How do you mount a photocell/photoeye/photoresistor on top of the case?

[big bustle]

i'm building a pedal with a photocell mounted on top on my 125b enclosure.

the only clean and durable way i can imaging mounting one is using a bezel. however, i can't find find any such item via google, small bear or the board search function.

if you have a good method you use with or with out a bezel. i'd love to see it.

[Mike Burgundy]

Depends on the model/make and what you want to do with it. Optical footcontroller? Wow, that would start a life all of its own under stage conditions - lightguy and his strobe as an integral part of your sound effects array;)
If you have a drillpress and one of these LDRs with the leads perpendicular to the base, I'd say carefully drill holes for the leads, rout in a recess for the ldr base with a router bit, coat with non-conductive paint/superglue, stick in the cell and cover with clear resin/superglue. That wopuld make it a permanent part of the enclosure though.
Other idea: mount the pcb close to the top, mount the LDR on the trace-side (so its facing up), drill a nice biggish hole through the top (3/4 - 1") and cover that from the inside with glued-in plexiglass (2mm thick). Should look cool, too.

[mth5044]

There are some people on here who mount there LED's just in holes, or under the label, so hopefully they could have some insight.

Sort of on the same line of thought - how would one mount a 7 segment LED digit display?

I was thinking maybe drill a hole with a diameter that equals the width of the display, then take a router and kind of square it off. But from there, how to keep it afloat?

[Taylor]

There are some people on here who mount there LED's just in holes, or under the label, so hopefully they could have some insight.

Sort of on the same line of thought - how would one mount a 7 segment LED digit display?

I was thinking maybe drill a hole with a diameter that equals the width of the display, then take a router and kind of square it off. But from there, how to keep it afloat?

Etienne/Cloudscapes made an AVR waveshaper kind of thing awhile back using a 7 segment display. He figured out some clever way to do it. http://soniccrayon.blogspot.com/2009/05/hollow-earth-v2.html

I can't find his explanation of how he did it, but maybe PM him.

[petemoore]

  I found it easier to solder LDR into a perf or other board, then mount the board on the inside [clean surface, hot melt glue], so the LDR is centered and at the right height.
  You could add an insulated washer to help keep the leads straight, the LDR flat and centered. Have the leads go through the washer, then the perfboard [bare side to enclosure], making an LDR/Washer/Perf sandwich.

[DWBH]

You can use a photocell cover... http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=517-SJ-5312CL
And then hot glue it to the enclosure
IIRC, it's how Devi Ever does it.

[big bustle]

thanks to everyone who's posted so far.

i've now tweaked my design to include an led aimed at the photocell.

i want the led to be moved out of the way so that the user can use his/her foot to control the amount of light hitting the photocell.

sorta like a wah or an lfo option.

does someone make a very durable yet in expensive goose neck?

i was looking for 45-90 degree angled led bezels. thinking i could mount the led and ldr in those. however i think the led portion will have to move no matter what

[MarkR2955]

You can use a photocell cover... http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=517-SJ-5312CL
And then hot glue it to the enclosure
IIRC, it's how Devi Ever does it.

I'm working on something with photocells and this part would be great, but other than mounting the board right under the cover, how can I get the photocells to be right there?

[StecykMi]

this photocell "cover" is actually just a clear bumper, like you might put on the bottom of your pedal. devi's way to do it is simply to drill a suitably sized hole in the enclosure (big enough to fit the detector of the photocell), stick the bumper over the centre of the hole, then stick the photocell to the bumper through the hole. and she uses a bit of hot glue to hold it securely in place. keep in mind for this to work, the photocell needs to be several mm's smaller than the bumper.

[MarkR2955]

That makes sense...Thanks...

[Nitefly182]

I would think you could use the nicer hermetically sealed photocells from smallbear. Drill two tiny holes for the leads and put insulation on each lead before passing them through the holes. You could then use a piece of pad-per-hole perf soldered to the two leads to snuggly attach the photo cell. From there you just run wires to wherever they need to go. No glue would be required and you wouldn't need a rubber foot on the top of the pedal.

[Fndr8875]

A quick solution is to get a 5mm bezel from radioshack and the photocell pack also from radioshack. The largest on fits perfectly in the metal 5mm bezel. Sure small bears quality is better, i dont know much about photocells , but i do know hardware wise it fits, and is secure and has rubber mount on inside to hold it secure. Im about to make a magnavibe, but that wont require mouting cell on outside.

[deadastronaut]

i did this in the 'lightwah'

cut the legs off a 5mm clear led..

sand the bottom flat..

glue the ldr to the bottom of the led ...

glue into a bezel ..