Simple fiber optic data transfer

[Etesla]

I need to transmit very low frequency signals (100 - 1000 hz square wave) accurately with very high noise immunity. Fibre optics seem to be the way to go, but off the shelf receivers and transmitters seem to be expensive and confusing. So my question is, is it possible to make my own super simple fibre optic receiver / transmitter using things like LEDs on the transmitter end, and photo resistors, comparators and schmitt triggers on the receiver end?

The things I'm worried about are:
LED not turning on and off fast enough to give a nice clean fibre optic signal.
Photo resistor not recovering fast enough between pulses to accurately represent waveform on other end.

PS.
I already have about 3/32" fibre optic cable and the travel distance is about 15 feet, not sure if that matters.

Thanks!

[rstofer]

No reason for this to be a problem.  Here is a kit for moving voice over fiber and there are a lot of LED and laser tranmitters.  At higher speeds and longer distances, lasers are more commonly used.

http://www.jameco.com/z/FO-30K-Elenco-Electronics-Kit-Fiber-Optics-Tx-Rx-Boards-Voice-1Khz-Signal-Via-Optical_2124200.html

I might get a kit similar to this and then modify it to meet my needs.

There are some issue re: single-mode versus multi-mode fiber and information is usually send digitally.  I'm not sure how well an analog signal can be sent over fiber.

[Benta]

The simplest would be the TOSLINK TORX111 and TOTX111 connectorless receiver/transmitter. Just stick the POF fiber into each and you have a connection.

Bad news: discontinued. But if you only need a few, it should be possible to find them somewhere.

[max_torque]

There are plenty of industrial fibre connectors and transcievers, used a lot in power electronics like motordrives to send control signals over high isolating barriers:



they use cheap plastic multimode fibres and are available in direct to pcb mounting etc
 

[Someone]

The simplest would be the TOSLINK TORX111 and TOTX111 connectorless receiver/transmitter. Just stick the POF fiber into each and you have a connection.

Bad news: discontinued. But if you only need a few, it should be possible to find them somewhere.

Consumer optic-fiber parts still exist for the audio/video market, and they sure are cheap. Everlight PLT133 and PLT135 for example, fine for 3V3 operation too.

[Benta]

The simplest would be the TOSLINK TORX111 and TOTX111 connectorless receiver/transmitter. Just stick the POF fiber into each and you have a connection.

Bad news: discontinued. But if you only need a few, it should be possible to find them somewhere.

Consumer optic-fiber parts still exist for the audio/video market, and they sure are cheap. Everlight PLT133 and PLT135 for example, fine for 3V3 operation too.

Yeah, I know, but you need POF with connectors, the TOSLINK part you could just cut a piece of POF with a scalpel and stick it into the device.
From the picture above, though, it seems that Avago/Broadcom has something equivalent (the three parts in the lower left corner).