Added: 2 years ago
From: carlosserious
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  • If u have an audio source playing into the light where is the sound coming from??

  • Comment removed

  • you can also use a 2n3904 transistor. I think It works better.

  • Also, are the blue wires that were already in the board when the video started regular wires or are they literally negative/positive wires?

  • Two Questions: #1 How did you make that audio connector? Specifically? Is there any way you can buy one that goes into a breadboard.

  • wat is the audio connector mad of

  • how about if you dont have tip31 any kind will work?

  • @darkie21o You'll get a different result depending on which one you use. The 31 gives you the best results, I think.

  • @carlosserious can you give me other tip becuse idont have tip31

  • @darkie21o i have used three different TIP you can use just about any NPN transistor

  • i checked the page you mentioned in the comentaries, and it does not talk about any resistor, is it a mistake or not?

  • @cocacolafan98 sorry, the page you mentioned in the description :P

  • @magixeleven

    I think you Must get an amplifier for Having the required voltage for the LED

  • wtf... it just doesnt work...

  • sorry for the question... i followed the guide at Instructables, but my leds don't work... :( i tried with every possible audio source (pc, phone...) but my leds still don't flash... they aren't even on... (sorry for my bad english, i'm italian)... anyone can help me? pleeeasee .... :)

  • You mean to change 270? If so then drop to what voltage.

  • What if i want to use 12 v power source..?

  • @imnomy Adjust your resistance accordingly.

  • hey mate, great vid. I want to apply this circuit to my subwoofer box lighting. All my led circuits are made with resistors in front of the leds, but that wouldn't really matter hey?? I could just make the circuit with the TIP31 and incorporate an audio signal from the amp via 3.5mm audio jack.

    I might mention there is considerable current draw to some of the leds, like 3.4amp per ring but that wouldn't affect the TIP31 from blowing up??

    Check out my latest vid to see the leds and circuits

  • @bruzwa If I remember correctly, the TIP31 is rated for 3 amps so it probably could handle slightly more than that for a little while, but you will eventually fry it.

  • @carlosserious cheers for getting back to me but I have decided to use an arduino in my system now with mosfet FET switches to handle the amperage and hopefully have one sweet led array rig ;)

  • @bruzwa Just so you know your amp will fry the TIP31 aswell as your LEDs. If you have enough watts to power the woofer you would be transmitting all of that to the TIP31. It would fry right away. your best best if you want to put this to go with your sub would be to buy an ipod adapter that you can run through your head unit. This way you can run your ipod to your speakers via the ipod base connection and still have the 3.5mm jack available. Then just adjust the audio jack cable length according

  • Its nice to see someone who can use a breadboard properly :)

    Working on a modular system for this, any ideas?

    p.s. good instructable as well :)

  • @BackyardChemistry Thanks. I had built a modular system for this some time ago for Halloween that made it real easy for me to add or remove different LEDs as well as audio channels. I could have the 2 speaker or go for a full 7.1 surround sound. Was pretty neat.

  • i did this perfectly and the lights dont flash it just stays on!!!!!!!!! even with no music palying! im an electrical engineering major and i cant get this to work. how pathetic! i feel like a moron lol help?

  • @astchur Well, hopefully you were able to get it working by now.

  • @carlosserious i cant get it either! i did it perfectly asw per the instructables page, and it doesnt flash at all. please reply!!

  • @mauigirl000 Have you tried maybe using a different audio source? Sometimes the output from certain devices is not strong enough to fire the lights. Other than that, if you've followed this video exactly, it would totally work.

  • @astchur it could be you managed to not connect the right audio wires to the tip31. just an idea idk if you got it working or not

  • @Pieisgood2me you over heated the TIP31 when sodering ....i had the same problem it sucks

  • ok, so I wired everything up exactly how you did but when I power it on, the LED stays lit, nothing is touching that shouldn't be...any tips?

  • hi could you tell me were i can find a board that you used to work on?

    im trying the same thing but i dont have one and id rather not sodder it untill i know it works ^^

  • @GiaLittleBird You can get them pretty cheap from RadioShack.

  • I have a question. How do I get sound out or be able to hear the sounds when it has been connected into the jack port?

    Do I need a separate speakers?

  • @laurenceKJ Use an audio splitter. It looks like a headphone jack with two outputs. You can get them from Walmart.

  • hey im trying to do a light bar with aproximately 75 leds how would i go about doing that

  • i connected like you did.... BUT!!! how can i make the LED lights still flashing, when i turn my music down... ( Me Problem Is that when i turn my Music Down... then the lights will go down do!) how can i make it stop ???

  • @TheEXiYa If you connect a stereo male, wire that up and use either the left or the right channel at the left of the transistor and connect ground at the right side, you should just get the flashing lights of it. I used my phone to supply the music as well so you know once it's plugged in, it mutes itself from playing and plays through the stereo male into the circuit.

  • @TheEXiYa Use an external volume controler.

  • hy iam make this all works but led is to weak

    i conect one led with 9v battery

  • hey buddy i have a doubt..

    i connected 1 kilo ohm resistor to a 3 volt white LED then one TIP 31 transistor and i connected one wire to my audio speaker and the other to the mini transformer(inbuilt in my audio system) and i played some songs and my work was success but the transformer got hot and now it is not working..(Nw no output frm transformer.)

    Plz help me out dude..

  • Hey man can you put more LED's?

  • @Omardarkangel Sure can. You'll have to adjust your power supply and resistors accordingly, though.

  • do i need a resistor

  • @TheLaziBoi123 kinda depends on your power voltage and the forward voltage of your leds

  • @TheLaziBoi123 @Stealthystan1990 is correct. You may or may not need one depending on how many LEDs you are using and what size power supply you are running off of.

  • Does anyone know if soldering the right and left channels together would make the LEDs any brighter?

  • @Stealthystan1990 Nope. It shouldn't change the brightness at all. You can try using a different audio output if your LEDs are looking a little dim. Some audio sources cause that. If that's the case, you can use an inline amp or even build an amp inside of this circuit.

  • How do you get multiple LEDs?

  • @DVA5212 Chain them together in either parallel or series configurations.

  • @carlosserious how did you get such nicely cut wires and stuff? mine get frayed and I then can't put them in.

    What type of wire is that? all they had at Radio Shack was Hookup Wire.

    Also , what is the connector for your audio device?

  • @DVA5212 Sometimes I use solid copper wire, but I use hookup wire sometimes. Tin the ends and they'll be good.

  • yeah thats what im trying to find out and is there a way i can connect it to my mp3

  • How did you make the audio connector???

  • @randomtopix The audio connector? Well, coming from the PC is a "Y" adapter plug. From there, one end of an audio cable goes to the blinky circuit and the other goes to my speakers. I have what the cable is made of posted already on here somewhere.

  • Do you think I could power this whole thing effectively off of 5v? powering two 3v 20mA LEDs?

  • @iTehTunePawd It depends how you wire in your LEDs. If you put your LEDs in a series, then you probably won't get the results you want. The first LED will be brighter than the second. It'll work, though. Parallel will give the full voltage to both of the LEDs.

  • @carlosserious Thank you! 

  • @iTehTunePawd i want to put led lights that will react to the music on my boat using the 12volt car battery any suggestions

  • yeah this is the most simple prototype you can find, I think

  • Thanks

    

  • @gomok11 You're welcome!

  • Is it connected after the amp or before? (speaker lines or headphone line)

  • @jrigvd There isn't an amp here at all. It's directly from the audio output from my PC... which, I guess you could say is preamped.

  • @carlosserious thanks for the information

  • I'm close to making this happen, all I need is to know how u made that audio connector because that's the only thing keeping me away from achieving this... I tried with an audio jack but that didn't work out...Please help...

  • @13soychingon13 It really isn't anything special to make the audio cable. It's made from a piece of audio cable, jumpers from a motherboard and a piece to hold the jumpers in place. Just take one end of the audio cable and cut it off. Separate the two wires for right and left and then further separate the inner wires -right ground, right power, left ground, left power- connect each to a jumper and hold it in place with the jumper retainer. Wrap it up with some electrical tape and you're done.

  • what if you want more leds?

  • @doodoo1010 Add more LEDs. :) Plenty of juice in that 9-volt. Well, kind of. You'd have to do the math to figure battery life(ish) and how many volts you'd need to power them.

  • @carlosserious but what i mean is you only showed 1 led on the breadboard or whatever, where do you put more??????

  • can i use a 2n3055 transitor for this???

  • @bas999888 Sure could, fella.

  • @carlosserious I made it with a TIP31C now and it doesn't work on my Ipod but mine works fine on my computer audio output???

    I think the audio signal coming from my ipod is to weak??

    Can i use like a more sensitive transistor before the TIP31C, so the sensitive transistor (which switches earlier, on a lower signal), amps the signal, like turns it into a 12v signal to drive the tip31c?

    Is there a transistor for this, or is there an other way to amp my audio signal from my ipod?

    Thanks

  • @bas999888 Yea, unfortunately it doesn't work so well with the iPod since the power from the iPod is so low. Try a TIP 41. The best thing to do would be to build a small amp into your circuit that you can control with a switch.

  • @carlosserious But there isn't a small transistor, which switches at a lower voltage than the tip31?? Because i can use that transistor to drive the tip31!! Do you know a simple schematic of an amp.

    Thanks a lot!!!!

  • @bas999888 Um, you could use a LM386 as a 'pre-amp' and send the output from that to the transistor. That'd work. But if you use it then on something not your iPod, the LEDs may be on more often then you would like. Search Google for a datasheet and the pinout. You should be able to figure out how to wire it up from that.

    You could also use a splitter with a volume control built in. It's pretty much the same thing-ish. Walmart sells them pretty cheap.

  • what is the p/n on regulator again can i use Lm317 as well? thanks nice tutor

  • Ok...??? I am totally sure I have the circuit right but mine doesn't stay low then get brighter the louder the music is. its the opposite, It starts bright and goes dim when the music kicks in? any help would be greatly appreciated!

  • @TamaRocker14 Totally have something backwards, friend.

  • I have a electret condenser microphone (WM-54B, 2.5V operation). Could someone please tell me how to connect that to the circuit instead of the audio cable/jack? Thanks in advance!

  • @DaHandy Same way.

  • @carlosserious Does the mic need its own power supply

  • Hey I am trying to use the same breadboard to make 4 leds blink to music at the same time. I made one work the way that you said, but I cant get the other three wired to work.... do you have any ideas?

  • NICE!!!!!

  • Hey this is really cool,

    I'm having a problem with the audio jack,, can I use a normal old headphone and strip the wires ?

    can you please show me how did u make urs ?

  • i hv the prblem with audio jack...

  • @13royalknight What kind of problem do you have with the audio jack?

  • @carlosserious

    umm, where do u put the jack in?

    I mean, u obviously have to plug it in, but how do you get sound at the same time?

  • @PyroMania61 you could use a 3.5mm audio splitter, search on ebay.

    Thanks

  • @carlosserious i think i use mono audio jack..bcoz it got only 2 wire...am i correct?

  • @13royalknight Probably not. Mono is way uncommon these days. What is it from?

  • this might be a noob question but im getting into circuitry and was wondering why on a breadboard i see ppl putting things across the board does it matter where u put it? example how u up the transistor all they way to the 40's couldn't u put it closer to the front or does it have to be all they ways across or what

  • @Mageeric Kind of. The breadboard is laid out in rows and columns. Some of them are connected. If you try to connect the wrong ones, you're going to have problems.

  • I have this circuit in my room

    but y brother wants it in his car and wants it to hit with his subs but I fried my transistor

  • Hello, I need help, I used 9v battery and 3 leds, i found that my leds running not bright at all. I set volume to the max, but the shine weak, what can I do?

  • @StormyHardcore Some people have trouble with this. Try a different audio source, like your PC, and see if they are brighter. It may just be the output from the device isn't high enough.

  • @StormyHardcore You might be successful if you got an amplifier and hooked both your sound system and the lights to that

  • just finished this on my friends motorcycle. used 12v power supply. 2 12v blue neon lights. works perfect! thanks for this!

  • can you do me a favor and make a same video but for car use type. ? or let me know what i gotta do

  • why wont a 12v bulb light with this circuit even if you have a 12v power supply?

  • Comment removed

  • I have a 12v AC-DC adapter at 500mA. I have 4 LEDs ranging from 20-30mA that total 12v. Because this is a series circuit, am I correct to assume that each LED will receive the full 500mA? If that is the case then I need a resistor? Should I just get the kind you used? A timely reply would be much appreciated, I'm off to college rather soon :)

  • @derangedtaco No, the LEDs will not pull all 500mA. That's there to tell you that it can only do a maximum of 500mA. You could make it a 2x2 array and use a 180 ohm resistor for each. You don't HAVE to use a resistor, but without it you run the risk of blowing the LEDs or reduced life. I personally go without resistors attatched to my LEDs because I like them bright. :P

  • @carlosserious u mean the resister is there so that you can only pull 500mA?

  • that was help full and now i am going to make one know.

  • ok i like this i built it following your video and all works ok but heres is the but

    i would like to run it on 12v battery and run 2 12v bulbs on it and still have them flash brightly can it be done if so how

  • @brakez1 2 12 v bulbs on this circuit? Naw, this isn't really for that kind of thing. You'd have to design a different kind of circuit.

  • cool

  • wich school did you do?

  • i am doing your exact setup in this video and it wont work for me? help

  • @ouyeraohw My friend, if you were doing this exact layout, it would work for you just fine. :)

  • Hi, i got mine working the same using the rca outs on my amp, i was wondering thou ive been looking a filters so i can run say 3 or 4 leds but have them for each frequency, are you able to tel me the easiest way to make a high mid low filter. cheers

  • can you please please show us how you made the audio cable

  • @kdisjubjubmobile Eh, it's really nothing special. I don't really have time to do a video on it. It's just made using jumper pins and a brace.

  • how can you hear the music if the headphone plug has the tip31

  • @kdisjubjubmobile You don't.You need to get a splitter.

  • can i use tip 130 or 135 transistor

  • Will any TIP31 Transistor work? You used a 270 ohm resister on a 9 volt battery but I have a 12 volt powersupply from a pc (I want to put 4 or more LED's in my computer), so which kind of resister do I need? Can I use the 270 ohm one? Thanks.

  • @HardcoreMuppets you dont need a resister because 12v/3=4 leds :)

  • @neverplaywitfire I think you mean the voltage. And yes, if you add more LEDs, you will certainly need a larger power source. :)

  • Can you make a video on how to wire LED's in parallel with the TiP31 transistor?

  • @NickyVMarket It should be just the same as wiring LEDs in parallel. Just pretend the TIP isn't there. :)

  • @espantozaekiz How what? The audio cable you see there is just a standard audio cable that I made a connector for using some pieces of an old motherboard. It caries the left and right channel sound. Actual sound output is handled by my speakers through a splitter coming from the source audio.

  • its a good vid but how do you do right and left sound?

  • @theben00233 To get stereo sound, you create two of these circuits using one for the left channel and one for the right channel.

  • So..i got this working with 4 white LEDs and a 12v power source but it's not very visible unless my volume is at it's max. Is there a way i could amplify the power going through the LEDs without having my volume at full blast? It would be nice to actually listen to the music while having the lights work =)

  • @blazinaznninja It usually depends on the source audio. For example, I have a Creative Zen Stone that I connect to and get dim lights, however, when I connect it to my Motorola Droid, I can rock all night. You could build a small amp for it or purchase one of the inline headphone things that do it.

  • Man, Thanks u so much

    I looked for this every where

  • @vdic7 You're very welcome.

  • if i want to use blue or white led, how much voltage and current do i need? i blew up my white with just 3 volt, why???

  • @Pochacco3 You need to check the voltage and current requirements of your led. It should tell you on the package. Typically, they require at least 3v, but some are less. Also, if you are using a larger power supply, you will need to change the resistance.

  • I'm using 2AA batteries and a yellow led without any resistor, but it doesn't work... can you help me?

  • @Pochacco3 There may not be enough voltage coming from the double a batteries. I think you're only going to be getting 3v from them and your LED may require a higher voltage.

  • i'm using 2AA batteries and a yellow led without resistor, and it doesn't work... can you help me?

  • if you plugged it into the output audio, how is it possible to listen to the music?

  • @pumpfever split the audio signal as it comes from the source

  • in, theory, could you replace the led with a cpu fan to sync motor speed to music?

  • @blackadm Eh, in theory, you could sync your toaster up to this thing. But to what point and purpose? :P

  • @carlosserious

    i want to make this:

    youtube.com/watch?v=b4HtUwAkVD­g

  • awesome vid!

    btw, im actually looking to install one of these in my car, so do you think it would be possible to rig it up to the speakers in the car? im not too sure how i would do that ._.

  • @grimXneko You sure could. :)

  • This was very helpful, thank you. Mine aren't very bright, but it works! One question, though. Is it always best to supply a little less voltage than they consume just so they don't burn out? (I don't have a resistor). For example my battery is 9.6 V, and my two LEDs in series are 10 V total. COuld this also be why they are not as bright, or is that just a matter of current?

    Thanks for any help!

  • @mh5445 Personally, I overpower my LEDs. A little higher voltage isn't going to make them freak out and die instantly. Yea, it will shorten their life, but they're cheap enough to replace.

    The brightness on the LEDs will vary. It sounds like you have sufficient power going to them, so it might be the signal from the audio source. Try switching the unit to your PC or use some other amplified output and see if you get a better result.

  • so to make this for just 1 led i need: a tip31 transistor, a 3.3v 25 mili amp led(any color) and on the website it says i need 5mm LED's, what dose that mean? i need 5 leds or..

  • @pivitman101 5mm describes the size of the LED. They have really tine ones, 1.8mm, all the way up to 20mm, I believe. So your answer is no, you do not need 5 LEDs you can use just the one. Make sure you have the right resister in there to limit it to 3.3v.

  • whats that bored called? that your pluging the stuff in, and how did you make that custom audio cable

  • @pivitman101 It's called a breadboard. You can pick one up from RadioShack on the cheap. I got mine from school.

    The audio cable is made from parts that I scavanged from an old motherboard I had lying around. I used some jumper pins and the jumper pin holders, soldered them up and taped them.

  • How would I use the resisters when I have multiple LEDs? Would I just connect 1 resister to the first LED then the LEDs connected to the rest? Or Do I need one resister for each LED.

  • @stuky4ever12 there is a limit to the amount of power a resistor can handle...it is good practice to only have a single led per resistor....however, i made a 36 led light box with a single resistor, and its USB powered...somehow its working just fine despite the maximum draw being higher than that of the rated USB max....

  • @c4jjm Resistors are more durable than people give them credit for. If you're using an 1/8 watt resistor, it'll get super toasty, but will probably work just fine. The power that gets output of a USB is usually 5v, but can also be 12, or 24 volts(powered USB). USB 2.0 can handle a load of 500ma. If your PC is newer and supports USB 3.0, it can take up to 900 ma which would be the 36 LEDs.

  • @carlosserious no, its not 3.0, each LED just runs at a lower amperage, slightly dimmer, and since its discontinuous (sound activated) the resistor doesn't get warm.

  • it doesnt matter which audio leads you use to the tip31c does it? it will work either way.. am i correct?

  • Nope, you can use either the right or the left channel audio connection. Just make sure you have them connected correctly. Also, it's worth stating that you can not use both audio channels on the same TIP31.

  • @carlosserious

    yes i am using the left audio wire. so there is 2 wires

    but with these 2 wires it does not matter

    which sequence i connect the wires to the tip31c

    is that right.

    look i made up a circuit late night and the led stays on the hole time. but

    if i turn down the music, it then flashes

    with the music but the music is very low.

    any ideas?

  • Yes, you have to make sure that you have the wires connected to the TIP properly. One will be possitive and one will be negative. Try switching them around.

  • What kind of audio connector is that? I understand that it's the audio jack, but how did you make it to connect to the breadboard with those three prongs?

  • I made the connector from pins from an old motherboard.

  • Isnt the resistor just to reduce the power voltage from the battery from a 9v to a 3.3v? and also how did you hook it up so you can listen to the music and have the led flash? Last question how did you get the volume to be lower and still have it flash brightly, When I hooked up I only had room for either the audio or the led, so I got a "y" connector but i was not able to put to the speakers because I had to have it 100% volume for it to flash and it was to loud to hear.

  • @mikajmd

    Oh boy, okay, let me see. Yes, the resistor is to reduce the input voltage down to a more LED friendly level.

    I used an audio splitter or 'Y' adapter to be able to use this device and listen to music at the same time.

    Hm. I'm not sure I understand the last question. The answer is my speakers have a volume control in them so I can turn them down while leaving system volume on max.

  • nevermind about the comment i made work!! the output on my phone isn't loud enough to trigger the transistor.

  • weird i did exactly what you did in this video and it doesn't work for some reason any ideas?

    great walkthrough btw

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