2004Brackets/Widgets forum
Photocell-based tally light design and practical considerations
22 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- A tally light can be built using a photocell to detect camera tally signals without hardwiring, similar to how some teleprompters relay tally information from cameras.
- Directly connecting a photocell to an LED risks damaging the LED if excessive light hits the photocell, making a proper control circuit necessary between the photocell sensor and the LED.
- Tally light circuits can be designed with adjustable sensitivity to work reliably under different lighting conditions.
- Commercially produced tally lights are built to higher durability standards than typical DIY versions.
Depends on
- The exact circuit design details for properly driving an LED from a photocell were not fully explained in the discussion.
- No technical specifications or performance data were provided for the devices discussed.
- The discussion mentions a teleprompter tally application but does not elaborate on how that specific implementation works.