IR LED testing

I am testing some infrared LED transmitters and receivers and am not sure about a few things. Are all IR LED Transmitters the same color? I have some from one game that are dark blue and then from another game they are white. Each set has an opposite dark blue or clear white receiver or transmitter. I am using an old Radio Shack detector which is a flat card 1"x2" It glows when it detects a IR signal. When I hook up the dark blue ones on one system it will glow and the corresponding part across from won't when hooked into a LED tester. (Those little square ones from China) Then when I hook up the white/ clear one from the other system it will show a glow on the radio shack card and their corresponding blue ones won't. Can a transmitter be dark/blue in color OR white/clear in color??

What is the failure pattern? Can they get weak? Is that common? Or do they just fail. Is there a proper way to test these things? Has anyone seen pocket test instrument that can show an IR signal and test the receiver? The radio shack one I have is falling apart. Also, In general how do you usually choose these things. Are some for 3V, 5V or 12V. If I want to replace a transmitter or receiver and I don't have any manual how would I find the right one? AND, How do you tell from looking at the component what it is? That is a lot of questions.

Thanks for any and all help. Russ

Reply to
Uriah
Loading thread data ...

Most digital cameras will be IR sensitive, at least enough to respond to a bright source like a close-by LED. Try your cell phone camera.

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.