VU Meters

[wiz1der]

I would like to purhase some nice BIG VU meters for looking at stereo out levels on my console which now only has little digital lightbars.

Is there an easy way to hook these up to an existing setup?

Also, what brand meter or type of specs should I be looking for?

 

[ToobieSnack]

hey wiz
I was just lookin for the same thing.

I did a forum search for:
+"vu meter" +"buffer circuit"
I found:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=2159&highlight=vu+meter+metre+buffer+circuit

a lot of info there.
PRR has a nice schematic there
as do others....

hope this helps
ts

 

[peter purpose]

wiz,
How big is big?
I've got some of these....

£20 a pop

 

[soundguy]

man, I wish 20 pounds wasnt like 800 dollars.

dave

 

[clintrubber]

Today I had a look inside an old faulty HP-measuring box, AC-meter/log converter, something like that. Big meter, and to my surprise it was labelled 'A P I'. Could that be the same ? :roll:

Wait, I think I remember the typeno:

OK, back to VU's now again.

 

[Guest]

I saw some weird new VU meters in a magazine recently
They were like LCD meters.. but showing an analogue movement - all being displayed from one chip
Imagine a plasma type screen being projected with an LCD image as the background and then the needle is an LCD image on top of that
So there are no moving parts at all.....

Much easier to look at than to describe

 

[wiz1der]

[quote author="peter purpose"]wiz,
How big is big?
I've got some of these....

[/quote]

That's just about what i was looking for!!

How would I hook that up to my console?

 

[peter purpose]

>>How would I hook that up to my console?<<

Many ways to shave a cat, but the thread supplied above has a ton of info.

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=2159

 

[wiz1der]

wow, so do i really need to go about etching a board and all that?

I was thinking this would be easy.

 

[peter purpose]

NewYorkDave says.....
"You can put a 3600 ohm resistor in series with the meter, hang it right across the buss, and it will work just fine (0VU = +4dBM). That's how they did it in the old days. But the nonlinearity of the rectifying diodes in the meter will introduce a little distortion into your signal. Nowadays, this is generally considered unacceptable in professional applications, so we buffer the meter with an amplifier having a high input impedance, flat frequency response and precise gain. Any amplifier circuit meeting those criteria will make a fine VU buffer. There are many "nice to haves" with regard to this application, but that's the short story"

peter

 

[pstamler]

Meanwhile a bulletin from out of left field. Back in the days, Heath (makers of the Heathkit IM-48 intermodulation distortion analyzer) claimed that the meter movement they used had the ballistic characteristics of a true VU meter, so it could be used for monitoring program levels. I've got one hanging on one channel of my D/A, and my eyeball says they weren't too far wrong. The meter is 4" wide; you can read it from across the room. And it's certainly buffered enough -- by a 12AU7, to be specific.

Of course, for stereo you'd have to buy two of them. Calibration might be an interesting challenge. And make sure you plug it in right, or install a grounded power cord, or you'll get quite a tingle.

Peace,
Paul

 

[fazeka]

 

[CJ]

Oh yeah? Check this action:

The only person who can beat that Modutec is Keith with his Bovine gas meter.
:razz:

 

[peter purpose]

What about my blind man's meter panel?

 

[gyraf]

Oh Yeah..?

I'll just build a very-high-current VU driver for this then...

:razz:

Jakob E.

 

[CJ]

You Win!

 

[peter purpose]

Not so fast cowboy..

 

[CJ]

Is that an I.Q. meter? :razz:

 

[peter purpose]

Hunnh... woss one o them then :?: I'll ave to ask me mum.

 

[Mark Burnley]

Pretty cool Peter,

But I want to see what LED's you'll use to illuminate it!

:shock:

Mark