how much are ir blasters anyways??
how to build an IR Blaster...?
Went to my local ratshaq today, and i asked the kid for an ir blaster, after explaining wtf an IR blaster is, he searched the puter and said they didn't have it, and after looking around, I decided he was telling the truth, so looking at the irblasters online, it looks like just an ir led on a headphone wire, paying somthing for this seems silly, as I have countless old remotes and headphone jacks...
but Id like to get an idea, of how its wired to the jack, and does it need a resistor or anything in between??
Ive been googling for almost an hour and Ive only found plans for a serial(rs232,db9) It says it needs a resistor and a diode, but this may have something to do with the serial comms.
bhang
but Id like to get an idea, of how its wired to the jack, and does it need a resistor or anything in between??
Ive been googling for almost an hour and Ive only found plans for a serial(rs232,db9) It says it needs a resistor and a diode, but this may have something to do with the serial comms.
bhang
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
If I could find somewhere to have bought one today, I would have...
But, I made mine in in less time than it took to find my ir code, and since I used an old orphaned remote, and a busted headphone wire(it only needs 2 wires ie: a mono headset plug) it was free, even if ya factor in my labor cost it was just a dollar(@60$ an hour~)
so all in all, ill keep my 5 bucks
5 bucks for an led with a wire and a headphone jack, is robbery its not magic
In the end I just used trial and error, more trial than error since I got the pin-out right on the first try...
thanks,
bhang
But, I made mine in in less time than it took to find my ir code, and since I used an old orphaned remote, and a busted headphone wire(it only needs 2 wires ie: a mono headset plug) it was free, even if ya factor in my labor cost it was just a dollar(@60$ an hour~)
so all in all, ill keep my 5 bucks
5 bucks for an led with a wire and a headphone jack, is robbery its not magic
In the end I just used trial and error, more trial than error since I got the pin-out right on the first try...
thanks,
bhang
It's not robbery, considering retail markup it's actually quite reasonable. Just make sure that you use an infrared LED.
They are electrically simple.
The tip (or left circuit, if you are using a stereo headphone wire) goes to the anode of the IR LED, the cathode of the LED (flat side on the base) goes to the sleeve of the plug, or shield of headphone cable. You need no resistor, that is built into the TiVo.
Insulate the connections and attach to some contraption to illuminate the IR receiver on your STB.
On one of my satellite receivers, I went to the next level, by attaching the phototransistor side of an optocoupler (pulled from and old PSU) in parallel with it's IR receiver, and the LED side of the optocoupler (plus a current limiting resistor, as its LED doesn't need the current an IR LED needs) to a cord with 1/8" plug, as if it were an IR blaster. Works fine.
The tip (or left circuit, if you are using a stereo headphone wire) goes to the anode of the IR LED, the cathode of the LED (flat side on the base) goes to the sleeve of the plug, or shield of headphone cable. You need no resistor, that is built into the TiVo.
Insulate the connections and attach to some contraption to illuminate the IR receiver on your STB.
On one of my satellite receivers, I went to the next level, by attaching the phototransistor side of an optocoupler (pulled from and old PSU) in parallel with it's IR receiver, and the LED side of the optocoupler (plus a current limiting resistor, as its LED doesn't need the current an IR LED needs) to a cord with 1/8" plug, as if it were an IR blaster. Works fine.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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