Update: If you’re looking for information about the new Yamaha CK61 and CK88, see my specification and snap review articles.
With NAMM 2022 coming up (June 3-5), it’s time for rumors. 🙂
Yamaha filed for two new trademarks in June 2021. The trademarks are words in stylized form. The scope is “Musical instruments, namely, electronic musical keyboards, electronic organs, electronic music synthesizers, cases for musical instruments”.
Trademarks applied for and published soliciting opposition
The main marks are CK61â„¢ and CK88â„¢. The marks:
CK SIXTY ONE; CK SIX ONE; CK 61
CK EIGHTY EIGHT; CK EIGHT EIGHT; CK 88
are alternative forms.
The marks have been published, soliciting opposition as of 29 March 2022. Seems reasonable that a manufacturer would want the product identifier approved before making a zillion units with the name stamped on.
Let the speculation begin! Clearly, 61-key and 88-key keyboards are involved. Duh! “C” for “control”? Somewhat reminiscent of the old control synth product range? No 76 model?
The font is similar to the Yamaha Reface series marks. I’d love to see a merged all-in-one Reface-like keyboard with full-size keys. The MX series is getting a little long-in-the-tooth, so its replacement might be another possibility? Hope the price is reasonable…
When Reface YC and CP grew up, Yamaha kept the stylized names and font in the names of the YC and CP stage keyboards. Maybe a new stage keyboard in the Yamaha synth product group? A combined FM and virtual analog keyboard that doesn’t overlap the YC and CP models?
Watching ADS-B “flight radar” has been cheap entertainment and a window into the larger world.
ADS-B, in case you didn’t know, is an alternative means for tracking aircraft. (“ADS-B” stands for “Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast”. Who came up with that acronym?) Aircraft carry an ADS-B transmitter which broadcasts identification and positional information. Aircraft are identified by a 24-bit ICAO address and (optional) call sign. In the case of commercial aircraft, the call sign is typically the airline and flight number. Position is determined by on-board GPS and altimeter data. So, the aircraft is telling ADS-B receivers where it is.
ADS-B data links operate at 1090MHz or 978MHz. 978MHz frequency reduces message congestion on 1090MHz. ADS-B on 1090 is essentially a modified Mode S transponder.
Since ADS-B operates on such high (UHF) frequencies, it is a line-of-sight system. If you have an ADS-B receiver, it will receive only aircraft in sight of the antenna (assuming sufficient signal strength). Because all ADS-B reception is local, web sites like Flight Radar 24 and ADS-B Exchange aggregate ADS-B data from receivers around the world and display current data on a map. That’s how they create the illusion of being global.
The airspace in eastern Europe has been especially interesting. The Ukraine war zone is dark as one might expect for contested — and dangerous — airspace. Occasionally you will see an aircraft fly into Ukraine and immediately kill it’s ADS-B transmission. Conversely, a pilot forgets to turn off ADS-B and you might spot a fighter near the border! Other popular aircraft for trackers include NATO AWACS, drones, tankers and cargo planes.
Let’s say you want to track aircraft in your own nearby airspace. If you have a software-defined radio (SDR) receiver, you’re most of the way there. I have successfully tracked flights in the northern Seattle area using both an RTL SDR Blog V3 radio and a nooelec Nano 2+ SDR. Comparing the two, the RTL SDR blog radio seems to have a wider range and is more responsive than the nooelec Nano 2+.
ADS-B at-home antennas
In addition to a receiver, you need an antenna. I used the bundled antennas which came with the receivers. The nooelec is a vertical whip antenna set to a 1090MHz full wave, 27.5cm. The RTL SDR antenna is a vertical dipole where each element is set to a half-wave. The difference in range may be due to the different antennas. Unfortunately, I don’t have the right coax adapters to mix and match. (Maybe after the next Amazon order.)
ADS-B radio signals are vertically polarized so get those antennas straight up and down!
Finally, the keyword in software-defined radio is “software.” You’ll need a program to tune the receiver, demodulate the ADS-B signal and display the ADS-B data (in either a table or on a map).
After seeing a positive review on the RTL SDR blog, I decided to try SDRangel on Windows 10. SDRangel has come a long way since I first took a look. SDRangel is set up differently than programs like AirSpy SDR# (SDR-sharp). To my point of view, SDR# and other programs like it are intended mainly for voice (audio) signal modes. They make great receivers for wide band FM, narrow band FM and AM. You’re on your own when it comes to digital modes like ADS-B. The SDR# signal processing chain is already set up like a radio and is pretty much ready to go after installation and launch.
ADS-B via SDRangel (north Puget Sound/Seattle area)
SDRangel, on the other hand, requires a little bit of knowledge about the processing signal chain. First you create a workspace to hold the signal chain. Then you create a receiver to tune in a signal. Finally, you create one or more “channels” where each channel is a demodulator. SDRangel provides a wide range of demodulators (plug-ins), one of which is ADS-B.
I recommend trying an audio mode first, just to learn your way around SDRangel. I tuned in a local National Weather Service (NWS) station on 162.55MHz narrow band FM (NBFM) using the NBFM demodulator (plug-in). The NWS station is 24/7 and is fairly strong. None the less, I needed to raise the RF gain and turn off the squelch in order to hear anything. Not the same “out of the box” experience as SDR#.
Once set up, though, turning to ADS-B was a snap. I created a new workspace and put a receiver (tuned to 1090MHz) and ADS-B demodulator into it. I needed to increase the SDR sampling rate to 2,000,000 (hint: set the decimation factor to 1). If you don’t up the sampling rate, you’ll get a red warning message and no ADS-B data.
With this set-up, I can track flights in the north Puget Sound area. The antenna is indoors (house rules), but it will still see quite a few flights between the Sound to the west and the Cascade mountains to the east. I compared the SDRangel output with Flight Radar 24 and was satisfied. Because I was receiving on 1090MHz only, I am missing flights on 978MHz. More experiments to do one day. 🙂
Casio’s pre-NAMM 2022 press release mentions a few art projects to be released and shown during NAMM 2022, June 3-5.
Music Tapestry creates pictures from musical performances — a modern day color organ, for you old-timers like me. Music Tapestry is triggered by musical pitches and keyboard touch. Casio Sound Developer Hiroko Okuda — who helped developed Music Tapestry — will demonstrate it at the Casio booth.
Black and white example from U.S. Patent 10,803,844
Casio’s U.S. Patent 10,803,844 (October 2020) discloses a process to visualize musical performance. Hiroko Okuda is one of the inventors.
If you think the Casio CT-S1 is too plain, try the “Flowers & Hearts” fabric by Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto. Casio will be selling a Limited Edition CT-S1 FH model (limited to 200 units at $500 USD).
Check out more of Britto’s work on-line!
Of course, Casio will be demonstrating their latest products including the Casio CT-S1000V with vocal synthesis. I’ll bet that the CT-S500 will be there, too. 🙂
Roland’s new Aira Compact modules are a license to print money. Korg have successfully mined the low-cost, small module field with its Volca series. Now Roland have joined the fun. (“Aira” is pronounced “eye-ra”. OK.) These suckers are tiny!
Roland Aira Compact: T-8, J-6, E-4
There are three initial modules in the range:
T-8 Beat Machine
J-6 Chord Synthesizer
E-4 Voice Tweaker
I recommend Roland’s overview video. All of the modules have a built-in Li-ion battery (4.5 hour estimated operational time) charged via the micro-USB port. Throw in MIDI and SYNC, too, through mini-jacks.
Roland are smart to capitalize on their reputation in drum machines. The T-8 is a seven track machine: six rhythm tracks plus a TB-303 bass track.
The J-6 has a host of in-built chords and chord patterns organized into “Genres.” The interface seems to be well-thought out, especially for those less interested in theory and actually jamming black and whites. The J-6 has a 4-voice Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) Juno-60 synth engine. The J-6 can be played from an external controller.
The E-4 Voice Tweaker is designed for voice mangling, but one should be able to run either signals into it, too.
The modules are hitting the street at $200 each. Somehow these kinds of modules find a way onto the studio. Almost by themselves…
Korg
As cute and colorful as the Rolands may be, The new Korg NTS-2 is at the top of my short-list.
The Korg NTS-2 joins the NTS-1 mono synth in the Nu:Tekt product line. The NTS-2 is an attractive looking four channel oscilloscope. Punters are complaining about the price — $230 USD — but the this is a nicely featured oscilloscope plus tuner, plus FFT, plus spectrum analyzer. The NTS-2 has dual waveform generators which can act as add-on synth oscillators or LFOs. There’s some real development cost behind this thang.
Korg NTS-2 Oscilloscope
In terms of function, screen size and build quality, it beats my Gabotronics Xminilab Portable. The NTS-2 has a larger color screen and five soft function buttons. I’ve never been very successful with the Gabotronics as a stand-alone test instrument, so I’m hoping for better out of the NTS-2.
Unlike the NTS-1, the NTS-2 OSC can run on two AAA batteries (estimated two hours of operational time).
The NTS-2 will be bundled with a book: “Patch & Tweak With Korg” by Kim Bjørn (BJOOKS). The bundle is stamped “Limited Edition,” so Korg may eventually release NTS-2 on its own. Other books in the Patch & Tweak series cost about $45 USD. Maybe the NTS-2 alone will run $180?
Another consideration is test leads and probes. Korg assume the NTS-2 will be connected into your rig with patch cables. Korg do not mention probes, so if you need in-circuit measurements, you’re on your own. (Minor bummer.)
