#53 Protect your Arduino - use an Opto Isolator! And RGB sound-to-light demo

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Connecting your Arduino to other equipment to make it 'intelligent' is tempting but fraught with danger. I'll show you how to use an opto-isolator (aka opto-coupler) to reduce the chance of cross-equipment malfunction to a minimum.

The two halves of the PC817-series isolators are totally isolated (yes, the clue is in the name) allowing you to drive a signal to your Arduino without your Arduino being exposed to external signal and voltage levels that may harm it.

It's easy and cheap (see below where I bought this from) and should be considered an essential way of connecting Arduinos to 3rd party equipment!

I also demonstrate the RGB (Red Green Blue) LED with my sound-to-light unit (microphone preamplifier) which looks fantastic. Even on camera where the colours always get washed out a bit it still looks great.

Component sources:

PC817
http://www.banggood.com/5V-5mA-PC817-...

but don't buy them individually, you can get 10 for £1 if you search eBay!


RGB module (only buy it like this for experimentation, buy them loose to put into your projects)

10-pack: http://www.banggood.com/10Pcs-KY-016-...

You can get them individually too, either loose or on a module board.


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And my channel is here:
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