The Wemos D1 Mini to RJ45 breakout board is now available on the irblaster.info Home Assistant page.

This breakout allows solderless connections to all kinds of sensors, but is especially useful for magnetic door sensors.

ESP8266 Based WiFi IR Receiver/Emitter

irblaster.info has a new product which allows sending and receiving infrared commands via wifi. The product is based on the ESP8266 and comes in two flavors:  One flavor is a breakout board from a wemos D1 mini board to 3x T/R/R/S 3.5mm jacks.  The other flavor is a custom board in a custom case.  Both boards are completely software transparent as the 3.5mm pinouts are the same.

The 3.5mm jacks directly interface to the irblaster.info receiver and emitter products. With breakout cables multiple emitters may be installed for independent control of up to 5 IR targets.
The 3.5mm.

Furthermore, the breakout board and custom board make it easy to interface to a variety of other sensors without soldering.  Just plug in the connector.  Sensors could include door sensors, water sensors, analog sensors, temperature/humidity sensors and more.

All boards are compatible with numerous open source projects including esphomeyaml and home assistant.

http://www.irblaster.info/wifi_ir.html

Expanded Set Top Box Manual Section

The irblaster.info set top box manual listing has been expanded with even more documents for set top box manuals compatable with the full line of ir repeater, extender, and infrared control products.  If you don't see your box listed just e-mail with the model number.

new contest on irblaster.info

irblaster.info just stated a new contest period.  The details are here: http://www.irblaster.info/contest.html
You can win a 128GB USB pen drive by posting a photo of your infrared repeater / hidden set top box setup on the irblaster.info facebook page

IR Repeater Help

Looking to hide your set top box or other equipment behind closed doors and are not sure what ir repeater to purchase?  irblaster.info has solutions for every make and model box and the support staff is always happy to help with any installation from a single home set top box to the most advanced commercial projects.

Ampflified IR Repeater Kit

This amplified IR repeater kit is just like the USB Powered IR repeater kit, but it has a 3.5mm connector between the IR receiver and the IR emitter.  This way, the length can be extended with 3.5mm male to female stereo headphone cable.  The extension cables are available on the same page.

USB powered IR Repeater for Scientific Atlanta Set Top Boxes

The USB Powered IR repeater is specially designed for Scientific Atlanata boxes including the SA4250HD and SA8300HD. Just plug the USB connector to the USB port on your set top box to power the unit, stick the IR emitter to the front of your box, and stick the IR receiver within line of site of your remote control and you'll be able to control your Scientific Atlanta box behind closed doors.  The IR receiver cable is 9 foot long and the IR emitter cable is 1 foot long. Now there is a low cost IR repeater system for cable tv companies using Scientific Atlanta STB units such as cablevision and time warner!

USB IR Receiver HOWTO

Andrew W. has provided us with a nice supplement HOWTO for the FTDI based USB IR Blaster.  Thanks Andrew.

Coupon Code for 38kHz IR Repeater system

Coupon code TENOFFIR38 will reduce the price of the price of the irblaster.info 38KHz IR Repeater system down to $35.   This system is a great way to hide components behind cabinets that don't have an external IR in port.  Some example set top boxes that can be controlled include the verizon fios QIP2500, QIP 2708, QIP 6416, and QIP 6200.  The IR repeater also works well with set top boxes from COX, Comcast, and Cablevision such as the Scientific Atlanta 8300 and 4250 as well as Motorola DCT6200, DCT2500, and DCT2000.

Contact mike@irblaster.info if you need help determining the best way to locate your components behind closed doors.  irblaster.info stocks devices to hide set top boxes and other components using IR remotes for as little as $13.

Remote control LIRC

Check out this article by Andy on how to remote control winlirc via telnet!

Andy uses a $12 IR Blaster from http://www.irblaster.info/ and winlirc to control his infrared robot.  Along the way he explains how you can configure winlirc to act as a telnet server.  From another computer you can then telnet to the machine running winlirc to execute IR commands.

Andy further explains how you can write a remote control program to interface to the winlirc telnet server using .NET

Nice work Andy!

IR Repeater for all Verizon FiOS Set Top Boxes

irblaster.info now has ir repeater solutions for every make and model of Verizon FiOS set top boxes.  No matter what model you have there is an inexpensive way to hide the set top box behind closed doors.  If you have the 7XXX series box including the QIP 7216 and QIP 7100 you can use the $13 motorola style IR extender cable.  This cable just plugs in the back of your set top box to the jack marked "IR Remote Input" or "IR Ext IN"  You'll then route the receiving end of the cable to a location within line of site of your remote.  You can see the receiver stuck to a plasma tv in the photo attached to this blog post.

If you don't have a 7XXX box you will need a generic IR Repeater solution.  These IR Repeaters have three components: IR Receiver, IR Amplifier, and IR Blaster.  You locate the IR Receiver within line of site of your remote control just like the previously described motorola style ir extender, but instead of plugging it directly into the sret top box you plug it into the IR amplifier.  The IR amplifier will amplify the signal and send it to an IR blaster which you will stick on to the front panel of your hidden set top box.  This way, infrared signals are converted from optical to electrical and then back to optical before sending to your STB.  irblaster.info always carried generic IR repeaters that will work for set top boxes such as the FiOS QIP 2500, 2708, 6416, or QIP 6200 on their IR Distribution page, but these units were expensive and a bit complicated to install since the IR Receiver was built into a single gang low voltage box. Most would consider these more professional models than do it yourself ir repeater models.

Now, however, there is a cost optimized solution specific for cable tv and verizon FiOS set top boxes that use 38KHz remotes (all the boxes mentioned here as well as most boxes by comcast and cox communications).  By cost optimizing for 38KHz they are able to offer a generic ir repeater solution for these boxes at an extremely attractive price. 

So now, no matter what FiOS box you have it can be located behind closed doors starting at just $13!

EDIT Sept 5, 2015: The motorola style IR extender also works with newer FIOS boxes including the Cisco CHS435HD and CHS335HD as well as the Arris boxes VMS1100 and IPC1100.  It's great that FiOS supports the motorola IR extender on their complete line of high definition set top boxes.

Get an IR Blaster for $10 off

It looks like paypal is running a special to get $10 off a purchase of $10 or more if you are new to paypal. According to the site the special is running until March 22, 2010.  So, if you don't already have a paypal account you can go and get yourself an IR Blaster for $10 off!

FTDI LIRC IR Receiver

There are now low cost FTDI Based LIRC IR Receiver circuit boards available at irblaster.info.  This is a great way to add a low cost USB IR Receiver to your PC. 

2 Motorola Style IR Cables to one set top box

One of our customers recently asked us for a solution to the following problem:
He had two TVs in two different rooms both connected to the same set top box which was located in his closet.  He was already using the motorola style IR receiver to control his verizon fios box from one room, but wanted to add a receiver for the box in the second room.  The answer was simple - the IR receivers can be wire or'd together with a simple 1/8" stereo jack splitter cable.  It worked out so well we decided to order a bunch and they can be ordered for only $5.50

Special price on 5 Pack of Motorola IR Extenders

There is a special deal going on right now on ebay on the Motorola IR Extenders.  These are the $13 ones that plug into the External IR Input port on some motorola set top boxes.  Basically, you end up with free shipping when you buy 5 through ebay on this deal.   The picture of these units also really doesn't do them justice.  The housing that the ir receiver sits in is much nicer than it looks in the picture and it has some nice sticky tape on the back of it so you can neatly place the unit somewhere in your system.  They really should update the picture of these things.

Motorola Style IR Extender

Besides the QIP7100 and QIP7216 we have also received reports the Motorola Style IR Extender works on the Pace HD DVR, MOXI HD DVR, and the MVIX 760 HD media player. Please let us know if you have any other devices which have a remote infrared input jack so we can investigate compatibility.

Motorola Style External IR Input Jack Cable

If you have a Motorola cable box with a jack marked "ir remote input" or "external ir input" you can now control it behind closed doors using a very inexpensive cable from irblaster.info.

Here are some boxes this works with:

QIP 7216 (Verizon Fios)
QIP 7100 (Verizon Fios)
DCX3200 (comcast)
DCX3400 (comcast)

This cable does not work with boxes which have ports simply labled as 'ir'. This 'ir' jack is an output only jack and is designed to control an external device such as a vcr via an ir blaster.

IR Distribution kits can still be used to control cable boxes behind closed doors that don't have ir input jacks.

Special Today only on Tivo IR Blasters

SPECIAL: ends June 27, 2007 - Light Up TIVO IR Blasters only $6 Standard TIVO IR Blasters only $4
Just like the MythTV RS232 version, but with a standard 1/8" mono plug

Works With:
› TiVo
› ReplayTV
› ChannelPlus IR systems
› X10 Powermind
› JDS IRXpander
› Buffalo IR

Receiver/Blaster Combo Beta Test

IRBlaster.info is beta testing receiver/blaster combo units. See the blog on their page for more info.

DST fix for KnoppMyth

The IR Blaster FAQ page now has some info on how to fix the DST start and end times in KnoppMyth. Remember the change to the start and end times will occur this year so be sure to patch your box soon!