Solving a Retrocomputing Mystery with an Album Cover: Greengate DS:3[Bea Thurman] had a retro music conundrum. She loved the classic Greengate DS:3 sampler, but couldn’t buy one, and couldn’t find enough information to build her own. [Bea’s] plea for help caught the attention of [Eric Schlaepfer], aka  [TubeTime]. The collaboration that followed ultimately solved a decades-old mystery. 
In the 1980s, there were two types of musicians: Those who could afford a Fairlight CMI and everyone else. If you were an Apple II owner, the solution was a Greengate DS:3. The DS:3 was a music keyboard and a sampler card for the Apple II+ (or better). The plug-in card was a bit mysterious, though. The cards were not very well documented, and only a few survive today. To make matters worse, some chips had part numbers sanded off. It was a bit of a mystery until [Bea and Tubetime] got involved. 

Eric Schlaepfer
While [Bea] didn’t have the card itself, she had a photo of the board and a picture of an album that contained the key to everything. The Greengate came packed with a vinyl album, “Into Trouble with the Noise of Art.” An apt title, since the album art was the Greengate PCB top layer. Now if you know [Eric], you know he wrote the book (literally) on taking things apart and taking photos of them, even producing replicas. 
Thoroughly nerdsniped, [Eric] loaded the photos KiCad and started tracing. With the entire top layer artwork and most of the bottom layer, the 8-bit card wasn’t too hard to figure out. The sticky point was one chip. A big 40-pin part with the numbers scrubbed off. One owner pulled the chip to check for fab information on the back, only to be greeted by a proper British “You Nosey S.O.B.” penciled on top of more sanded part numbers. 
If the chip was an ASIC, the project would be blocked until they could get their hands on an actual board for analysis. An ASIC would have custom part numbers on it from the fab though – no need for sanding. It had to be something off the shelf. [Eric] used some context clues to determine that the Mystery chip had to be a DMA controller. This narrowed the field down. From there, he had to compare pinouts until he had a match with the venerable MC6844. 
With the mystery part out of the way, [Eric] put the finishing touches on the PCB, saved it to his GitHub as the GoodGreat DS:3, and sent it off.  A few days later, the bare boards arrived and were quickly populated with vintage parts. [Eric] ran a few tests and sent the card off to [Bea], where we will pick up with part 2. 
At least the device wasn’t protected with a self-destruct code.

Synchro Arts Artist: New subscription plan Arts have announced the launch of a new subscription plan that they say will equip users with everything they need to make, release and monetise their music.

“The music scene will never be the same without you.” Jackmaster tributes pour in from dance music titans and friendsOn 12 October 2024, Scottish DJ and Numbers co-founder Jackmaster died suddenly at the age of 38, sending a shockwave through the electronic music community world;  just last month Jack Revill dominating the decks at Hï Ibiza.
Revill’s family shared the news of the DJ’s death via Instagram. The post explained how Revill had suffered an accidental head injury in Ibiza that was fatal.

READ MORE: AlphaTheta’s new DJ controller hosts a new feature for freely manipulating drum parts and creating original grooves

“His family—Kate, Sean, and Johnny — are utterly heartbroken,” the family write. “While deeply touched by the overwhelming support from friends, colleagues, and fans, the family kindly requests privacy as they navigate the immense grief of this devastating loss.”
“Jack’s passion for music and his relentless drive to push creative boundaries through his work at the Numbers label and Rubadub Records in Glasgow, including discovering countless innovative artists, made him a beloved and pioneering figure in the electronic music community both in front of and behind the scenes,” the post continues.
“His talent for blending genres and delivering electrifying DJs sets and productions earned him the respect and admiration of peers and fans across the globe. His legacy will continue to inspire, and his impact on the world of dance music will remain indelible.”

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A post shared by Jack Revill (@jackmaster)

Tributes have been coming in from all corners of the DJ world for Revill. On his family’s announcement post, friends and musical peers have been flooding the comments with love.
Fellow Scottish DJ Ewan McVicar shares his respect, writing “the very best to ever do it & the reason i started all this. thanks for inspiring a generation with quality.” Elsewhere, American DJ Diplo writes a poignant “You’re gonna live forever.”
Electronic duo CamelPhat also shared some words. “Can’t believe what I’m reading,” they write. “In an industry full of Ego you were hands down one of the nicest fellas we ever met along the way. Our thoughts are with family & friends. RIP my friend.”
The sorrow is widespread. From South Korean DJ Peggy Gou to Irish DJ and presented Annie Mac, peers from across the globe are feeling the loss of Revill’s musical spark.
Producer Skream, aka Oliver Jones, has shared a trio of photos to air his grief. The pair collaborated on 2022 release, The Attention Deficit Track, but they also had a strong friendship. The photos depict the pair posing together with a knight’s helmet and sword, a joyous polaroid, and even a snap of Revill giving Jones a kiss on the cheek.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Skream (@skreamizm)

“Not really not too sure what I’m meant to say,” Jones begins. “Everyone knows how much the boy meant to me. From the minute we met we were kindred spirits. There’s never been a Skream without Jacky sequencer and vice versa…”
“You were my brother and we went through so much together,” he continues. “I’ll miss you dearly Jack. Can’t even understand what’s happening… heads absolutely upside down…”
Another caption reads: “Still not making sense to me mate… What we done for each other as people over the years is something I’ll cherish till I’m with ya. Us meeting was literally a game changer for the entire industry. Love ya bro”
Electronic duo Disclosure have also shared their own Instagram post. “Inspiration,” their post reads. “Pure talent. Pioneering DJ. Friend. The music scene will never be the same without you. Thank you for all the amazing memories, shows & laughs we had together. Rest in peace Jack.”
In a chat with Electronic Groove in March, Revill promised that nothing would ever tear him away from his decks. “I’m obsessed with DJing,” he said. “I am so grateful for my fans, but I got into music because I love dancing.”
Read more music industry and music tech news.
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MLC Black Box funds still unpaid as royalties pass $2.4BThe Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has collected more than $2.4 billion from DSP on behalf of songwriters and publishers. But about 50% of unmatched or so called MLC "Black Box" funds remain unpaid.
The post MLC Black Box funds still unpaid as royalties pass $2.4B appeared first on Hypebot.

International Creators Protect Music with CosyndLearn how international creators protect music with ease using Cosynd’s comprehensive copyright tools. Don’t let legal complexities hold you back—learn the steps to protect your music globally today. International Creators. Continue reading
The post International Creators Protect Music with Cosynd appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Industry News Summary Delivered Free DailyThe best way to stay on top of the fast-changing music industry, the latest in music marketing, and the most interesting music tech startups is the Hypebot Daily Newsletter - a music industry news summary delivered free every daily.
The post Music Industry News Summary Delivered Free Daily appeared first on Hypebot.

Best FREE Dynamic EQ VST Plugins
This article covers the best free dynamic EQ plugins for Windows and macOS. I tested each listed plugin thoroughly to ensure that only the most effective and reliable dynamic EQs made it onto this list. Dynamic EQs are more useful than traditional EQs for handling troublesome frequencies in complex audio signals. Although the concept of [...]
View post: Best FREE Dynamic EQ VST Plugins

Plugin Alliance introduce Mäag Audio EQ4 MS Developed in collaboration with Brainworx, Mäag Audio EQ4 MS captures the sound of Mäag’s EQ4M and introduces some handy additional features. 

'Bitcoin' search volume drops to a yearly low, while 'memecoin' surgesMemecoins experienced double-digit gains during September 2024, primarily driven by new token creation on the Solana and Tron networks.

Director Morgan Neville is steering clear of generative AI after ‘Roadrunner’ backlashOne of the most attention-grabbing aspects of “Roadrunner,” the Morgan Neville-directed documentary about Anthony Bourdain, was Neville’s use of generative AI to replicate Bourdain’s voice. Looking back now, Neville told Wired that he saw this as a “fun” way to “keep [Bourdain’s] voice going in the film.” But his approach drew intense criticism — while […]
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A Homebrew Gas Chromatograph That Won’t Bust Your BudgetChances are good that most of us will go through life without ever having to perform gas chromatography, and if we do have the occasion to do so, it’ll likely be on a professional basis using a somewhat expensive commercial instrument. That doesn’t mean you can’t roll your own gas chromatograph, though, and if you make a few compromises, it’s not even all that expensive.
At its heart, gas chromatography is pretty simple; it’s just selectively retarding the movement of a gas phase using a solid matrix and measuring the physical or chemical properties of the separated components of the gas as they pass through the system. That’s exactly what [Markus Bindhammer] has accomplished here, in about the simplest way possible. Gas chromatographs generally use a carrier gas such as helium to move the sample through the system. However, since that’s expensive stuff, [Markus] decided to use room air as the carrier.
The column itself is just a meter or so of silicone tubing packed with chromatography-grade silica gel, which is probably the most expensive thing on the BOM. It also includes an injection port homebrewed from brass compression fittings and some machined acrylic blocks. Those hold the detectors, an MQ-2 gas sensor module, and a thermal conductivity sensor fashioned from the filament of a grain-of-wheat incandescent lamp. To read the sensors and control the air pump, [Markus] employs an Arduino Uno, which unfortunately doesn’t have great resolution on its analog-to-digital converter. To fix that, he used the ubiquitous HX7111 load cell amplifier to read the output from the thermal conductivity sensor.
After purging the column and warming up the sensors, [Markus] injected a sample of lighter fuel and exported the data to Excel. The MQ-2 clearly shows two fractions coming off the column, which makes sense for the mix of propane and butane in the lighter fuel. You can also see two peaks in the thermal conductivity data from a different fuel containing only butane, corresponding to the two different isomers of the four-carbon alkane.
[Markus] has been on a bit of a tear lately; just last week, we featured his photochromic memristor and, before that, his all-in-one electrochemistry lab.

Retro Wi-Fi on a Dime: Amiga’s Slow Lane ConnectionIn a recent video, [Chris Edwards] delves into the past, showing how he turned a Commodore Amiga 3000T into a wireless-capable machine. But forget modern Wi-Fi dongles—this hack involves an old-school D-Link DWL-G810 wireless Ethernet bridge. You can see the Amiga in action in the video below.
[Chris] has a quirky approach to retrofitting. He connects an Ethernet adapter to his Amiga, bridges it to the D-Link, and sets up an open Wi-Fi network—complete with a retro 11 Mbps speed. Then again, the old wired connection was usually 10 Mbps in the old days.
To make it work, he even revived an old Apple AirPort Extreme as a supporting router since the old bridge didn’t support modern security protocols. Ultimately, the Amiga gets online wirelessly, albeit at a leisurely pace compared to today’s standards. He later demonstrates an upgraded bridge that lets him connect to his normal network.
We’ve used these wireless bridges to put oscilloscopes and similar things on wireless, but newer equipment usually requires less work even if it doesn’t already have wireless. We’ve also seen our share of strange wireless setups like this one. If you are going to put your Amgia on old-school networking, you might as well get Java running, too.

Meta’s Yann LeCun says worries about A.I.’s existential threat are ‘complete B.S.’AI pioneer Yann LeCun doesn’t think artificial intelligence is actually on the verge of becoming intelligent. LeCun — a professor at New York University, senior researcher at Meta, and winner of the prestigious A.M. Turning Award — has been open about his skepticism before, for example tweeting that before we worry about controlling super-intelligent AI, […]
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Former President Trump leads Harris by 10 points — PolymarketAccording to Polymarket users, Vice President Kamala Harris is currently favored to win the popular vote by a staggering 72% margin.

Cockroaches in Space: Waste Processing and a Healthy Protein Source CombinedAs the current frontier of humanity in space, the International Space Station is heavily reliant on Earth not only for fresh supplies but also as a garbage disposal service for the various types of waste produced on the ISS by its human occupants. As future manned missions take humans further away from Earth, finding ways to reprocess this waste rather than chucking it out of the nearest airlock becomes a priority. One suggested solution comes from a Polish company, Astronika, with their insect bioreactor that can process organic material into useful biomass.
Interestingly, the cockroach species picked was the Madagascar hissing cockroach, one of the largest (5 – 7.5 cm) species. This is also a cockroach species which is often kept as a pet. In this closed-loop bioreactor that Astronika has developed, these cockroaches would chew their way through up to 3.6 kg of waste per week in the large version, with the adult cockroaches presumably getting turned into fresh chow and various materials at some point. Beyond the irrational ‘yuck’ factor that comes with eating insect protein, one of the biggest issues we can see with this system is that the long-duration mission crew may get attached to the cockroaches, as they are rather cute.

Joking aside, even if a final version of such a bioreactor ends up using far less cute bacteria and kin, the idea to recycle as much human biowaste as possible is a crucial step towards making remote space stations and long-duration space travel possible. A small version of this bioreactor will be sent up to the ISS, where the principle would get its first shot at showing off its space legs.
For some reason, cockroaches and NASA seem inextricably linked. We remembered that the Madagascar cockroaches apparently make pretty good robotics platforms if you are a deft hand at roach surgery.