Optical Isolation

[Yampa Bob]

I define it as hiding from my wife at chore time, "Out of sight, out of mind".

I ran across these pages during my daily surfing, for those "inquisitive minds want to know" type members. The information is self-explanatory, so in the words of Oliver Goldsmith: "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies".

Just think of it as a "black box" that isolates inputs and outputs.

Here's the "nitty".  (all you really need to know)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opto-isolator

Here's the "gritty".  (gets down and dirty)
http://www.bb-elec.com/tech_articles/optical_isolation_illustration.asp

Here's the "band"...one of my favorites. (in case you have no interest in the above)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitty_Gritty_Dirt_Band

Of course it's train related, when you consider the frustration you sometimes feel working on a locomotive or installing decoders, and nothing seems to work. "If you want to see a rainbow, you've got to stand a little rain".

Enjoy.... or not...

[pdlethbridge]

Headache time

[Jim Banner]

Optical isolation - most of us use it every day.  Think of your TV remote control.  It can operate the electronics in your TV set.  Yet there is no wiring in between.  This is the isolation part.  Data is sent by a light beam.  This is the optical part.  There is no chance of getting a shock from your remote, even if your TV gets hit by lighting, thanks to optical isolation.

As an electronic component, an optical isolator is an LED plus a photo sensitive diode or transistor.  They are separated by air or clear epoxy and encased in black epoxy to keep outside lights sources at bay.  Typically, they can withstand thousands of volts before any electricity leaks from one end to the other.  They are used to keep one set of electronics electrically separated from another set of electronics.  In large scale electronics, they can be used to isolate decoder or radio receivers from sound cards, yet still allow them to operate the sound cards.  George Schreyer shows them on his website.

Jim

[Yampa Bob]

My wife has control of the TV remote. If I try to change channels, I get a "shock"...from her. 

Oh well, she likes NASCAR, Monster Jam,  Football and Western movies, so I can't complain.  Make that "don't dare" complain, I don't want to be optically isolated from the dinner table. 

[Terry Toenges]

Bob - It would be worse to be physically isolated from the dinner table

[Yampa Bob]

I don't care what my wife calls me, as long as she calls me for dinner. 

[jsmvmd]

Bob, Have you been chewing your toenails again?

[Yampa Bob]

No, PD is the one with "hoof in mouth" syndrome. Actually, he's been trying to learn how to dance the "Hokey Pokey" and caught his lip on a hangnail.

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/hokey.htm

(Read the lyrics)   

[jward]

what if the hokey pokey really IS what it's all about?

[pdlethbridge]

Bob trained his horse to do the hokey pokey. Great fun at weddings.

[grumpy]

Paul
That was a donkey.
Don