Strobinoff

September 5, 2009 4:03 PM

Is it possible to get a strobe light to respond to sound input?

I just got a strobe light from the thrift store, I am decent at soldering. I was just wondering if anyone knows of an easy way to modify a strobe light so that sound input can control the frequency of the flashes.

Links, tips, whatever gladly appreciated. Additionally, I am aware of the inherent danger of the insides of a strobe light and I will act accordingly.

posted by cloeburner to Technology (2 answers total)

What you're going to want is something that uses sound input to trigger an output in the strobe.

Here's an example of a strobe circuit (which may have nothing to do with your light). R1 and C1 are an RC circuit which takes some time to charge to a voltage where it will trigger a pulse. You could use a microphone to do the same - when the volume is greater than X, FLASH!

Figuring out what you need to do to the microphone signal to get the kind of response you want is going to be the tricky part.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:50 PM on September 5, 2009

light organ?
posted by mrg at 6:44 PM on September 5, 2009