IR Beam Breaking Circuit

[Danny Diaz]

Hey all, looking for some collective wisdom.

We want to implement a simple passive ball detection mechanism on our robot (without using the camera, we have other purposes for it) so that we can detect when a ball is close to or touching our "ball magnet" roller (and for other purposes during autonomous).

We initially said, "Hey, that's easy, let's use an IR beam" but a simple IR beam circuit (emitter with a 270 Ohm resistor, pointing at a detector with a 10k Ohm resistor) gives me around a 4" range between emitter and detector before the signal dies off. I don't want to create my own amplification and pulse circuit to boost the range, I was hoping anyone with experience in IR detection mechanisms could point me in the direction of a simpler (or pre-made) solution? We're looking at needing a 20" beam that we can break with a ball...

Thanks!
-Danny