It seems that every electronic device manufactured these days has a remote control. These work by sending a "code" of infrared (IR) light pulses to the device being controlled. By using an Arduino or ESP8266 with an IR receiver, the signals coming from the remotes can be captured, decoded and saved.
So far, we can control three different TV's, a cable box, and a stereo amplifier.
Tiffany's Lights, Radio and Fan is basically a three channel relay box. It has three 110v outlets that she can turn on and off controlled by a custom pop-up window for the Communicator. It also has one always on outlet.
The relay box utilizes Async Streams to transfer serial data between her laptop using a Java based program written in B4J (Basic For Java) and a WIFI connected ESP8266 programmed in B4R (Basic For Arduino). The relay box has a Reset Button and a OLED display. The display is not necessary for the system to work, but it does present a visual feedback of what is going on.
The other box labeled Relay Contact is just that. It just contains a 110v coil relay that provides a contact output. Currently, it is plugged in to the "Fan" outlet, and is being used to control a "Wave Machine" by emulating the on/off switch of the wave machine.
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
 Smartphone_App.b4r | 4 kB | |
 T_Lights_Concept.b4j | 4 kB |
My wife "suggested" that I keep my vinyl collection and turntable in the closet adjacent to my computer desk. Actually, it works out well, since it has a baseboard heater, and the lack of a HVAC duct helps keep the dust down. I keep the door shut most of the time, but that means that I have to open the door if I want to control the amplifier volume with the remote.
ESP8266 to the rescue! A simple circuit with one transistor driven IR LED, and programs by B4R and B4J, problem solved.
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
| Denon_IR_send.b4j | 3 kB | |
| Denon_IR_Send.b4r | 3 kB |
When we remodeled the house 25 years ago, one of the things that we wanted was a built-in aquarium in the master bedroom. It was cool to watch the fish, and lasted for about ten years, but the maintenance got to be a bit too much. The opening sat empty for a long time. Technology brought us flat screen LED TV's, and an idea was hatched. Build-in the TV and play an aquarium video. Perfect!
Almost. Using the remote to turn on the TV, load the video from a USB stick, and starting the video was a long, slow, multi-step process. Using an ESP8266, a transistor driven IR LED and buzzer, along with a push button switch, made the procedure easy. Push the button and hold until it buzzes starts the process. To shut everything down, push and hold the button again until it buzzes. Easy!
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
| Aquarium_TV_ESP8266.ino | 3 kB |
Not to be confused with Tiffany's TV IR Remote Control, this device automatically turns down the volume of the TV if it gets too loud. Tiffany sometimes gets carried away, and this takes care of the problem.
The heart of this device is an Arduino Nano. The Nano utilizes an Adafruit #1063 microphone module for an input, and outputs to a transistor driven IR LED for a output. A 20x2 LCD is also incorporated to aid in setting the adjustable volume threshold. The level is set by a push-button switch. When the Avg Level is greater than the Max Level, the IR LED sends a Volume Down signal to the TV.
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
| SSTV_Volume_Nano_LCD_Mic_LEK9.ino | 6 kB |