Ste69 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Is it possibly to get a VU meter (something like the one that the Behringer MX8000 has) that you can use on any mixing desk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Freestanding PPMs are available (but cost is a bit steep - as in over £700) but I've not seen a VU equipped version, since VU meters themselves are no longer considered useful enough. There are some 1U rack units available that the broadcast users use, that can be ordered with VU balistics, but these are even more expensive. The meters of course are still available and quite cheap, and as long as you don't want them calibrated and linear, then you could knock up a simple circuit to make them waggle rather cheaply - rather depends on what you want them to be able to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ste69 Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 Freestanding PPMs are available (but cost is a bit steep - as in over £700) but I've not seen a VU equipped version, since VU meters themselves are no longer considered useful enough. There are some 1U rack units available that the broadcast users use, that can be ordered with VU balistics, but these are even more expensive. The meters of course are still available and quite cheap, and as long as you don't want them calibrated and linear, then you could knock up a simple circuit to make them waggle rather cheaply - rather depends on what you want them to be able to do? I was just looking for something cheap and basic really, just to like monitor the levels on each channel simultaneously. I was a rack unit on Thomann with 8 VU's on it thomann linky that's the closest thing I could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I was just looking for something cheap and basic really, just to like monitor the levels on each channel simultaneously. Before you spend any money, make sure you have a plan in place regarding how you will get a signal out of each channel to drive the meters. The earlier suggestions about a pair of PPMs or whatever are fine to monitor the stereo output levels as those outputs are readily accessible. Unless you have direct outs on every channel that you don't mind tying up, it would have to be a DIY approach to bring out all those signals via a suitable connector. Buffered so you don't disrupt the internal signals of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 The piece of kit the link points to is actually a pretty hand piece of kit, assuming the blurb is ok, as the outs are low impedance and it has balanced ins, plus headphone monitoring thrown in, in 4 switched pairs. I can think of quite a few uses for that myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 This is one I considered a while ago - retro-fitting my soundcraft folio sx with some form of per-channel metering. I succesfully built the required circuit using a driver chip and 10 LED's, however at the time didn't have access to board etching facilities - I wasn't about to sit and hand wire all 12 of the things. In the end I shelved the project, though proved it could be done. Best bet is to use either a direct output or an insert point "sniffer" to get hold of your signal, then buffer it somehow and feed your display circuit (LED driver or amplifier driving a moving needle display). That rack unit does look good. My only point would be that it means your displays will be away from the meter and not adjacent to the relevant channel. My design was for a true meter bridge with each meter over its' respective channel input. There was a fair bit of discussion of this over in the DIY section of the Sound On Sound forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Teknovibe Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 To be honest vu meters aren't very reliable. Most of them aren't accurate which makes things like setting gain structure quite difficult when using the old 'everything should clip at the same time' method of setting gain structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ste69 Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 I was just looking for something cheap and basic really, just to like monitor the levels on each channel simultaneously. Before you spend any money, make sure you have a plan in place regarding how you will get a signal out of each channel to drive the meters. The earlier suggestions about a pair of PPMs or whatever are fine to monitor the stereo output levels as those outputs are readily accessible. Unless you have direct outs on every channel that you don't mind tying up, it would have to be a DIY approach to bring out all those signals via a suitable connector. Buffered so you don't disrupt the internal signals of course. Was thinking about using the inserts to get the signal out of each channel A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. This is one I considered a while ago - retro-fitting my soundcraft folio sx with some form of per-channel metering. I succesfully built the required circuit using a driver chip and 10 LED's, however at the time didn't have access to board etching facilities - I wasn't about to sit and hand wire all 12 of the things. In the end I shelved the project, though proved it could be done. Best bet is to use either a direct output or an insert point "sniffer" to get hold of your signal, then buffer it somehow and feed your display circuit (LED driver or amplifier driving a moving needle display). That rack unit does look good. My only point would be that it means your displays will be away from the meter and not adjacent to the relevant channel. My design was for a true meter bridge with each meter over its' respective channel input. There was a fair bit of discussion of this over in the DIY section of the Sound On Sound forum. That's exactly what I want really, some form of VU meter above each channel strip, so like a self standing one, not a rackmount one. I'd prefer to have an LED one rather than a needle one as they're easier and quicker to read from I find. Is there a link to the discussion on the Sound On Sound forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Sounds like a job for the LM3915 or LM3916 ic's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 LM3915's were my choice, mainly because work had a drawer full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 mainly because work had a drawer full. Nice to see I'm not the only one who uses this design philosophy :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 To be honest vu meters aren't very reliable. Most of them aren't accurate which makes things like setting gain structure quite difficult when using the old 'everything should clip at the same time' method of setting gain structure. A proper VU meter is a professional meter with a precisely defined ballistic response. Granted, just sticking a meter on a desk and calling it "VU" may not work, but the concept itself is sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackerr Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 To be honest vu meters aren't very reliable. Most of them aren't accurate which makes things like setting gain structure quite difficult when using the old 'everything should clip at the same time' method of setting gain structure.What makes you believe this? The term Vu merely describes the meter ballistics, and the equipment manufacturer should specify the reference level in dBu, or dBv for 0Vu. The meter movements are no less accurate than any other meter. Here is one I use often, although it is almost certainly over budget. It is 16 channels with transformer isolation and a monitor panel. Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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