Above and beyond being my submission to the Hackaday challenge I'm hoping that this project might be of some benefit to others in the future. It would make me real proud if someone would want to build the device and actually gets practical use out of it.

The USP of this device may be a bit convoluted (at least I've found it challenging to get the point across when trying to explain it to people). Our feeds are always full of new stuff so you can't really expect people to give a confusing, seemingly unappealing concept the benefit of a doubt. I know I wouldn't.

Apart from the purely technical aspects of the design work it’s therefore important that I spend some thought on how to make the device appealing to someone with a limited supply of patience. For that to be at all possible I need to be able to make the USP of the device comprehensible.

Ways of nudging people into considering building the device:

• Think of a catchy name.
• Write a manual someone would actually consider reading.
• Write easy to follow build instructions.
• Build a prototype that doesn't look awful on a photo.

Name

I figure that an initial step in getting people interested in the device is to find a good name for it. The name should, as far as possible, give you an idea of what the thing is and/or what its used for. The name should also be memorable and maybe a little bit intriguing. A name that's an acronym for a descriptive sentence could fill both those requirements nicely.

Is it learnable?

The very spartan interface of the device is of course another stumbling block for anyone who might consider building and using it. I actually think that the pattern editor interface I developed back in 2016 is very simple to use once you've learned it. But teaching someone how to use it is a different matter. From its exterior its not apparent that the device can be of any use whatsoever. Convincing someone of the opposite before they loose interest might be a challenge.

No one will have the patience to read through several pages of a user operations manual to learn how use this thing, or in order to find out if it's even usable at all. And even if they would, I wouldn't know how to write it in the first place.

I think the better solution is to make a flowchart that just gets the main points across of how the editor is organized. The chart should be printable on a single page so it can easily be used as a reference. The flowchart should be accompanied with a tutorial video that holds the users hand through editing the first song. On top of that the video will probably also have to explain the flowchart that explains the editor interface.

Is it buildable?

Same take home points here as with the user operations manual. Some careful thought about how to structure the build manual will definitely be needed. Will need to get the necessary information across with a minimal dose of tedium added.

A time lapse video with photos of each component being added to the PCB might be a good start. It should be unambiguos and point out possible pitfalls. Or could maybe make some kind of IKEA-style assembly manual as a pdf? But that might be overkill.

Will also need a short readme file in the sourcecode dir on how to set the correct MCU fuses and flash the firmware.

Probably some more stuff could be useful but can't think of anything more at the moment.

Looks

The prototypes from 2016 were butt-ugly. I feel it's important for a musical instrument to be aesthetically pleasing, or if that's not an option at least to have a cool/distinct look to it. Doing away with the li-ion cell and charging module (see previous project log) will eliminate the worst PCB clutter and make the device look less like a hacky mess.

Another aesthetic (as well as practical) problem is securing the PCB inside the Altoids tin. Using a bare PCB inside a metal tin, traces facing down, will of course get your device shorted out in no-time. I originally solved that problem by lining the inside of the tin with electrical tape. Definitely a less than optimal solution from an aesthetic standpoint. Also the PCB would jiggle around in there and could fall out.

A 3D-printable inner case for the PCB would solve both these issues, and would look much tidier. The inner case could also be combined with an AAA battery holder printed in a matching color.