DIY RC Signal Isolator Idea

[simingx]

I came across some of these on TI's website: ISO721 Digital Isolators...
According to them, these are "digital isolators with a logic input and output buffer separated by a silicon oxide (SiO2) insulation barrier. This barrier provides galvanic isolation of up to 4000 V. Used in conjunction with isolated power supplies, these devices prevent noise currents on a data bus or other circuits from entering the local ground, and interfering with or damaging sensitive circuitry."

Looks promising for RC use, and they're simple enough to implement.
Strictly speaking they aren't optoisolators as they use capacitive technology... would these be good for a roll-your-own signal isolator?

http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/iso721.html

[AndyKunz]

I use them on several products, and they work well. You do need to bypass them appropriately and measure noise - they run at some pretty good speeds and generate a small amount of noise.

The nice part is that they pass the signal with nice square edges with no latency, unlike an opto. The price is still a little high, though.

Analog has them with power transfer as well, so if you need to power something really tiny you can use it for both power and signal transfer.

Andy