Tactile Metronome

"Just give it a tap, tap, taperoo."

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Tactile Metronome

See it in action!

Introduction

The Tactile Metronome is a tap-controlled or tap-tempo metronome and "beat looper." "Syncopation machine." "Metronome with an attitude."

You tap the piezo speaker to set the rhythm. The display shows the beats per minute, and the two buttons adjust the speed.

"Ehhh." "Boring," you say. Not so fast!

You can tap patterns into it, currently up to 12 beats long. As long as you tap the pattern in three times, it jumps in and continues beeping in that rhythm. If you hold one of the buttons while turning the metronome on, the pitch of the beep will be higher or lower, so you can play with more than one at a time.

Features

Easy to assemble kit makes for a great learning experience. All parts are easy-to-solder through-hole, with no tiny surface mount parts.
Fully open-source design means that everything is freely available and ready to be hacked, including the circuit schematic, PCB layout, part list, and microcontroller firmware.
Piezoelectric speaker is used as the pattern input, by simply tapping in the tempo or pattern. Once the metronome learns your pattern, it starts beeping with the same piezo element.
Seven-segment displays provide feedback in the form of beats-per-minute (BPM) readings.
Custom, professionally-made PCB provides a solid base for happy tappers. All circuit connections are routed on two layers without the use of vias, reducing confusion while assembling.
A Pre-programmed Microcontroller means you don't need a specialized microcontroller programmer to get started with the Tactile Metronome. If you want to experiment with modifying the firmware, an in-circuit serial programming (ICSP) header is provided to enable easy re-programming.

Technical Information

Requirements

The Tactile Metronome Kit requires a solder iron, solder, and a pliers. All the soldering is through-hole, and it isn't difficult. It may take a soldering newbie around 30 minutes, and an experienced solderer 15 minutes. It's a great kit to learn to solder with.

Don't like to solder? Interested in the kit but soldering just turns you off? Why don't you contact us and let us know at wayneandlayne at wayneandlayne.com.

What you get

The Tactile Metronome is available as a complete kit or a bare PCB. If you're interested in ordering many kits, discounts may be available. The shipping prices listed are for US shipping only. Contact us via email first for international orders.

Tactile Metronome v1.0a Kit
$24.95 with free shipping to the US.

Includes the PCB and all components required to build the Tactile Metronome. Requires 3 AAA batteries not included.

(1) 8 MHz Ceramic Resonator
(1) 3 AAA Battery Holder
(3) Seven Segment LED Displays
(1) Piezo Speaker
(1) Power Switch
(2) Push Buttons
(1) 10 uF Electrolytic Capacitor
(1) 0.10 uF Ceramic Capacitor
(1) 10k Ohm Resistor
(1) PIC16F685 Microcontroller
(1) 20 Pin DIP Socket
(3) NPN Transistors
(1) Tactile Metronome PCB

Bare PCB
$5.00 with free shipping to the US.

No parts are included, this is just the bare PCB.

Support and Contact Information

For troubleshooting and other support issues, please contact us directly via email at wayneandlayne at wayneandlayne.com.

About Wayne and Layne

Adam Wolf (adamwolf.org, feelslikeburning.com) and Matthew Beckler (mbeckler.org) are two hackers who love microcontrollers. We run a linkblog, Wayne and Layne. We recently decided to try our luck at making an electronics kit or two. A bunch of late nights and a handful of online purchases later, and here we are!