The remote for [Dillan Stock]’s TV broke, so he built a remote. Not just as a replacement but as something new. For some of us, there was a glorious time in the early 2000s when a smart remote was needed and there were options you could buy off the shelf. Just one handy button next to the screen had a macro programmed that would turn on the receiver, DVD player, and TV, and then configure it with the right inputs. However, the march of technological convenience has continued and nowadays soundbars turn on just in time and the TV auto switches the input. Many devices are (for better or worse) connected to WiFi, allowing all sorts of automation.
[Dillan] was lucky enough that his devices were connected to his home assistant setup. So this remote is an ESP32 running ESPHome. These automations could be triggered by your phone or via voice assistant. What is more interesting is watching [Dillan] go through the design process. Deciding what buttons there should be, where they should be placed, and how the case would snap together takes real effort. The design uses all through-hole components except for the ESP32 which is a module.
This isn’t the first thing [Dillan] has made with an ESP32, as he previously revamped a non-standard smart lamp with the versatile dev board. The 3d printable files for the remote are free available. Video after the break.
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Back in the day, I decided to engineer my own laser tag system. (Like, my own guns and targets/vests/etc.) And laser tag systems basically always work via IR signals very similar to TV remote controls.
I did the research, wrote the code, bought the components, and put together a few prototypes on breadboards to at least test that I had the electronics right (if not the optics.) (I ran into issues, though. I put together four prototypes and all four seemed to be emitting the signals via the IR LEDs correctly, but only one was able to receive the signals. It was years after I gave up on the project that I ran across some article somewhere that mentioned that breadboards and high frequency signals do not play well together. I haven't confirmed that, but that's my theory what the issue was. Anyway, back to the main story.)
I was working on this project with the TV going in the background. And, amazingly, some stars aligned and the signal I told my laser tag prototypes to emit coincidentally matched something my TV recognized. (I think it was volume down, but I don't remember for sure.) And my TV started responding to my laser tag system.
I got the signal I was having my prototypes emit from a publicly-published open standard specifically made for laser tag systems. So, the format of the individual signals/packets between TVs and that open laser tag system are just identical and some of the message identifiers collide.
It was a cool thing to accidentally stumble across.