Wave Farm artist-in-residence Ed Bear leads this two-part workshop. Attendees may choose to attend Part I, Part II or both. Pre-registration is Required. Please email info [at] wavefarm.org to reserve your spot.

Part I: DIY Transmitter Hacking 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Materials Fee: $10) [Lunch]

Modern life is surrounded with ubiquitous consumer electronics ripe with creative potential. We will repurpose a specific device designed to transmit audio to a car radio, the iTrip. Every generation of this device is specifically designed for each version of the iPod, leaving previous iterations of the iTrip obsolete and very cheap! The act of reprogramming and modifying the iTrip to work without an iPod is a unique and simple introduction to FM transmission and digital electronics with practical and creative motivations. This workshop requires no previous knowledge of programming, electronics, electromagnetism, etc. We will go through the reprogramming process, from breaking into the casing to reprogramming the chip. At the conclusion of this three hour workshop every participant will have one hacked iTrip transmitter.

Part II: Computer Music on the Radio 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. (Personal laptop required)

Wait! There's a subtle secret! With a simple, parasitic circuit, the hacked iTrip can be connected to advanced audio programs and used as a digital synthesizer. Introducing the basics of digital sound synthesis and the industry standard MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) protocol, we will learn to write simple, interactive compositions that will play from a laptop or from the DIY radio transmitter without an attached computer. Because we are using the MIDI standard, the techniques covered in this workshop can be used with a variety of powerful musical instruments and programs (e.g. Abelton Live, Max/MSP, or MIDI enabled drum machines and sequencers).

To save time participants of Part II can install to following tools on their personal laptop:

Pure Data is creative media oriented visual programming environment.
Hairless MIDI is a utility which allows MIDI programs to use the USB port on the DIY transmitter.

... but don't worry, both programs will be available at the workshop.