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IR LED driver interface suggestions.
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:10 am
by Matt
Hi Guys,
I would like some suggestions for a led drive ic or circuit. Basically a buffer that is short tolerant and able to drive a led with 25ma current. Preferably not open collector output as I would like the ability to also do simple RS232 from the same port if possible.
Thanks in Advance
Matt
Re: IR LED driver interface suggestions.
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:28 pm
by leon_heller
I've used a simple constant current source like the one here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_source
in the past. I simulated it in SPICE, and it works quite well: changing the load from 1R to 5R changed the current from 0.045429007A to 0.045409291A, which is negligible. It will protect against a short; the current with a 0.001R load is 0.045433927A.
Here is the SPICE circuit:
You will need to design it for 25 mA, of course; I just set the input at 1.0V for the simulation. I'd use a simple voltage divider rather than a zener to set the base voltage, for your application.
Re: IR LED driver interface suggestions.
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:03 pm
by Berni
But usually you dont need a constant current source for your LEDs, cause your supply is most likely regulated and you are not driving like 5W power LEDs. So just use 1 resistor and 1 transistor to do it.
And as far as i know a MAX232 takes a open collector signal no problem.
Re: IR LED driver interface suggestions.
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:28 pm
by leon_heller
Or, use a 74HC04 as a buffer. You get four of them in the same package.
Re: IR LED driver interface suggestions.
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:44 pm
by Berni
True, those are very popular. You can also add a cap to pulse the LED. IR LEDs can take up to 1A peak. Good TV remotes discharge a small cap in to the LED to reach such peaks for very short times. It increases the range drastically.
Re: IR LED driver interface suggestions.
Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 11:13 pm
by otitov