If you’re looking for something to brighten up a Christmas or New Years party – literally brighten – this project could be right up your alley. It consists of four coloured 12V, 50W halogen globes which are driven in somewhat random patterns by the bass beat from your music. And if there’s no music, it automatically switches over to its own random display.

You don’t need to make any connection to your amplifier or speakers: an inbuilt microphone picks up the beat from any source of music, whether it be a stereo, karaoke, live band (but not a dead band), etc. Speaking of bands, if you’re in one, this display will make your perfomance sparkle!

The display uses 12V, 50W halogen "downlights" such as these coloured ones from Jaycar or ordinary (white) ones you colour yourself.

How do you mount the lights? That’s really up to your ingenuity and your application. In our example, 12V halogen "downlights" are fitted pointing up (but at varying angles) into a squat wooden box about a metre long. The idea is to project the lights upwards against a white or pastel wall so that they throw patterns onto the wall.

In a semi-darkened room, á lá a typical party, the effect is rather spectacular . . . psychedelic seventies, even.

But if you don’t like that display, there’s nothing to stop you using the same basic circuitry to come up with whatever you wish. Want to make a "light box" – flashing lights inside an acrylic or Perspex-fronted box? No problem (in fact, you could get away with much lower wattage bulbs and therefore a cheaper transformer).

Maybe you want to light up something specific – again, no problem. Because the lights operate from a safe 12V, you don’t have to be an electrician to install them. Gee, we just had a thought: most garden lights these days are 12V – now that would make an interesting garden!

Want more light? There’s nothing to stop you adding MOSFETs and lamps in parallel, as long as your transformer and bridge rectifier are rated for it. But more on this anon.