Wiki / References
๐ Hardware shopping list
Parts for building the light/IR emitters that talk to optically-controlled LEGO. Pick a row by goal; per-emitter detail and the method comparison are in VLL emitters โ options & status.
For VLL (Micro Scout / Code Pilot / Scout) โ baseband on/off light
| Goal | Parts | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Zero hardware | a phone | Phone torch (Flash Force) โ just open the web app |
| Cheapest hardware | FTDI USB-serial (FT232) + LED + ~220 ฮฉ resistor | FTDI DTR + LED, driven from the browser |
| Best timing | Arduino Nano (or clone) + LED + ~220 ฮฉ + breadboard + jumpers | Arduino ยท ESP32 + LED |
| Wireless | ESP32 (DevKit / M5Atom / M5StickC Plus2) + LED + resistor + USB/power-bank | Wi-Fi/BLE remote; M5Atom has a built-in RGB LED |
| Invisible | IR LED 850 nm (or 940 nm) + ~150 ฮฉ, on Arduino/ESP32 | IR LED (invisible VLL) โ baseband, no 38 kHz |
| All-LEGO | LEGO 9V Light brick (2ร1) + an RCX | LEGO 9V Light brick (via RCX) |
LED choice: white/red work for visible VLL. On 3.3 V boards (ESP32) prefer red/IR (lower forward voltage) or drive a white LED from 5 V via a transistor.
For IR-carrier devices (Power Functions / EV3 / Spybotics) โ modulated IR
| Device | Emitter | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Power Functions (IR) | 38 kHz IR LED (standard IR-remote emitter) on Arduino/ESP32 | use Arduino-PowerFunctions |
| Receive/decode PF | TSOP38238 (38 kHz IR receiver module) | ArduinoLegoIrReceiver |
| Spybotics / Manas / RC | 76 kHz IR LED (or TSOP at 76 kHz) | ir-spybotics |
| RCX | LEGO IR tower โ serial 9713 or USB 9783 | see Sets & bricks index; macOS via osx-tools |
Key distinction: VLL is baseband (a bare LED blinked on/off). PF/EV3 (38 kHz) and Spybotics (76 kHz) need a modulated carrier โ a normal IR-remote LED driven at that frequency, not a bare on/off LED. See Power Functions RC (IR).