VU meter range extender

[NewYorkDave]

Since VU meter range extenders (aka "range multipliers") are no longer available commercially, I've drawn up a circuit that some of you may find useful.

VU meter range extender (28kB PDF)

This could be built into a box with XLR, TRS, longframe, bantam, etc. connectors and used as a handy tool around the studio.

Incidentally, here are some examples of commercial VU range extenders from 1961:
82kB JPG

 

[NewYorkDave]

The deafening sound of crickets chirping... :?

Oh well... I hope somebody, somewhere, finds it useful.

 

[Sleeper]

Not sure if I'll be needing this but it's nice to know it's there for when I get around to the next mixer, monitor controller project...
I have a couple of bridged-Ts and couldn't figure out what to do with them.
I'm so busy trying to take it all in that when something like this comes along, well, you know...

Wouldn't it be easier to just have like 2 steps though. If you are monitoring say really hot and than maybe really super hot signals. It seems like if you were zooming the scale around so smoothly it might be tough to put brain around what it is that you are looking at.

Maybe a test point output might be just as cool, like a BNC jack in parallel with the meter where you could insert your Oscope?

I'm sure you probably know of a situation where this kind of thing IS really useful... (must be coz Langevin saw fit to put them into production)
What is it?

Oops, gotta go, wife needs a ride to work...

Sleeper

 

[jasonallenh]

Dave!

is this still available? (the link doesn't work).

I'd love to put one together

 

[emrr]

Should still be a cheap used part on ebay, and more range than I bet he drew out on one knob. 

 

[JohnRoberts]

It is the nature of mechanical meters to respond linearly to signal so exhibit poor dynamic range.

If one really wants to extend the range of a linear meter perhaps using a THAT rms detector to drive the meter with a log response. As I recall DBX sold a stand alone meter like that decades ago. 

OTOH LED meters can easily display any range and scale you desire.

JR