Pandora As A Remote Control

[gruso]

Probably, an IR mod is one of the simplest things to do, it's certainly small enough.

Personally i'd rather reach for another remote than drill holes in my Pandora though

I thought I saw something where there was a header in the screen lid for modders to mount an LED behind the Pandora logo...???

Would a person be able to use that to tap in/mount an IR LED instead? After all, you're going to be using this with the lid up and pointed towards the item you're controlling anyway.

Then comes the question of how to control it... Right you are. I don't know if your idea is actually possible, but it's a nice idea none the less!

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?s=&am...st&p=709939
www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?s=&showtopic=47002&view=findpost&p=709939

 

[Alibobar]

@ B-ZaR: think that would be perfect, considering the USB-port of the Pandora is in the back.

 

[Devin.tesla]

I know this is not exactly what you were looking for, but I was going to use VNC to control my Linux MCE box with the Pandora.
I have bin doing this with the laptop but it's a little on the big side.

 

[MarkoeZ]

Maybe something like this? It's definetly small enough. CODE
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.753

Hmm, now that might be an interesting option. Being able to control my stereo and tv as well as my pc's (vnc) would really be helpful on those incidental (*ahum ; ) lame evenings on the couch. Not to mention, the faces of my absolutely non-tech friends

 

[Devin.tesla]

QUOTE
Maybe something like this? It's definetly small enough.
CODE
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.753



Guys I hat to burst you bumble but that device is for IR data links it is not for remote control it will not do IR remote signals with out some major hacking. I had one on my laptop and I can't soft hack it to do the right signals, though, I think there should be a device out there that would do what you want.

 

[lingenfr]

Guys I hat to burst you bumble but that device is for IR data links it is not for remote control it will not do IR remote signals with out some major hacking.

It'll take a bit more than that to burst my bumble, my bumble's pretty pliable. I have used nearly every IR-capable device I've ever owned as a remote control device at one point or another. The only downside of it may be their range. On average the best most of mine (YMMV) gave me was a 5-6 foot range (can you say HP200LX). So feel free to keep your hat on dev45.

 

[Devin.tesla]

Ok go for it man

 

[WizardStan]

Guys I hat to burst you bumble but that device is for IR data links it is not for remote control it will not do IR remote signals with out some major hacking. I had one on my laptop and I can't soft hack it to do the right signals, though, I think there should be a device out there that would do what you want.

You should have been able to do something with your IR port, assuming it could be accessed as a standard serial port. I've yet to find an IR port that couldn't, but I've not tried a whole lot of different ones. Once you're accessing it as a raw serial port, you just need to figure out the what bit rate your remote uses, and exactly which bit sequences do what, both of which can be found by pointing the original remote at the port, pushing a button, and recording what it sees.

 

[pelrun]

Even if you can get an IrDA module working as a remote, you won't get any decent range out of it - they're designed to communicate only over a few cm distance for security reasons.

 

[lingenfr]

they're designed to communicate only over a few cm distance for security reasons.

Read the spec before you make yourself look any sillier. cm? Come on.

2 seconds of google gives you this:

IRDA

QUOTE
http://www.papyrus.co.il/FAQ/infrared_(ird...d%20connections

 

[Grench]

That link did not work for me.

What about something like this? I know... 2nd device, etc... But if your intent is to use the Pandora as a universal remote in your own living room, the BT device could be mounted up and behind the seating area on a speaker or the like.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/ir2bt-i...-ps3-owners-re/

Annoying feature of the boards.

CODE
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/ir2bt-infrared-to-bluetooth-converter-now-on-sale-ps3-owners-re/

 

[dflemstr]

That link did not work for me.

What about something like this? I know... 2nd device, etc... But if your intent is to use the Pandora as a universal remote in your own living room, the BT device could be mounted up and behind the seating area on a speaker or the like.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/ir2bt-i...-ps3-owners-re/

Annoying feature of the boards.

CODE
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/ir2bt-infrared-to-bluetooth-converter-now-on-sale-ps3-owners-re/

That's an IR to BT converter, not BT to IR converter.

 

[pelrun]

Read the spec before you make yourself look any sillier. cm? Come on.

1m is still far below what is expected of the normal IR remote, and you will almost certainly be disappointed by the results - especially since IrDA takes advantage of error correction and IR remote control can not. This is *personal experience* (mine, and other people I've talked to) so, no, I am not being silly.

Sure, occasionally there'll be a module that seems to work acceptably, but are you going to find it in the flood of cheap chinese copies?

 

[lingenfr]

Read the spec before you make yourself look any sillier. cm? Come on.

1m is still far below what is expected of the normal IR remote, and you will almost certainly be disappointed by the results - especially since IrDA takes advantage of error correction and IR remote control can not. This is *personal experience* (mine, and other people I've talked to) so, no, I am not being silly.

Sure, occasionally there'll be a module that seems to work acceptably, but are you going to find it in the flood of cheap chinese copies?

The only thing sillier than your original statement that IRDA devices are designed to operate over a distance of cm's is your continued defense of the point. They are designed to operate at distances up to 1m depending upon conditions they will operate over longer or shorter distances. They will almost assuredly offer less distance than even the cheapest, crappiest remote. Your orginal point was a good one. You didn't need to support it with utter crap. However, feel free to continue as it is entertaining.

 

[pelrun]

*sigh* yeah, whatever. A metre is made up of centimetres, you know.

 

[WizardStan]

so is a kilometer.

 

[Series-8]

This is nothing new.

Handspring PDA + IrDA cartridge = Universal Touchscreen remote (learning too).

Too bad they are hard to find now. (although these show up from time to time)


a USB 2.0 IrDA with low level control over the driver would simply be sending the appropriate hex-code sequence to control a TV.

You'd need a DB full of remote codes....(also OBEX data transfer if you can actually FIND something else with an Ir port these days...)...something like LIRC.

http://www.lirc.org/

Oh and a IR transceiver...

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product....=1&format=2

 

[Grench]

I seem to recall a while back someone put up a picture of the motherboard that is going in the Pandora. I also seem to recall that there was an empty row of pins or a header that was essentially an unused RS232.

It is possible to go directly from an RS232 serial to an IR traniever.
CODE
http://cooldrives.stores.yahoo.net/irconcabrsir.html

Yes, that device would have to be dissected to get only the important pieces out. It is only here as an example that it -can- be done.

So, how bad is my memory? Is there an unused row of pins for a traditional serial port on the Pandora's motherboard? If I recall, they were on the top right near where the hinge will be?

No, I'm not talking about putting an RS232 through the side of a Pandora. Just exploring possibilities to get IRDA crammed into or along side it.





Take the above RS232 to IRDA adapter...
CODE
http://cooldrives.stores.yahoo.net/irconcabrsir.html


and plug it into this bluetooth to RS232 adapter...
CODE
http://serialio.com/products/adaptors/BlueSnapXP.php


Then shrink/eliminate cables and connectors. Hide said device where it points at your entertainment center. Write a bunch of code and translate a database full of IRDA remote codes.

Pandora Bluetooth controlling an IR remote entertainment center.

I knew there had to be an answer to the hardware side out there somewhere.

The software... That will be interesting.

 

[EdCa22]

Guys, there are two different kinds of IR (at least):

IrDA is for data transfers. Some hacks exist to make these work as standard remotes on some devices, but they wont work with everything and would be a pain to get working at all I imagine- you can read more about this here: http://www.lirc.org/irda.html. This device: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.753, mentioned previously, is IrDA only, so it fits in this category, and apparently USB devices don't work well (if at all) with remote controls in linux. Probably be fine for IrDA though.

Consumer-IR or CIR is very different. This is what 99% of remote controls use, though many different protocols/codes are used for different remotes. Also, some remotes expect two way communication, so you need a receiver as well as a transmitter. The carrier can be at many different frequencies, but is normally 36KHz. This device: http://www.usbuirt.com/overview.htm has so many infra red transmitters/receivers because it is able to work with any CIR device; any frequency, transmit or receive.

The best thing I have seen is this: http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P61.html. This is a chip capable of CIR and IrDA, and there are a few devices around that use it. It uses a serial port connection. The only disadvantage I can see is that it wont work with the very rare 56KHz remote controls, and for IrDA it is limited to 128Kbps (IIRC fast IrDA is 4Mbps).

For more info go here: http://www.lirc.org/

 

[senorgomez]

This device: http://www.usbuirt.com/overview.htm has so many infra red transmitters/receivers because it is able to work with any CIR device; any frequency, transmit or receive.

This is a pic of the innards of that device. It seems too big to mod into the Pandora, even if you were to remove the external IR jack.