Nice little infrared hardware hack for Lilliput owners

mox · 06-13-2005, 08:19 PM

I really felt like sharing this one -- It has turned out to be VERY easy to hookup the lilli's internal infrared sensor to your carputer's serial port. It will allow you to control your PC with whatever infrared remote control you have lying around, including the otherwise useless remote that comes with the lilli itself.

All you need is a program like Girder (www.girder.nl), an unused serial port, a 9 pin female D-sub connector and a single shielded wire. Girder has become payware, but earlier free versions can still be found. I got mine from http://www.gibbsdesign.co.uk/support/girder329.exe (Thanks, BenG

)

Ok, as for the hardware, open up your lilliput, locate the infrared "eyeball" and solder your shielded wire to the 2 pads as shown in the picture below. Wire up the D-connector accordingly and that's it. The lilli eyeball is very responsive to whatever remote I'm firing at it, so you might prefer this hack instead of building your own interface from scratch.

Girder requires a well known plugin by Igor Cesko, which can also be found on BenG's site (http://www.gibbsdesign.co.uk/support/IgorPlug.zip). I find Girder to be a bit difficult to configure, but that's merely due to its versatility. There are plenty of howto's available. Igor Cesko's page http://www.cesko.host.sk/girderplugin.htm is a good place to start.

Enjoy!

Peoples · 06-13-2005, 08:39 PM

you are the man.....but now i'll have to open my lilliput

, oh well this will save me a good $20-$30

Peoples · 06-13-2005, 08:40 PM

one thing bothers me though.......why dont we see a picture of yours already soldered?

mox · 06-13-2005, 09:06 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples

one thing bothers me though.......why dont we see a picture of yours already soldered?

If you insist -- the bottom pic is a screenshot of Girder after teaching the mute button of the lilli remote. Also notice the orange leds to match my dash lighting.

Peoples · 06-13-2005, 09:17 PM

nice

thanatos106 · 06-13-2005, 09:39 PM

sweet

RS3RS · 06-13-2005, 09:46 PM

Awesome!

mox · 06-13-2005, 10:09 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by RS3RS

Awesome!

Thanks

Notice the wiring being different from http://www.lirc.org/images/schematics.gif. Forget about that Lirc interface. The ones on Igor's page won't work either. The link between pins 1 and 3 is essential.

Girder is so cool -- I am controlling mplayer with the remote of my 15 year old vcr as we speak

Peoples · 06-16-2005, 07:51 AM

suprised this thread isnt getting more attention.....was hoping someone else would do it before I got around to doing mine

Cheekz185 · 06-16-2005, 08:20 AM

Does any1 know if there is something like this for the Xenarc 700tsv?

Sonicxtacy02 · 06-16-2005, 09:11 AM

what functions can say.. .the lilliput remote perform when connected to the computer. I guess i'm just a little confused as to whats to gain here.

Marsupial · 06-16-2005, 09:15 AM

nice turnaround - using the stock part for custom apps...

there should be a similar hack to xenarc or any other device with an IR eye...

http://www.modasylum.com/guides.php?guide=16

what's to gain from a remote in the car?

well, control the PC differently, even have specific buttons do SERIES of action.
if you want to do it, you can. You should give a try to Girder and figure out yourself... but be aware: once you start remote controlling your PC, there's no way back.

antimatter · 06-16-2005, 01:13 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Sonicxtacy02

what functions can say.. .the lilliput remote perform when connected to the computer. I guess i'm just a little confused as to whats to gain here.

You don't use the lilliput remote you use any other remote with more buttons that can be programmed to to go things, anything with girder

xdjxklusivex · 06-16-2005, 01:35 PM

nice!! :-( i just dont have a serial port sighh

mox · 06-17-2005, 06:18 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples

suprised this thread isnt getting more attention.....was hoping someone else would do it before I got around to doing mine

What could possibly go wrong? I mean, if the hack would involve flashing some custom made bios or whatever, I would hesitate too. But there's really no risk in linking a simple 5V open collector output to a serial input which was originally designed to handle voltages between -12 and +12V.

Here's an image of the lilli's IR output, taken with a storage scope. Vertical scale is set at 2 volts/div, ground level is at the vertical center. Maybe this will boost your confidence

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