Colour Designer's Toolkit
So, you're interested in designing your own colour. Welcome to the community! Colour is a completely open format; there is no need to request permission to develop or sell your own colour. If you're interested in selling your colour in the DIYRE store, please contact us.Electrical Characteristics
In order to ensure that your colour plays nicely with others, design your colour to the following specifications.
- Gain: 1 (0db)
- Input Impedance: >10kΩ
- Output Impedance: <1kΩ
- Power Consumption: 38ma
- Supply Voltage: +/-16v
- DC Offset: 20mv
It's ok if you don't know the exact specifications of your colour. The bottom line is that it should look like a unity gain buffer to the circuitry around it, albeit with some interesting sonic artifacts. View the full Palette schematic at Upverter: Colour Palette Schematic and PCB Layout
Recommendations:
- Buffer the input and output of your circuit with opamp buffers.
- AC couple the input and output of your Colour
- Terminate the inputs and outputs of your colour with a resistor to ground. This prevents "pops" when your colour is engaged.
Sonic Character
Colour was designed to impart the subtle harmonic distortion and other non-linearities associated with analog recording gear--the kind that is most often heard as "warmth" or "vibe" rather than distortion. The THD spec given above is a good guideline, but let your ears be the final judge. Colour is not intended to be a full-on distortion or effects box. You are welcome to use the format in any way you want, but keep in mind that most users will be expecting colours to be subtle.
Dimensions
Your colour's PCB should be made from standard, 1/16" (1.6mm) thickness, rigid FR4. For aesthetic continuity, we recommend Ø.125" (3.2mm) beveled corners, but they are not necessary. Cadsoft Eagle users can download a library containing the colour footprint here: Colour Development Library
- Width: 3" (76.2mm)
- Height: 1.4" (35.6mm)
- Clearance Below PCB: .1" (2.54mm)
- Clearance Above PCB: .97" (24.6mm) when using .125" standoffs
- Mounting Hole Size: Ø.125" (3.2mm)
- Mounting Hole Keepout Clearance: Ø0.289 (7.4mm)
Pinout
Colours mate with the palette via an 8 pin connector. Pin numbers proceed counter-clockwise from the top left when looking down at the PCB.
- 1 - Audio In
- 2 - Ground
- 3 - Audio Out
- 4 - Red LED
- 5 - Green LED
- 6 - Blue LED
- 7 - V+
- 8 - V-
Connectors
Colours mount to the Palette via five connectors--four mechanical and one electrical.
Colours are mechanically secured to the Palette via four nylon standoffs. These standoffs are available in 9 lengths ("A" in the connector drawing), allowing you to customize your Colour's mounting height from the Palette. The nylon standoffs are locking on one end and removable, press-fit on the other. The locking ends should be inserted into the colour's mounting holes so that the standoffs are permanently attached to the colour. Colours make a electrical connection to the Palette via one 8-pin connector mounted on the bottom of the colour PCB. The connector's pin length ("B" in the connector drawing) has to correspond with your chosen standoff height, "A." B must be .1" longer than A.
Sourcing Connectors
If you are selling your colour, you must include the mechanical and electrical connectors in your kit or assembled unit. Both the mechanical and electrical connectors are standard off-the-shelf components available worldwide.
Mechanical Connectors:
| Manufacturer | Part # | Pin Length ("B") | Datasheet | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samtec | TSW-104-07-F-D | .23" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-14-F-D | .32" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-15-F-D | .52" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-17-F-D | .62" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-18-F-D | .72" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-19-F-D | .82" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-19-F-D | .82" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
| Samtec | TSW-104-20-F-D | 1.02" | Datasheet | Octopart Search, Samtec |
Coloring Your Colour
Your colour will be identified on the front panel by an RGB bypass LED. In order to set the color of the LED, you must include the red, green, and blue LED-setting resistors in your colour PCB. You feed one side of the resistors with V+ and return the other side to their respective pins on the 8-pin connector. See the colour prototyping board below for an example.
If you plan to release your colour publicly, you must claim one of the colours in the table below and include the hue-setting resistors in your colour design. Contact us to reserve your colour's color.
| Hue | Resistor Values (R, G, B) |
|---|---|
| CTX | 47k, Ø, Ø |
| 15IPS | 47k, 220k, Ø |
| JFT | Ø, Ø, 220k |
| TM79 | Ø, 220k, 220k |
| COLOURUPTER | 47k, 1M, Ø |
| uComp | 47k, Ø, 220k |
| SC VCA | 47k, 1M, 1M |
| Implode | 47k, 220k, 220k |
| Pentode | Ø, 220k, Ø |
| Super Filter | 47k, Ø, 1M |
| FET Filter | 47k, 220k, 2M |
| Rogue-tec Air | 47k, Ø, 100k |
| Mass Drivr | 47k, 2M, 10M |
| Royal Blue | Ø, 470k, 100k |
| Hitmaker 4000 | 330k, 330k, 1.2M |
| COLOURPHONE | 220k, 220k, Ø |
| DOA | 220k, Ø, 220k |
| DISTORTASTUDIO | 220k, 220k, 470k |
| RESERVED | 47k, 4.7M, 2.2M |
| Toneloc | 47k, 2.2M, 4.7M |
| 240k, 180k, Ø | |
| British Console | 1M, 2.2M, 220k |
| MN-50 | Ø, 220k, 1M |
| MOJO MAESTRO | 47k, Ø, 330k |
| TSX | 220k, 220k, 1M |
| LINK AUDIO | 10k, Ø, 100k |
| FA38 | 82k, Ø, 270k |
| FF1 | 47k, 220k, 47k |
| Air Max | 220k, 100k, Ø |