High speed video is everywhere these days, but the cameras and necessary equipment is a bit out of reach for a hobbyist. [Bassam] found a compromise and came up with a way to shoot high-speed photographs using a sound triggered flash.

[Bassam] started off by taking apart a disposable camera for the flash bulb and capacitor. After that, a circuit was designed that picks up a signal from a microphone, compares that to a preset threshold, and then uses a 555 timer to trigger the flash. The shutter of a DSLR can be left open in a dark room, so all that is needed to capture a moment in time is the snap of a finger. [Bassam] also posted gallery with the fruits of his labors.

Although this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a high-speed camera hack, the simplicity of [Bassam]‘s build is impressive. He designed a single sided board for his circuit, and the parts are very common so it should be an inexpensive build.

Christmas is coming up pretty quickly. [tinkernut] shows us how to do a quick and dirty music activated Christmas light setup. Simply crack open a pair of old computer speakers and wire the speaker leads to a relay. Use that to power an outlet and you have music controlled lights. The section at the beginning of the video is a bit misleading as that kind of choreography would be rather difficult with this setup. This may look familiar as we mentioned an almost identical project back in 2006.