supes

Checked all that you mentioned. Nothing. I will lay low for a while till I can get some stuff sorted out and I get the stuff I need from DigiKey. Until then, I am humbly greatful for the insight and time audioguru. You are the man :)

I tried a different electret mic. It is now reading 1.44VDC. The mic I had may be bad but it still isnt the solution. Going through the pins I get : pin 1: 2.34VDC, 4.6VAC pin 2: 2.34VDC pin 3: 2.34VDC pin 4: 0VDC pin 5: 0VDC pin 6: .08VDC pin 7: .51VDC, .6VAC pin 8: 8.14VDC

So after a little while working on it today, here is what I found out. Pin 6 after the R9 is getting virtually nothing (.08VDC). We have ~2.5V at pin 1. When that goes through C4 we end up with the .08VDC that goes into pin 6. If I wanted to test the microphone alone, would I put the meter on the on the non-gnd side of the electret mic. When I do that I get .22VDC and .2VAC. I adjusted music volume and the DC voltage didnt budge. Is the microphone not being driven enough to actually work? Could that be the problem?

What were your values for pins 5, 6, and 7 of the amplifier? Or maybe a better question, what are the ideal values for those pins of the amplifier? I remember you saying that pin 7 should be between 1 to 4 VDC but I am lower than that.

Error on my end. Pins 5, 6, and 7 are 0, .09, and .52 VDC respectively. However, I still did replace it. Pins 5, 6, and 7 are 0, .09, .52 VDC respectively. Funny that they are exactly the same. Sorry for the error.

I think I may have been unclear. The pins 1, 2, and 3 of the 358N are all 2.36 VDC. The output pin I was talking about was pin 7 of the 358N. For the second ampifier in the 358N. Pins 5, 6, and 7 are 0, .9, and .52 VDC respectively. Pin 7 or atleast that set of pins is the problem I think.

Maybe the fact that i dont have a 3915 is also limiting my progess. I checked pin 1 and it was infact 2.44V. The output pin was .66VDC. The electret mic is at 1.94VDC. Pin 5 of the 3916 is at .15VDC and pin 6 of the 3916 is .48VDC. So now, where is a good place to get the LM3915 for a fair price. I want to order a few. I will continue to work on this on my own in the meantime :) Thanks for you help audioguru. Also on another note, I want to make the 'Knight Rider' lights and remember reading that you did not like the 4017 version b/c it wasnt smooth. Have you come across a circuit that does a better job of make the effect? If so please share.

Yea I was afraid of the microphone not working. I can hope that it might be the pre-amp. Anway I did change the resistor you mentioned and I get a bout .18VDC at pin 5 and .49VDC now. Would you be able to recommend another pre-amp that would work with an electret microphone and give a good level to drive the 3916? I have 4 electret microphones that all look like the one i posted. All are new. I also have the 2904 386 1458 324 just incase I will need to use them

Okay I found 2 resistors that were sorted together. I am getting somewhere now. I am getting .1VDC at pin 5 of the 3916 and .24V at pin 6. I turned the POT down and I have only a few LEDs light up now but now still move. If I can get the pin 5 voltage up from the microphone (dont even know if the microphone is working yet) I may get the whole thing working as it should. I have .49VDC at pin 7 of the 358N. What am I doing wrong? Why is the signal only .1V?

So here are a few points that will hopefully help you understand my situation better. 1. I am using all 3904's 2. I am using the 358N and I know it will be more of a 'beat' meter than a frequency type since the 358 is limited to about 4kHz. 3. At pin 5 of the 3916 I get 6.9DC and 14.x VAC which seems like overkill and is probably the reason all LEDs are on. Therefore I think the problem is in my pre-amp stage. 4. I attached a picture of my electret microphone as I am not sure if it is one that would work with this circuit. Circuit with all LEDs on Microphone (using one on left) I will continue to work and update the situation. Thank you for the help and the warm welcome audioguru!

So I have big hopes for my LED project. I have been stocking up on high quality LEDs and rechargable batteries just for this project. Anyway here is the problem. I am using LM3916 drivers, and alone I can get it to do what I want with the signal (from sound card) connected directly to the input of the IC. I used this as reference. Now, I wanted to make this wireless so I got a couple electret mics and tried using this as a guide with my 3916 and hoped it would all work out. http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/motor_light/009/index.html However, I just have all LEDs on all the time in bar mode and the last LED on in dot mode. I dont think the microphone part is working or else there is something wrong somewhere. I followed the schematic exactly (minus the 1W resistor) and have been going crazy going over looking for any mistakes. I tried changing the POT to all values and nothing changes. It is also worthy to note that I used a 358N IC for the pre-amp and my signal into pin 5 of the 3916 is 6.9V. I am asking for some help now since I am stumped.