Hello all,

Im new here, and although ive been tinkering with electronics for years its always been trial and error. I also love to work with Arduinos and Raspberry Pi and other embeds.
Anyways, my main issue is am terrible at reading schematic, ive tried but something about learning it at nearly 40 just isnt sticking.
So in other words if any answers could be in laypersons terms or close that would be greatly appreciated.

Anyways.
The project I am working on is to add some Piezo triggered Led Light strips to my drums. Ive already researched the most popular(least harmonic distortion) mounting method for the piezo sensors. Ive also learned I need a 555 timer as well as some 100-500K Pots.
I Want to power it all Via a 12v 30A DC power if possible. What else do i need? Mosfets? Also im assuming ill need to make a piezo trigger with the 555 timer per drum. Also I have an led dimmer, if i placed it after the power unit could i use that in place of one of the Pots in each set of circuits(If i remember one pot controls Brightness and one controls delay (or length of led pulse).

Thats about as far as I have gotten. Im gonna go play with some circuit simulators
Thanks in advance

 

While I hate to answer a question with a question what exactly are you wanting to do? What effect are you looking for? A piezo sensor would be good for pickup on drums as it is a dynamic type pressure sensor but what effect are you looking for with the LEDs and what strips of LEDs are you going to use? I am also not sure where you are going with the 555 Timers, how do they figure into the scheme?

Ron

 

While I hate to answer a question with a question what exactly are you wanting to do? What effect are you looking for? A piezo sensor would be good for pickup on drums as it is a dynamic type pressure sensor but what effect are you looking for with the LEDs and what strips of LEDs are you going to use? I am also not sure where you are going with the 555 Timers, how do they figure into the scheme?

Ron

Thanks for such a quick reply!
My idea is to have the 5050 rgb led strip flash each time I hit each drum pad.
As for the 555 I kept seeing it turn up in different schematics across different forums

 

I can give you a few ideas. The 5050 LED strips generally look a little like the below drawing:


The LED strip is on the left and represents a single section of a typical strip. Each section has three 5050 RGB (Red Green Blue) LEDs. Each section also has three current limiting resistors. The strip I have laying around use a common anode which is where the +12 volts is applied. You have three colors, Red, Green and Blue. If all three colors are On at the same time we get White. Mixing any of the three colors we can get other colors for example Red and Green = Yellow, Red and Blue = Purple, Green and Blue = Aqua and the mixes go on.

My guess is the use of a 555 is to fade in or out (dimming) the LEDs. They use what is called PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). More on that later.

Looking at the above drawing on the right you see some MOSFET devices. When we start placing LEDs in strips the needed current begins to increase. So you need a way to "drive" the LEDs with their required current. Without getting to much in depth in the above drawing each color will draw about 20 mA (0.020 Amp) in each section. As we add sections in the strip the needed current increases. In the above drawing I used a transistor commonly called a MOSFET to drive my LEDs. Below is an example of a 555 LED Dimmer Circuit using a MOSFET to drive the LEDs.



Rotating R1 will change the LED brightness using the PWM I mentioned earlier.

Something else you may want to consider is using a micro-controller rather than individual 555 circuits. For example an Arduino Uno runs about $25 USD. The Arduino has several analog input channels which could serve as inputs from your pizeo sensors and the digital outputs would drive three MOSFETS (about a buck each). We could let the analog signal levels determine the LED intensity, louder drum beat the brighter the LED. This is pure speculation on my part as I have never tried it but the old classic statement "it looks good on paper" prevails.

The first step would be a data sheet on the pizeo sensor. Writing the code for the Arduino is not a problem as there are thousands of code samples out there online and the interface is free for getting the code on the micro-controller. Anyway, using a micro-controller has some advantages for what you want to do. Then too you can always just use discreet components.

Hopefully another member will have some thoughts?

Ron

 

I can give you a few ideas. The 5050 LED strips generally look a little like the below drawing:
View attachment 136109

The LED strip is on the left and represents a single section of a typical strip. Each section has three 5050 RGB (Red Green Blue) LEDs. Each section also has three current limiting resistors. The strip I have laying around use a common anode which is where the +12 volts is applied. You have three colors, Red, Green and Blue. If all three colors are On at the same time we get White. Mixing any of the three colors we can get other colors for example Red and Green = Yellow, Red and Blue = Purple, Green and Blue = Aqua and the mixes go on.

My guess is the use of a 555 is to fade in or out (dimming) the LEDs. They use what is called PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). More on that later.

Looking at the above drawing on the right you see some MOSFET devices. When we start placing LEDs in strips the needed current begins to increase. So you need a way to "drive" the LEDs with their required current. Without getting to much in depth in the above drawing each color will draw about 20 mA (0.020 Amp) in each section. As we add sections in the strip the needed current increases. In the above drawing I used a transistor commonly called a MOSFET to drive my LEDs. Below is an example of a 555 LED Dimmer Circuit using a MOSFET to drive the LEDs.

View attachment 136111

Rotating R1 will change the LED brightness using the PWM I mentioned earlier.

Something else you may want to consider is using a micro-controller rather than individual 555 circuits. For example an Arduino Uno runs about $25 USD. The Arduino has several analog input channels which could serve as inputs from your pizeo sensors and the digital outputs would drive three MOSFETS (about a buck each). We could let the analog signal levels determine the LED intensity, louder drum beat the brighter the LED. This is pure speculation on my part as I have never tried it but the old classic statement "it looks good on paper" prevails.

The first step would be a data sheet on the pizeo sensor. Writing the code for the Arduino is not a problem as there are thousands of code samples out there online and the interface is free for getting the code on the micro-controller. Anyway, using a micro-controller has some advantages for what you want to do. Then too you can always just use discreet components.

Hopefully another member will have some thoughts?

Ron

Sir,

You are a blessing! Thanks so much for all your help.
One question? Can I place the pot elsewhere in your circuit to control pulse duration. Id like to have all the boards(5 so far drums only, havent even thought about Cymbals or my cowbells) power feeds run through a dimmer switch designed for multiple LED strips. This may not work because its no longer just straight from dimmer to strips.

As far as microcontrollers, I have produced several projects with Arduino, mostly RC Hobby based; RSSI Meters, Dual-Quad Diversity RSSI Comparison Multi-Receiver Modules, and an Antenna tracker. Also done IMU-based head tracking for a DIY-VR headset i had.
Im also working with RaspPi's and their ilk and clones. Actually in the process off researching a way to setup a bluetooth audio link for my bandmates Acoustic Pickups I made him, well rather the wireless audio is for the improved Piezo Pickups, Gonna use a series of piezos like a Rod Peizo, a 50mm Piezo and perhaps 1-2 27mm Piezo pickups and have either Arduino or RPi or both bluetooth the audio back to another arduino/rpi unit to be fed into a Piezo pickup pre-amp to tidy up the sound before it gets amped. The wired version works really well especially since im using salvaged piezos..
LOL anyways, soo off track

Id be happy to purchase some Arduinos(I have a Pro Micro, a Nano, and 2 megas ) or RPis If you think we could get the brightness to be Drum hit strength controlled. In that regard, I wonder if Velostat or another very thin pressure sensitive sheet mounted to the drum head would leave the natural harmonics in tact or if there is another way to mount a different pressure sensor to handle this..

Anyways, I hope I made sense.

 

The 555 circuit will drive LEDs but would need more parts. It is not configured for any piezo inputs. For things like drums and cymbals while I have never done it a piezo sensor would be my choice. Piezo sensors are all about detecting shock and vibration making them a good choice for a sensor. I would also use an Arduino simply because you can use several analog inputs and get a PWM output on several channels. This gives you a wide range of possible lighting possibilities. You can use Analog In from your sensors to generate PWM Out. I am not sure which piezo sensors you have or what their outputs look like but it would be a matter of converting the piezo analog out to something the Arduino could use. For example a 0 to 5 volt signal. I am also not sure how fast the Arduino can run. Anyway I would use an Arduino. Do you have a data sheet or anything on the piezo sensors?

Oh yes, and to answer your question, lead wires for a pot can be extended.

Ron

 

I agree that piezos are a good choice. I'm biased towards nanos (cheap, easy breadboarding, easy to make a board they plug into). You will need to supply power for the leds so no one arduino is better that the other in that regard.

Take a look at the arduino knock sketch how it interfaces to the piezo. Pretty simple.