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The
Parker Steam Synthesizer
The current Parker
Steam Synth has sound, a
stable mounting,
high temperature tubing, a lever throttle / valve & a sound and
electricity generating dynamo assembly.
The boiler was completed
May 16th and, well, boils - providing about 40psi of steam
pressure!
This clip was the first full steaming of the synth with the newly
completed boiler:
VIDEO
CLIP
This project started as
a discussion with my friend Lewis Keller. I kinda joked about the
absurdity of a steam powered synthesizer, and how strange and
inefficient it would be. Well, the idea stuck in my head and a year
later, here it is the Parker Steam Synthesizer.
Here is what the steam synth's audio output sounds like (warning: very
low frequencies):
MP3
- Synth Audio Output
Actual Waveform Generated by Steam Synthesizer
At
low frequencies you can hear the idiosynchrasies caused by the piston
changing directions. In this recording, the boiler was hooked up to the
engine without a valve to control steam flow - so, the volume and pitch
are directly controlled by the changing heat of the fire! Recorded from
the line output to my laptop..
The steam synth runs best on coal (of course). However, since coal is
hard to find in the Mojave desert where I live (who needs coal when
it's 119 degrees?), I've also had success with:
- Esbit
Tablets (smell
awful, expensive, but very hot)
It
requires a very constant, hot fire to keep the synth going
continuously. The boiler can build up to 40-50psi before the safety
valve opens, but the synth drains the steam out rather quickly.
Sometimes is still stalls on esbit fuel after a minute or two. I am
modifying the boiler to make it more efficient (a propane / air inlet
for now - and added insulation to hold in heat).
About
Making the Steam Powered Synthesizer:
Engine castings are aluminum, and were purchased from PM Research who
also sell a number of steam engine kits for machinists and hobby
engineers. I couldn't afford the beauty of their full setups, so I got
the minimum and machined what I could.
The boiler is almost completely from a
PM Research kit. Since it was my first boiler, I did not want to screw
around with 400 degree high pressure steam explosions. I have slowly
been modifying the boiler to accommodate my needs (adding air inlets,
altering the firebox, etc).
The sound generating dynamo is brushless
8 phase AC motor I pulled from a reel to reel tape machine speed
control mechanism. It generates a perfect sine wave when viewed on the
scope and turns super easily. This sound can be fed through a
transformer, split up and rectified to generate some DC electricity.
The belt is made from an old bicycle
tire tube - a brilliant
source of free, high quality rubber (check any bike shop dumpster).
Output is about 6-10 watts when it's
really cranking on compressed air or high steam pressure - less when
it's running at lower frequencies on steam.
Pictures of the boiler flue tubes and
plates prior to being placed in the shell. The flue tubes vent heat
upward and create more surface area for hot gas to contact water:
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