[mythtv-users] OT: IR wired extenders

[Ian Trider]

On 5/20/05, Blammo <blammo.doh at gmail.com> wrote:
> Anyone have a good plan / source / suggestion for a good IR extender?
> 
> (Application: Frontend not in bedroom, TV and IR reciever in bedroom.
> Make S.O. very happy)
> 
> I've tried several off the shelf products, and I seem to have waay too
> much interference to get them working. I've tried several of the
> integrated video/audio/IR senders with the same result. I get great
> video (have a sub 2gig product, a 2.4gig product, and a 5.8ghz
> product), but the IR lights seem to stay on solid and broadcast all
> kinds of "noise" which makes it impossible to use a remote.

Hi.  I have a similar problem;  I have an IR blaster for controlling
my satellite box, and a RadioShack [Canada] (InterTan labelled) ir
extender for watching satellite upstairs.  It seems that the IR
extender merely converts the RF in the frequency that it operates on
back into IR (I'm not a radio geek -- sorry if I got this wrong)..
because pointing a camera at the IR extender verifies that most of the
time it is blasting out IR noise, which interferes with both my
original satellite remote and the IR blaster for Myth.

My 'solution' was to position the IR extender box (the part that
blasts the extended signal out at the satellite receiver) in such a
way that the interference is greatly dimished (pointing a
webcam/camcorder at the box will show you when it is putting out IR),
and using a coathanger to create a (very ugly) stand to hand the ir
dongle off of about 8cm from the actual receiver, so to reduce the
effect of light background noise.

Works okay most of the time..

Something that -might- work for you is another sort of IR extender I
saw at RadioShack [Canada; they only share a name, so you won't
necessarily find the product in the States].. it somehow works by
substituting one of the batteries for a small RF transmitter (+
watchbatteries), and placing an IR dongle on the IR reciever port of
the device you are extending (mythbox in your case?).  Both downstairs
and in your bedroom the device will work via RF instead of IR, so it
could work.. mine was a bit flaky though. (and it still interfered
with my ir blaster so it wasn't appropriate for my setup)  YMMV.

-- 
Ian Trider
iantri at gmail.com