Philips RC5, RC6 IR extender.

My brother has bought a new PC, with Windows media center edition. This can be controlled through remote control, very clever except that the USB remote control receiver is limited to 5 meter cable, which is not enough as the computer is not placed in the living room, so what do you do? You build an IR extender, which can receive the IR signal in the living room and transmit it again where the PC is placed. On the back of the IR remote is says RC6, which is a Philips IR standard, check out the details on the SB projects web, you can find a link to SB projects on our Links web page. We have tested the IR extender with Windows media center edition ehome receiver (RC6) and a Philips video recorder (RC5) IR remote controls with very fine results. Beware; it probably will not work with e.g. Sony remotes?
Below you can see some pictures of my brother’s design (click on the picture to enlarge it):

Updated! IR extender schematic finally :-)
The bare IR extender PCB before mounting of components begins (do you like our new logo?).
The mounted IR extender PCB, which uses a 36 KHz IR receiver, a cmos 4093 Schmitt trigger to ensure nice sharp pulses and a 12F683 PIC to generate an IR carrier with a frequency of approx 36 KHz and 10% duty cycle.		PCB file updated 2008.08.07.
The IR extender PCB mounted in its box.
The IR extender and the long IR wire going from the living room to the new PC.

This page was last updated 2010-02-17.