How to convert photoresistor signal to simple Low/High digital on RPi Pico

Question

I'm building a light-triggered sound puzzle for my kids, and I have seven pieces. A little bit like this toy:

My plan was to plug 7 photoresistors to ADC pins on my Raspberry Pi Pico, but actually, there are only 3 ADC pins, right?

Someone advised me to just plug them in regular digital pins, and then just make sure the signal is simply thresholded to yield a High/Low kind of switch.

I'm a total newbie and I'm not sure what components I need to couple to the photoresistor to convert the analog signal to high/low digital one.

Answer 1

Make multiple voltage dividers that all use the same lower resistor.

Pull one GPIO pin high.

Set the others to input, which effectively disconnects them.

Read the voltage.

Repeat for each LDR (light dependent resistor)

      GP1     GP2     GP3
       |       |       |
      LDR1    LDR2    LDR3
       |       |       |
       +--------------------- analog input
       |
       R
       |
       |
      GND

Answer 2

I am assuming the LDR is normally illuminated and you require to detect when the light is obscured.

An LDR is not the ideal device for an ON/OFF circuit and is normally used in applications requiring a level depending on illumination but can be used if your application is either fully lighted or dark.

The resistance of a photoresistor (LDR) decreases with increasing incident light intensity.

Ideally you need to determine the LDR resistance when illuminated then make a voltage divider to produce < 1.2V which is the nominal GPIO threshold (actual 0.8V - 2.2V).

Most LDR will have very high resistance if totally in the dark so the actual resistance when illuminated is not critical.

I would try the following which should result in a voltage close to 3.3V when dark.
You may need to vary the resistance to ensure the voltage is < 0.8V when illuminated to ensure reliable operation.

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}