Technical Information

All three outputs of the Lorenz equations (X, Y, and Z) are made available on the circuit (accessed by the test points) so that you can explore all of the waveforms. There are three switches on the board that should all be set to the same value in order to control the time constant of the circuit, which allows the user to slow down the output waveforms for visualization purposes (see video). There are also two potentiometers that are used to control two of the three initial conditions (β and ρ).

The Chaos Computer requires 18 VDC to 30 VDC, and ~15 mA to properly operate. Please note that an isolated power supply must be used to supply power to the Chaos Computer (power supply ground not continuous with Earth ground). This is because the GND on the circuit board is virtual and many oscilloscopes connect the ground probes directly to Earth ground. Using a non-isolated power supply would cause a potentially damaging short that would cause the circuit to malfunction. Reversing the input polarity to the circuit will damage the circuit as well.