[sdiy] Vactrols == Optocouplers?

[The Old Crow]

  I think the term opto-isolator is generic and can apply to any 
light-coupled device.  There are opto-isolators with triacs, thyristors, 
transistors in various configs, logic gates, photoresistors and even 
photo-voltaic cells.  Opto-coupler is similarly generic.  The light 
emitter can be an LED or a lamp (incandescent or neon, etc).

Crow
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On Thu, 3 Mar 2005, Peter Grenader wrote:

> It was my understanding that an opto-isolater, or opto-coupler is more
> of a generic term used for any device that uses light as an electrically
> isolated controller, much like hall-effect devices do with magnetism.  
> With that, a vactrol would be considered a type of opto-isolator, but
> one that incorporates a photocell resistor.  I wasn't aware that
> opto-isolators infer to the use of a photo transistor necessarily.