Remote volume - existing remote

[Stuey]

Hi there,

I'm preparing to start building a Gainclone style amp, and am considering the options for volume conrtol. As this stage I intend to use an Alpha pot until I gain experience. I will rig up a stepper motor to an extended shaft, with the pot mounted remotly from the front panel.

My question is about remote volume control. I've seen plenty of kits around - that's not the issue. However, I wanted to control the remote volume through my existing Marantz remote (which has volume buttons for the electronic volume of the CD player headphone out). That is, I was hoping to use the single remote to control the CD and the volume of the amp.

Can existing kits be adapted to be controlled by proprietary remotes?

Cheers

Stuey

 

[ppcblaster]

Remote

I just recieved an email from someone willing to help me design a kit from www.chipamp.com (my first build) adding the LM1036 from www.national.com control, plus adding a remote control.

It's hard to get out of the recliner
all the time, We are a remote society.


I was informed the remote setup depends on what you want to control with the remote. I am just a student. I want more than a volume control, the new chips have THD+n about as good as it gets.

I hope this helps. Here is the response I recieved:

" I will provide more information later. I think it would be no problem to
> provide a very simple remote controlled volume control with two microchip
> controllers (one for the transmitter and one for the receiver). But first
> you need to know what volume control chip you intend to use as this
> affects the program. It's even possible to use a binary logarithmic
> stepped volume control with precesion resistors and small relays, with a
> remote control. The microchip controller then needs to output parallell
> data for the relays.
>
> Balance control can be done digitally, by sending each volume control chip
> or relay array a different code. Problem here is to keep volume setting
> valid, so one channel volume has to increment, the other channel has to
> decrement simultaneously. For correct multichannel volume control
> front/rear and left/right, complicated attenuation schemes are necessary
> involving floating point calculations
>
> I personally like the LM1971, it has the best sound quality so far. I
> tried a lot of configurations and volume control chips.
>
> In a High-end preamplifier you don't want to use tone control, only volume
> control with as low distortion and noise as possible. The LM1036
> distortion is way too high (0.03%) the LM1971 has 0.0008%."

 

[Stuey]

Thanks, but I don't think you quite understood the question.

I'm definitely going to use a mechanical rotary pot, most probably with a kit based PCB for the receiver. I wanted to adapt one to accept commands from a particular proprietary remote. I'm assuming that they transmit on a particular frequency in the infra-red spectrum.

What I wanted to know is how (if it's possible) you can adapt such a remote control kit, rather than using a universal remote controller.

I most certainly only want volume control - source changes etc. are so infrequent it's not an issue.

Cheers

Stuey

 

[xaudiox]

Thanks, but I don't think you quite understood the question.

I'm definitely going to use a mechanical rotary pot, most probably with a kit based PCB for the receiver. I wanted to adapt one to accept commands from a particular proprietary remote. I'm assuming that they transmit on a particular frequency in the infra-red spectrum.

What I wanted to know is how (if it's possible) you can adapt such a remote control kit, rather than using a universal remote controller.

I most certainly only want volume control - source changes etc. are so infrequent it's not an issue.

Cheers

Stuey

i dont think thats possible unless the kit and your remote uses the same Protocol. most of the kits that i have seen uses sony or philips
remote control.

i myself had done a similar project but i used sony remote..

 

[facundonu]

i'm trying to do the same thing, but with a kenwood remoto (bad choice!!).
using a marantz remote won't be difficult i believe, for it uses RC5 (philips) protocol and most kits are configured for it.

 

[Stuey]

Thanks; I'll look around at RC5 protocal and see what I can come up with.

Stuey

 

[ppcblaster]

Have a look at this link.

Aremote control link, perhaps they can help.

http://sound.westhost.com/project110.htm

 

[ppcblaster]

Re: Remote

I goofed that reply was from ec-designs@hccnet.nl email.

I just recieved an email from someone willing to help me design a kit from www.chipamp.com (my first build) adding the LM1036 from www.national.com control, plus adding a remote control.

It's hard to get out of the recliner
all the time, We are a remote society.


I was informed the remote setup depends on what you want to control with the remote. I am just a student. I want more than a volume control, the new chips have THD+n about as good as it gets.

I hope this helps. Here is the response I recieved:

" I will provide more information later. I think it would be no problem to
> provide a very simple remote controlled volume control with two microchip
> controllers (one for the transmitter and one for the receiver). But first
> you need to know what volume control chip you intend to use as this
> affects the program. It's even possible to use a binary logarithmic
> stepped volume control with precesion resistors and small relays, with a
> remote control. The microchip controller then needs to output parallell
> data for the relays.
>
> Balance control can be done digitally, by sending each volume control chip
> or relay array a different code. Problem here is to keep volume setting
> valid, so one channel volume has to increment, the other channel has to
> decrement simultaneously. For correct multichannel volume control
> front/rear and left/right, complicated attenuation schemes are necessary
> involving floating point calculations
>
> I personally like the LM1971, it has the best sound quality so far. I
> tried a lot of configurations and volume control chips.
>
> In a High-end preamplifier you don't want to use tone control, only volume
> control with as low distortion and noise as possible. The LM1036
> distortion is way too high (0.03%) the LM1971 has 0.0008%."

 

[Nortp]

I just hooked up a remote controlled pot that Brian from twisted Pear audio made up to my twisted pear chip amp. It uses a Sony protocol for a TV, I just programmed my existing remote to work with it. It is a MAJOR convenience. And highly recommended.

PJN

 

[ppcblaster]

Remote control

I get confused, Brian that I have communicated with is from

www.chipamp.com

Twisted Pair. has nice stuff. rev C amp

Could you share the infirmation please? What all does the

remote do? Volume, on-off, balance?

Iam looking for a way to connect LM1036 with a remote control

to operate vol, balance, bass, treb, on-off to LM3886 amp.

 

[pikkujöpö]

Hi

I reacently assembled a remote kit from Dantimax.
It uses the same code as some Philips televisions.So if your existing remote can control the Philips televisions as well,the changes are good.
My remotes from Sony DVD and Yamaha hometheater amp both are able to control the dantimax kit.They both have few buttons that can be programmed.

 

[BrianDonegan]

I get confused,

Different Brian

I just hooked up a remote controlled pot

The one he is talking about uses a remote chip from Rentron (Microchip PIC with remote decoder code preprogrammed). It gives you an output for vol up/dn, channel up/dn, and digits 0-9, plus a toggling power output. I just used the Vol Up/Dn to drive an h-bridge chip from TI the controls a motorized pot.

You could easily use it to control multiple motorized pots, for volume, balance, bass, treble, etc.

Here's a link to the board I made. It's a really simple circuit (not much design involved).

 

[ppcblaster]

THANK YOU

Thank You, I may have more questions.

One step at a time.

Thanks again

 

[BrianDonegan]

Keeping it all very simple, you could even go with digipots for all the controls, have up/down buttons for each, and piggy back the remote outputs with them.

Maxim DS1804 pots have a simple up/down interface and they come in nice DIP-size packages. Cheaper than a motorized pot too.

EDIT: Actually, it only works on transitions, so you would need to set up an oscillator for each, still pretty simple. Not as easy as programming a PIC to do all the work, but...

 

[Stuey]

Hi Brian,

What's an 'H-bridge chip' if you don't mind me asking?

I've had other thoughts. I was thinking that I could use the existing Marantz CD remote (which has Volume up/down buttons for the headphone jack volume control). I figured there may be a chance that the 'system remote out' RCA socket could provide an output for volume when these buttons are pressed...or they MAY only work the volume via the volume control IC. Not sure.

But it'd be neat if I could drive a receiver in the amp via a simple RCA remote cord from the CD player system remote output.

Cheers

Stuey

 

[BrianDonegan]

An H-bridge is a circuit used to drive, among other things, a bidirectional motor.

Here's a link I found quickly: http://www.bobblick.com/techref/projects/hbridge/hbridge.html

Here's the chip I used:
http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn754410.pdf

It is a quad half h-bridge, enough to drive two motors.

 

[Stuey]

Thanks Brian.