Document:Q10779

The Dot Matrix Synth is a reprogrammed Epson dot matrix printer. By replacing the firmware EPROM with newly programmed software, the printer is transformed.
The user presses buttons on an interface box (plugged into the font expansion port) to activate the printer, which slowly prints ghost-like photo images. By selecting different buttons on the interface, the use controls the frequency of the printing. Printing frequencies are tuned to a musical scale so it can be operated like a musical instrument.
There is interaction between the images and music. The image dithering patterns fluctuate depending on what notes are played, and the music's volume and rhythmic patterns change depending on the pattern in the current horizontal section of the image. It is an interesting process -- watching sound waves transformed directly into image.