IR Transmitter & Receiver Kit
Combined IR transmitter and receiver pair for custom remotes and line-of-sight communication.
A matched infrared LED and receiver pair used for building custom remote controls or simple line-of-sight communication links. The transmitter side is a standard IR LED driven with modulated pulses (typically 38kHz carrier) to encode a signal, while the receiver is a demodulating IR photodiode module (like the TSOP1738) that filters out ambient IR noise and outputs a clean digital signal a microcontroller can decode — the standard building block for replicating TV/appliance remote codes or sending simple short-range wireless signals between two line-of-sight devices.
Specifications
| Transmitter | Standard 5mm IR LED, typically driven at 38kHz carrier frequency to match common receiver modules |
| Transmitter operating voltage | Driven from a digital GPIO pin (often through a transistor for higher current) at 3.3-5V logic levels |
| Receiver | IR demodulator module (e.g. TSOP1738/TSOP4838) tuned to a specific carrier frequency (commonly 38kHz) |
| Receiver operating voltage | 3.3V-5V DC depending on module |
| Range | ~5-10m line-of-sight typical for basic remote-control style use, shorter in bright ambient IR conditions (e.g. direct sunlight) |
| Protocols | Commonly used with NEC, Sony SIRC, RC5, or raw pulse-timing protocols depending on the library/firmware used |
| Interface | Transmitter: single digital output pin (often via a transistor driver for brighter/longer-range LEDs). Receiver: single digital input pin |
Pinout
| Pin | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IR LED anode | Connect through a current-limiting resistor (and optionally a transistor for higher drive current) to a digital output pin |
| 2 | IR LED cathode | Connect to ground (or transistor collector/drain if using a driver transistor) |
| 3 | Receiver VCC | Power, 3.3-5V DC depending on receiver module |
| 4 | Receiver GND | Ground |
| 5 | Receiver OUT | Demodulated digital signal output — connect to a digital input pin, typically read with an IR-remote decoding library |
For reliable transmission range beyond a few centimeters, drive the IR LED through a small NPN transistor rather than directly from a GPIO pin, since a microcontroller pin usually can't source enough current for a bright, long-range IR burst; libraries like IRremote handle both the 38kHz carrier modulation on transmit and automatic demodulation-aware decoding on receive.
Variants
Get the full transmit+receive kit if the project needs to both send and capture IR signals (like a universal remote clone); if you only need to read an existing device's remote codes, a standalone receiver module is cheaper and sufficient. If line-of-sight itself is a dealbreaker, a 433MHz RF pair is a different technology worth considering instead of IR.
| Variant | Temp range | Hum range | Accuracy | Protocol | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IR LED + TSOP1738 receiver kit | ~$1-3 | ||||
| IR receiver module only (TSOP1738/TSOP4838) | ~$0.50-1.50 | ||||
| 433MHz RF transmitter/receiver pair | ~$1-3 |