- Feb 22, 2007
- 16,240
- 7
- 76
I have put together a very cheap way of controlling a pc via remote, including power on and off and reset. I know there are some cases that have these functions but they are pretty limited and cost quite a bit.
Cost of what I have put together is probably about $15 depending on how far you want to take it and what kind of build quality and how much work you want to put into it.
Benefits so far
-------------------------
Works with almost any remote you currently have, no need to use a special one.
Requires no drivers to be installed.
Connects via USB
Has the ability to control much more than just the on/off/reset.
Doubles as a universal IR receiver for any OS you want without custom drivers, no 64 bit, signed drivers or anything like that to worry about.
Can send IR codes that it has learned.
Right now I am in the process of finalizing the code that the device runs. All the above is already feature complete. I'm working on adding support for the DirecTV remotes protocol as it isn't using any of the standard IR formats.
Currently the way it works is you connect the device to a usb port. The ir sensor and transmitter is on a wire lead you can place anywhere you like where it can get signal. There are then two wire leads , one for the reset pins , the other for power. Finally one last lead that is an led light to display the status and that the device has power.
When you plug it in , it should install the drivers needed automatically. The chipset the USB interface uses is FTDI based and 99% of all OS have drivers already installed or easily downloaded. It will show up as a USB com port. At that point you can launch any terminal application that is based on the VT method, not a program that sends lines, but one that works like a remote terminal. This allows you to use just about any OS in existence.
In the terminal it displays a menu and waits for input. The choices are things like record remote codes, display remote codes, change power on/off options, change remote control power button used.
After it is setup you no longer need to ever log into it again for it to work. Press the power button on the remote you setup and the status light will start to blink about 1 time a second. It will stay blinking for 10 seconds. During that time you can press the 1 key on the remote and it will do a safe shutdown via OS. 2 key on remote and it will do a hard shutdown, good if pc is frozen or you are in a hurry. 3 key on remote and it will perform a reset . If you do nothing in the 10 seconds it goes back to normal and the pc stays in its current state.
For remote control use in applications like windows you need the program eventghost, you can get here:
http://www.eventghost.org/
In eventghost , add the plugin serial commands. Now anytime a button is pressed on a remote , whether it has learned that remote or not the device will send the button information to eventghost. You can then use that program to control just about anything on the pc with any remote you have.
In linux you can use programs like Lirc to map button functions.
What I am considering:
support for LCD display - probably cost about $10 to add
support for fan control - will up the cost to build by about $10
support for voltage monitoring from points you select on board , not via the motherboards reporting - about $10 to add
current monitoring, the ability to monitor how much power your video card or hard drive or cpu is using in amps or watts. - this one could be done I think for about $15
The micro I am using to control everything has enough free space remaining to add the optional code so no problem there. And I think it best to keep all the other hardware as options rather than part of the basic design so people can choose to use what they need most.
Seeking input or questions on features, what I may have forget, what you think it needs ?
Project will be released as open source when I finish. It will require some electrical building skills to construct, but nothing too complex. Basically just connecting stuff.
Thoughts ?
Cost of what I have put together is probably about $15 depending on how far you want to take it and what kind of build quality and how much work you want to put into it.
Benefits so far
-------------------------
Works with almost any remote you currently have, no need to use a special one.
Requires no drivers to be installed.
Connects via USB
Has the ability to control much more than just the on/off/reset.
Doubles as a universal IR receiver for any OS you want without custom drivers, no 64 bit, signed drivers or anything like that to worry about.
Can send IR codes that it has learned.
Right now I am in the process of finalizing the code that the device runs. All the above is already feature complete. I'm working on adding support for the DirecTV remotes protocol as it isn't using any of the standard IR formats.
Currently the way it works is you connect the device to a usb port. The ir sensor and transmitter is on a wire lead you can place anywhere you like where it can get signal. There are then two wire leads , one for the reset pins , the other for power. Finally one last lead that is an led light to display the status and that the device has power.
When you plug it in , it should install the drivers needed automatically. The chipset the USB interface uses is FTDI based and 99% of all OS have drivers already installed or easily downloaded. It will show up as a USB com port. At that point you can launch any terminal application that is based on the VT method, not a program that sends lines, but one that works like a remote terminal. This allows you to use just about any OS in existence.
In the terminal it displays a menu and waits for input. The choices are things like record remote codes, display remote codes, change power on/off options, change remote control power button used.
After it is setup you no longer need to ever log into it again for it to work. Press the power button on the remote you setup and the status light will start to blink about 1 time a second. It will stay blinking for 10 seconds. During that time you can press the 1 key on the remote and it will do a safe shutdown via OS. 2 key on remote and it will do a hard shutdown, good if pc is frozen or you are in a hurry. 3 key on remote and it will perform a reset . If you do nothing in the 10 seconds it goes back to normal and the pc stays in its current state.
For remote control use in applications like windows you need the program eventghost, you can get here:
http://www.eventghost.org/
In eventghost , add the plugin serial commands. Now anytime a button is pressed on a remote , whether it has learned that remote or not the device will send the button information to eventghost. You can then use that program to control just about anything on the pc with any remote you have.
In linux you can use programs like Lirc to map button functions.
What I am considering:
support for LCD display - probably cost about $10 to add
support for fan control - will up the cost to build by about $10
support for voltage monitoring from points you select on board , not via the motherboards reporting - about $10 to add
current monitoring, the ability to monitor how much power your video card or hard drive or cpu is using in amps or watts. - this one could be done I think for about $15
The micro I am using to control everything has enough free space remaining to add the optional code so no problem there. And I think it best to keep all the other hardware as options rather than part of the basic design so people can choose to use what they need most.
Seeking input or questions on features, what I may have forget, what you think it needs ?
Project will be released as open source when I finish. It will require some electrical building skills to construct, but nothing too complex. Basically just connecting stuff.
Thoughts ?
Facebook
Twitter