IR remote control.

[Boscoe]

I didn't really know where to put this so here goes. I want to diy a remote control. All I want is input selector, power and volume control via a motorized pot if there is any schematics out there that would be good.

Thanks
Boscoe.

[poynton]

There's one or two kits on Fleabay.


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[vkj]

I did this exact thing about 12 yrs ago, and I regret it!! Holtek manufactured a series of encoder and decoder chips (HT12 series) which did all the work, and presented you with a data out for each function. Ive seen them used in old car-alarm systems, and the MING wireless remote kits (once sold by Digikey). These chips are now obsolete, I think. I bought a number of them and now am stuck with how to responsibily get rid of them.

They work quite well, but the problem isnt the chips.

(1) You will have to design and build complex logic to process the decoded IR remote command. I had to make a big 2-sided pcb with all kinds of gate logic. And neat stuff like storing states in non-volatile memory is out of reach. Driving digital volume control is almost impossible. You have to use motor pots, and they WILL fail after 10 yrs as I have found out.

(2) You will have to use Holtek's encoder chips for the remote control unit. This means you have to make your own. And it will be ugly!

Heres my 2p:

Best to bite the bullet and use a PIC. You can do all the remote functionality in software quite easily. You can store the amp. state in its EPROM. You can minimize the hardware complexity immensely. And deal with errors in software. Furthermore, you can use an "industry standard" remote protocol and use one of your spare remote control units or even buy a cheap replacement instead of having to make a remote control unit yourself.

This definitely the way to go. Im seriously thinkgin of gutting my old logic control unit and replacing it with a PIC.

If you need help with the above let me know.

vkj

[jerryo]

I bought a kit off Ebay which I am very happy with. Check out item number 120827077503, its this one, (although I am not sure if it was from the same supplier) I made a little case for it out of hardwood and have not had any problems with it at all. It's very easy to implement.
Worth considering if I were you.

[vkj]

Originally Posted by jerryo

I bought a kit off Ebay which I am very happy with. Check out item number 120827077503, its this one, (although I am not sure if it was from the same supplier) I made a little case for it out of hardwood and have not had any problems with it at all. It's very easy to implement.
Worth considering if I were you.

Thanks. Took a quick look at it. $42+15 is pretty steep! From the photo, it appears to use a (single?) motorized pot driven by a microcontroller (PIC?). I would however caution you abt the motorized pots. They will become very scratchy, sooner than you think. I bought similar ones from Mouser years back (100kx2, $10) for my amp (Doug Self preamp) and they started failing just a few years later. Now Im planning to replace the whole preamp with PGA2310's. If you use your own PIC you can do a lot more such as add a power relay, monitor the power amp heat sink tempratures, control the speaker relays, add a "sleep" function, control sub-woofer volume, etc.

Another thing I notice is that it doesnt seem to have a "balance" control?

Finally, it is always better to have your pots mounted on the preamp board. Wiring an off-board pot with shielded wire is a mess, and theres always a problem of hum pickup, very difficult to get rid of.

vkj

[jerryo]

$42.00 Dollars is a bit steep!?
Try making the same set up your self for less. Impossible, I would say.
I have been running mine for 2 years or so and it is absolutely silent and works flawlessly. If it does show signs of degradind I'll just buy another.
The reason it does not have a balance control is that it is not a pre-amp; therefore it does not have tone controls either.

[Boscoe]

Thanks a lot for the feedback I will look into it further.

[yangbaibing]

Yes,you'd better learn microcontroller,although arduous this task is.And I believe a AT89S2051 is enough,it may just cost you 1 dollar.Then you can do as you wish.

[tomlang]

The pots on the ones on ebay are 100k ohms? Also, the pots themselves are NOT electrically connected in any way to the supplied electronics, correct? In other words the supplied electronics ONLY drives the pots and is not a line control amp. The user connects the pot in the circuit where a manually operated pot would be connected. Is this right??

[Mooly]

I always point such questions to this,
FPRC5RX - DIY learning IR decoder

Fully configurable it allows you to build a full R/C system although you need to know how to interface and build for example an "H" bridge driver for the motorised pot.