Heat shrinking LED/LDR combos

[Jdansti]

Damn! Cant believe I didn't think of the pen tube idea!  

I happened to find one here that will work. Although the LDR fits nice and tight, the LED wiggles quite a bit.

Would some super glue or the likes be a good idea to tighten up the fit of the LED in the tube? Super glue dries opaque and could let some ambient light in behind the LED -OR- is that something that could be considered negligable?

I think you meant that super glue dries translucent , and it could let some ambient light in behind the LED. This potentially could be a problem during testing and trouble shooting with the enclosure open. I always have some epoxy putty on hand for things like this. Just knead a small ball of it and fill in each end of the tube around the component legs. It dries hard as a rock and it's opaque. Alternately, you could jam some non-conductive foam in each end, but that stuff breaks down after a few years and makes a mess. I stay away from electrical and duct tape for similar reasons. They're not permanent.

[deadastronaut]

ive used superglue on the back of a clear led (pins cut off, bottom sanded,) and butted up the ldr to led with superglue to create a lens...

still works fine.

[digi2t]

For those who missed it, http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=95269.0

[Jdansti]

^ Show off!!!   

Seriously, great thread on this very topic!  Thanks for the link!

[Govmnt_Lacky]

For those who missed it, http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=95269.0

I remember that thread!! 

In your case Dino, did you have any problems using a BLACK tube for the homebrew vactrol? Some have stated on here that using a lighter color will allow more light to hit the LDR.

I ended up cutting up a pen tube (white) and I plan to use that for my LED/LDR combos. The LDR fits really tight but, the LED is gonna need some support 

[Jdansti]

^ Just be aware that a white tube could potentially transmit some light though it's walls. You might want to consider using black heat shrink on the tube as a light block. You could also paint it black (isn't that a RS song?), but I wouldn't use a Sharpie as I don't think it would block light very well.

[deadastronaut]

use a schnitzengruben as the tube, poke led in one end, ldr in the other..

[digi2t]

For those who missed it, http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=95269.0

I remember that thread!! 

In your case Dino, did you have any problems using a BLACK tube for the homebrew vactrol? Some have stated on here that using a lighter color will allow more light to hit the LDR.

I ended up cutting up a pen tube (white) and I plan to use that for my LED/LDR combos. The LDR fits really tight but, the LED is gonna need some support 

The black tube is made out of black FRP, and is completely opaque. My assumption is that it should be that way, considering that the only light you want hitting the LDR is that of the LED. Whether the black wall is absorbing some light is probably negligable, and could be countered via a trimmer. Even though, the LED in my vactrol project are about 1mm from the LDR`s, so I think the black tube is a non-issue. I happen to have two original Mutron vactrols in my stock of goodies, and they`re black. Come to think of it, the VTL5C* series vactrols are black too.

The biggest worry I had when I built my vactrol was with the encapsulation. I wasn`t sure if 5 minute epoxy was going to cut it insofar as light transmission was concerned. In the end, it turned out to be another non-issue. In fact, I think it might help, since it creates a translucence(?) throughout the inside of the tube. At least, that`s what I saw when I tested it before capping the ends.