The latest version of this article is now on the documentation wiki. The USB Infrared Toy contains a self-test that’s not documented in the original how-to. The self-test is used to detect dead hardware after manufacturing. To use the self-test, open a terminal program to the USB IR Toy’s serial port and type ‘t’ or […]
Category Archives: Infrared toy
USB IR Toy preorder 1 defect
Unfortunately there’s a defect in the first batch of USB IR Toys. The infrared LED is backwards and does not emit properly. Ytsirk caught this defect and documented the issue in the forum.We’re really sorry about this bug, and we’ve done our best to track it and identify the cause. We used a Cadsoft Eagle […]
IR or RF remote control design
There’s been talk of adapting the USB Infrared Toy to transmit AM radio frequencies as well as infrared light. Today we noticed a similar project by Peter Jakab. Peter’s DIY remote control based on PIC can emit IR or RF, depending on the output device. With an IR LED and it outputs normal remote control […]
IRScope open source remote control visualizer
rct tipped us to the open source IRScope software from the hifi-remote forums. IRScope captures and visualizes infrared signals with the IR Widget, but it could be adapted for the USB IR toy IRIO mode or SUMP logic analyzer mode. You can get a USB IR Toy for $20, including worldwide shipping. Seeed Studio currently has […]
USB IR Toy transmit frequency
Most infrared remote controls emit modulated light pulses to activate an infrared receiver. Using modulated IR light helps prevent stray light from messing with reception. Pulses at around 38kHz and 56kHz are common, but many values are used. The USB IR Toy’s transmitting LED is driven by a pulse-width modulator (PWM) that can be adjusted […]
USB Infrared Toy arriving worldwide
USB Infrared Toy orders are starting to be delivered worldwide. Coolnics and rsdio posted these pictures along with good news about shipping times: USB IR Toy arrived yesterday from Seeed to UK in 1 week, much faster than last order. Thanks for the update. Another unboxing photo after the break. More in the USB IR […]
USB IR Toy Shipping?
There is an unconfirmed report that the first USB IR Toys will ship today. We’ll update when we hear more. The USB IR Toy is currently listed as sold-out at Seeed, we’re working on continuous stock.
Prototype: USB infrared remote control receiver/transmitter
The most recent documentation is now on the wiki. UPDATE: there is now a USB IR Toy v2! Infrared remote controls are ubiquitous, they’re used everywhere but we don’t give them much thought. The goal of this project is to investigate the invisible signals emitted by remote controls. This IR hacking tool can visualize infrared […]
Instructables version of remote pumpkin
We posted the Instructables version of the RGB remote control pumpkin.
Remote control color changing pumpkin
Halloween is only a few days away. We’re getting into the spirit by building a remote control color changing pumpkin. Channel buttons 0-8 on the remote toggle the colors of the rainbow. Button 9 activates an ‘angry pumpkin’ mode that flashes a scary red strobe for a few seconds. It uses a minimal PIC 18F2550 […]