IRBlaster.info

Control your set top box behind closed doors

2010-04-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

We have solutions to control any set top box or other infrared equipment behind closed doors. It is possible to hide your catv, verizon fios, or satellite box in a cabinet or closet and still use your remote control for as little as $13. If you need help selecting the best solution for your application please e-mail mike@irblaster.info.

Control your lights via your iPhone

2010-03-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

We've all seen the AT&T commercials where lights are controlled via the iPhone, but what they don't say is what app they are using.

The answer is the smartlinc. The smartlinc is an insteon enabled device that has a built in web server allowing control of insteon devices from any web browser including your iPhone.

The smartlinc is available for $130. As always, insteon orders from us ship free when ordering over $100 in merchandise and we are happy to create special bundle deals to save you even more money.

Please contact us to create a customized bundle for you!

Albert's FTDI IR Receiver/Transmitter

2010-02-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

We found Albert Huitsing's page on how to make a homebrew IR receiver and transmitter using an FTDI MM232R prototype module and thought we had to give it a try ourselves. We were thinking this little module would be the perfect thing to interface our motorola style IR receivers and Tivo Style IR Transmitters to the USB port. To do this, all we would need to do is modify Albert's design to include the necessary 1/8" (3.5mm) jacks.

We decided to run this test by making a small board. This way, we figured we could make up a couple for only a bit more money and share the results with others. The board is pictures above with our 1/8" plug IR receiver cables plugged into it and it works great (notice the improved styling on the IR Receiver head as well).

Albert also has a patch on his website to allow for transmitting, but we haven't tried that yet. We did put an option to install another 1/8" jack on the back side for connection to our tivo style ir blaster. We'll post here when we get around to testing transmitters.

We did notice a couple items when testing the receiver so far that should be noted:
(1) In the lirc daemons/hw_ftdi.c we had to change the sample rate from 16 to 32. It seems our FTDI chips sample at double the rate as the ones Albert tested. We didn't see a spec in the datasheet showing the correct sample rate. We also had to compensate for the doubling of sample rate by halving the baud rate from 4800 to 2400.

(2) On computers with only a USB 1.1 port, mode2 worked, but irw did not. On all computers we tested with USB 2.0 ports both mode2 and irw worked as expected.

Click Here for Ordering Information

Extension cables are back in stock

2009-12-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

Five foot extension cables for the motorola style ir extendenders are back in stock. With these extension cables you can place the IR receiver head up to 11 feet from your motorola cable box (even if the box is behind closed doors).

Motorola Style IR Receiver works on Pace DC700X Apache

2009-10-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

Shaun in Miami reported the Motorola Style IR Receiver works on the PACE DC700X apache boxes. Thank's Shaun. Unfortunately we can't test every box so we welcome these types of comments.

Upgraded Motorola Style IR Receiver

2009-10-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

If you bought a Motorola Style IR Receiver from us in the past month you may have noticed an improvement to our design. We modified the housing and strain relief to make the product look even better. Here's one of the new designed receivers stuck to a plasma tv. Of course the old style still works great too. Some people even prefer the old style with the slightly smaller head.

For the foreseable future we'll be shipping this new style casing unless you note in your order you would like the older style. We hope you continue to enjoy using the "IR REMOTE INPUT" jacks on your motorola boxes!

Build your own cheap multi function camera controller

2009-10-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

I just found this instructable article by Josh on how to build your own cheap multi functional camera controller. The basic idea is to use an SLR camera with an infrared (IR) controlled shutter along with a microcontroller. Josh wrote some software for the microcontroller to choose shutter trigger options via a simple push button menu and then fire off the camera at the appropriate time.

The infrared output is via an IR led. Personally, I would have used one of our tivo style ir blasters with 1/8" plug.

This also got me thinking of a great use for our RS232 IR Blaster and RS232 IR receiver. Using lirc or winlirc and a PC the same exact controller can be built to control your camera. Yes, you'll need to have the PC near the camera, but this may not be a problem for some of the shots Josh had intended to take with this rig. I also thing a PC based design can be made much faster and cheaper assuming the PC is already available.

Remember: If you make a unique setup like this using our parts and send us the details you can qualify for our food for your thoughts promotion.

irblaster.info on facebook

2009-08-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

If you like our products please become a fan on facebook to share our site with your friends!

motorola style ir receivers + light up ir blasters in stock

2009-05-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Both items are back in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

Motorola Remote IR Customer Picture

2009-04-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Jim in Coltsneck, NJ sent us this picture of our motorola style ir receiver tucked down by the stand for his Samsung LCD TV. The Verizon FiOS QIP 7100 is tucked away neatly behind the cabinet doors below the tv.

Motorola Style IR Remote Input Cables

2009-04-01T17:47:00.001-07:00

We now have cables to connect to the IR Remote Input jacks of Motorola cable boxes. Works great with the QIP 7100 and QIP 7216 used by verizon FiOS. Now you can control your box behind closed doors without an expensive IR distribution kit.

Light Up IR Blasters back in stock

2009-03-28T18:02:00.001-07:00

We have a limited number of the light up RS232 IR Blasters back in stock. These are just like the regular RS232 blasters, but they have a clear head that lights up with both visible and infrared light on transmission. This makes setting up your system even easier!

Extra IR Stuff - Leap Frog LF-IRX-RX

2009-03-01T13:56:00.001-08:00

We somehow end up with many extra IR components sitting around our shop. These are one off items that are taking up space and we have to get rid of them. We could put them up on e-bay, but the e-bay and paypal fees are so much it's not even worth it. I decided I'll start posting the stuff here to to avoid those fees (essentially saving the buyer money) and keep this stuff out of our local landfill.

Today I have an extra Leap Frog add-on receiver for the LF-IRX system Model LF-IRX-RX. I don't think they make this thing anymore, but if you have the original system you can expand it with this extra receiver.

In the box:
(1) IR Receiver
(1) AC adapter
(1) IR Blaster (I don't even know why this is in there, but hey it would cost you an extra $6 to get one of these on the main page of this site)

$15 shipped with payment via google checkout. E-mail to make a deal.

Keypad Linc as Access Control Keypad

2009-02-22T07:39:00.000-08:00

I would like to use an 8 button insteon keypad linc as the keypad for an access control system.

The Idea
You enter a 4 letter code on the keypad and the correct code sends an unlock signal to a door strike

The Implementation Plan
First, the supplies I'll need:

Insteon 8 Button Keylinc controller
Insteon I/O Linc Relay
Door Contact
Door Contact Power Supply
Insteon PLC Modem
Automation software or script

This is the easiest way I can think of to accomplish this. I'm open for suggestions on how to improve the system before I test it out.

First, I'll set each button to send a different X10 Unit OFF Code. There are several reasons I am choosing X10 for this. I won't have to link the keypad with the PLC modem, I can use an ocelot controller if so desired, the keypad linc won't be waiting for an ack, and the keypad linc LEDs will remain off during the button pushes.

On the controller end, I can simply look for the correct sequence of X10 codes. If I get an incorrect sequence or a timeout I'll go back to the start of my script. If the correct sequence is entered I can send the code to the I/O linc device controlling the door contact. The keypad itself can be linked to the I/O contact controller such that the on/off led on the keypad indicates the status of the lock.

This system can be improved such that each user has their own code and entry is logged.

Access time restrictions can also be easily added.

With 7 buttons and 4 letter codes we have a 1:2401 chance of someone guessing the code. A timeout between incorrect codes can be added to the script to decrease the chances of guessing.

Food for your thoughts

2009-02-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

We are looking for creative uses of the products found on this website. If you share your ideas with us and we decide to post them here we'll send you some yummy goodies as a thank you. Sorry, we can only ship yummy goodies within the USA.

Insteon Project Ideas

2009-01-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

I'm using this post as temporary storage of some ideas for insteon projects. Later, I'll create additional details of how to actually implement each idea. I would love to hear any ideas that irblaster.info users have as well to add to this list:

Install a new light switch in that pefect location even when you can't get a wire there.
Midnight Snack Button - add a button next to your bed to create a 10% light dim path from your bed to the refrigerator for a mid night snack
Guest Bathroom Mode - re-program off as a 10% dim so the bathroom light functions as a night light. Your guests can always find their way at night
Garage Door Monitor - have a keypad light control the garage door and also indicate the status of the door.
Turn off lights when nobody is around - interface to a motion sensor to make sure only occupied rooms are lit.
Control your drapes from an insteon keypad
Control your gas fireplace from an insteon keypad
Theme Park Usage - have a keypad button execute a macro that starts the show
Keypad Linc for access control

Automatic Christmas Train

2008-12-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Eric Sorensen has some info on controlling an IR based train set. To do the job, he made his own IR Blaster and receiver and used his sound card to capture the waveform.

This sounds like a great project to re-create with the IR Blasters and receivers sold here! It would certainly take a lot less time to setup with lirc.

IR Receivers back in stock

2008-11-02T09:14:00.001-08:00

Both cabled and standard IR Receivers are now back in stock and available for immediate shipment.

Become a fan of irblaster.info

2008-08-21T18:18:00.001-07:00

If you like irblaster.info and facebook feel free to join our fan club!

Individually control up to 2,048 Infrared Targets

2008-08-02T07:55:00.001-07:00

We have had several customers ask us how to control a large number of identical infrared targets. The most common application seems to be set top box developers who want to test hundreds of boxes all closely stacked in the same room. We have also seen demand for this type of system in hotel/bar applications with a large number of TV decoder boxes feeding a single media server.

The solution we typically recommend for these applications is the ocelot controller coupled with 16 zone IR expansion modules. Once connected, each ir blaster can be individually controlled by sending a command using the CPUXA protocol via rs232 from a PC.

More details on these items can be found on our special order page. Please contact mike at irblaster dot info with your specific needs and we can put together a great package deal for you.

upgrade quad kits to octal kits

2008-07-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Quad kits can now be used to control up to 8 infrade devices by upgrading the ir emitters to double headed light up units. The upgrade is available on both the RS232 (serial) version of the quad ir blaster kit and the in wall ir receiver version for $20. Just add the upgrade to your cart after you add the kit!

foobar2000 on a laptop

2008-07-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Jeremy in NY wrote me to say he was using the irblaster.info cabled RS232 ir receiver on his windows XP desktop to control foobar2000. Foobar has a winlirc client plugin that makes this possible and he was enjoying the setup, but wanted to also have it work on laptop. As is the case with most laptopsl these days, his did not have a serial port. The solution: a 16C550 compatable PCMCIA uart card from dealextreme for just $17.25 with free shipping. Jeremy is now able to enjoy foobar on both of his machines!

Do you have an irblaster.info story that you would like posted here? E-mail it to mike at irblaster dot info.

IR Blaster on Wikipedia

2008-06-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

A while back I put a few notes on infrared blasters on wikipedia. Hopefully it will have some more details filled in by myself or some others in the near future.

Research Paper with IRBlaster.info products

2008-05-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

I was googling for interesting uses of products from this website again and I came across a research paper on Measuring perceived video quality of MPEG enhancement by people with impaired vision. The paper mentions using our IR Receiver to allow participants to interact with a PC via remote control.
Thanks for the mention!

Double Headed LU IR Blasters Back In Stock

2008-04-29T20:18:00.001-07:00

The double headed light up ir blasters with 1/8" plugs are back in stock, but on a very limited supply. They are currently available for $12 each. Single headed light up ir blasters are only available for large special order applications. (Note: We have plenty of the standard non light up variety on hand and ready to ship - just $6 for the 1/8" plug version)