If you’re like us, you’re probably a huge nerd. Like most nerds, we like sharing nerdy things. After the launch of Confundo Funkidos, we realized that we had the source code for a number of discontinued modules hanging around. These modules, like the original Confundo Funkitus, are long discontinued, and were developed around ten years ago at time of writing. They’re a neat part of company history, so if you’re curious about the very nitty-gritty side of early module firmware development, read on! 

What is this?

Noise Engineering was started as a hobby. Our early modules (like Confundo Funkitus, the original Ataraxic Translatron, and a number of others) were designed as a fun challenge by Stephen in his spare time. This meant that they were designed in a way that was fun for Stephen, and as such, they have a few quirks – namely, all being written in assembly. We’ve learned a lot since these modules were released, but we still look back on them fondly. They’re still a lot of fun to patch, and inform much of our design philosophy that we use to this day.

If you’re curious about the inner workings of early NE gear, you’re in luck! On the Github page, you’ll find the original assembly code for Confundo Funkitus, as well as Ataraxic Translatron, Variatic Erumption, and a number of other classic modules. There’re also details about the processors they used, and some notes about other aspects of their design. 

You can check out the code in the GitHub repository here along with a few notes from Stephen about each project.

What is this not?

We are not releasing the schematics or board files. These are all run on an ancient processor and we’ve learned a bit about circuits since then, so we don’t feel there is any real value in releasing those.

This is also not really code that you probably want to use, per se. We’re really releasing it as a curiosity and a fun look at some nerdery. 

The backstory

Around the time we were preparing to launch Confundo Funkidos, we realized that the original source code was rather interesting, being written in assembly and all. Noise Engineering has been around for a while now, and a number of folks have been quite interested in our company history and the details of our product development. These early modules – especially our first module, Ataraxic Translatron, and the ever-popular Confundo funkitus – are staples of the early Noise Engineering product line, and are a big part of the reason that we’re here today.

We really like sharing what goes on behind the scenes, so we hope you enjoy this inside look at some classic modules. If you’re a budding developer yourself, we have a blog series about building a modular company, and this post that includes useful subjects to study if you want to get into development.