An IR audio transmitter & receiver is an electronic device that is used to send & receive audio signals wirelessly. Infrared data transmission was one of the most common methods of transmitting information wirelessly, but its usage has been reduced due to its nature of being a line-of-sight communication device. In this project, we are going to design a simple IR audio transmitter & receiver using a solar cell or photo-transistor
A typical IR communication system includes infrared sources such as Infrared lasers or LEDs with specific wavelengths. The transmission mediums used for IR communication is a vacuum, atmosphere, and optical fibers. Finally in IR communication, to detect the IR rays, we will use solar cells or phototransistors
A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell, is a device that can directly convert light energy into electrical energy. A photovoltaic cell works by capturing a photon from the sun using semiconductors. When photons hit semiconductors, they can produce electricity instead of heat. By using semiconductors to build solar cells, we can produce electricity from sunlight. All solar cells have the same basic structure: Light enters the device through an optical coating, or antireflection layer, that minimizes the loss of light by reflection; Also it effectively traps the light falling on the solar cell by promoting its transmission to the energy-conversion layers below.
Hardware Components
You will need the following parts to build this project
| S.no | Component | Value | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Breadboard | – | 1 |
| 2. | Connecting wires | – | 1 |
| 3. | Battery | 1.5v AA | 1 |
| 4. | IR LED | – | 1 |
| 5. | Condenser MIC | – | 1 |
| 6. | Audio Jack | – | 1 |
Circuit Diagram
Working Explanation
The operation of this circuit revolves around two individual circuits. One is the transmitter circuit and the other is the receiver circuit, the transmitter circuit connects to the 3.5mm audio jack for audio input and the receiver circuit connects to a loudspeaker through an amplifier to play the audio.
The Audio signal will be transmitted through an IR LED from the transmitter circuit; the IR signals will be then received by a solar cell/phototransistor which will then be placed on the receiver circuit. The audio signal thus received by the solar cell/phototransistor will be very weak and hence it will be amplified by an audio amplifier before being finally played on a speaker.
Applications
- Used in audio communications to transfer the audio signal from one place to another.
- Used in short-range communication.
