> hello, sorry this is off topic, but i plan to use this with a pic > > what is the usual value for the resistor in the following circuit, > or how can it be calculated? I've used values around 1 meg with good results. I was looking for an infrared LED in standard office lighting, and shining the LED through an object to analyze its composition. It would punch through a piece of bread or a bagel pretty well. I was making a gizmo that could tell a piece of bread from a bagel. I don't calculate it. Mostly my calculations get me in the ballpark, and the lab is where I actually pick component values that are critical. Just build it and test it. As Steve Ciarcia Sez: "Solder is my favorite programming language." -- Lawrence Lile "Nyquist was an optimist." => Median Filter Source Code => AutoCad blocks for electrical drafting at: http://home1.gte.net/llile/index.htm