now i'm a pretty smart dude, but riddle me this

[syf350]

this little gadget has me completely baffled. My brother bought one to control the tv outside his rv, and I have since bought one.

since the satellite receiver is inside the rv, we'd have to go inside with the IR remote to change the channel.

this little damn magic doohickie just has me baffled. it turns your IR remote into an RF remote by simply replacing the batteries and one of the new batteries is an RF transmitter. Simple enough, BUT how the hell does the RF transmitter get the IR signal to know what to send out in RF:willy:

NextGen IR to RF to IR Remote Control Range Extender Kit, 433 MHz - Smarthome (http://www.smarthome.com/8045I/NextGen-IR-to-RF-to-IR-Remote-Control-Range-Extender-Kit-433-MHz/p.aspx)

[Cybercowboy]

Good question. I don't see anything in the description or the comments that I've read that shed light on that.

[NeedSpeed]

It must pick up the signals in the powering of the circuit that command the IR.

[xXBUDXx]

It's voodoo. :willy:

[lander]

Well duh, just scroll down and it answers your question!

"magically".

/thread

[Jobaka]

It's voodoo. :willy:

http://www.consolegames.ro/forum/attachments/f7-news/160841d1331379709-sorcery-primit-data-de-lansare-what-kind-sorcery-.jpg

[syf350]

It must pick up the signals in the powering of the circuit that command the IR.

but how? it's only connected to the battery terminals. surely there is no "smart" circuitry in the power terminals.:willy:

[Cybercowboy]

but how? it's only connected to the battery terminals. surely there is no "smart" circuitry in the power terminals.:willy:

Exactly. Perhaps enough infrared light leaks inside the case? I'd have to see one first hand.

[Juggalo1]

If you have DTV you can simply switch the box and remote to RF.

[kingpin]

The battery is the IR receiver.
I don't see what's not to understand.

[Cybercowboy]

The battery is the IR receiver.
I don't see what's not to understand.

That assumes there is IR to receive in the battery cavity. That was the first thing I thought of but there would be all sorts of remotes where that wouldn't work. For instance, the battery slot of my Pioneer receiver remote is entirely sealed from the rest of the remote. Same with the DirecTV remote, and that was just the first two I checked.

[NeedSpeed]

From a review:


It turns out that each IR command issued by your remote also produces a small amount of RF leakage that "looks" just like the IR command. So the transceiver handles the task of sniffing out this wimpy RF signal and forwarding it to the base station, effectively making your IR remote into an RF remote.


:cool:

[Cybercowboy]

From a review:



:cool:

Ah, well, I can see lots of problems with this. I doubt every IR remote produces such a weak signal. However that does make sense and is really the only logical way it can work.

[kingpin]

That assumes there is IR to receive in the battery cavity. That was the first thing I thought of but there would be all sorts of remotes where that wouldn't work. For instance, the battery slot of my Pioneer receiver remote is entirely sealed from the rest of the remote. Same with the DirecTV remote, and that was just the first two I checked.

Most receivers and up to date technology has rf built in doesn't it.

[Cybercowboy]

Most receivers and up to date technology has rf built in doesn't it.

Sort of. What they typically have is an input for a RF signal, so you can connect an antenna to it if you have a universal remote that can send RF.

And that's just some of the higher-end receivers. The cheap ones, not usually.

[syf350]

That assumes there is IR to receive in the battery cavity. That was the first thing I thought of but there would be all sorts of remotes where that wouldn't work. For instance, the battery slot of my Pioneer receiver remote is entirely sealed from the rest of the remote. Same with the DirecTV remote, and that was just the first two I checked.

Also assumes the rf transmitter has an ir receiver, which I don't think it does.

[Cybercowboy]

Also assumes the rf transmitter has an ir receiver, which I don't think it does.

Actually most "high end" receivers have input/output for a IR "wire" that daisy-chains devices together and allows a single IR receiver to transmit signals to all devices. Then you can get a RF to IR device, similar to the base station of this thing, and use a universal remote with RF to control everything. That's how my Pioneer AVR would work if I had to control it using IR, which I don't.

[Cybercowboy]

Some of the DirecTV receivers have a coax-style connection for an external antenna and it comes with their RF version of their remote. You can tell a DirecTV RF remote from a non-RF version because the RF version has a FCC sticker on the back.

[ZipZap]

Ah, well, I can see lots of problems with this. I doubt every IR remote produces such a weak signal. However that does make sense and is really the only logical way it can work.

This likely isn't over the air leakage, it's circuitry leakage. And it is only rf in the widest use of the term. Typical ir transmitter circuits have the batteries across the ir led and a series resistor. A sense circuit in the battery would easily measure the typical 1 kHz digital pattern laid on the 30-60 kHz carrier via current draw. Then it just converts the information to over-the-air and transmits to an rf-to-ir receiver near the equipment.

[syf350]

This likely isn't over the air leakage, it's circuitry leakage. And it is only rf in the widest use of the term. Typical ir transmitter circuits have the batteries across the ir led and a series resistor. A sense circuit in the battery would easily measure the typical 1 kHz digital pattern laid on the 30-60 kHz carrier via current draw. Then it just converts the information to over-the-air and transmits to an rf-to-ir receiver near the equipment.

hmmmm.....