A very simple three-channel RGB color music on LEDs does not contain scarce or expensive components. All elements can be found in anyone, even the youngest radio amateur.
The operating principle of color music is classic and has truly become the most popular. It is based on dividing the sound range into three sections: high frequencies, mid frequencies and low frequencies. Since color music is three-channel, each channel monitors its frequency limit and when its level reaches the threshold value, the LED lights up. As a result, when playing music, a beautiful lighting effect is created when LEDs of different colors blink.

Simple color music scheme

Three transistors - three channels. Each transistor will act as a threshold comparator and when the level exceeds 0.6 Volts, the transistor opens. The transistor load is an LED. Each channel has its own color.
In front of each transistor there is an RC circuit that plays the role of a filter. Visually, the circuit consists of three independent parts: the upper part is the high-frequency channel. The middle part is the mid frequency channel. Well, the lowest channel in the diagram is the low-frequency channel.
The circuit is powered by 9 Volts. The input receives a signal from headphones or speakers. If the sensitivity is not enough, then you will need to assemble an amplifier stage on one transistor. And if the sensitivity is high, then you can put a variable resistor at the input and use it to regulate the input level.
You can take any transistors, not necessarily KT805, here you can even install low-power ones like TK315 if the load is only one LED. In general, it is better to use a composite transistor like KT829.

You can also take all the other components of the circuit there.

Assembly of color music

You can assemble the color music using wall-mounted mounting or on a circuit board, as I did.
No setup is needed, it’s assembled, and if all the parts are suitable, everything works and blinks without problems.

Is it possible to connect an RGB LED strip to the input?

Of course you can, to do this we connect the entire circuit not to 9 V, but to 12. In this case, we throw out the 150 Ohm quenching resistor from the circuit. We connect the common wire of the tape to plus 12 V, and distribute the RGB channels among the transistors. And, if the length of your LED strip exceeds one meter, then you will need to install transistors on radiators so that they do not fail due to overheating.

Color music at work

Looks quite beautiful. Unfortunately, this cannot be conveyed through pictures, so watch the video.

In this article we will talk about color music. Probably every beginning radio amateur, and not only others, at one time or another had the desire to assemble color music. What this is, I think, is known to everyone - to put it simply, it is the creation of visual effects that change to the beat of the music.

That part of color music that emits light can be performed using powerful lamps, for example, in a concert setup; if color music is needed for home discos, it can be done using ordinary 220 volt incandescent lamps, and if color music is planned, for example, as computer modding, for everyday use, it can be done with LEDs.

Recently, with the advent of LED strips on sale, color and music consoles using such LED strips are increasingly used. In any case, to assemble Color Musical Installations (CMUs for short) a signal source is required, which can be a microphone with several amplifier stages assembled.

Also, the signal can be taken from the linear output of a device, a computer sound card, from the output of an mp3 player, etc., in this case an amplifier will also be required, for example, two stages on transistors; for this purpose I used KT3102 transistors. The preamplifier circuit is shown in the following figure:

Preamplifier - circuit

The following is a diagram of a single-channel color music with a filter, working in conjunction with a preamplifier (above). In this circuit, the LED flashes along with the bass (low frequencies). To match the signal level, a variable resistor R6 is provided in the color music circuit.

There are also simpler color music circuits that any beginner can assemble, using 1 transistor, and also not requiring a preamplifier; one of these circuits is shown in the picture below:

Color music on a transistor

The pinout diagram for the Jack 3.5 plug is shown in the following figure:

If for some reason it is not possible to assemble a pre-amplifier using transistors, you can replace it with a transformer turned on as a step-up. Such a transformer must produce voltage on the windings of 220/5 Volts. The transformer winding with a smaller number of turns is connected to a sound source, for example, a radio tape recorder, parallel to the speaker, and the amplifier must produce a power of at least 3-5 watts. A winding with a large number of turns is connected to the color music input.

Of course, color music is not only single-channel, it can be 3, 5 or more multi-channel, when each LED or incandescent lamp blinks while reproducing the frequencies of its range. In this case, the frequency range is set by using filters. In the following circuit, a three-channel color music system (which I recently assembled myself), there are capacitors as filters:

If we wanted to use not individual LEDs in the last circuit, but an LED strip, then the current-limiting resistors R1, R2, R3 should be removed from the circuit. If the strip or LED is used RGB, it must be made with a common anode. If you plan to connect long LED strips, then to control the strip you should use powerful transistors installed on radiators.

Since LED strips are designed for 12 Volt power supply, we should accordingly raise the power supply in the circuit to 12 Volts, and the power supply should be stabilized.

Thyristors in color music

Until now, the article has only talked about color and music devices using LEDs. If there is a need to assemble a digital control unit using incandescent lamps, then thyristors will need to be used to control the brightness of the lamps. What is a thyristor anyway? This is a three-electrode semiconductor device, which accordingly has Anode, Cathode And Control electrode.

KU202 Thyristor

The figure above shows the Soviet thyristor KU202. Thyristors, if you plan to use them with a powerful load, also need to be mounted on a heat sink (radiator). As we see in the figure, the thyristor has a thread with a nut and is attached similarly to powerful diodes. Modern imported ones are simply equipped with a flange with a hole.

One of these thyristor circuits is shown above. This is a three-channel color music circuit with a step-up transformer at the input. When selecting analogue thyristors, you should look at the maximum permissible voltage of the thyristors, in our case for the KU202N it is 400 volts.

The figure shows a similar color music circuit to the one shown above, the main difference in the lower circuit is that there is no diode bridge. Also, LED color music can be built into the system unit. I assembled such a three-channel color music with a preamplifier in a casing from a cider. In this case, the signal was taken from the computer’s sound card using a signal divider, the outputs of which connected active acoustics and color music. It is possible to adjust the signal level, both overall and separately by channel. The preamplifier and color music were powered from a 12 Volt Molex connector (yellow and black wires). The preamplifier and three-channel color music circuits for which they were assembled are shown above. There are other LED color music schemes, for example this one, also three-channel:

Color music on 3 LEDs - diagram

In this circuit, unlike the one I assembled, inductance is used in the mid-frequency channel. For those who want to first assemble something simpler, here is the following diagram for 2 channels:

If you collect color music using lamps, you will have to use light filters, which in turn can be either homemade or purchased. The figure below shows the filters that are commercially available:

Some fans of color and musical effects assemble devices based on microcontrollers. Below is a diagram of four-channel color music on the AVR tiny 15 MK:

The Tiny 15 microcontroller in this circuit can be replaced with tiny 13V, tiny 25V. And at the end of the review, I would like to say on my own that color music using lamps is inferior in terms of entertainment to color music using LEDs, since lamps are more inertial than LEDs. And for self-repetition, I can recommend this one:

Below are schematic diagrams and articles on the topic of “color music” on the radio electronics website and radio hobby website.

What is “color music” and where is it applied, schematic diagrams of homemade devices that relate to the term “color music”.

I propose two simple CMU schemes. The first one was collected many years ago, was repeated by several radio amateurs and did not need any adjustment. The circuit is assembled using only six transistors of the KT315 type, they, of course, can be replaced with others... A simple, easily repeatable color-music installation using symmetrical thyristors and incandescent lighting lamps is described, which can be used to illuminate a hall or dance floor, because summer is coming! It is said about color music... This music set-top box has a relatively high power of lighting lamps, namely: in each channel you can use lamps designed for a voltage of 220 V (one or more), or low-voltage lamps connected in garlands of 220 V. Total power ... Scheme of a simple color music set-top box for working with a tube radio, low-frequency amplifier or tape recorder. Contains a minimum of parts and is not difficult to assemble, a good option for beginner radio amateurs. Connect it to the secondary winding of the output transformer. For power supply... The color music circuit, the operating principle of the installation is based on dividing the spectrum of the sound signal by frequency. To achieve greater variety and richness of the color pattern, instead of the widespread three-color system, it uses a four-color system (red, yellow, blue and violet)... The color-music installation on thyristors develops a power of up to 2...3 kW at the load and can be recommended for color-music accompaniment of variety acts. In this case, it is advisable to mount powerful incandescent lamps in spotlights with color filters, directing them... Installation with pulse-number control of thyristors ensures the convergence of the dynamic ranges of lamp brightness and sound signal level, as well as obtaining light compensation channels without any special electronic devices. The power of each of the three main channels... Homemade color music using triacs, diagram and description of parts for self-production. Triacs are symmetrical thyristors that operate at any voltage polarity at the anode. They are used in household dimmers SRP-0.2-1. The installation is three-channel. The audio frequency signal is supplied to its input through step-up transformer T1, which also performs the functions... I would like to present to your attention a color music set-top box assembled on two synchronous binary counter-dividers (each counter is based on four D-flip-flops), also known as the K561IE10 microcircuit. This design is easily accessible for repetition; the K561IE10 microcircuit can still be bought at a radio store, and radio amateurs will probably have it in stock... The proposed simple devices are designed for creating lighting effects at discos and during various entertainment events. The signals they generate can control several lighting devices, switching them almost randomly Provided... The peak of popularity of color and music installations occurred in the 80s of the last century, now they have somehow almost been forgotten. And yet, time does not stand still, and there are new technologies that can revive “color music” in a new form. Here, for example, are three-color LED RGB strips or garlands... A diagram of a simple homemade three-channel color and music installation with a microphone for responding to sound in the room is given. The device “connects” to the equipment via acoustics, that is, there is a microphone at the input instead of a connector, and it perceives music directly in the room where it is... A three-color LED strip can be used as a screen for a color music installation. The advantage of an RGB LED strip is that it can be positioned in any way, either under a matte screen or, for example, hung as a garland on a Christmas tree. Diagram of a color and music installation... This device is a typical analogue light and music set-top box, like those that were very popular in the 80-90s and are undeservedly forgotten today. The input signal through a separate transformer is fed to four active filters, dividing the signal into four... Schematic diagram of a homemade color music system for three channels, it is based on LM567 tone decoders, S202S02 opto-keys are used for switching. The peak of popularity of color music installations occurred in the 80s of the last century. Now they have somehow almost been forgotten. And yet, time is not worth it... Light and music circuit using LEDs, a simple design based on K561IE16, K176IE4 microcircuits for beginner radio amateurs. In most cases, light and music installations are based on filters that divide the input audio signal into several bands. Then at the output of each of the strips there is a key... An interesting homemade device that changes the color of the LEDs according to the ratio of the frequency components of the audio signal. This device is not a full color music installation, because it works completely differently. The color music installation at the entrance has... Good afternoon, dear radio amateurs. This article appeared thanks to many questions devoted to ionophones of various types, sent to me after the publication of a series of articles on this topic. Especially often questions related to tube ionophones and their improvement and further development... Various options for light-dynamic installations (LDS) are widely presented in amateur radio literature. For the most part, they can be divided according to the principle of operation into two different groups: these are either garland (lantern) switches operating from a clock generator according to a specific program... Good afternoon, dear radio amateurs. Today I would like to continue a short series of articles devoted to ionophones, in response to numerous requests and questions that came after the publication of previous articles on this topic. The proposed version of the ionophone is, in fact, a more powerful version...

Beginner Radio Amateur Competition
“My amateur radio design”

Competition design for a beginner radio amateur
“Five-channel LED color music”

Hello dear friends and site guests!
I present to your attention the third competition work (second competition of the site) of a novice radio amateur. Author of the design: Morozas Igor Anatolievich:

Five-channel LED color music

Hello radio amateurs!

Like many beginners, the main problem was where to start, what my first product would be. Started with what I wanted to buy a home first. The first is color music, the second is a high-quality headphone amplifier. I started from the first one. Color music using thyristors seems to be a hackneyed option, so I decided to put together color music for LED RGB strips. I present you with my first job.

The color music scheme was taken from the Internet. Color music is simple, 5 channels (one channel is white background). You can connect an LED strip to each channel, but for it to work at the input you need a low-power signal amplifier. The author suggests using an amplifier from computer speakers. I went from a complicated point, to assemble an amplifier circuit according to the datasheet on a TDA2005 2x10 W microcircuit. This power seems to me to be enough, even with a reserve. I diligently redraw all the diagrams in the sPLAN 7.0 program

Fig. 1 Color music circuit with an input signal amplifier.

In the color music circuit, all capacitors are electrolytic, with a voltage of 16-25v. Where it is necessary to observe polarity, there is a “+” sign; in other cases, changing the polarity does not affect the blinking of the LEDs. At least I didn't notice it. KT819 transistors can be replaced with KT815. Resistors with a power of 0.25 W.

In the amplifier circuit, the microcircuit must be placed on a radiator of at least 100 cm2. Electrolytic capacitors with voltage 16-25v. Film capacitors C8, C9, C12, voltage 63v. Resistors R6, R7 with a power of 1 W, the rest 0.25 W. Variable resistor R0 - double, with a resistance of 10-50 kohms.

I took a factory switching power supply with a power of 100W, 2x12v, 7A

On a day off, as expected, a trip to the radio market to purchase radio parts. The next task is to draw a printed circuit board. For this I chose the Sprint-Layout 6.0 program. It is recommended by radio specialists for beginners. It is easy to study, I am convinced of this.

Fig 2. Color music board.

Fig 3. Power amplifier board.

The boards were manufactured using LUT technology. There is a lot of information about this technology on the Internet. I like it when it looks factory, so LUT did the parts too.

Fig 3.4 Assembling radio components on a board

Fig 5. Checking functionality after assembly

As always, the most “difficult” thing when assembling a radio circuit is to assemble everything into a housing. I bought the case ready-made at a radio store.

I made the front panel this way. In the Photoshop program, I drew the appearance of the front panel where variable resistors, a switch and LEDs should be installed, one from each channel. The finished drawing was printed with an inkjet printer on thin glossy photo paper.

I glue photo paper onto a degreased prepared panel with holes using wood glue:

Then I place the panels under the so-called press. For a day. As a press, I have a 15 kg barbell plate:

Final assembly:

Here's what happened:

Attachments to the article:

(2.9 MiB, 2,909 hits)

Dear friends and site guests!

Don’t forget to express your opinion on the competition entries and take part in voting for your favorite design on the site’s forum. Thank you.

Some suggestions for those who will repeat the design:
1. You can connect speakers to such a powerful stereo amplifier, then you get two devices in one - color music and a high-quality low-frequency amplifier.
2. Even if the polarity of connecting electrolytic capacitors in a color music circuit does not affect its operation, it is probably better to observe the polarity.
3. At the color music input, it is probably better to install an input node for summing signals from the left and right channels (). According to the author, judging by the diagram, the high-frequency color music channel (blue) is supplied with a signal from the right channel of the amplifier, and the remaining color music channels are supplied with a signal from the left channel of the amplifier, but it is probably better to supply a signal to all channels from the audio signal adder.
4. Replacing the KT819 transistor with KT815 implies a reduction in the number of possible LED connections.

We all want a holiday from time to time. Sometimes you want to be sad or experience other emotions. The easiest and most effective way to achieve the desired result is to listen to music. But music alone is often not enough - visualization of the sound flow and special effects are needed. In other words, we need color music (or light music as it is sometimes called). But where can you get it if such equipment in specialized stores is not cheap? Do it yourself, of course. All you need for this is a computer (or a separate power supply), several meters of LED RGB strip with a power consumption of 12V, a USB development board (AVR-USB-MEGA16 - perhaps the cheapest and simplest option), as well as a circuit diagram for , what and where to connect.

A little about the tape

Before moving on to the work itself, it is necessary to determine what exactly this 12V LED RGB strip is. And it is a simple, but at the same time very ingenious invention.

LEDs have been known for decades, but thanks to innovative developments they have become a truly universal solution for many problems in the field of electronics. They are now used everywhere - as indicators in household appliances, independently in the form of energy-saving lamps, in the space industry, and also in the field of special effects. The latter also includes color music. When three types of LEDs - red (Red), green (Green) and blue (Blue) are combined on one strip, an RGB LED strip is obtained. Modern RGB diodes have a miniature controller. This allows them to emit all three colors.

The peculiarity of this tape is that all the diodes are grouped and connected into a common chain, controlled by a common controller (it can also be a computer if connected via USB, or a special power supply with a control panel for stand-alone modifications). All this allows you to create an almost endless tape with a minimum of wires. Its thickness can reach literally several millimeters (if you do not take into account options with rubber or silicone protection from physical damage, moisture and temperature). Before the invention of this type of microcontroller, the simplest model had at least three wires. And the higher the functionality of such garlands, the more wires there were. In Western culture, the phrase “unraveling the garland” has long become a common noun for all long, tedious and extremely confusing tasks. And now this has ceased to be a problem (also because the LED strip is prudently wound onto a special small drum).

What do we need?

DIY color music from tape GE60RGB2811C

Ideally, to organize color music with your own hands, we would use a ready-made LED strip powered by a USB port on a computer. All we need is to download the necessary application on the same computer, set up file associations with the desired audio player, and enjoy the result. But this is if we are very lucky, and if we have the money to purchase all this. Otherwise, everything looks a little more complicated.

Electronic components stores sell LED strips of various lengths and power, but we only need 12V. It is the best option for connecting to a computer via USB. For example, you can find the GE60RGB2811C model, which consists of 300 RGB LEDs connected in series. One of the advantages of any such tape is that it can be cut as you wish - to any length. All that is needed after this is to connect the contacts so that the electrical circuit is not open and the circuit is complete (this must be done).

Color music setup scheme

We may also need a development board for USB connection. The most popular, cheapest, yet functional connection option is the AVR-USB-MEGA16 model for USB 1.1. This version of USB is considered somewhat outdated because transmits a signal to the LEDs at a speed of 8 milliseconds, which is too slow for modern technology, but since the human eye perceives this speed as the “blink of an eye,” it is quite suitable for us.

If we omit most of the most complex technical subtleties and nuances, then all that such a connection diagram requires of us is to take a tape of the required length, release and strip the contacts on one side, connect and solder them to the output on the breadboard (the board itself shows the symbols which connector is needed and what is it for) and, in fact, that’s all. There may not be enough power for the full length of the 12V tape, so you can power them from an old computer power supply (this will require a parallel connection), or simply cut the tape. With this option, the sound will come from the computer speakers. For those who are particularly experienced in electronics, we can recommend connecting a microphone amplifier and a small “tweeter” speaker directly to the AVR-USB-MEGA16.

Scheme for attaching the contacts of the tape to the USB cord from the smartphone

If you couldn’t get this board, then as a last resort, the connection can be made via a 12V LED RGB strip to a USB cable from a smartphone or tablet computer (the diagram for setting up color music with your own hands allows this). It is only important to make sure that the cord will provide the required 5 watts of power. At the end of all these manipulations, install the SLP program (or write down all the steps in a txt file, if your knowledge of programming allows and the diagram and algorithm of all actions is clear), select the desired mode (by the number of diodes), and enjoy the work done with your own hands.

Conclusion

Color music is not a necessity, but it makes our lives much more interesting, and not only because we can now look at flashing multi-colored lights that light up and go out to the beat of our favorite melody. No, we're talking about something else. Having made something like this with your own hands, rather than buying it in a store, everyone will feel a surge of strength from the satisfaction inherent in every master and creator, and the realization that he, too, is worth something. But in essence, the color music is installed, blinks and pleases the eye with minimal costs and maximum pleasure - what else is needed?..

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