Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer — Parallax Forums

Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2002-09-10 13:30 in General Discussion
Hello Stampers

Can someone PLEASE help me with an idea that I have. I am trying to build a
Digital audio spectrum analyzer. I was going to use 31 Op-amp circuits for the
31 bands then use 31 A/D converters to the BS2p then to my display, but that is
allot of parts.

I would like to use an audio A/D converter to the BS2p. The stamp would do the
math for the readings from the A/D. But I have no idea on how the math would
work. I mean how can a digital signal turn into the amplitude for each
frequency?

Any insight would help. Is there any books, sites, ect. that would point me in
the right direction?

Thanks
A. Conti


[noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-09-02 17:03
    First of all you can dramatically reduce the parts cound by using multi
    channel A/D chips. For example the LTC1298 is a 2 channel, 12 bit A/D that
    uses three Stamp pins. There are other chips with 4 channels per package
    and I am sure a little reasearch would uncover higher density packaging
    still.

    If I understand your question you can easily build bandpass filters for
    the op amps to measure the amplitude at as many frequencies as you like.
    There are several good books on the subject of opamps that will tell you how
    to design the filters. One book that is quite good is the "OpAmp Cookbook".
    Any good electronics store should have these types of books. Also you might
    look for a copy of the ARRL handbook at a used book store or a Ham radio
    store.

    MIke B.
    Original Message
    From: "Anthony Conti" <aconti@s...>
    To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
    Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:31 AM
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer


    > Hello Stampers
    >
    > Can someone PLEASE help me with an idea that I have. I am trying to build
    a Digital audio spectrum analyzer. I was going to use 31 Op-amp circuits for
    the 31 bands then use 31 A/D converters to the BS2p then to my display, but
    that is allot of parts.
    >
    > I would like to use an audio A/D converter to the BS2p. The stamp would do
    the math for the readings from the A/D. But I have no idea on how the math
    would work. I mean how can a digital signal turn into the amplitude for each
    frequency?
    >
    > Any insight would help. Is there any books, sites, ect. that would point
    me in the right direction?
    >
    > Thanks
    > A. Conti
    >
    >
    > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
    Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-09-02 17:24
    I already have a working version using that way. But It is quite large. I am
    looking to combine it into something much smaller maybe two A/D converters and
    with the right sampling I would find the amplitude for each frequency. But I do
    not know where to start.

    Thanks
    A. Conti










    First of all you can dramatically reduce the parts cound by using multi
    channel A/D chips. For example the LTC1298 is a 2 channel, 12 bit A/D that
    uses three Stamp pins. There are other chips with 4 channels per package
    and I am sure a little reasearch would uncover higher density packaging
    still.

    If I understand your question you can easily build bandpass filters for
    the op amps to measure the amplitude at as many frequencies as you like.
    There are several good books on the subject of opamps that will tell you how
    to design the filters. One book that is quite good is the "OpAmp Cookbook".
    Any good electronics store should have these types of books. Also you might
    look for a copy of the ARRL handbook at a used book store or a Ham radio
    store.

    MIke B.
    Original Message
    From: "Anthony Conti" <aconti@s...>
    To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
    Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:31 AM
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer


    [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-09-02 22:10
    Anthony,

    A digital signal can be digitized with a single A/D converter, and then
    processed to produce the amplitude for each frequency by using a
    software Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) (also loosely called Fast
    Fourier Transform (FFT). This is a tall order for a BS2, because it
    requires at least double-precision fixed point, or ideally floating
    point, calculations. Maybe one of Al Williams's clever PAK
    co-processors could provide enough computational power, but the usual
    way to approach this is with a signal processing chip. I do recall some
    assembly routines for performing FFTs with PICs on the Microchip
    website, so it is probably possible. To conserve memory, certain DFT
    algorithms perform the transform _in place_, without requiring multiple
    arrays. The _spectrum_ can be regarded approximately as the square of
    the DFT output, plotted versus frequency.

    A good place to start for understanding the theory and mechanics is to
    browse through the many digital signal processing books in a bookstore,
    and choose one with good examples that appears readable.

    Another great method is to find a friend with Matlab, or other
    signal-based programs, and go through the signal processing demos.

    Dennis

    Original Message
    From: Anthony Conti [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=fvmG9kdK-T4BLJeFDH4XlCBdI8hFipUQdA0SoNj1ykMkKDQxvw4FTle-VF_uRkgBg3oDD7zowK-ycu3J]aconti@s...[/url
    Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:32 AM
    To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer


    Hello Stampers

    Can someone PLEASE help me with an idea that I have. I am trying to
    build a Digital audio spectrum analyzer. I was going to use 31 Op-amp
    circuits for the 31 bands then use 31 A/D converters to the BS2p then to
    my display, but that is allot of parts.

    I would like to use an audio A/D converter to the BS2p. The stamp would
    do the math for the readings from the A/D. But I have no idea on how the
    math would work. I mean how can a digital signal turn into the amplitude
    for each frequency?

    Any insight would help. Is there any books, sites, ect. that would point
    me in the right direction?

    Thanks
    A. Conti


    [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


    To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject
    and Body of the message will be ignored.


    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-09-09 20:03
    It's probably better to utilize tight band-pass filters, which are
    relatively simple R/C circuits. I don't think you could do FFT on a stamp.

    On Mon, 2 Sep 2002, Dennis P. O'Leary wrote:

    > Anthony,
    >
    > A digital signal can be digitized with a single A/D converter, and then
    > processed to produce the amplitude for each frequency by using a
    > software Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) (also loosely called Fast
    > Fourier Transform (FFT). This is a tall order for a BS2, because it
    > requires at least double-precision fixed point, or ideally floating
    > point, calculations. Maybe one of Al Williams's clever PAK
    > co-processors could provide enough computational power, but the usual
    > way to approach this is with a signal processing chip. I do recall some
    > assembly routines for performing FFTs with PICs on the Microchip
    > website, so it is probably possible. To conserve memory, certain DFT
    > algorithms perform the transform _in place_, without requiring multiple
    > arrays. The _spectrum_ can be regarded approximately as the square of
    > the DFT output, plotted versus frequency.
    >
    > A good place to start for understanding the theory and mechanics is to
    > browse through the many digital signal processing books in a bookstore,
    > and choose one with good examples that appears readable.
    >
    > Another great method is to find a friend with Matlab, or other
    > signal-based programs, and go through the signal processing demos.
    >
    > Dennis
    >
    >
    Original Message
    > From: Anthony Conti [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=NpGC3zk3Ma5z7mcnXl2iFuvEUxrUErzbeLFsibml9WOUZB8s4QGyCLS-By3IhcXFX2hgiiXQNet9S4TOOjg]aconti@s...[/url
    > Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:32 AM
    > To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
    > Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer
    >
    >
    > Hello Stampers
    >
    > Can someone PLEASE help me with an idea that I have. I am trying to
    > build a Digital audio spectrum analyzer. I was going to use 31 Op-amp
    > circuits for the 31 bands then use 31 A/D converters to the BS2p then to
    > my display, but that is allot of parts.
    >
    > I would like to use an audio A/D converter to the BS2p. The stamp would
    > do the math for the readings from the A/D. But I have no idea on how the
    > math would work. I mean how can a digital signal turn into the amplitude
    > for each frequency?
    >
    > Any insight would help. Is there any books, sites, ect. that would point
    > me in the right direction?
    >
    > Thanks
    > A. Conti
    >
    >
    > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject
    > and Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and Body
    of the message will be ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
    >
    >

    Sean T. Lamont, CTO / Chief NetNerd, Abstract Software, Inc. (ServNet)
    Seattle - Bellingham - Vancouver - Portland - Everett - Tacoma - Bremerton
    email: lamont@a... WWW: http://www.serv.net
    "Do not fear mistakes, There Are None" - Miles Davis
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-09-10 03:43
    Do a search on google for Spectrum and sound card. There are software
    programs that use the standard PC sound card as an audio specrum
    analyzer. Up to 16 thousand FFT sample points with a decent sample
    rate can be had for the cost of a stamp.

    Stamps have there place but FFT analysis is a little out of its
    league.

    If you want to program in C you could use a TMS series DSP from TI
    and use a stamp to control the DSP. A more relastic solution if you
    need a custom analyzer. Development tools for DSP's are not cheap
    though, can cost in the thousnads of dollars to get setup.

    Jason



    --- In basicstamps@y..., "Sean T. Lamont .lost." <lamont@a...>
    wrote:
    >
    > It's probably better to utilize tight band-pass filters, which are
    > relatively simple R/C circuits. I don't think you could do FFT on a
    stamp.
    >
    > On Mon, 2 Sep 2002, Dennis P. O'Leary wrote:
    >
    > > Anthony,
    > >
    > > A digital signal can be digitized with a single A/D converter,
    and then
    > > processed to produce the amplitude for each frequency by using a
    > > software Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) (also loosely called
    Fast
    > > Fourier Transform (FFT). This is a tall order for a BS2, because
    it
    > > requires at least double-precision fixed point, or ideally
    floating
    > > point, calculations. Maybe one of Al Williams's clever PAK
    > > co-processors could provide enough computational power, but the
    usual
    > > way to approach this is with a signal processing chip. I do
    recall some
    > > assembly routines for performing FFTs with PICs on the Microchip
    > > website, so it is probably possible. To conserve memory, certain
    DFT
    > > algorithms perform the transform _in place_, without requiring
    multiple
    > > arrays. The _spectrum_ can be regarded approximately as the
    square of
    > > the DFT output, plotted versus frequency.
    > >
    > > A good place to start for understanding the theory and mechanics
    is to
    > > browse through the many digital signal processing books in a
    bookstore,
    > > and choose one with good examples that appears readable.
    > >
    > > Another great method is to find a friend with Matlab, or other
    > > signal-based programs, and go through the signal processing demos.
    > >
    > > Dennis
    > >
    > >
    Original Message
    > > From: Anthony Conti [noparse][[/noparse]mailto:aconti@s...]
    > > Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:32 AM
    > > To: basicstamps@y...
    > > Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer
    > >
    > >
    > > Hello Stampers
    > >
    > > Can someone PLEASE help me with an idea that I have. I am trying
    to
    > > build a Digital audio spectrum analyzer. I was going to use 31 Op-
    amp
    > > circuits for the 31 bands then use 31 A/D converters to the BS2p
    then to
    > > my display, but that is allot of parts.
    > >
    > > I would like to use an audio A/D converter to the BS2p. The stamp
    would
    > > do the math for the readings from the A/D. But I have no idea on
    how the
    > > math would work. I mean how can a digital signal turn into the
    amplitude
    > > for each frequency?
    > >
    > > Any insight would help. Is there any books, sites, ect. that
    would point
    > > me in the right direction?
    > >
    > > Thanks
    > > A. Conti
    > >
    > >
    > > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
    > >
    > >
    > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
    > > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the
    Subject
    > > and Body of the message will be ignored.
    > >
    > >
    > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
    > > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the
    Subject and Body of the message will be ignored.
    > >
    > >
    > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > >
    > >
    > >
    >
    > Sean T. Lamont, CTO / Chief NetNerd, Abstract Software, Inc.
    (ServNet)
    > Seattle - Bellingham - Vancouver - Portland - Everett - Tacoma -
    Bremerton
    > email: lamont@a... WWW: http://www.serv.net
    > "Do not fear mistakes, There Are None" - Miles Davis
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-09-10 13:30
    You can do FFT on a stamp, but it will take forever. Note that
    Microchip has application notes on FFT. Analog Devices also has "The
    Engineers Guide to DSP" on their website -- free to download (but
    it's a huge file, even zipped).

    A spectrum analyzer isn't that difficult to make for low-end
    applications. Zetex has a chip (ZXF36L01) which combines a bandpass
    or notch filter with a mixer section. It uses a simple pair of
    resistors and capacitors to determine the notch depth and notch
    frequency. The stamp can be used to generate the sweep frequencies
    at 1/3 octave intervals for the local oscillator ( from a lookup
    table -- just use a low pass filter to remove the harmonics). I
    wrote a paper on it, but the publisher lost interest. If you are
    interested in the paper e-mail me at jack@t...

    --- In basicstamps@y..., "jbirnsch" <jbirnsch@v...> wrote:
    > Do a search on google for Spectrum and sound card. There are
    software
    > programs that use the standard PC sound card as an audio specrum
    > analyzer. Up to 16 thousand FFT sample points with a decent sample
    > rate can be had for the cost of a stamp.
    >
    > Stamps have there place but FFT analysis is a little out of its
    > league.
    >
    > If you want to program in C you could use a TMS series DSP from TI
    > and use a stamp to control the DSP. A more relastic solution if you
    > need a custom analyzer. Development tools for DSP's are not cheap
    > though, can cost in the thousnads of dollars to get setup.
    >
    > Jason
    >
    >
    >
    > --- In basicstamps@y..., "Sean T. Lamont .lost." <lamont@a...>
    > wrote:
    > >
    > > It's probably better to utilize tight band-pass filters, which are
    > > relatively simple R/C circuits. I don't think you could do FFT on
    a
    > stamp.
    > >
    > > On Mon, 2 Sep 2002, Dennis P. O'Leary wrote:
    > >
    > > > Anthony,
    > > >
    > > > A digital signal can be digitized with a single A/D converter,
    > and then
    > > > processed to produce the amplitude for each frequency by using a
    > > > software Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) (also loosely called
    > Fast
    > > > Fourier Transform (FFT). This is a tall order for a BS2,
    because
    > it
    > > > requires at least double-precision fixed point, or ideally
    > floating
    > > > point, calculations. Maybe one of Al Williams's clever PAK
    > > > co-processors could provide enough computational power, but the
    > usual
    > > > way to approach this is with a signal processing chip. I do
    > recall some
    > > > assembly routines for performing FFTs with PICs on the Microchip
    > > > website, so it is probably possible. To conserve memory,
    certain
    > DFT
    > > > algorithms perform the transform _in place_, without requiring
    > multiple
    > > > arrays. The _spectrum_ can be regarded approximately as the
    > square of
    > > > the DFT output, plotted versus frequency.
    > > >
    > > > A good place to start for understanding the theory and
    mechanics
    > is to
    > > > browse through the many digital signal processing books in a
    > bookstore,
    > > > and choose one with good examples that appears readable.
    > > >
    > > > Another great method is to find a friend with Matlab, or other
    > > > signal-based programs, and go through the signal processing
    demos.
    > > >
    > > > Dennis
    > > >
    > > >
    Original Message
    > > > From: Anthony Conti [noparse][[/noparse]mailto:aconti@s...]
    > > > Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:32 AM
    > > > To: basicstamps@y...
    > > > Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Digital Audio Spectrum Analyzer
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > Hello Stampers
    > > >
    > > > Can someone PLEASE help me with an idea that I have. I am
    trying
    > to
    > > > build a Digital audio spectrum analyzer. I was going to use 31
    Op-
    > amp
    > > > circuits for the 31 bands then use 31 A/D converters to the
    BS2p
    > then to
    > > > my display, but that is allot of parts.
    > > >
    > > > I would like to use an audio A/D converter to the BS2p. The
    stamp
    > would
    > > > do the math for the readings from the A/D. But I have no idea
    on
    > how the
    > > > math would work. I mean how can a digital signal turn into the
    > amplitude
    > > > for each frequency?
    > > >
    > > > Any insight would help. Is there any books, sites, ect. that
    > would point
    > > > me in the right direction?
    > > >
    > > > Thanks
    > > > A. Conti
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
    > > > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the
    > Subject
    > > > and Body of the message will be ignored.
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > > >
    > > >
    > > >
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
    > > > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the
    > Subject and Body of the message will be ignored.
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > > >
    > > >
    > > >
    > >
    > > Sean T. Lamont, CTO / Chief NetNerd, Abstract Software, Inc.
    > (ServNet)
    > > Seattle - Bellingham - Vancouver - Portland - Everett - Tacoma -
    > Bremerton
    > > email: lamont@a... WWW: http://www.serv.net
    > > "Do not fear mistakes, There Are None" - Miles Davis
Sign In or Register to comment.