2 genners: if you could put an LED VU Meter in your car, where would you put it?

shocksyde · #1 (**permalink**) 11-28-2005, 08:59 PM

I'm thinking of making a stereo VU meter (lights LEDs based on sound "loudness") for my left and right channel audio. Each meter will have 10 LEDs.

Blue, of course

My only problem is I can't figure out where I would mount the 2 strips of LEDs...

Should I have them on opposite sides of the car? Left channel VU meter on left somewhere and right on right? Or should i have them one on top of the other somewhere in the center? And how should i mount them? I reall don't want to take my dash off and drill holes in it. OOOoooo, how about in the center console? maybe right along each side of the shifter? mmmm....maybe.

Oh and I will have a switch to turn it on or off at will.

I'm not going to do a true VU meter that has green yellow and red lights cause, well, it wouldn't fit my purdy blue lights theme i have going.

any suggestions would definately be welcome.

NissanEnthusiast007 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-28-2005, 09:16 PM

so I'm assuming you want two meters, one for each side. If I were you, I would just have one that measured the volume from the center of the car because unless you have two different speakers on each side with independent volume control switches, the outputs should be close, if not identical. If you have an aftermarket head unit which only takes up 1/2 of the space of the stock stereo and have the dash kit which makes a pocket underneath, I would just pull that out one day and modify it to hold the meter. That would also be a good place to put aftermarket alarms and other electronic devices.

shocksyde · #3 (**permalink**) 11-28-2005, 10:29 PM

a VU meter takes input from the actual speaker wire itself.

i know of many songs where one channel is used and another is not at certain parts, so in some instances one side of the VU would read nothing and the other side would be fluctuating. is it easy to remove the pocket thing that they put under aftermarket cd players? i know the cd player is very easy to remove with the provided hook tools but what about the pocket?

another thing is the only parts of the meter i need to mount are the individual LEDs. the circuitry of the meter can be hidden under the center console or any other hidden place. i'd then have wires from the unit to the LEDs. i'm going to be making this thing myself, so i can modify it in any way i would need to.

thanks for the suggestion, i'll definately look into that idea.

Suicidal_Turtle · #4 (**permalink**) 11-29-2005, 01:21 AM

I'd rather have analog reading, much cooler!

shocksyde · #5 (**permalink**) 11-29-2005, 02:34 AM

whatchu talkin' bout willis

samnissan2003 · #6 (**permalink**) 11-29-2005, 02:57 AM

ive wanted to do that sometime, let us know how it turns on, before i beat you to it

StanzaDescendant · #7 (**permalink**) 11-29-2005, 04:03 AM

As others have said put it in the empty spot below your HU, that way you can readily see it, when I had my Stanza I had my eq mounted there and it looked nice.

WarX · #8 (**permalink**) 11-29-2005, 04:48 AM

i say in the doors, cut out part of the door panel and flush mount 'em

shocksyde · #9 (**permalink**) 11-29-2005, 07:51 PM

all good ideas...

i've got the parts on the way, hopefully i can get it done by next weekend. i say that all the time though, so i'm hoping by the end of the year before it gets freakin cold.

i'm trying to look for a spot that's easily drillable (is that a word?). so far under the HU and along the sides of the shifter look like the best options to me.

keep the suggestions comin.

samnissan2003 · #10 (**permalink**) 11-30-2005, 01:57 AM

whenever i do mine, they are gonna be here...but then again its gonna be too noticeable...but i dont nkow...iln probably have them running with a switch to turn them off whenever

shocksyde · #11 (**permalink**) 11-30-2005, 10:57 PM

yeah i'll definately have a switch.

plans have changed ever so slightly, i'll be using orange LEDs instead of blue.

blue leds require a higher voltage than most other colors, and i just cant get enough power to 10 of them at a time in a car, so orange will have to work.

i think it'll work cause they're complimentary colors... we shall see.

and it looks like i'll be putting them in the same general area as the picture samnissan2003 posted. the material is gonna be easy to drill and isn't too thick to fit LED flush mounts into.

hopefully my rents will let me open this xmas present when i get it in the mail. if so, i'm gonna be working on it right away.

samnissan2003 · #12 (**permalink**) 12-01-2005, 02:38 AM

are you gonna use these mounts?

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shocksyde · #13 (**permalink**) 12-01-2005, 03:08 AM

noooooooooo

i have no silver in my car, it would look bad.

i'm using black flat-topped mounts.

WarX · #14 (**permalink**) 12-01-2005, 06:01 AM

i'm tellin yah, do 2 bars per door angled upwards, it'll look good :x

shocksyde · #15 (**permalink**) 12-01-2005, 07:46 PM

why would i have 2 bars per door? not being mean or anything, i just dont get it. also, where on the door would you suggest? i'm gonna be installing component speakers in the near future as well so i could just run wires for the VU meter at the same time if i chose the door as my mounting spot.