So there isn’t much I can do on the VU meter project until I get a hold of an oscilloscope. The next logical step would be to design the envelope follower that the comparator will receive input from, but doing this “blind” would be difficult. In the mean time I thought I’d check that the relay I’m using can actually switch as fast as I need it to (without burning up) and get a feeling for what rapidly flashed incandescent bulbs look like.