Visual Applause Meter

[CochrellGary]

Just another use of the dual display feature in Hoster. I have Hoster hooked up to display graphics to the audience via a TV projector so the entire crowd can see the lyrics while the singer sees the lyrics on a 13" monitor TV.

Radio Shack sells a multimeter with a PC interface and a VU meter with an RCA output. I hook up the meter to the VU meter and run it into the laptop and into the software supplied by Radio Shack for the multimeter. The software can display the output as a digital number or as a running graph, like an oscilloscope. This display can then be displayed on the large screen and the audience can see the response to their applause for judging a contest with audience participation.

Since the "contest" is being judged by audience applause, and screams, it isn't really a singing contest. You can see that for a contestant to win all he or she has to do is bring a lot of friends to the "contest". This is what the bar wants, lots of customers. So I now call the "contest" a BYOB challange, "Bring Your Own Buddies" challenge. Now I can judge the challange using the visual applause meter.

Gary

[kenpattx]

GARY I'M VERY INTERESTED IN YOUR IDEA,,PLEASE GIVE ME MORE DETAILS,, I WANT TO BUILD A FREE STANDING SOUND DECIBAL METER READING ON LIKE A 25" SCREEN, TO INCLUDE SMALL AMP, MICS ETC. A UNIT I CAN ROLL IN AND PLUG IN,,YOU SEEM TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, PLEASE HELP ME....... YOU COULD E-MAIL ME AT KENPATMC@NWW.NET THANKS GARY.........

[crazycarl]

Tell me more please.
crazycarl

[CochrellGary]

Thanks for the interest. I am still using the applause meter for our BYOB challenges (Bring Your Own Buddies).

Here is what is needed to construct the visual applause meter.
1. A wireless microphone with receiver.
2. A Radio Shack multimeter with a PC interface. The last catalog I got from Radio Shack (2001) listed the part number as 22-805 ($59.99). The part number and price are probably different now. The multimeter comes with the software necessary to display the output from the meter on your computer screen. Output from the meter is fed out to an RS232 cable. The RS232 cable and connector come with the meter.

The output from the wireless microphone receiver is connected to the input of the multimeter. The meter is switched to read AC voltage. Thats all there is to it. Once the software is activated and the output is displayed on the screen, I can slide the display over to the second display screen so the audience can see the output.

Here is what we have found when using the meter. Place the microphone high and center it on the area to be monitored. Realize that the microphone you will probably use is unidirectional. This means that maximum pick up will be directly in front of the microphone. When we are going to judge a BYOB challenge we tell the audience where the microphone is and if they want their "noise" to count, they need to be in front of the microphone. To try and make it as fair as possible I hang the microphone as close to the celing as I can get it and place it so that the audience is at least ten feet away.

One of the biggest problems is the delay in displaying the output. There is about a one to two second delay from the time the applause starts and when it displays on the screen. This is not a big problem because you are just looking for the largest reading. But when you have the manager of the club on a microphone introducing each singer, the output from his mic registers on the meter and sometimes the applause for a singer isn't as loud as the managers mic, well you can see what can happen. The managers mic reading is mistaken for the applause for the singer.

Hope this information helps.

Gary