Introduction: Vu Meter Using Neopixel Leds

By esclabs
About: I am an electronics hobbyist and I love to share my works with others

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to build A beautiful VU meter using neopixel LEDs.its has 5 different animations, light intensity control and sensitivity control. super easy let's start

Step 1: First Watch Tutorial Video

Step 2: What Is VU Meter

A volume unit (VU) meter or standard volume indicator (SVI) is a device displaying a representation of the signal level in audio equipment.

Step 3: Hardware Needed

1.Arduino
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2.WS2812 RGB LEDs

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3. 5volt 3A power supply

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4.audio socket

5.2*10k variable resistors(use the high quality to reduce noise)

6.push button switch

7.foam board(or MDF or plywood)

Step 4: What Is Neopixel Led

WS2812 LED strips are addressable and programmable Flexible LED strips which are very useful in creating the custom lighting effects. These LED Strips are powered by a 5050 RGB LED with a WS2812 LED driver inbuilt within it. Each LED consumes 60mA current and can be powered from a 5V DC supply. It has a single input data pin which can be fed from the digital pins of Microcontrollers. Depending on the intensity of the three individual Red, Green, and Blue LEDs we can create any colour we want

features of addressable LEDs

  • 16.8 million colours per pixel
  • Single-wire digital control
  • Operating Voltage: 5V DC
  • Current Requirement: 60mA per LED
  • Flexible LED structure
  • 5050 RGB LED with WS2812 driver

Want to Know more about Neopixel leds

Basics video

Step 5: Circuit Diagram

Step 6: Connections

  • connect ground of led strip to ground
  • connect 5volt of the led strip to 5volt of Arduino
  • data in pin to D6 and D5
  • connect the variable resistor to A0 and A1
  • left channel to A4 and right to A5
  • connect button to D4

Step 7: Making of the Led Tower

so I am using foam board to support the led stip you can use wood or MDF boards first I placed and fixed the neopixel on foam board then I cut and removed excess part.then I also made a foam board base and placed the led tower on top .finally i placed everything inside the base

watch the video for more details

Step 8: Upload the Code

download code from here

happy making