VU Meter set top box

Yeah, I saw JLM's, and Aussie makes thinks complicated. Jeff's meters are awesome, but that's a pretty costly item, I was hoping for more of a 30-40 range maybe?

I'd honestly look for a small format Dorrough meter on the cheap. I got one around $200, sometimes they show up even less. You buy a cheap analog meter, it's not really anything but eye candy. And the Dorrough is much better eye candy! You want real VU eye candy, it's gonna be expensive. Best you'll get is an old used radio station (big) rack panel for around the price of a raw Weston meter, and they can be $100 apiece used these days. And it'll still need a buffer amp added to it. There are also some Wohler rack mount monitor amps with big Dorrough sized high resolution meters, double service in one package.

Dorrough or watch for used Logitech analog bridges on eBay.

I think a 'real' VU meter is based around a 200uA meter with very specific ballistics. You don't get those ballistics with any of the cheaper meters.

So I have been putting together the vu meter box, and finally got to the stage to test it, and everything works.

The only problem, is the line input is looking at -17db as the MAX db's I can get out of it on the vu meter. I am plugging it into the line level out of my big knob, which shows the led metering reaching ~0db while playing a modern pop record (with modern pop mastering).

The kit was supposed to have some 200k resistors in it, on the pcb, however they sent it with 10k resistors instead of 200k, and 220 ohm instead of 100 ohm. I asked them about this and they said it will work and it does...sorta. Could this be the reason for the drop in meter levels? I tried 2 separate vu meters as well, same results. I am using a 9v ac power supply, but it can take up to 20v.. Could that also be a reason? They are to the point where they will give me my money back, but if anyone can throw me a bone, maybe I can be happy with my vu meter, and they can be happy with my 6 dollars.

This is the vu meter pcb kit I bought: www.ebay.com/itm/272085960573?euid=8c643d640ef942afab75d0f6a350f39d&bu=43206033932&cp=1&sojTags=bu=bu

I mean that I can't get the meters to show a signal higher than ~-17. The led meter on the big knob shows 0, and I've got it on full line level output, but with the +10db boost, I can get it to -17, else it's at -20.

There are two pots (L and R), but there isn't any real difference when I spin them on the signal. I think that's a much smaller error correction for matching, right?

It sounds like the resistors they sent you were a modification they thought was better. Try the resistors it calls for.

Sometimes there is a schematic but it depends on which company you buy it from if its posted. The one I got had the schematic on the ebay site.
I think 'Jim's Audio' sends it to you with the 'kit'. A few of them do anyway. Expect no help though (did we ever?) as they are a business not a designer.

There's no schematic, just the board and parts. I agree with rocinante and I am going to buy the parts. In learning more about electronics, a lower resistor value will pull my juice but have less noise, where a higher resistor value (what it called for originally) pulled less power but as the potential for higher line noise? Do I have that right? If anything, this whole thing is forcing me to get out of "build the diy kit" mode into "find out what the hell all this stuff does" mode.

Btw, my jim Williams THAT 1512 replacement pip is in the mail, and i'll do a test with the sequencer on my synth between the two chips in my colour pre for S's and G's. I know that's a different thread, but it's my other project going from "BTDIYK" mode to "FOWTHATSD" mode!

Are they active op amp gain set resistors or passive in line pad resistors? Totally different, if you don't know you are just guessing.

If they are a voltage divider network into the card, they are a passive pad. If they are gain set resistors around the op amp, they are entirely different. Either could need to be changed.

Personally I won't buy any kit ever again from anyone not providing a complete schematic; it's a great way to hobble the user and be indemnity free on all levels. If I gotta figure it out, I'm building from scratch as the designer, rather than doing their homework for them. But that's a personal rant, carry on....