS-485 commands while controlling the 12V line to the valves. Toggling the 12V supply is a smart move it lets [Vinnie] save power by not keeping the valves energized when idle.
At the valves themselves lives a valve node board (also on the GitHub repo). Each node has a unique address so it knows when its name is called to open or close a valve. The valves are latching solenoids, ideal because they don’t require constant current during the watering cycle. The Valve Nodes also support their own protocol to report state, firmware version, and allow in-situ configuration.
Be sure to head over to [Vinnie]’s project page and check out all the work that went into this great DIY irrigation control system, along with the thoughtful boards and tools he made to help others set it up. This is a welcome addition to the sprinkler-related projects we’ve seen.

Ex-Celsius exec sentenced to time served after guilty pleaCelsius‘ former chief revenue officer received a lenient sentence after his 2023 guilty plea for fraud and conspiracy to commit price manipulation.

Growl Audio gFractorgFractor Multi-mode Spectrum Analyzer & Oscilloscope gFractor is a multi-mode spectrum analyzer and oscilloscope plugin for music producers, mixing engineers, and mastering engineers who need an accurate picture of what's happening across the stereo field — not just left and right, but mid and side, and tonal versus transient content. Built on the JUCE framework in C++17, gFractor combines a configurable real-time FFT display with a tempo-synced oscilloscope, full stereo metering, and an A/B reference workflow in a single window. The audio path is fully realtime-safe: no allocations or locks occur on the audio thread. Three Channel Modes The same generic Primary / Secondary abstraction is used across three analysis modes, so the workflow stays consistent no matter what you're inspecting: Mid / Side — separate the mono centre from the stereo sides. Left / Right — traditional per-channel view. Tonal / Transient — split the signal by content type, with an adjustable transient time constant (0.1–10 ms). Spectrum Analyzer Configurable FFT order from 1024 up to 16384. Overlap from 2x to 8x. Adjustable decay and spectral slope. Infinite peak hold. Freeze. Loadable / savable target curves for spectrum comparison. Right-click-drag Audition Filter for precise bell-filter isolation of any frequency region. Oscilloscope View Tempo-synced time-domain display. Optional spectral colouring of the waveform. Reference Mode Sidechain-fed A/B comparison with ghost overlay. Momentary reference via held modifier key, for quick before/after checks while mixing. Stereo Metering Goniometer. Phase correlation meter. Width-per-octave display (10 bands), to see exactly where stereo width lives in the spectrum. Workflow Three themes: Dark, Light, and Balanced. Preset system with save, load, rename, and dirty-state tracking. Full keyboard control — every major feature has a shortcut, including channel-mode cycling (Tab), view toggling (V), reference (R / Ctrl), freeze (Z), peak hold (H), target curve (T), fullscreen (W), and one-key cycling through slope, decay, overlap, and FFT settings. Formats VST3 (Windows, macOS, Linux). AU (macOS). System Requirements MacOS 10.13 or later (Intel and Apple Silicon, universal binary). Windows 10 or later (64-bit). Linux (64-bit, VST3). Read More

FSK Audio release QRonicle  QRonicle is capable of generating a QR code that is then displayed in its GUI, and allows users to link to information stored on a cloud drive. 

Polarity releases Polarity-RES, a FREE resonator effect
Polarity is a name that many readers will be very familiar with. The developer has now released Polarity-RES (v0.1.0), a free resonator effect for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It wasn’t too long ago that we covered Polarity-MD, a free multiband dynamics processor (something like a four-band OTT). But many of you will know Polarity best [...]
View post: Polarity releases Polarity-RES, a FREE resonator effect

The 3 free plugin bundles I tell every beginner to install
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the only five free plugins a beginner actually needs, and the argument was simple. Stock plugins in modern DAWs are good enough for almost everything, so don’t drown yourself in 50 free downloads on day one. This is the follow-up to that piece. At some point, you do [...]
View post: The 3 free plugin bundles I tell every beginner to install

BLEASS’s new Spectral Resonator plugin turns audio into playable banks of up to 256 harmonicsBLEASS has launched a new plugin, the Spectral Resonator, which lets users transform vocals, synths, drums, guitars, and more into spectral layers with up to 256 playable harmonics.
The plugin works by converting your signal into the spectral domain, where it then applies creative effects. The spectrum can be shifted, blurred, and de-structured, with decaying tails and harmonic filtering. When blended with the source signal, this adds a controllable layer of pitch and timbre to your sound.

READ MORE: Teenage Engineering’s EP-136 K.O. Sidekick is a mixer, effects unit and sequencer all in one – and the “power companion” to your K.O. II

BLEASS says that the sound produced by Spectral Resonator is not dissimilar to a vocoder, but “extends beyond the confines of that classic effect into the realms of harmonic delays and tuned reverberations”.
Its internal generator can produce up-to four tunable voices, and can be used as the basis of the resonators’ frequencies. Alternatively, these pitches can be derived from incoming MIDI notes, so you can essentially play Spectral Resonator like a synth, with up to eight voice polyphony, glide and pitch-bend.
As with other BLEASS tools, the plugin champions an interface that is simple to use and allows for deep control. Users can experiment with principal resonator settings via rotary controls, while a rainbow spectrum analysis display doubles-up as a means of controlling the integrated filter.
The plugin also features a Freeze button, which holds the resonators in their current state, and a Kill button, that immediately stops any hanging resonances.

Looking for more plugins? Check out our weekly guide to the best free and paid-for plugins, featuring new launches from Native Instruments, Safari Audio, and more.
Head over to BLEASS to find out more, or purchase Spectral Resonator for a reduced price of $59.
The post BLEASS’s new Spectral Resonator plugin turns audio into playable banks of up to 256 harmonics appeared first on MusicTech.

“I don’t see how greatness can come from a tool like generative AI”: Adam Neely on AI replacing the craft of music and de-skillingAdam Neely, a jazz musician and music content creator, has discussed in-depth how AI within music can lead to de-skilling, and why its replacement of the craft of music could lead to an uninspiring musical landscape.
On the Within Reason podcast, hosted by Alex O’Connor, Neely dives into how the elimination of idea generation is removing the most inspiring element of music. The episode arrives three months after Neely made a video on his own channel titled Suno, AI Music, and the Bad Future, which has reached over 900,000 views.

READ MORE: Generative AI’s threat to music sample libraries is existential — Splice thinks it has a solution

In his chat with O’Connor, Neely begins by sharing his fears for the future: “Disruption to the industry is very much at the forefront of my fears, but disruption to the industry has happened many times before in the music industry, like the invention of recorded music itself, the invention of the synthesiser,” he says.
“The art form itself is something that I am a bit fearful of. People talk all the time about de-skilling, which is the process by which we lose our skills because we’re automating them, like the case of the early 20th century [and] the assembly line; you had all these skilled manufacturers of cars but through the invention of the assembly line. They didn’t need to have those skills anymore… I’m worried that that’s going to happen.”
Neely eventually goes on to talk about the importance of “taste” in AI circles, and how this is seen to be the human element that remains when AI takes on the role of crafting, and is almost seen as a reasoning for using AI tools. To Neely, this is not necessarily a good thing.
“To me, that is a horrifying future. This is the bad future that I talk about in the Suno and AI video because there is very little inspiration to be had in another person’s taste, whereas there’s a lot of inspiration and a lot of direction that you can gain from another person’s craft,” he explains.

“The role models that I had when I grew up had amazing, beautiful musical crafts. And that was what I wanted to do with my life, I wanted to develop the crafts like they had. I didn’t really care what their taste in music was. I cared what they could do. I wanted to see what they could do. I wanted greatness. I wanted greatness for myself because they were great. And I don’t see how greatness can come from a tool like generative AI. It might, but I don’t see the path.”
He later adds: “In some of my more controversial statements, I’ve said that AI music is not music, which I think is not necessarily true. Sure, you could define it as music, [but] musicality to me is defined by interactions with other people and your ability to communicate an emotional state from yourself to another person, which is a fundamentally human thing.”
You can check out the full podcast episode below:

The post “I don’t see how greatness can come from a tool like generative AI”: Adam Neely on AI replacing the craft of music and de-skilling appeared first on MusicTech.

Rob Papen launch eXplorer 11 Rob Papen’s all-encompassing plug-in and virtual instrument collection has just been treated to another update, with two new additions bringing the total count to 36.

Purafied Audio Everything Bundle is FREE for a limited time
Purafied Audio is once again offering its Everything Bundle for free with the coupon code MYSHITWASFUCKED at checkout. The Everything Bundle includes every plugin Purafied Audio has released so far: LED Compressor, VU Compressor, Micro Limiter, SLP 538 EQ, The Panda Rooms, DEATHWESTERN Amp, and Liquid Death Snare. The regular price is $238 (down from [...]
View post: Purafied Audio Everything Bundle is FREE for a limited time

Notion just turned its workspace into a hub for AI agentsNotion’s new developer platform lets teams connect AI agents, external data sources, and custom code directly into their workspace as the company pushes deeper into agentic productivity software.

Dynamix Audio Sampling MasterSampling Master is an autosampling and sample library creation tool for recording and building multisampled instruments from hardware and software sources. It supports automatic key mapping using pitch detection, metadata, or file names, and provides tools for looping, normalization, leveling, and sample organization. The software is designed to streamline the process of capturing audio, mapping samples across the keyboard range, and exporting structured sample libraries for use in samplers and production workflows. Read More

The Return of Cabaret Voltaire at the Bellwether, L.A.There was something in the water in the county of Yorkshire, England in the early-to-mid '70s. In 1975, proto-industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle formed in Hull. But two years prior, 68 miles south in Sheffield, Cabaret Voltaire was born.

So the story goes that founding member Chris Watson, inspired by Brian Eno, was experimenting with making "music without musical instruments." He was a telephone engineer, and that work informed his creativity too. Watson soon joined forces with Richard H. Kirk, and the pair were joined by Stephen Mallinder.

The rest is history. The Mix-Up album dropped in '79; the last Cabaret Voltaire album, BN9Drone, was released in April 2021, though by that point Kirk was the sole remaining member out of the original three. Five months later, in September 2021, Kirk passed away.

So here we are in 2026. Cabaret Voltaire is Mallinder and Watson, through the latter struggles to travel so the touring lineup is Mallinder and friends. One of those friends is Tara Busch, aka opening act I Speak Machine, who performs Watson's parts with aplomb.

There were no songs performed from the first three albums at Cabaret Voltaire's Bellwether show (their return to Los Angeles after years away)--the set was weighted heavily towards 1983's The Crackdown and 1984's Micro-Phonies. CV kicked off with "24/24," "Animation," and 'Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)" from the former, before diving further into the past with "The Set-Up" from 1978's Extended Play EP, and "Landslide" from 1981's Red Mecca.

"Crackdown" and then "Yashar" (the latter from 2X45) were set highlights, "Sex Money Freaks" betrays their early Berlin nightclub inspirations, and set closer "Do Right" was a crowd pleaser. Encores "Nag Nag Nag" and "Sensoria" proved to be the perfect way to end the night.

The Bellwether was packed for this one. CV seemed to bring out all of Los Angeles' beautiful freaks, from the goths to the cyberpunks and everyone in-between. They all will have left happy.

The post The Return of Cabaret Voltaire at the Bellwether, L.A. first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Engine DJ 5.0: on-board stems on the System 1, RGB waveforms for everyoneEngine DJ 5.0 from Denon DJ went live today. The headline feature: on-board stems rendering. It’s exclusive to the Rane System 1, which now becomes the first piece of standalone DJ hardware that can split a track into 4-part stems without an external computer in the chain. If you don’t own a System 1, the […]
The post Engine DJ 5.0: on-board stems on the System 1, RGB waveforms for everyone appeared first on DJ TechTools.

Custom Mainboard for PS2 PortableAs time marches on, the retro gaming community gets more and more access to older systems. This is partially a product of modern computing having much more power to emulate more demanding systems, but also because many in the community have spent more time with their favorite systems. Such is the case for [tschicki] who has spent considerable time and effort reverse engineering the Playstation 2 to come up with this custom mainboard for a handheld version that still uses some of the original chips from the console.
This Playstation 2 handheld console is designed almost completely from the ground up, not just including the impressive main board but also its modernized features, including USB power delivery handled by an RP2040, digital video output, support for modern storage media like SD cards, a customized boot ROM, and upgraded audio. The DualShock 2 controller is also implemented within the handheld, and the case itself is designed to be 3D printed. It’s an impressive effort which preserves the original feel of the console without relying too much on ancient hardware for everything.
Before jumping in to building one yourself, though, [tschicki] cautions that this project is not for the faint of heart, as it requires some specilized tools and a high degree of skill, but for those still wishing to attempt this build all of the instructions are available on the project site. For such a popular console it’s no surprise we’ve seen plenty of other handheld PS2s before, from this one which uses an original PS2 mainboard to this one we featured way back in 2010.
Thanks to [raz] for the tip!