Sharp Analog Distance Sensor 4-20 cm for VCOs

[mixedgas]

About 100 mV to 3.1 V, increasing as your hand moves closer, then past the close in limit it declines to 1V. Add to VCO control voltages for Abstracts etc. 5V power, 12$ on amazon for a module with a 3 Pin cable.

I would just use this to adjust VCOs etc as a fine trim. I would not try to do anything other than image size using just the sensor. I'd scale its signal down and add/sum it to an existing control voltage using an op-amp.

This is the 4-20 cm Version, GP2Y0A41. Plot is from an Arduino Uno reading the voltage on the ADC0 input with a 5 reading average, and my hand moving up and down.

Add filter capacitors near the sensor, a 0.1 uf ceramic and a 10 uF Lytic as the Led in the sensor emits in sharp spikes. It does a great job of ignoring visible room light, but near IR emitted from some fixtures or IR remotes may jam it.


Steve