how is light going to get through a cm of dust? Is this pixie dust? DougM On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 10:54 AM, Sean Breheny wrote: > Thanks to everyone for their replies. > > I think RS-232 is a valid comparison, although the more troubling > thing about IRDA is that it needs not only an IC or two but also the > optical components, so it isn't just a matter of a single IC like an > RS-232 level converter. My gut feeling therefore is that RS-232 will > outlive IRDA. > > You heard correctly that I must be able to deal with 1 centimeter of > dust. This is because the two halves of the link are one above the > other so that the TX side is part of a horizontal surface and will > collect dust. Yes, I also only need unidirectional comms. > > This is in an environment where several of these devices could be in > close proximity to each other and there cannot be crosstalk between > them - which is why I am opting for optical instead of RF. > > Sean > > > On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 12:45 PM, Oli Glaser > wrote: > > On 03/06/2011 16:17, Sean Breheny wrote: > >> What is your opinion? Is IRDA going to be around for at least 5 more > >> years or is it disappearing quickly? > >> > > > > I think it has obviously become far less popular, with the advent of > > bluetooth and stuff. > > However, I don't think it will disappear altogether for quite some time= , > > there are still plenty of applications that are more suited to an easil= y > > implemented, cheap, line of sight solution (for which RF would be > overkill) > > Even if it did disappear, as noted I'm sure you could quite easily > > conjure up your own. I doubt very much this would be needed though - I > > know it's not quite the same , but look at e.g. RS232, USB, SPI, I2C > > etc, has been around for ages but it is still reasonably common and ICs > > available. > > Hard to be certain, but I'm betting on it being good for a while (as > > long as remotes use the technology anyway..) > > I think I would go for it. > > > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > > View/change your membership options at > > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .