Hacked Gadgets Forum

January 11, 2008

Simple LED Color Sensor

at 10:56 am. Filed under DIY Hacks, Electronic Hacks

This is a pretty interesting walk though on how to process and read the microvoltage that an LED will put out when exposed to a light source . Who says you can’t teach an old component new tricks?

“Hook up a high-quality ultra-bright red LED by itself (no battery or other circuitry) to a multimeter in voltage measurement mode. Put the LED against a light source, such as a desk lamp. See the voltage? Now, hide the LED in a dark place. See a decrease in voltage?”

Via Make


 


Related Posts

Light Barrier using a NXT Light Sensor
iRobot Arm Robot
Animated Tattoo uses Electronics under Skin
Camouflage Satellite Dish
TV Remote Control turned into Wii Sensor Bar
Opto-Isolated TTL to 110 VAC Power Source
Fun With Lasers
SmackBook

 


 

4 Responses to “Simple LED Color Sensor”

  1. Jeff Says:

    Um, last I checked, All semiconductor materials are photo sensative. granted some
    more than others. and your article only shows that it is light sensative, not
    color sensative.

  2. Proteus1935 Says:

    Some interesting (human EE filtered) related reading when you’re planing on using a single led for digital communication between micro-controllers:

    http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=15980

    Hope it helps someone =)

  3. Alan Parekh Says:

    Hey Jeff,

    The article shows how to do it for one color, simply make the same circuit 2 more times for the others (RGB - Red Green Blue)

    “Putting this all together - a color sensor can be made from a reversed LED and an op amp chip. In fact, TAOS did just that with their TSLR257 (red), TSLG257 (green), and TSLB257 (blue) sensors.”

  4. Alan Parekh Says:

    Lawrence, your comment was removed. Please refrain from posting negative non-constructive comments. We appreciate all feedback, if there are certain types of articles you enjoy more than others please let us know. :)

Leave a Reply

 

Internal Links:


Categories:

Search:

Google
Hacked Gadgets
Web

Site Sponsors:

 

Recent Comments:

ingiltere vizesi on Hacked Gadgets March Comment Contest

Berni on Name the Thing Contest - 63

Jonathan on IR LEDs used to defeat Security Cameras

Curtisbeef on Digital Caliper Serial Interface

Tony on Tachometer made from a Bicycle Computer

Kevin Luo on Interactive Dance Floor

Jack on Digital Caliper Serial Interface

Steve on Steal Credit Card Numbers Wireless using RFID

rodrigo medina on UV LED Controller using a PIC 16F628A Microcontroller

Jean De Melo on Joe Pitz - Hacked Gadgets Author

Lego V8 - Race Video Forums on LEGO V8 Engine

eman on Induction Heating Demonstration

Sanctus on Automatic Slide Digital Converting Machine using a AVR Microcontroller

Bill on Digital Caliper Serial Interface

Russ on Interactive Dance Floor

Site Rating:

Technology blogs

Technology Blogs - Blog Flare

Technology Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Top Technology blogs

Technology Blogs

Best blogs on Technology and Science

More RSS Feed Options

Most Popular This Month:

Bio Feedback Pong Game
Fire Alarm Bell Alarm Clock - World’s loudest alarm clock?
AmateurLogic.TV Episode 18 - Ameritron Amplifier Factory Tour
Wire a NES Controller to a Computer to play NES Emulator Games in Style
LEGO Mindstorms Robot sorts Gumballs by color
Binary Hard Drive Clock Project
Cynergy Labs Project Maestro - Wiimote Fingertip Control
What it is and isn't Contest
DISINTEGRATOR Rubber Band Gun
Macintosh 512k Upgraded to run OS X - 24th Anniversary Macintosh Project

Site Sponsors:

 

Interesting Sites:

Sony Vaio SZ
ThinkGeek
Apple TV Hacks
Gadget India
Top HDTV Reviews
VoIP Phone
Technology Blog
Free Phone Number Trace
How To Hack
PSP Mods and Hacks

 

Site Videos:

Incoming Links:

Recent Readers:

Forum Activity:

Get this widget!