Techy, electrical type question - IR transmitter
 

OK, so what I want to know is... what do I need to build an IR transmitter - assuming that this is what I need to set off my lap timer.

At Brands in the pit garage, we could set it off with a TV remote.

So can I go down to the local electrical shop and buy some bits to make my own beacon??

If so, what will I need??

I can buy a 'proper' one for £40, but no doubt it's made from 50p's worth of parts.

Thanks ta :)

How about Maplins or RS? do they offer anything in their range?

So why not buy the cheapest remote off ebay and a stack of batteries?

Would a TV remote be powerful enough to trigger it at 100mph, 20 yards away?

I know nothing about IR, but assume that you may need something more than a TV remote?!?!?!

:lol:

Depends on the remote, but most will do 20 yards just about - try your own remote from the TV and see how far away you can get before it doesn't work ... you might be surprised!

The lap timer's eye is just looking for an IR beam, simple as that. A tv remote actually encodes some pulses into it (think morse code) but a lap timer isn't that picky, from what I understand - as long as it sees something it will trigger.

You could make your own out of some parts from RS or Maplins, and it would probably cost you less than a fiver. All you'd need is a small box, an IR LED, a resistor, a battery connector, maybe a switch to be really posh and some soldering skills!

Here you go -
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...ia=ir&doy=23m6

Would it make any difference if you had 10 LEDs as opposed to 1? or is that like a false economy?

I suppose you could splay them in an arc so that the beam covers a bigger area?

Thanks for the help Ant :)

Kewl :D

Thanks

Is the 'beam' emmitted from the top of an LED, or just like a normal light bulb (in all directions)?

Found this too http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbp/knowledge/ir/ir.htm