R2R DAC Classic Edition

Classic R2R Ladder DAC

The R2R DAC is an ingenious design. It consists of a string of resistors connected to another set of resistors. There are no active components in this module and it provides an affordable and easy way of converting digital signals to analog signals with great accuracy.

Digital-to analog conversion with the R2R is straight-forward. Inputting a digital signal into any of the eight data inputs (1 to 128 in binary) will provide an analog output from the In/Out socket.

Our Clock Divider (CD) module complements the R2R DAC very well. For example; inputting various combinations of clock signals from the Clock Divider into the 1 to 128 inputs of the R2R DAC provides some interesting outputs from the In/Out, such as a stepped ramp wave. The number of input signals determines the resolution i.e. there are eight inputs (each corresponding to a bit), so therefore the maximum resolution is 8-bit. The resulting output can be fed into the CV input of a VCO, LFO, quantizer, filter and many other modules. There are many different combinations that can be experimented with.

Other uses for the R2R DAC include as an 8-channel mixer by inputting analog signals into any of the 8 inputs (1 being the quietest and 128 being the loudest) and the resultant mixed signal is given from the In/Out.

Similarly, the module can be used as an attenuator and multiple by inputting a signal into the In/Out and the attenuated signals are output from the eight binary inputs (again with 1 being the most attenuated and 128 being the least attenuated).

Features

• Ingenious, simple and passive 8-bit DAC.
• Can be used for many different purposes e.g. digital-to-analog conversion, mixing, attenuation, signal multiplication etc.
• Classic-style front panel design.
• Compact and ergonomic design.
• Hand-built and tested in the UK.