Add Sound Reactive LED's for Any Speakers!

Intro: Add Sound Reactive LED's for Any Speakers!

So, there's what you need :)
1-10 LED's, Any color, any size (I used 2x 5mm red LED's)
Drill & LED-sized (5mm usually) drill bit
Little rasp to file LED's holes to fit with your LED's
Speakers , I used Creative TravelSound -speakers
Screw driver (if required for removing the speaker boxs cover)
4 Wires (1-30cm, that's about your speaker's size and where do you want to place the led's)

So, let's get started! :)

Video about all this :

STEP 1: Select the Place for LED's

You need to select the place for LED's, and mark it with a pencil. Check that you have space inside the speaker box for leds!

STEP 2: Drill Holes to the Marked Places

Drill holes to the marked places where the LED's comes. Use rasp to make hole to fit with the LED.

STEP 3: Solder

You need to solder your wires to the speakers + and - sides, the sides with the LED's does not matter.
Then solder your LED's + or - side to the wire, and solder the other wire to the other LED side too. Do this step again with the another speaker.

STEP 4: Place the LED's

Put your LED's to the holes you drill'd. Check that your wires does not touch each other, or your speakers does not work!

STEP 5: Finishing

Put case back together, and enjoy!

Comments

[hemmikarl]

I recommend that you either get a rectifior bridge or solder 2 diodes in paraell with anode to cathode sense the sound output to the speakers is generally a sine wave

[marselsipod]

wow. i didnt understand any of that, im sorry. i doubt the author understood you either. can you please repeat that?

[hemmikarl]

the image is of a rectirior bridge.... it's main purpose is to lengthen the led's life.

[hoihoi151]

lengthen the led's life. lol led's last for over 5 years of continuous use and they cost less than $1 each. i dont really see the point. Oh and sine wave is very very rarely outputed through a speaker. Sine wave is a flowing wave of sound for an individual frequency. when more than one frequency is played, the wave form becomes altered into a mess between sine, square, sawtooth and triangle wave forms. your speakers and led's will be safe

[sammons]

OK, for those people that don't want to be told the wrong information, I'd like to clarify: Sine waves are the basic form of sound waves. Square, sawtooth and triangle waves are not part of any music. If you send a square wave to a speaker you are likely to blow up your speakers as speakers don't like DC (direct current). What hoihoi151probably meant is that you never get a pure sign wave through your speaker. It is always a mix of many sign waves of varying frequencies.  The point of using a bridge rectifier is to make the LED light up while the sine wave is in the -ve voltage region of the cycle, i.e. making the AC (alternating Current that is fed to the speaker) into DC (Direct Current) as LEDs are DC components. Also, many high-power LEDs do not like to be fed reverse voltage. As the name suggests they are Diodes, however many are sensitive to reverse voltage and does shorten their life.

Phil

[synthdust]

Not sure what you mean by; "Square, sawtooth and triangle waves are not part of any music." I play synthesizers and these three wave forms are generated by the oscillators as a base for most additive synth sounds. As I understand it, there is no such thing as pure sine wave in nature.

[FrostEnergy]

yes, it does lengthen the led's life. because putting them under this kind of stress shortens it. if not simply burning them out, and they may be cheap, but the hassle to have to change them out, simply isnt worth it, it makes more sense to prevent the problem first.

[aduy]

you could also add an rc filter to that if you wanted

[kool1zero]

That partially defeats the purpose, the goal being volume (higher voltage from the top of the ripple) lights the leds. The filter cap charges and then discharges slower causing it to stay lit longer and kind of fade out (which might ne desired)

[alienhoodlumz]

what value would you use in the rectifier bridge? which diodes?

[hemmikarl]

you can buy it rady made for about $1

[marselsipod]

oh thanks

[hunterbait93]

 bwahahaha i have a new iPod nano 5TH GEN!!!!!!

[samanen]

And i have iPhone 3GS, "bwahahahaha!!" :D

[Nija]

 I have both bwahahaha

[ivanjacob]

i have an istone 5 bwhuhahaha

[curious youth]

who do you stone?

[0xCyrusx0]

I can actually use my hardware to the fullest extent, and in any way I desire.

[biggunner]

i use my "hardware" in any way i desire too. just ask a woman. lol

[Frag]

And I have an iPhone 4! Buahahahaha