Is it the smallest theremin in the world?

Hi everybody!

In my electronic tests I've build this optical theremin, smaller than a cigarette box, hoping to be the smallest theremin in the world.
Does it?

http://www.alexart.it/wordpress/2008/09/06/un-theremin-piccolo-piccolo/

Ciao!

Alessandro

I think it sure might be!
Fun, good work.

You should contact the Guinness Book of World Records, that would be very groovy World Thereminization.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

I don't think any space controlled instruments have ever been mentioned it.

even smaller!

http://www.alexart.it/extra/immagini/MicroTheremin.jpg

now I try with guinness...

Provocative question:

May one call that really a theremin or only another simple light controlled beeper?

I tend to say the latter, since:
Without heterodyning oscillators and capacitive control it doesn't seem having anything in common with Lev's cutting-edge technology...

Such gimmicks help naturally in the same way as the "look at my whoo-whoo after 3 hours of playing theremin" videos on YouTube dragging sophisticated musical instruments and their serious players in the mud! :-(

Maybe you're right.
I depends to the definition everyone gives to "theremin". I'm the first to think that a "theremin" should have at least a capacitance antenna. But building a small things just to make a gadget maybe it's possible to be more indulgent....

[i]a "theremin" should have at least a capacitance antenna[/i]

Maybe you could build one of these without the circuit board for compactness.

http://www.madlab.org/kits/theremin.html

[img]http://www.madlab.org/kits/photos/theremin.jpg[/img]

With this one you have to program a microcontroller in order to avoid heterodyning.

Sophie's choice between pest and cholera... ;-)

Reading though the code I get the impression it is self-calibrating, which is nice. I expect that it comes pre-programmed. The instructions do not suggest otherwise.

OK, so it's not heterodyning, but at least it's capacitive, and I bet the circuit-benders could have a lot of fun with it. Shouldn't be too hard to give it an audio out to start with.

I wonder what the field range is - I'm guessing maybe 10cm?