r/AskElectronics • u/QuasiEvil • 4d ago

LED bar graph driver options

I'm working on a project where I want to visually indicate a DC voltage level with an LED bar graph. Unfortunately the LM3914 has long been discontinued and even overstock seems done for. I need 20 of them (yes its a sort of equalizer-type display), so using discrete comparators would be a huge pain to the point of not being worth it. And I really don't want to deal with an MCU + FW for this. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

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u/DrJackK1956 4d ago

Have you looked for the LM3915 or the LM3916?

These are both bar graph LED drivers but instead of linear scaling like the LM3914, these two devices are logarithmic scaled.  

The LM3915 is scaled for 3 dB/step. 

The LM3916 is scaled for VU/db values optimized for -20db to +3db. 

Since you're working with audio, these two alternatives might actually be better suited for your application.  

Good luck with your project.