Retro look Analog style VU meter on VFD display with Arduino Nano

2023-09-16 | By Mirko Pavleski

License: General Public License Arduino

A VU meter, also known as a Volume Unit meter, is a device used to display the audio signal level in decibels (dB) in real time. It is commonly found on audio equipment to help users monitor and control audio levels. The analog VU meter typically consists of needle-based indicators that move in response to the audio signal's intensity.

This time I will describe how to make such a device that uses a VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) instead of analog instruments.

In this particular case, the display is a GP1287 with a resolution of 256 by 50 points. In one of my previous videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvs09OfKzgc&t=18s), I described how to connect such a display to an ESP32 microcontroller, and this time the display is controlled by an Arduino. The device is extremely simple to build and contains only a few components - Arduino Nano Microcontroller - GP1287 VFD Display - 10K potentiometer, - and two capacitors and resistors.

The signal from both audio channels (left and right) is brought to the analog inputs of the Arduino through coupling capacitors.

As for the code, I don't have much experience, so feel free to modify and improve it. It is basically based on the U8G2 library, because only this library has support for this kind of VFD display. Also note that when compiling the code, you should use the U8G2 library given below. In the first few lines of code, we can define the values of gain, low sound, and high sound, as well as the speed at which the arrow returns to its original position. The sensitivity of the VU meter can be controlled with the potentiometer mounted on the back of the device.

Finally, a short conclusion. I made the device with the intention of explaining to you how you can connect this type of display to an Arduino microcontroller. In actual operation of the VU meter, the slow response of the hands in relation to the input audio signal can be observed, which is a consequence of the display itself, not the microcontroller or the code. Namely, when testing the code, I used a 128х64 LCD display instead of a VFD, and the reaction was almost momentary. Due to the relatively high consumption of the display, it is preferable to power it through the power connector of the display itself, which is shown in the picture.