Big Blue Audio Spectrum Analyzer in Dot Mode

[renek755]

The distortion of a tube amplifier you mean, those things aren't even close to linear.

And no matter how good you can hear. Nobody is going to hear a difference between CD WAV or 320 kbps MP3. There have been enough ABC test done to prove that.

[gavincurtis]

Hi @renek755 320k MP3 I agree with you. But at the time of this video, 8 kHz roll off of lower powered MP3 was common.

Tube amps I prefer the warmer sound and output transformer can indeed color the sound. But so do speakers. The tube sound is warmer to me and cleaner... simply my personal opinion.

[fgcb1000]

MUITO BOM CARA



[monkeyswithcameras]

are you using the vernier calliper as a switch? or am i just going mad

[loanstar744]

@monkeyswithcameras Yes, a touch sensitive switch I would presume.

[gavincurtis]

@loanstar744 Proximity, it detects capacitance change when the human body is near the closest conductive object. Imagination is the limit. Could be a metal speaker grille, wrench or metal foil hidden behind tinted glass.

[loanstar744]

@gavincurtis Yeah, actually that's pretty much what I meant, a switch that uses the conductivity of an object that comes in contact with it. Just, at the time I was tired, that comment was posted around 3AM.

But in school we called them Touch Sensitive switches which I no doubtably feel dumb for, seeing as that wasn't the actual name for it.

[gavincurtis]

@monkeyswithcameras Not insane just yet. The body of the caliper is a proximity detector.

[uutyr1]

i dont get it how dose it do tht plz message meh baq

[vroom350]

Where buy kit?

[vroom350]

Where buy kit?

[QuadroDuber]

о да) регги)

[zoneco]

Please give me the song title

Thank's

[HouseMusic2oo8]

@zoneco pass the dutchie on the left hand side musical youth

[SmakkyDaddy]

Hi there! this is an awesome device, I build a VERY basic led spectrum analyser out of second order bandpass filters and VU meters (10x10), which was no WAY near as good as yours. I would love to build something similar, is there any chance of getting the schematic? -D

[gavincurtis]

@SmakkyDaddy

Hi, Get my kit version on ebay. Search under "VU meter kit". Cost of the kit is probably less than what you spent on your 10X10 parts. I am using a microprocessor.

Thanks!

Gavin

[SmakkyDaddy]

@gavincurtis Yeah, it was sort of the fact that my design used an op amp for every LED which limited its size. I will definitely grab one of yours from ebay next week to play with, cheers :)

[Putlir]

@gavincurtis

I Can't search your "VU meter kit" on ebay :( Where I Can?

[gavincurtis]

@Putlir I will have new kits about April.

[leaseba84]

Hola (gavincurtis) que tal. Estoy necesitando los diagrams and the pcb. Puede ser? Gracias !

[Shomybre]

this is simens ic UAA 180

[Shomybre]

@Shomybre

[Shomybre]

this is simens ic UAA180

[downhillful]

wuaw!!!

[sklopt]

Hi gavin curtis,kool circuit,Can u please send me the schematics & other details.Thankx

[extremisto47]

aaaaaaaahahahaha)) so funny music! ))

Good construction! Good luck for you!

[blackmambe]

yeay finally it worked :D

i couldn't post anything xD

i think i can't use the AT sign :D

[gavincurtis]

@cumesoftware

It was designed on computerby myself and then to the factory to be made.

Then all parts put into the kit to assembled.

[blackmambe]

Hello :),

i have to make a project for school and looking on youtube for some projects and i looked at your little project and thought it was the best looking spectrum was thinking if i could use your help, your circuit diagrams and stuff??

Ofcourse i will name your name in my project

it would be an honor if you would help me :)

greetings a guy who likes your spectrum

[gavincurtis]

@blackmambe

Need more information. Where are you at?

[blackmambe]

Well

i'm are gonna make just 10 x 10 because i only have 3 weeks to make it

i need to make everything, even the print plate i got circuits of it. if you want i can mail you what i have.

[stdavross666]

little project? you reckon you got what it takes to make this? I think you may need to reconsider your options because this is fairly advanced dude.

[blackmambe]

yes, i certainly know that this isn't easy. and tbh this is my first ''elektronic device'' . I showed my teacher my cricuit and diagrams. he said it will be hard. but he'll help me :)

[stdavross666]

good luck man.

[gavincurtis]

blackmambe,

How about a 5 X 5? It's more reasonable to build for your project and looks great.

[gavincurtis]

@blackmambe

I need your email address to send you schematics.

[gavincurtis]

@blackmambe

My laptop that had the schematics has bad HDD,

but this website has the schematics. Sorry about the delay.

[gavincurtis]

@blackmambe

new youtube sucks. No more posting websites.

[Shinobu2486]

Hi gavincurtis,

can u send me all the information that i can build my own analyser please?

like skematics and circuit diagrams?

is that possible??

[lolopret]

como hiciste esa mamada??

[amppower]

no diy. electronic kit.

[deluxp6]

song name?

[daxweb]

great

but i think there is a little emphatization in the middle frequency....

[gavincurtis]

No, the analyzer has all flat response.

Center bands are 1/3 ocatave. Bass and treble are 1/2 octave. So more information in the center bandwidth.

This is also from MP3 radio program over the internet, they may have emphasized midrange at their source.

Hard to tell with the cheap PC speakers.

[gavincurtis]

This is recorded by a single electret microphone from a set of small PC speakers to avoid copyright issues.

The analyzer is connected directly to the full bandwidth audio source. So what you are seeing is not same as what you are now hearing.

The music will be midrange sounding.

[Andrew5529]

can i buy it from u

[area51kill]

suck music

[laomoraes]

I like this music_____:D...Is Musical Youth!

[AleElecktro]

beautiful !

i need one ! jaja

[compiz16]

hi .. have everybody electronical scheme to build this please ? x) thanks x)

[andyjjones]

how does it feel when you've got no food?

[RDCST]

Nice work!

Are you using FFT? I think not, cause is to complex for a 16F, Or not?

Why the PCB is so big?

That amount of hardware is to drive de LEDs array or to analize de audio signal?

[gavincurtis]

16F could do it with some additional support.

[gavincurtis]

PIC I/O is fully implemented driving LED display and sampling audio. Hardware interrupt is used for display change via touch sensor.

[LNSTeam]

the song sucks

[gavincurtis]

LNSTeam

Same analyzer on other music if you check my videos.

[gavincurtis]

Provide me your ideal song and I will make a new video.

[rmeyerf]

can you send me the schematic?, please

[chainsawz]

How much LM3914 ICs did you use? and how did you connect it with more than 10 LEDs??

[gavincurtis]

No LM3914. Microprocessor used instead with 2KB of memory.

[gavincurtis]

However, if we lose the LM3914, LM3915 and others in the family....

VERY sad day for humanity.

[chainsawz]

That must of taken a long time to programme!

[gavincurtis]

It took a long time because of the learning curve to learn programming.

But same can be done with LM3914... but you will need more than just one :)

[mdmde]

The LM3914 is just a string of voltage comparators with resistors

[vex123]

heh, I like your choice of tunes :)

[gavincurtis]

Yeah.. there is a bouncy feeling. :)

[xspiderx1]

Very nice. Im student and your spectrum analyzer is a very interesting thing. Please, can you send me the electric schematic - poste link ?

Thanks!

[d3dreaper]

HOLY COW!!! I've been looking for that answer for a long time now! I was afraid to purchase the parts and try to do it and end up blowin something and not having anything to show for my final. Would I have to change voltage to the ic or is it fine at that point. (and if you cold point me to a place with the equations to figure it out that would help too!) Thanks Alot!!!

[gavincurtis]

No need to change voltage or any part of the schematic that I remember.

Just download a datasheet for the LM3914, LM3915 or LM3916. All chips are the exact same except for scaling. One has linear, 2nd is logarithm (3db) and final is VU.

Linear is for voltmeter and will be ugly for VU meter/spectrum analyzer.

Download the LM391x series data sheet and compare with velleman schematic... you will see same inputs/output as kit with different pin numbers.

Chips are same with dif pinout!

[d3dreaper]

Does Anyone know where i can find schematics for a spectrum analyzer that doesn't use a pic or microcontroller?? I've seen the velleman k4300 but i can't get a hold of one of the IC's as they don't make it anymore

[kekito2001]

Very good!!!. I like in DOT Mode.

Search "keko2008" to view my spectrum analizer.

[kekito2001]

Very good!!!. I like in DOT Mode.

Search "keko2008" to view my spectrum analizer.

[RegisCalha]

Como posso fazer isto ou obter este aparelho?

[clutch1245]

the song is "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth.

[reneariyamaa]

name of the song? pleasee

[Coooleri]

how that song is called? :D cool music

[KYdrifter]

This is awesome, Ive been looking to make something like this (much bigger) for stage shows, but Im not handy with electronics at all. Could I use the same parts on a bigger scale?

[gavincurtis]

There is no limit to the overall size and light output of the display other than you are confined to a maximum of 256 pixels.

This board can directly drive high output LED displays for most DJ applications where your have darker backlighting. Practical limit is a panel about 4 feet by 8 feet for closely spaced LEDs. Much larger if you space LED clusters farther apart.

High output 120-240 VAC incandescent lamps (halogen or flood type) for intense output require the triac control board.

[KYdrifter]

You have made my week man, Im no good with any of this stuff, so I;ll have one of my friends rig something up to connect to my amp. Thanks a million!!

[gavincurtis]

You can buy this as a kit.

[JoPiDo]

really very nice! very very nice!!!

[szlamx]

Docipa...co???

[gavincurtis]

It's available as a kit if you can solder.

[happytodd]

I want one of these to be attached to my clear side panel of my pc. However I don't seem to find any kits like this on ebay? Only small ones in green/yellow/red.

[gavincurtis]

Search on ebay "VU meter kit".

[olelyn]

did u make this from scratch or did u buy kit?

[gavincurtis]

Hi Olelyn,

Took basic concepts from other designs with added improvements. Then made it into a kit. Look under "VU Meter Kit" on ebay to buy one.

[byJustinn]

what is the name of this music?

[bohs1984]

musical youth from early 80's. They are all in jail or dead now.  Kind of one hit wonder.

[byJustinn]

shows the project or ask the price

[vinsont]

Well if you make it in green I would like to buy it.

How much?

[gavincurtis]

$200.00 for the complete kit with a blank LED display board. You provide the enclosure and LEDs in your choice of colors. Design allows you to control current of individual LEDs so you can match brightness when mixing colors and LED efficiency.

[itsacorporatething]

It would be pretty easy to have a range of led colors so that the top ones can be red, and in between orange or yellow and the bottom green.

[gavincurtis]

Yes. Any colors you prefer. Doesn't have to be blue.

[DeathscytheHell88]

hey that's awsome... i wanna build something like that too...

[DeathscytheHell88]

hey that's awsome... i wanna build something like that too!!! =P

[evan172220]

can you explain how it works, did you use a PIC, it's digital or analog?

it's really good congratulations... good display and very good PCB

i have some VFD displays and i was trying to do somthing similar, based on the LM3915

[gavincurtis]

It is both digital and analog. Analog signal processing on the front end for real time precision. Digital sampling to then process the data mathematically and ultimately display driving and timing.

[russelli1]

that display is killer,i used to have an Audiocontrol realtime e.q./spectrum analyzer i was in love the display mostly.can't find may rta's for home stereos anymore.i'm interested in on of yours though.the BLUE looks great.

[gavincurtis]

The display output is the best part and often overlooked.

[gavincurtis]

russelli1

The kit is now available on ebay if you are still interested.

I now know why the ealier displays were severely limited for home stereos. The large number of electronic components make them expensive. Audiocontrol SA was (still is) awesome :)

[viperstd]

Its great! It would be great if you made a simple website with the parts list, schematic, etc... Did you program the PIC in HiTechC, PicBasic, Asm, etc? I just started pic programming and would love to tackle this project.

[gavincurtis]

Programmed with PIC assembler language. It sucked. :P

[gavincurtis]

Viperstd.. what would you expect a kit like that to sell for?

[viperstd]

Tough to say without a parts list. I would think if it was all inclusive (and programmed or supplied with code)... $100 would be in the realm of reason. Built to spec., double+ (depending on size). I think I read somewhere that you had $400+ invested in the prototype though(?). It is a major problem with electronics. You need to move a high volume to bring the prices to reasonable levels.

Great work either way.

[gavincurtis]

Thanks viperstd.

How would you feel about $200 for the display controller?

I desire the SA to last a considerable time; a minimum 20+ years. Expensive capacitors.

There are well over 500+ parts on the controller board alone. Sixteen of which are IC's. I can cut down on total part count by using switched filtering, but exotic part costs always add up WITH poor performance.

This is a true real time controller with a large LED array output. Porting it to a tiny LCD display, no way.

[gavincurtis]

Also looking at making this in a kit version with same quality parts for considerably less. A bit more packaging and assembly manual work though.

But it would cut the high component count assembly cost.

I think many here would prefer a kit version anyways.

[viperstd]

I would agree with that. I think most of the people who would consider this would be inclined to put one together from kit form.

[phnxMods]

Niceness... I've been wanting to do something along these lines. Though I was tentatively thinking poster sized in landscape mode using standard green/yellow/red LEDs.

I think I like yours better.....

So where can I find more info? Schematics, parts list and such...?

[phnxMods]

Checking your other videos I see you've been asked for details before but lost all your old info due to.... erm, "technical difficulties"

I saw you mentioned it was based off a kit design, is there any info to help me get going on one of these of my own?

[gavincurtis]

Send me your email address and I will gladly email the diagram to you. By the way, I was able to recover my data and complete the design. As soon as my custom enclosures arrive, these will be for sale with a variety of display size options. Final price is still in the works.. but estimate $200-$400 depending on display size.

[gavincurtis]

I will also be selling just the control board in an enclosure for home or automotive installation.

Let your creativity loose and build your own custom LED array. Drive current from the SA board is sufficient to illuminate 4 to 8 LED's for each pixel.

So a very large wall sized display would be no problem; in fact ideal!

[brianhoskins1979]

I can't make up my mind if I prefer your dot mode or bar mode. Did you always have the dot mode or have you recently given the unit this function?

By the way, what does it look like if you stick a signal generator on there? It should show how well the audio filters perform...

[gavincurtis]

Signal generator sweep test is a good idea to show. All filters are Q4. Higher Q isolated the display bar elements... aka bad looking spectrum analyzer.

[gavincurtis]

Lazy LEDs on the right are from MP3 artifacts?

[Alu10000]

Nice!