TashRecorder: a Farallon MacRecorder compatible clone

[demik]

Now your old Mac can hear you scream!

Introducing... TashRecorder!

Elevator Pitch

This a compatible clone of the Farallon MacRecorder , but as far as the software is concerned, it's the real deal!

Both @Tashtari and myself (since 2021!) had this project on our own, one of us having a working digital part and the other one some sort of analog part. Project merging happened and TashRecorder was born

The digital part is made as a PIC12F1501 firmware, the rest is made as a 4 layer PCB and, as usual, panels to make it fit neatly into the same case as Quack, TashPad and TashTwenty

Project Status
Project is stable. As the real MacRecorder, Mac compatibility is host dependant. Development was done on a Quadra 650, but we will test it on other Macs to double check compatibility

Code and PCB

GitHub - lampmerchant/tashrecorder: Clone of the Farallon MacRecorder and Apple MIDI Interface.

Clone of the Farallon MacRecorder and Apple MIDI Interface. - lampmerchant/tashrecorder

github.com

As usual, it's OpenSource. PIC firmware is already there, we will upload everything else later after a little bit of cleaning

Technical details
This clone, like the other ones, includes an internal microphone and mono line input. We tried to simplify the design as much as possible, to allow it to be built more easily. The design is all through hole components, using only available components

While the PIC is acting as a serial transceiver, ADC and clock generator, it also oversample audio and watch input levels, driving a LED if the input levels are too high (or you are screaming too much)

The analog part is built around a much more modern CMOS Burr-Brown amp, which act as a microphone amplifier, band pass (microphone) or low pass filter (line in), and is optimised for battery and low power devices.

Kind reminder that the MacRecorder was powered by the serial port, no external power is needed! TashRecorder includes its own power regulator circuit

Happy building!

 

[bakkus]

Oh! Oh my! Now _that_ brings up some memories!

I don't know where my dad got a hold of one, but one day we had what we referred to as the "computer recording cassette" for the SE(or was it an SE/30 by then?).
I remember recording my little brother saying a phrase into an app and being able to play it back. Pure magic.
And then I took a look at the graphical representation of the sound, and started to realize what I was seeing. I didn't know it was called waveform, but I 'understood' it and started hacking away at the sounds.
I created a small sound file for each word, and was able to hack together a new sentence. It was truly the future, as I could make the computer say things that were never said in real life.

Edit:
And I clicked on the link and was instantly transported back! Yes, that dog! SoundEdit!

 

[Mu0n]

Looks very fun to build and own. I would have loved to use this to make my own sound effects in World Builder rather than rely on poor shareware disks filled with sound clips that were more or less relevant.

I'm not clear one the PIC12F1501 programming. Does it involve a special hardware adapter? How does this step go?

 

[Tashtari]

I'm not clear one the PIC12F1501 programming. Does it involve a special hardware adapter? How does this step go?

You can use a PICkit3 or ICD3 or newer, but if I'm not mistaken (@demik correct me if I'm wrong) you can also program these on the common TL866+ programmers.

 

[Mu0n]

You can use a PICkit3 or ICD3 or newer, but if I'm not mistaken (@demik correct me if I'm wrong) you can also program these on the common TL866+ programmers.

that's great! I have a TL866 programmer so I'm gonna be looking out for a tutorial on one of these.
I guess the workflow would still be to install MPLAB 5.35 to get the .hex and use that in the TL866 software (which I've used in the past for redoing a set of Mac Plus ROMs)

Would you be open to providing the compiled/linked .hex file so I don't have to install the 1GB MPLab suite and enter a side quest of figuring all that part out?

 

[Mu0n]

found it in the releases page!

Releases · lampmerchant/tashrecorder

Clone of the Farallon MacRecorder and Apple MIDI Interface. - lampmerchant/tashrecorder

github.com

 

[Mu0n]

Another question, the front panel comes up at around $25 in JLCPCB but it has strangely selected a "plugged" setting for the VIAs. My understanding is that those panels are nonfunctional and are just there to provide space for the plugs and knob (a great strategy that was also used in the WeeCees I built). Can I safely use the leftmost option here = VIA Covering: " Tented" without any drawback? it brings the price back down to 2.77. Untented is also 2.77 at no huge extra cost.

 

[Mu0n]

I don't see the PIC in this supported list unfortunately:

http://www.xgecu.com/MiniPro/TL866II_List.txt

however (video example at correct time stamp):

but no telling if this particular one used in the project is supported.

 

[JDW]

PIC12F1501 appears in the T48 Universal Programmer IC compatibility list:

http://www.xgecu.com/MiniPro/T48_List.txt

Despite the fact I recently purchased a T48, I've never programmed a PIC with it, since I have two ProMate 3 programmers at the office, which are super expensive but work like magic. Best part is, I can use them with a modern Mac. The only down side is that if you wish to avoid the PIC-AS nightmare like me, you'll have to go back to Mojave to use an older version of MPLAB that supports MPASM.

I'd like to applaud the folks behind this project because this nifty remake puts the unit into the hands of more people than the hard-to-find Farallon device ever would.

With that said, I'd like to see either a kit or a pre-built device for sale, since that would appeal to everyone. Building something yourself always means ordering no less than 5 PCBs from China, and they you either have leftover PCB waste or you struggle to find people to buy the extras off you (or donate them).

Because it seems to be "open source," perhaps tie-up with CayMac Vintage and/or Kero's Mac Mods could bring this amazing bit of tech to the masses in an easier to buy-and-use kit.

And for those of you who don't know the joys of this little gadget, I made this MacRecorder video two years ago.

 

[Mu0n]

I've been able to assemble a group buy of 4 boards being accounted for, so that part about ewaste is solved.

The other aspect that isn't solved is the feeling that buying a $30 PIC kit3 that's used for this and never again makes me sit uneasy, but if it's the cost of doing business, then so be it

I'm looking in ordering the PIC chips directly from Microchip since they have a programming service that takes in an .hex file.

I'll have to do a cost comparison analysis to see if it makes sense. If it amounts to $150 per unit, it kinda destroys the appeal completely, despite this being a superbly crafted project, down to the PCB case port plates.

While I appreciate CayMac's store, shipping to Canada starts at $17 USD and I don't have other needs which could mitigate the costs for an order. Kero's Mac Mod being on the other side of the planet doesn't look so good. Our group is 3x USA 1x Canada so surely we can find a solution within our continent.

I had watched your video earlier and stumbled upon your comment on FB linking to it a few days ago, which was the spark that made me dig a little deeper, so thanks for that!

 

[JDW]

I would agree that $150 would be a dealbreaker for many people. Once you’re paying that amount, you might as well search for the real deal and even if it cost more you could still say you got the Farallon product. $50 would probably be the sweet spot that would capture the interest of a wider number of people.

Another reason that price matters is because you can just use a modern Mac to record your sounds and save them to a compatible file format, and put that on a Floppy EMU to send it to your vintage Mac. Back in the day, the Mac Recorder was all you had. But these days, that’s no longer true.

Even so, if the Mac Recorder remake is made cheap enough, people would probably still buy it for the fun of it. High prices kind of kill the fun.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to be overly negative or try to kill this effort at all. I just want to talk realistically among friends.

 

[Mu0n]

Don't worry, I don't think you're being negative at all. Getting a project under multiple constraints is always a challenge and part of the fun.

I'm well aware that I can bring modern day audacity recorded wav files and bring them to a system 7 mac first, run "Brian's sound tool" and convert them to Apple snd resources, then move them on my merry way to a Mac Plus or others if I want.

This is a INIT I coded in C that runs on a System 4 or 6 (I can't remember) boot disk with converted win95 boot music to create the illusion of a very weird Mac Plus

(The end of the video after the trashing of the file is just creative video editing and isn't happening on the Mac)

The appeal for the Mac Recorder for me at least lies in:

-Re-experience sound capture with the constraints of the late 80's

-finally use SoundEdit with my own stuff the way it was meant to

-remove many, MANY steps in the creation of sound clips for my C game programming

-any day where the soldering iron is being heated is a good day



Edit: and my current file transfer method involves a one line python ftp server, accessed from my bluescsi v2 equipped with pico W, launching into Netscape in system 7.1 and getting + extracting the .sit files I leave myself from my PC (after a short prepping trip in basilisk hooked to my PC host HD mounted as a volume inside basilisk, if needed)

0 insertion/removal of SD card involved. 0 powering down and up of vintage Mac. Works best on a SE/30 but can be made to work on the Plus too.

 

[demik]

You can use a PICkit3 or ICD3 or newer, but if I'm not mistaken (@demik correct me if I'm wrong) you can also program these on the common TL866+ programmers.

T48 only (and probably T56). Unfortunately the PIC12F1501 is too new for any TL866.
PICkit3 works well as well.

 

[demik]

Another question, the front panel comes up at around $25 in JLCPCB but it has strangely selected a "plugged" setting for the VIAs. My understanding is that those panels are nonfunctional and are just there to provide space for the plugs and knob (a great strategy that was also used in the WeeCees I built). Can I safely use the leftmost option here = VIA Covering: " Tented" without any drawback? it brings the price back down to 2.77. Untented is also 2.77 at no huge extra cost.



View attachment 17338

That's weird. For the panels, you can indeed go for the bare minimum as it was designed that way. Check "Select order location" to have the build number on the invisible side.

Edit: just understood that you are doing a group by. Please keep in mind that we didn't check compatibility on a lot of Macs. As an example, it doesn't seem to work on our test SE. The Original Farallon didn't work either… Hope we don't discover other stuff like this

 

[Tashtari]

Oh, wow, I somehow missed the activity in this thread...

If you haven't already bought a programmer, I'm willing to supply some pre-programmed PIC12F1501s at cost. Microchip will program them but they have a minimum of $60 on their programming services, which makes it unappealing unless you're doing a fairly large (by hobbyist standards) run. Let me know.

 

[Mu0n]

That's very kind of you, but we're based in Canada and the US and according to your profile, you're in France. I've already committed to get one from AliExpress.

 

[Tashtari]

That's very kind of you, but we're based in Canada and the US and according to your profile, you're in France. I've already committed to get one from AliExpress.

No worries. I'm in the US, though, my profile shouldn't be saying I'm in France...

 

[Mu0n]

Ah, the confusion from my part stems from demik's profile in 68kmla, I must have seen that since some euro currency price was referred at some point in some post, so I was curious, and I just assumed you, as a collaborator, hauled from France as well. My bad.

 

[Mu0n]

how it started:

how it's going:

 

[Mu0n]

I made a 23 minute video on building it and messing with it (mostly for Studio Session)