Development phase

We started developing the circuit from the example and luckily were able to find all the components we needed in the donated electronics kit, saving us around $3 towards development costs. This is even luckier as otherwise we bought the glasses for $5, a microphone for $9.99, and a pack of battery connectors for $4.99, making the "total" cost $19.99, one penny short of the limit.

While trying to re-create the circuit from Instructables we tweaked the capacitors and resistors until it worked well with a 6v power source made from two 3V CR 2032 batteries.

After some hours of trial and error, were able to get the circuits lighting up to sound! Here is a video of our progress so far showing the varying light levels and 6v power source in action:

With the circuits working, we aim to bring the size down to fit on a single board. However, we have found some bugs/changes to be made in the final prototype:

• The 9v battery has better performance than the 6v supply, so this will be the power source of choice
• A variable resistor does not affect the circuit enough to accurately set sensitivity, so there will instead be a mechanical way to alter the angle of the microphones as needed.
• The LEDs are very directional, so these too will need to be adjustable to the viewers' comfort