worangejuice
05-23-2013, 12:38 AM
Help kickstart this cool project my little brother is going for. It's supe simple project, and in there lies the beauty of it! Just cool plug and go stuff!
BeatLights: Sound to Light by Gian Lazzarini — Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gianlazzarini/beatlights-sound-to-light)
Take music from your headphone jack and bring beats to light!
My Story:
I'm an inventor and college student from Washington. I've always been fascinated by synesthesia(the phenomina where people visualize sound). There've been many situations in my life where I've been working on projects, attending parties or just relaxing in my room listening to music and I would imagine that the lights around me would synchronize with the music I'm listening to. This led me to build the BeatLights: Sound to Light Driver.
BeatLights: Sound to Light
This device immerses you into a futuristic visual experience by synchronizing your music to the lights around you, breaking the barrier between your senses; technological synesthesia.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/497/814/9dd2611b814c04986a132445e888e611_large.png?1365307 761
How does it work?
To use the Sound to Light Driver, all you have to do is plug in the light, power supply and then connect the headphone cable to your headphone jack with a headphone splitter. Then just plug in your speakers to the remaining jack, turn your music up and bump some tunes.
This device can drive a DC light up to 60 volts to music from your headphone jack. It will take the beats and use it to control the brightness of the light.
In the photos and video depicted here I use a Cold Cathode light from a custom computer with a 12 volt power supply.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/497/836/dbf1a9f79e50864fe1640b7f0d3b52bc_large.jpg?1365310 183
WRw8BCd_mcw
Current Short Comings:
The current prototype causes some static in the music when the light beats heavily.
The current prototype makes inefficient use of circuit board space and could be smaller.
Without a printed circuit board it is VERY easy to accidentally fry the MOSFET. A PCB would make the build process much easier and yield a more reliable and space efficient device. Due to the nature of PCB production being price effective only in bulk I will need enough backers make this a reality.
The current prototype's box is too large and will be redesigned if the kickstarter is backed.
Open Sourced!
The BeatLights will be an open sourced hardware project. With this project I hope to inspire music lovers and electronic enthusiasts to build awesome projects using this design!
The rewards:
For the $25 pledge: You'll get one DIY BeatLights kit to build your own, beautiful Sound to Light driver box. With this reward you'll still need a compatible light and power supply.
For the $50 pledge: You'll get one DIY BeatLights kit with all the parts you'll need to build your own, beautiful Sound to Light device. Includes driver, cold cathode light and power supply.
For the EARLY BIRD special $75 pledge: You'll get one fully assembled BeatLights: Sound to Light device! Includes driver, cold cathode light and power supply. LIMITED!
For the $85 pledge: You'll get one fully assembled BeatLights: Sound to Light device! Includes driver, cold cathode light and power supply. Everything you'd need to setup your own music light show like the one in the video.
This won't be possible without your help:
The challenge here lies in making a beautiful finished project at a reasonable price. Building the Beatlight as a one off project was timely and costly but with your help I'll be able to build these in bulk at a much higher quality level, with a much simpler build process.
The production plan:
The tutorial:
I will design a detailed step by step tutorial which covers the entire process of building the kit. I will probably distribute this as a PDF.
The PCB:
Many of the rewards for this project include very low production requirements due the the "DIY/Build it yourself kit" nature. I will order the PCB so once I've got the design I should be mostly finished there.
The Kit:
I will package all of the necessary parts by hand along with link to download the build tutorial.
The Assembled project:
I will hand solder each part for each order, this being by far the most laborious process.
Open link in current tab
Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
There's many things that could go wrong in bringing this to production quality. But I've done it once already and will use it as my guide in finishing this project.
The foreseeable challenges for fulfilling backer's rewards include:
1. Designing, developing, ordering and testing the PCB.
2. Preparing the Beatlight box design for production.
3. Sourcing the optimal parts at the best prices.
I will tackle any setbacks with the support of my local maker community and lot's of google research ;)
BeatLights: Sound to Light by Gian Lazzarini — Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gianlazzarini/beatlights-sound-to-light)
Take music from your headphone jack and bring beats to light!
My Story:
I'm an inventor and college student from Washington. I've always been fascinated by synesthesia(the phenomina where people visualize sound). There've been many situations in my life where I've been working on projects, attending parties or just relaxing in my room listening to music and I would imagine that the lights around me would synchronize with the music I'm listening to. This led me to build the BeatLights: Sound to Light Driver.
BeatLights: Sound to Light
This device immerses you into a futuristic visual experience by synchronizing your music to the lights around you, breaking the barrier between your senses; technological synesthesia.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/497/814/9dd2611b814c04986a132445e888e611_large.png?1365307 761
How does it work?
To use the Sound to Light Driver, all you have to do is plug in the light, power supply and then connect the headphone cable to your headphone jack with a headphone splitter. Then just plug in your speakers to the remaining jack, turn your music up and bump some tunes.
This device can drive a DC light up to 60 volts to music from your headphone jack. It will take the beats and use it to control the brightness of the light.
In the photos and video depicted here I use a Cold Cathode light from a custom computer with a 12 volt power supply.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/497/836/dbf1a9f79e50864fe1640b7f0d3b52bc_large.jpg?1365310 183
WRw8BCd_mcw
Current Short Comings:
The current prototype causes some static in the music when the light beats heavily.
The current prototype makes inefficient use of circuit board space and could be smaller.
Without a printed circuit board it is VERY easy to accidentally fry the MOSFET. A PCB would make the build process much easier and yield a more reliable and space efficient device. Due to the nature of PCB production being price effective only in bulk I will need enough backers make this a reality.
The current prototype's box is too large and will be redesigned if the kickstarter is backed.
Open Sourced!
The BeatLights will be an open sourced hardware project. With this project I hope to inspire music lovers and electronic enthusiasts to build awesome projects using this design!
The rewards:
For the $25 pledge: You'll get one DIY BeatLights kit to build your own, beautiful Sound to Light driver box. With this reward you'll still need a compatible light and power supply.
For the $50 pledge: You'll get one DIY BeatLights kit with all the parts you'll need to build your own, beautiful Sound to Light device. Includes driver, cold cathode light and power supply.
For the EARLY BIRD special $75 pledge: You'll get one fully assembled BeatLights: Sound to Light device! Includes driver, cold cathode light and power supply. LIMITED!
For the $85 pledge: You'll get one fully assembled BeatLights: Sound to Light device! Includes driver, cold cathode light and power supply. Everything you'd need to setup your own music light show like the one in the video.
This won't be possible without your help:
The challenge here lies in making a beautiful finished project at a reasonable price. Building the Beatlight as a one off project was timely and costly but with your help I'll be able to build these in bulk at a much higher quality level, with a much simpler build process.
The production plan:
The tutorial:
I will design a detailed step by step tutorial which covers the entire process of building the kit. I will probably distribute this as a PDF.
The PCB:
Many of the rewards for this project include very low production requirements due the the "DIY/Build it yourself kit" nature. I will order the PCB so once I've got the design I should be mostly finished there.
The Kit:
I will package all of the necessary parts by hand along with link to download the build tutorial.
The Assembled project:
I will hand solder each part for each order, this being by far the most laborious process.
Open link in current tab
Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
There's many things that could go wrong in bringing this to production quality. But I've done it once already and will use it as my guide in finishing this project.
The foreseeable challenges for fulfilling backer's rewards include:
1. Designing, developing, ordering and testing the PCB.
2. Preparing the Beatlight box design for production.
3. Sourcing the optimal parts at the best prices.
I will tackle any setbacks with the support of my local maker community and lot's of google research ;)