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Infrared (IR) - Adding a New Device / Remote Control - Supporting Sending and Receiving

mtudormtudor Member
edited August 2017 in Developers
Hi guys, just looking for a bit more information on the way forward for infrared... the other day I was attempting to configure something that seems relatively straightforward on the surface - program the volume up and down buttons on my Sky Q remote control to send a volume up and down signal to the network interface of my Pioneer receiver (which is in a cupboard).

As it turns out, learning a remote only allows sending of infrared signals and not receiving.  It seems that receiving is actually quite complicated and learning the IR signal is not quite sufficient (I won't pretend to understand the technical side of this yet!).

Athom have a small (?) database of remotes that support receiving, but it doesn't seem like Sky Q is one of them.  I also noticed that apps are now able to add IR functionality.  Can anyone shed any light on the current best way forward for gaining support for receiving specific IR signals (for me, Sky Q).  Is it a case of Athom adding support?  Should I (or someone else) be trying to write an app to add support?

I noticed someone mentioned a workaround of picking a random remote from the database and removing all buttons and then learning your remote in its place.  When I tried this, however, it didn't work - Homey refused to learn my remote buttons in this mode... fine in the main learning mode, but not this one.

Some pointers would be useful if anyone has any?  Thanks!

Comments

  • bvdbosbvdbos Member
    You can start with a generic philips-device and in the next step add extra keys and delete existing. It's a workaround which seems to do the trick... Better would be to find the IR-codes for your device and open an issue with as much info as possible on github so Athom can create an app...
  • mtudormtudor Member
    Thanks @bvdbos - is there a preferred way to capture the IR codes do you know?
  • bvdbosbvdbos Member
    I would try repeatedly pressing the button while going around Homey... But could be the same as with KPN, not all remotes are recognized...
  • mtudormtudor Member
    Ah sorry I meant for the github option. If I use homey to learn the buttons is there a way to extract the raw IR codes to include in the github issue?
  • mtudormtudor Member
    bvdbos said:
    You can start with a generic philips-device and in the next step add extra keys and delete existing. It's a workaround which seems to do the trick... Better would be to find the IR-codes for your device and open an issue with as much info as possible on github so Athom can create an app...
    This didn't work, unfortunately.  Whilst when I learn a remote from scratch, pressing the button 15 times results in an up-down animation of the button on screen, the same process to add extra buttons to a generic Philips device does not work.  Looks like I'm SOL for the workaround.
  • TF99TF99 Member
    This trick also doesn't work for my Mitsubishi A/C system (MSZ-SF50VE2, remote type: SG14D).
    I covered the remote every uneven 'on/off button press' (I believe it sends a different message depending on the current state of the remote). The generic application to add IR remotes recognizes the pressed button (animation is working) but doesn't go to the next screen. The above mentioned Philips method doesn't work at all.

    I did some research and found the following websites:
    http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/codes/
    http://irdb.tk/find/
    Then there is this discussion with useful links to libraries:
    https://github.com/z3t0/Arduino-IRremote/issues/263
    BUT, after that, I also found this (old) Athom thread:
    https://forum.athom.com/discussion/1428/ir-hex-codes

    Could the Athom team share any thoughts about this? Most topics are rather old and I guess some ideas have been brought up how to streamline this functionality.

    Tested Homey versions: 1.5 RC5 and 1.5 RC6 (both versions did not work)
  • PeterFaganPeterFagan Member
    Hi guys

    I am having the same issue with my Samsung Airconditioner AR24 midwall. IS the currently plan to map every single item that uses infra red? surely there must be a better way.
  • rutgerbrutgerb Member
    edited August 2018
    Hi guys,

    Im trying to add a new remote to homey. Homey asks to press 15 times on the button. When i press it, it shows it on the computer, but it won't add it after 50 times pressing. Does anyone know what the problem is?
  • Oy1974Oy1974 Member
    edited August 2018
    rutgerb said:
    Hi guys,

    Im trying to add a new remote to homey. Homey asks to press 15 times on the button. When i press it, it shows it on the computer, but it won't add it after 50 times pressing. Does anyone know what the problem is?
    Homey asks to press 15 times (NOT 50).

    Sorry i couldn`t resist B) B)
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