RE: RE: was Digital Audio/ now Ir and IRDA

[Sam Partington]

I also suffer from the same infuriating situation, and have looked at
various alternatives for a solution.

1. Like the guy on the forum, I considered a IR relay unit, but it just
seemed to messy, and unlreliable.

2. An IrDA to serial converter, which I could then connect to a small PIC
or
AVR IR receiver, with a conversion table of known IR commands to IrDA
sequences in the firmware. The IrDA->Serial converter I was going to use
was the MAX3130 from www.maxim-ic.com
(look at <a href="http://dbserv.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm?appnote_number=631";>http://dbserv.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm?appnote_number=631</a>
and <a href="http://dbserv.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm?qv_pk=1947";>http://dbserv.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm?qv_pk=1947</a>
(sorry if these
lines wrap))
I even got as far as ordering some sample chips (which I still have two of
each chip required), before realising that I was going to have to brush up
on my electronics skills before attempting it. I may still do this at some
point, but not just yet.

3. Finally, as I'm slowly putting together a PC to go in my lounge, my plan
is to use the IrDA header on that, and an IR receiver, and implement the
converter in software.

However, option 2 still seems like the most attractive option to me. With a
suitable uP, you could even make the box a learning converter, i.e. press a
button to reset it, then zap the box with your IrDA remote, then zap it
with
the plain IR command with which you want it to be associated, and so on,
and
then finally press the button again to go out of learning mode. Would be
very neat.

Hope this helps somebody...

Sam


-----Original Message-----
From: simon still [mailto:<a
href="/group/kat5-users/post?postID=7c-R27W96fGM2hjPRRnhueWa3TJra__2TBXpOpBcIvpUGva-2wWZETUq6OYDESCD9SQo8fsLfn_-lMEs1Q">b33k34@h...</a>]
Sent: 10 January 2002 10:54
To: <a
href="/group/kat5-users/post?postID=eeTRd9A0aLy2SGrgo6k69LD28ttb_UxMzPBwfUdhPE3oiNHGlEGEtAMavmkV-CGFFmJi2Y--Fi6joQWVn5vo5jrZPE7M">kat5-users@xxxxxxx</a>
Subject: [KAT5] RE: was Digital Audio/ now Ir and IRDA


From: "Phil Harris" <<a
href="/group/kat5-users/post?postID=l6w32nxqf1y5gxDb580gIsOsYOyycSFHYc8LZlpH_cH29Fc3c1uZwUs-rpbJe1UzSinhH96-4UXYFR9G1FqNNy32BEzi">phillip.harris1@v...</a>>

Nope ... This was something that my mate stood up in front of a group of
NTL directors, NTL developers and Pace representatives and argued
against. He even borrowed my Pronto ......
[snip]
Their main reason for using IRDA - which is valid I guess - is that it
enabled them to support multiple controllers on one box to enable the
playing of multi user games. Howeverwhat we (or more accurately my mate)
was arguing for was them to supplement the IRDA control with a set of
standard IR codes that learning remotes could use.
[snip]
that would have been such a simple solution and left everyone happy. Since
the software in the box is fully upgradable presumably this could still be
added at a later date though i'd be surprised if NTL have any software
developers left let alone have any working on something like this.

There's a huge thread on remotecentral
<a href="http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-pronto/thread.cgi?2970";>http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-pronto/thread.cgi?2970</a>
that started back in Nov99 and includes reponses from NTL, Pace and
Phillips. One guy has gone as far as to rig something together with a
dismantled NTL remote, an IR reciever and a 15 relays to get some form of
control of the NTL box with his pronto. v1 had to be modified because of
the clicking noise the relays were making.

It is completely infuriating to have to pick up a second remote control to
alter the volume. Surely there must be an easier solution (Keith?) though
it seems these people have looked pretty hard.

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