IR software & hardware basics

[flotulopex]

Thanks a lot skimask,

I'm gonna try an IR module.

I've seen on rentron's web site that he used a NAND.

Going to check this out - didn't read this carefully enough.

May I ask you over which distance you got good & reliable results?

Dave, just saw your post. Yup, going for a module!!

[dhouston]

May I ask you over which distance you got good & reliable results?

The receiver filters out ambient IR from sunlight, incandescent lights, fluorescent lights, etc. If it's narrow-band it only reacts to IR that is modulated at the carrier frequency it is designed for. It's also designed for a specific wavelength (your phototransistor is 900nM while most consumer IR uses 940nM). Your test setup is about as bad as one could imagine.

A few years back I designed a CF card that fit an iPAQ and acted as a Consumer IR transmitter. With a single IR emitter and 3.3V it regularly got 30 meters range but that's about 5 times what I expected.

[skimask]

Thanks a lot skimask, I'm gonna try an IR module.
I've seen on rentron's web site that he used a NAND. Going to check this out - didn't read this carefully enough. May I ask you over which distance you got good & reliable results? Dave, just saw your post. Yup, going for a module!!

Maybe I did use a NAND gate, don't remember at the moment...
Some people use gates, some people actually switch the PICs internal timer that generates the 38Khz on and off really fast.

[mister_e]

And there's those which build their own serial IR routine... or modify the existing SEROUT/DEBUG etc etc. To me the AND gate is sure an option... but not needed when you can do everything in software... with some head-banging for sure.

I remind that Darrel already did something like that here modifying the SERIAL macro in the PBP files, i will try to find it.

[mister_e]

well, it was for XOUT, but there's an interesting concept.
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/show...ignal+stronger