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Archive for the ‘IR remote’ Category

All too often, people run into the issue of having many remotely controlled devices scattered around their house, with each requiring its own unique controller. The idea behind how they operate is simple: a single action corresponds to a number and pressing a button on the controller causes that number, along with some extra data, to be modulated via an infrared LED which reaches the device’s receiver. Finally, this value is decoded and the action is executed. 

In order to combine all of these differing code patterns into a single place, YouTuber Endpoint101 decided to use an Arduino Nano plus an infrared receiver and separate emitter to act as a translator for an Amazon Fire TV remote, creating a truly universal remote control. Whenever a new device is being added, he must first press the button on the target device’s controller, which can be anything from a direction, media playback, or a volume adjustment, where it’s then read by the Nano and stored. The last step is essentially creating a map between the already known codes from the Fire TV remote and setting them equal to the desired code. 

With this system, Endpoint101 can now activate any device he wants with just a single remote controller rather than having to search endlessly for the right one. To see more about this project, watch the video below!

The post Controlling any IR device with a remote and some hacking appeared first on Arduino Blog.

It’s about time we had another awesome clock post around here. [Mattaw] has liked binary clocks since he was 0 and decided to make one in stunning fashion by using driftwood, nature’s drillable, fillable enclosure.

That beautiful wiring job on the RGB LEDs was done in 18g copper. To keep the LEDs aligned during soldering, he drilled a a grid of holes just deep enough to hold ’em face down. There’s an IR remote to set the time, the color, and choice of alarm file, which is currently set to modem_sound.mp3.

Under the wood, there are a pair of Arduino Nanos, an mp3 decoder board, and an RTC module. Why two Nanos, you ask? Well, the IR interrupts kept, uh, interrupting the LED timing. The remote feature was non-negotiable, so [mattaw] dedicated one Nano to receive remote commands, which it streams serially to the other. Here’s another nice touch: there’s an LDR in one of the nooks or crannies that monitors ambient light so the LEDs are never too bright. Don’t wait another second to check it out—we’ve got 10 videos of it after the break.

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first binary clock we’ve seen.  This honey of a clock uses RGB LEDs to tell the time analog style.

What kind of TV do you have? An older 720p model, or the now standard 1080p? Perhaps you’ve made the leap to the next generation, and are rocking a 4K display in the living room. All those are are fine and dandy if you just want to watch the local sportball contest, but where’s the challenge in that? With all the technology and modular components we have access to anymore, nowadays all the real hackers are making their own TVs.

Of course, when [Nikolai] built his very own LED TV, he did have to make a few concessions. For one thing, there’s no tuner on this model. Oh, and there’s the small issue of only having a 16×16 resolution. It might not be your idea of the perfect display, but it’s just perfect for his newborn son.

That’s right, [Nikolai] got his entry for the “Hacker Parent of the Year” award in early, and built an LED display for his son that he’s calling “BabyTV”.

Rather than the shows, trash, advertisements that they play on the kid channels, this TV only shows animated characters from retro games. We’ll concede that this project might be an elaborate Clockwork Orange style attempt at hypnotizing his son to instill an appreciation for classic gaming. But we’ll allow it.

To make his BabyTV go, [Nikolai] used a 16×16 WS2812B LED panel and an Arduino Nano. Two rotary encoders are used to allow adjusting brightness and change the character currently being shown on the screen. As a particularly clever hack, the Arduino has an IR sensor attached and is constantly watching for any signals. If an IR signal is detected, the BabyTV switches to the next image. So if Junior has a standard IR remote in his hands, any button he presses will cause the display to change to the next “channel”.

Historically speaking we haven’t seen much stuff for children here at Hackaday, but 2018 seems to be changing that. Recent projects like the incredible scratch built mini excavator and gorgeous AT-ST high chair would seem to indicate we’re currently witnessing a generation of hackers become parents. Don’t panic folks, but we might be getting old.

mainIn this project, I'll show you how to set up some simple infrared remote controls for effects that you can use in your haunted house this year.

Read more on MAKE

The post Control Halloween Effects with DIY Infrared Remote Controls appeared first on Make: DIY Projects, How-Tos, Electronics, Crafts and Ideas for Makers.



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