Yay! "Dexter's Synth" was a custom built mini synth for Dexter, Dan Carlson's son born in late April.
This synth has a special Sample and Hold, two envelope generators, and a pink noise.
Full specs:
2 Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCO), VCO2 includes a square wave output as well as the standard saw output.They are scaled to play 1V/octave
1 Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF), a self oscillating filter when the resonance is up. It is also scaled 1V/octave.
1 Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA)
2 Attack-Release Envelope Generators, loopable and can trigger eachother like a 2-step pingpong sequencer.
1 Low Frequency oscillator (LFO)
1 Sample and Hold with Clock In and Clock Out, and an on-board clock
1 Mixer
1 White Noise generator
1 Pink Noise Generator
many jacks for modular playing!

Bouncing some ideas with Dan, the ideal synth was to have a playful look, simplicity, and enough functionality for learning about modular synthesis. The result came to be a square shaped synth-on-a-rope, with more jacks than we imagined but hopefully he would not get bored with it that way, and switches. Pink noise sounds like a low and softer noise, which we were really getting into. The Sample and Hold was Dan's request, which we thought was one of the most fun features a synth can deliver in a small box.

The pink/white noise selection switch is used to select the noise color output at the Mixer, and also at VCO1 modulation. There is a noise mod switch on the VCO1. The output jacks are for added options.

Dexter's Synth runs on 12vAC power adapter, or two 9v batteries.

The envelope generators are Attack-Release envelopes. The arcade buttons are for manually triggering them. There is a gate input for both, and gate 1 input will send the gate signal to both envelopes, unless you have a gate 2 input connected to something. Notice that there is a three-position switch for repeat/env 2 (center is off). When on "repeat" mode, the envelope retriggers itself to a loop. When the switch is selected on "Env 1" or "Env 2" modes, the operating envelope will trigger the other after it is triggered itself. So if you have Envelope 1's repeat switch set on "Env 2", have the trigger/gate switch set on trigger, and press the manual button, you will hear Envelope 1, then immediately afterwards Envelope 2 will go off too. So if you have both Envelopes' repeat switches set on the other envelope, it will ping pong back and forth. What a long description for a simple feature! Just don't forget to patch the Envelope outputs to something or switch them on so you hear them!

Below is Dan and Dexter Carlson. Thank you for the opportunity! We are excited for the day that Dexter plays it, and also excited for Dan to play and test it out for Dexter.

Dad's data (from Dan): I have been playing on synthesizers since the mid-1970s. Played a mellotron & minimoog when they were still new for sale in music stores in Kansas City, MO.
Grew up watching my best friend build a monster Aries modular synth (he's now a thereminist of some renown). Would hook up the oscillator after each module was built and learn the acoustophysics of each new modulation.
Amateur musician. Have played in several college and SF Bay area "project" bands (e.g., Judy Garland Overdrive & Tower of Johnson). Recorded a couple privately released CDs of electronic music under the nom de tune, DexterSinister. Still a gearhead. Have some old school keys like a Korg MS-20, some mid-school gear like an Ensoniq VFXSD & Roland SH-101 & MC-202, more recent stuff like an early Voyager, JP-8000, Evolver PEK, Alesis Ion, Access Snow and lots of outboard filters and other modulators. Looking forward to jamming with my son and watching him discover electronic music.