[mythtv-users] MCE remote & LIRC on Debian Etch

[Paul Gallaway]

On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 2:31 AM, Jake <jakeisawake at gmail.com> wrote:
[snip]

> to load a module just do modprobe name_of_module so assuming you've
> built lirc_mceusb2 you'd modprobe lirc_mceusb2.  if that loads
> sucessfully it should create /dev/lirc0 so check to make sure it
> exists now using your ls from before.

Also, to make sure the modules load after a restart you need to add it
to your modules list. As root you need to modify the modules config
file at /etc/modules. I use nano but you could use any editor you
want:

BedroomFE:~/ # nano /etc/modules

Then insert, without quotes, "lirc_mceusb2" into a new line in the
file (assuming you don't see it in there already). Save and close the
file. The module will now load automatically when the system restarts.

>> when I try /usr/local/sbin/lircd -n --device=/dev/lirc0 as you suggest, I
>> get:
>>
>> BedroomFE:/home/josh# /usr/local/sbin/lircd -n --device=/dev/lirc0
>> bash: /usr/local/sbin/lircd: No such file or directory
>> BedroomFE:/home/josh#
>>
>
> if the device exists this should work fine.

No, that means that the lircd is not in the path /usr/local/sbin/.
Either it's not installed or in a different path. Try lricd, if it's
in your system path (is that the correct terminology) then no need add
one. Sorry, not anywhere that I can access my Debian system right now
to check where mine is located but if just 'lircd' doesn't work (I
think it should) you could search for it:

find /. -name lircd

That should find the file if it's anywhere on your system. If not, you
need to first figure out why it's not installed.

>> I do have a "lircd.conf" file in /etc/lirc/, and it contains the only
>> uncommented lines:
>>
>>  remote:
>> include /usr/share/lirc/remotes/mceusb/lircd.conf.mceusb
>>
>> and the file it's pointing to does exist, and is populated with what looks
>> like hexadecimal code which I assume describe buttons, etc.
>
> that should be fine.

Not sure if that works in Debian. At least mine isn't set up that way.
Try to copy the lircd.conf file from the include line to the
appropriate location:

First, make a copy of the original so you can go back if you need to.
BedroomFE:~/ # cp /etc/lirc/lirc.conf /etc/lirc/lircd.conf.bak

Then copy the file from the include line as your main
BedroomFE:~/ # cp /usr/share/lirc/remotes/mceusb/lircd.conf.mceusb
/etc/lirc/lirc.conf

If the file doesn't exist then this is your problem.

>> Sorry if my response is less than inspiring, or leans toward annoying, but
>> I'm just trying to work through this, and I'm simply asking the questions
>> that come to mind.
>>
>
> np, everyone gotta learn at some point.

I struggled a long while with mine as well. The biggest stumbling
block I had was that an lircrc file I had generated on a website
contained MSDOS return carriages which is a big no-no in LIRC
(downloaded from a website targeting LIRC users using Firefox and on a
Linux system - can't figure this one out). I had to go through and
replace each line break in an editor (hundreds of lines for
mythtv+xine+vlc+amarok...etc). After that it just started working,
like magic! So I'd struggled with my setup for so long and it was just
a stupid error in my lircrc that could have been avoided.

I also found the Ubuntu community docs for Edgy invaluable. It's
approximately equivalent in software versions to Etch. I'm not sure
how much of this made a difference or for how long I was just fighting
against corrupted lircrc files. In the end I used the lircd.conf file
from this page and modified the hundreds of lines in my generated
lircrc file.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallLirc/Edgy

Best of luck.
-- 
~pAul.

        all good things. all in good time.