IR Remote Wand Simplifies Device Control
When you sit down to watch television, operate a DVD player, or listen to your stereo, you likely need several remotes working together in…
When you sit down to watch television, operate a DVD player, or listen to your stereo, you likely need several remotes working together in a coordinated fashion. Most of us just accept the fact that we need several units with dozens of buttons to activate the same fiveor so commands over and over. David Johnson-Davis, however, had had enough of these techno-shenanigans and decided to instead build a single remote wand with only five buttons, an ATtiny85 processor, and an infrared LED.
As you’re likely aware, the ATtiny85 has a total of five“ordinary” IO pins, leaving just enough space to drive the IR LED, along with four buttons. A fifth button is implemented on the reset pin, which unlike the other four buttons in this setup works upon release — a good choice for changing modes if more than five buttons are needed.
The microprocessor is put to sleep when not in use, requiring only .25µA, theoretically giving it several years of battery life from its 3.7V AAA-sized battery and avoiding the need for an on/off switch. As for where to find the various codes used in this device, he also has made a nice compact IR Remote Control Detective that we recently featured here.