yes, i was looking at a vishay component that had the emitter and reciever all in one. it would be a passive system working off of reflected ir. i dont know the range on it though. i need some help with the rest of the circuit though. i know i can use a transister to flash the leds, or use a 555 timer circuit, but i have no idea what cicuitry i will need for the ir components and how to get it to shut off the leds for a time so the others can flash for a few seconds and then turn the other ones on again.