[Eli Skipp] wrote in to share a project she has been working on bit by bit, for over a year – an LED VU meter scarf. The project was originally going to be built using a custom PCB, but no matter how long she spent troubleshooting the piece, it just wouldn’t work right. She eventually broke down and purchased a VU meter kit, which worked out quite a bit better than the homebrew version.
The VU meter circuitry is tucked away inside the scarf as she shows in the video below. The LEDs are connected using conductive thread sourced from Lamé Lifesaver, which she says is far more durable than other threads she has tried. After originally testing the VU meter, she was unimpressed by the output of the LEDs, so she swapped them out for brighter ones, which look much better. It looks like it works quite well – we definitely dig the idea of a scarf with a built-in VU meter, even if it was partially built from a kit.
Continue reading to see [Eli] give a quick demonstration and a rundown of the scarf’s construction.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/25740889 w=470]
hook it up to the ipod,zune,walkman….people can see what you’re hearing.
Very cool. Maybe version 2 should have all the LEDs on at the same time, but the brightness is proportional to the VU meter reading.
What? And so far no one has mentioned that she is HOT? :-DDD
Must be the scarf in summer…
Is it just me or have nerd girls been getting hotter lately? I like it!
There, YS, you got one. ;_)
@Retroplayer, heading into “hollywood nerd” territory perhaps? I do wonder tho if the male side need to sharpen up to have a chance…
Retroplayer>”Is it just me or have nerd girls been getting hotter lately?”
Yeah, it’s you. And it’s me. And it’s all of us, I think. :-D
Retroplayer>”There, YS, you got one.”
Um, what do you mean? I am not familiar with English yet, so sorry for asking.
@YS
You said “What? And so far no one has mentioned that she is HOT? :-DDD”
So I was telling you that I said it for you first since you were disappointed no one said it.
It was nothing rude. :)
@turn.self.off
Probably. It is becoming more acceptable to be a nerd now, I guess.
I am one of those nerds that still have social skills, though. No trouble finding hot women. They are just never nerds along with me.
Not up-to-date on the terms, but I think that makes me a geek, not a nerd. Usually “nerd” is used to describe someone that lacks social skills, plays D&D and the like. The people I have known like that were not really particularly smart or good at anything, though. Just anti-social and picked anti-social hobbies.
Hmm… now that I think about it – maybe that is why the term “hacker” is used now; to differentiate from the nerds and geeks.
@Retroplayer thank you, I’ve thought something like this right from the start, but decided to clarify a bit. :-)
After reading tons of datasheets and articles in English, I’ve decided to begin real speaking practice, and choosed hackaday for it. :-) Perfect place to improve knowlege and language for me. :-)
>”I am one of those nerds that still have social skills”
I’m too. But those social skills don’t help me to have a girlfriend… Yes, it’s butthurt. :-D