http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2009/design-the-tardis-console/
[Edward Thomas, the Doctor Who production designer, who is also on the judging panel offered up some advice: “Don’t come along with a design that’s finished and too technical – it needs to have a lot of character. It’s about being clever with what you find around the house and make sure it really feels as if the Doctor has put it together.”]
Why the limitation?
First off the whole idea of a hodgepodge Tardis Console is ridiculous. If there is an "Architectural Configuration System" and let us assume it is working properly, then every thing in the Tardis is formed from a computer program - maybe even a "Block Transfer Computation"(?) The interior design probably works in a similar fashion as the Chameleon Circuit reforms the outsid
e of the Tardis.
Now if the Tardis was in a Time War and the Doctor had to make emergency repairs with bits and bobs of whatever was at hand, that could explain the hodgepodge console. The Doctor is lazy when it comes to rebuilding the Tardis. When the Doctor finally decides to rebuild, he goes all out. If I had to make a Console out of bits and bobs I'd probably go through some catalogs and find ideas and technologies to adapt to my needs. Maybe even have a junk room with technology from across the universe and from all throughout time.
I could see David Tennant's Doctor walking into a Guitar Center, or House of Guitars, or other musician's equipment outlet store, looking at a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation / Audio Editing Console) and going Gah for it it before discovering the price of the console. He'd then use the Tardis to follow that piece of equipment through time till it ended up on the curb and then "Bin Dive" for it. The Man is going to reconfigure it to make it compatible with the Tardis, I'm sure he can repair a few worn components and replace a few LEDs.
http://www.euphonix.com/pro/news/?id=34
