W/ Type

Computer tape

 

Install?

W/ is ready to go. You'll need this custom version of teletype 2.2 until the commands get absorbed into the 2.3 release. Instructions for that installation are here.

Connect your teletype & W/ with a 6-pin ribbon cable attached to the 2x3 pin headers on the rear of each module. These headers are marked with 'ii' on the rear of both modules. Orient the white stripe on the circuit boards to the red-stripe on the cable. On W/ the red-stripe of power cable & ii cable are closest to each other.

 

The basics:

These commands allow remote control over just a few key functionalities of W/. Each of them behaves in subtly different ways to the panel and CV control otherwise available. These subtleties can be exploited to enable new systems of control not otherwise possible W/. In particularly it should be noted that the commands are agnostic of the mode in which W/ currently resides. One can stop playback in LIVE mode, or arm record in CUE. Many strange combinations may thus be revealed & lead to many a new source of joy and confusion.

 

WS.REC state

Set the recording mode.

• state: three basic states are allowed.
• 1 is OVERDUB
• 0 is off, or READONLY
• -1 is OVERWRITE

 

WS.PLAY direction

Set the direction of playback, regardless of mode.

• direction: at present, only 3 directions are allowed
• 1 plays forward at 1x speed
• 0 stops playback
• -1 plays backwards at 1x speed
• nb: these settings will not change W/s mode. be sure to check the lights above the toggle to know which mode you're in.

 

WS.LOOP state

Set the status of looping. Unlike the hardware switch, this command sets the absolute value to on/off, rather than toggling the state. If the playhead is passed the last cue, this command is ignored as there is no valid loop-ending.

• state: 0 turns off looping, all positive values turn looping on.

WS.CUE destination

Jump to a cue point, relative to the current playhead.

• destination: at present, only 3 destinations are allowed
• 1 jumps to the next cue (forward direction)
• 0 retriggers the nearest cue
• -1 jumps to the previous cue (reverse direction)
• nb: the retrigger functionality is sensitive to the direction of playback, such that it allows rhythmic repetition of a single location, regardless of tape direction.

  

Onward

The initial implementation of W/ Type is encapsulated above. It's a very basic set of building blocks for some machine-controlled tape manipulations. Clearly this is not the full extent of desired functionality! Rather than define a bunch of commands that may prove more or less useful, we plan to roll-out incremental enrichments of the language as use-cases become clearer.

Of note, it is anticipated that this language subset will not exceed 20 commands, of which 4 are already taken. Once a command is added, it will not be removed, but can only be extended as will happen to many of the above.

We'll be following any discussion on lines regarding these future endeavours, though please don't be upset if we don't implement your great idea. We very much appreciate the input, but insist on artistic control.