Guide How to make a Volume meter

Vu-meter or Volume meter,you name it.This mod is perfect if you want to have some lightshow in your room.It´s not expensive and the best thing is that the scheme is very simple.You will be using LPT cable,8 LEDs (5mm) and 8x470 Ohm resistors.I will put my VU-meter in a plastic box.I bought it in a local store for 1 Euro.This box is actually for floppys but it´s perfect for this mod.




NOTE: We will be using regular LEDs NOT ultra bright because parallel port cannot give you enought current.This can be dangerous if you don´t have a brain because you can KILL your parallel port.



If you want to unplug your VU-meter whenever you want the best thing is to use LPT cable (male-female) and male connector.You will have to connect male connector to your PC.



And under is the connector you will be using for connecting VU-meter.It will be VU-meter´s "out".



It´s my old printer cable.I cut all wires except wires from pin 2 to pin 9 and pin 25 and used soldering tool to take out all pieces that left.Now have a look at scheme.



Now let´s go modding.First take all 8 LEDs and put them on board so you can measure length of board you´ll be using.




You can cut it with ordinary scissors,or with pliers.

Connect all elements on board.It´s a good idea to put resistors on top of the board and LED´s minuses on under.You can see that I used pieces that left from cutting LED´s and resistor´s legs.Connect all LED´s minuses to connector´s pin 25.It looks nice already.



Here is the final product.It wasn´t so hard





I put it next to my Sub woofer Now I´m going to test it.Connect it to the LPT port.

NOTE:Windows XP doesn´t provide control for LPT port.So you will have to download DLport IO program.Also,circuit won´t work without Disco Litez plugin for Winamp 5.Disco Litez configuring is very complex so I prepared my config for you.
When you´re in Winamp right click Visualization/Select Plugin/Disco Litez and then clik on Start.Window will appear,then clik on button Opt and then Open lite rig.Choose DoctorT from Plugin package.

Now relax and enjoy in your own made lightshow

Btw you can download my Quick time movie which shows how my VU-meter works.I configured it for Bass and Treble.

You can also downloa DiagLitez program which gives you control on every single LED.You can turn on or turn off every LED.

Diaglitez download
Movie download
Winamp plugin package


I hope you like this mod.This is modding guide I wrote on my homepage.For more details and more great modding guides visit www.cro-modders.tk

 

Do you like it guys?
Please tell me I wanna know

 

I merely skimmed it but the looks of it is good, I've seen many of these but waiting for one that:
1) Uses Windows Media Player
2) Just works with XP, any sound heard goes on the meter.

 

Nice, I'll build this tonight if I can find an old printer cable. Anyone know exactly how much current the parallel port can source (per pin)?

 

i wanna say 5 volts.. not sure to be exact. do a google search for winamp led visualization. there is a good mod there and gives the exact voltages you might be looking for.

 

Parallel port is 5V and 10mA current.You can use ultra bright LEDs,I found blue ultra bright 10mA,3.7V,but they are 3mm They are way tooo small,I found them in local shop.

 

For higher current LEDs you can use a darlington array to handle up to 500mA. You would just need seperate power and ground lines. I want to say ULN2003, but that is only 7 channels, I know that the part # does begin with ULN though.

 

Not true, it depends on the standard of the port as to how much current you can draw safely. Also note that laptops use 3.3V logic 1, so you'll need to adjust your resistors accordingly for use with one of those.

 

I have all ultrabrights on the one I made some time ago (still never got it to work in XP, I may try this bit of software though, that damn userport thing never worked which was in all the other guides) which I'm quite sure were at least 20mA. Not LSDiodes bright but they were from radioshack (I hate having no good electroncs stores) and still quite bright... and expensive (bl00 were $4 each!)

Waitasecond... wehre's that DLPort thing?

 

haha nice work man.

I think the CoolerMaster Muskerteer has one of those volumn metres too.
but nice work

 

I used my instrument to measure current and voltage,and I got 10mA

 

DLport thing is in the plugin package,its name is DriverLINX Port IO Driver

 

UlN2803 is the one i believe you are looking for:
http://www.rapidelectronics.co.uk/r...CAT_CODE=30402&STK_PROD_CODE=M34425&XPAGENO=1
or at least a chip i have used to interface with the parallel port for my alevel electronics project last year

i just found a program called ledmeter that uses a 74HCT373 hooked up as shown in the diagram below on this page : http://casemods.pointofnoreturn.org/cpumeter/tutorial-6.html

 

More than you ever wanted to know about the parallel port:
http://www.fapo.com/1284elec.htm (google for "IEEE 1284" if the link ever dies)
I guess all newer MB have a level 2 port.

... and yes it is a nice toy.

 

very cool anyway to make all my neon lights and ther things inside my case dance???

 

anyone have a schematic for a stand alone unit that you maby just plug an analog output into?

 

I've got a unit from an old desktop AMD K5 which you plug into the audio outputs.

It has volume, bass, treble and balance controls.

Erm.. would some photos of it help anyone??

 

Hmm...pics aren't working for me, is it just me or are they gone? I've been looking for something like this, and this sounds simple (which is good for me ), so if they are gone, could they be rehosted? Thanks!

 

pics work fo me

 

Hurumph. Weird. May just be a Firefox issue, I'll try in *shudders* IE

EDIT: Well, in IE I get red X's