Hi, I am working on reading a Ferraris electricity meter by detecting the red marker on the metal wheel. I know there are a few reports and blog articles online, no need to link them 
I do have something like that running, I am just not happy with the contrast, so I am asking for actual experience and recommendation for parts.
I am currently using a module based on the TCRT5000: http://de.aliexpress.com/item/Sensor-For-Arduino-LM393-IR-Infrared-Line-Tracking-Transducer-TCRT5000-Obstacle-Avoidance-Module-Board-Photoelectric-Switch/32556676534.html
This is working, but I am taking about a read around 200 for metal and 210 for the red mark, with a noise level of 3 even when averaging about 2 or 3 dozens of values. I cannot do more, else I might miss the mark with high consumption - I am on the ESP8266, so I have to allow some delays for the ESP to do it's networking stuff.
At the moment, it is running, but I expect it to be pretty unstable. I guess IR isn't ideal anyway, but since the cellar has LED lighting, it is basically independent on the room lighting - I cannot see any difference between light switched on and off in the sensor reading.
So, the question is: Does someone have thing like this running with a better contrast and can recommend other parts?