Ramsey Electronics Model No. ICI16
Turn your old TV remote into a controller for your next hobby
project. Gives a 4-bit output for each button press. Oh, the
possibilities!
•
IR Receiver module with sensitive element can receive your
remote control up to 11 meters away.
•
Outputs a 4 bit number for each button pushed giving you 16
possible codes.
•
Up to 16 buttons can be used.
•
Receives IR from a remote control or an RF signal from our
wireless IR remote repeater, the RRW1A.
•
5VDC (regulated!) operation.
•
Convenient LED indicator lets you know infrared and
programming status.
•
Mode jumper for various interfaces to microcontrollers or external
ICs
16 CHANNEL
IR/RF REMOTE
INTERFACE
ICI16• 2
RAMSEY TRANSMITTER KITS
•
FM10A, FM25B FM Stereo Transmitters
•
FM100B Professional FM Stereo Transmitter
•
TXE433 or 916 Transmitter & Encoder Module
•
RXD433 or 916 Data Receiver& Decoder
•
RR1 Wired remote repeater
•
RRW1 Wireless remote repeater
RAMSEY RECEIVER KITS
•
FR1 FM Broadcast Receiver
•
AR1 Aircraft Band Receiver
•
SR2 Short-wave Receiver
RAMSEY HOBBY KITS
•
WEB1 Walking Electronic Bug
•
LEDS1 LED Strobe
•
BE66 Blinky Eyes
•
EDF1 Electronic Dripping Faucet
•
TFM3 Tri-Field Meter
•
LC1 Inductance-Capacitance Meter
RAMSEY AMATEUR RADIO KITS
•
HR Series HF All Mode Receivers
•
QRP Series HF CW Transmitters
•
CW7 CW Keyer
•
DDF1 Doppler Direction Finder
•
QRP Power Amplifiers
RAMSEY MINI-KITS
Many other kits are available for hobby, school, Scouts and just plain FUN. New
kits are always under development. Write or call for our free Ramsey catalog.
ICI16 REMOTE IN TERFACE KIT M AN U AL
Ramsey Electronics publication No. ICI16 Revision 1.2
First printing: January 2004 DAR
COPYRIGHT 2002 by Ramsey Electronics, Inc. 590 Fishers Station Drive, V ic t or, New York
14564. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be copied or duplic ated without the
written permission of Ramsey Electronics , I nc. P rinted i n the United Stat es of America.
ICI16• 3
ICI16 IR/RF CONTROL
INTERFACE KIT
Ramsey Publication No. ICI16
Price $5.00
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...........................................4
Theory of Operation ..............................5
Learn As You Build ...............................8
Parts List .............................................10
Parts Placement Diagram...................11
Assembly Steps...................................12
Testing and Programming...................14
Example Hookups...............................16
Troubleshooting ..................................17
Specifications......................................19
Schematic Diagram.............................22
Warranty..............................................23
KIT ASSEMBLY
AND INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR
ICI16• 4
ICI16 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the ICI16 kit . In this manual we will try to help you understand IR
remote controls and how they typically work, and also how this kit works, to
help you understand what you are bu ildin g.
Virtually any modern day consumer audio or video device contains an infrared
remote control unit. Usually our living room contains several of these to control
several different pieces of equipment. In fact we often have so many of these
little gems that it becomes necessary to obtain an “all in one” remote control
that controls all the functions of your entertainment system. Of course, this
leads to having several remote control units delegated to the junk drawer, and
that brought about the idea for this kit. Let’s put the old remotes to use
controlling an easy to build kit that will control different outputs. By toggling a
relay we can live the life of the future by remotely controlling our fans, lamps,
and even the coffee pot!
Let’s dig into these units a little bit. A typical infrared remote contains a few
functional parts in common with each other; we’ll examine them. First there is
some type of keypad assembly. Nowadays this is typically a large molded sheet
of rubber with the buttons protruding outward. The end of the button that you
cannot see is typically coated with a carbon dot that will make contact with the
printed circuit board underneath, completing the circuit when the button is
depressed (no, it’s not sad, it is just making contact!). This switch closure will
cause an Integrated Circuit on the circuit board to repeat a pre-determined
code at the output. This digital signal typically drives an infrared diode to
conduct on the front of the unit “broadcasting” the infrared signal to the
equipment to be controlled.
Our eyes are sensitive detectors in the visible light range but the wavelength
of the infrared diode falls outside that detection range. So we can’t see the
diode performing its function. But rest assured, given a fresh battery, it is
dutifully doing it over and over again. These codes are unique so that the
infrared detector on the equipment can determine what function each of the
buttons should be, and perform that operation. These controlling codes are
unique to each manufacturer so our kit needs to “learn” these codes to perform
the functions we require.
The RF section of the ICI16 is designed to receive pulses from an RF
transmitter that simply repeats IR pulses as RF pulses to be picked up. The
data is sent in an identical format in RF as it is in IR.
ICI16• 5
ICI16 THEORY OF OPERATION
At first look the ICI16 may seem quite simple, but there is actually quite a bit
to it on the “inside” of the components. Many items are inside the IR receiver
part (U3/4) and if built up with discrete components it would never fit in this
little kit. Inside this part there’s an IR detector diode, amplifier, AGC circuit,
band pass filter, a peak-hold circuit, an integrator, comparators, and an output
amp. Heck, the part is a kit in itself! Just be glad it is in one nice module all
ready to go. The pre-programmed microcontroller houses several thousand
transistors, memory locations, and an oscillator circuit. As a matter of fact,
building this kit 20 years ago would ha ve bee n nex t to impossible with the
complexity of the circuit(s) to accomplish the tasks at hand.
A typical IR remote controls send data on a 38kHz carrier, much like a radio
station does, only at a much lower frequency. The digital information is actually modulated onto the carrier frequency. A couple of the reasons for this are
to increase range and decrease interference from other IR sources such as
ambient light. Remember that infrared can also be thought of as “heat”; it is
one of the components of energy that comes from a heat source. The modulation is transmitted in an OOK (on off keying) fashion, meaning the IR LED is
switched on and off at a rate of 38kHz for a certain duration for a one, and
another certain duration for a zero, with pauses of no carrier in-between each
one and zero. A common remote control format does some special things to
differentiate a one from a zero for digital sending and receiving of data.
When the IR detector “sees” a 38kHz
IR signal, the output of the detector
goes low (it is inverted), when there is
no 38kHz signal, the output idles high.
On the output of the IR detector you
won’t see the 38kHz, just the data that
the 38kHz represents from your IR remote control. This allows the remote
control to save power since the IR LED
is “on” for a minimal amount of time.
SAMPLE
0 Bit
1 Bit
START
ICI16• 6
Typically a remote control will send data in a format consisting of time slices.
To send a zero, the IR LED will be off for one time slice, and then toggled at a
rate of 38kHz for the second time slice. To send a one, the IR remote will use
three time slices. Off for two time slices, and on for one. This makes things
easy on the receiver side, because we just have to look from the edge of the
first on-to-off transition to the middle of the second time slice (1 1/2 time slices
from the start) to determine the bit that was sent.
It’s important to note, however that most remote controls send a unique first
code that can be identified for each and every button as well as each and
every remote control. Some remotes will send a full data stream over and over
as long as you hold the button down, up to 48 bits per data stream. Other remotes will only send this full data stream once for the first depression, and
then a very short repeat code usually of only one bit, to save on batteries.
The ICI16 recognizes the full codes, and discards the short repeat codes
unless you are holding a button in position. If we didn’t do this, we couldn’t tell
one button from another! You will find that with some remotes, you need to
press the button twice to train the ICI16 to remember a certain button. This
means the remote you are using is using repeat codes. Other remotes just
require you to press and hold the button, so these are the ones that send the
same code over and over.
One other variance is the data rate from the remote. Generally most remotes
send at a rate of 2400 Hz time slices, but others send at only 1200 Hz time
slices. This presents a problem on slower remotes since the sample period
will always lie in a high or low portion of the subsequent data, meaning we will
receive nothing but ones or zeros. There is a speed switch you can flip to allow the ICI16 to work with these remotes. If an incorrect speed remote control
is detected, the microcontroller ignores the code. Then you can switch the
jumper over to the other speed and try again.
When you train the ICI16, the microcontroller looks at the data stream and
rejects those codes it sees as useless or unverified. The ICI16 looks at the
data from the remote sensor, makes sure it is not a repeat code, checks that it
is not the wrong speed, and then compares it to a previous send before saving
the new value in the Flash m em or y of the controller. That is why you have to
press the button twice on some remotes; so you can get the same code for
verification before saving.
After the ICI16 locks on to the code it outputs it at J1 as a 4-bit number. The
mode switch selects between two different methods of outputting data, and in
fact only affects the “VALID” line. With the switch in the up position (1) the
valid line will be held low (0V) for the entire depression of the remote control
codes being received. The ICI16 could receive the code 200 times in succession, but the line goes low at the end of the first code, and back high after the
last code plus a little delay.
ICI16• 7
With the mode switch In the other position (0), the valid line will pulse low for
each and every code. 200 valid codes will yield 200 low pulses. Normally the
line is held high.
The following shows the progress of receiving five valid codes programmed
for code 4 in mode 1 and mode 0.
DATA0
DATA1
DATA2
DATA3
VALID
DATA0
DATA1
DATA2
DATA3
VALID
CODE1
CODE2
CODE3
CODE4
CODE5
MODE0
MODE1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0100b = 4
ICI16• 8
RAMSEY “LEARN-AS-YOU-BUILD” ASSEMBLY STRATEGY
Be sure to read through all of the steps, and check the boxes as you go to be
sure you didn't miss any important steps. Although you may be in a hurry to see
results, before you switch on the power check all wiring and capacitors for
proper orientation. Also check the board for any possible solder shorts, and/or
cold solder joints. All of these mistakes could have detrimental effects on your
kit - not to mention your ego!
Kit building tips:
Use a good soldering technique - let your soldering iron tip gently heat the
traces to which you are soldering, heating both wires and pads simultaneously.
Apply the solder on the iron and the pad when the pad is hot enough to melt the
solder. The finished joint should look like a drop of water on paper, somewhat
soaked in.
We’ll mount most of the electrical parts on the top side of the board provided.
When installing parts the component should be placed flat to the board and the
leads bent on the backside of the board to prevent the part falling out before
soldering (1). The part is then soldered securely to the board (2-4), and the
remaining lead length is clipped off (5). Notice how the solder joint looks on
close up, clean and smooth with no holes or sharp points (6).
Loading...