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Every Parents Dream! - A Challenge for Ben Heck

timryder

My name is Tim, I am a Controls Engineer, I design/program develop automation and robotics for a living. I have been following you for only 4 months now but I've watched everything you've made thus far and have LOVED IT!  I didn't go to school to learn Electrical Engineering I just picked up what I've learned on my own and through resources like you guys here at Element 14!  What a phenomenal program.  There are 2 parts to this e-mail.  I have dozens of ideas for devices I'd like to build and but just don't have the raw basic knowledge of the mass plethora of components out there.  I understand the electrical circuits and theories but the practical applications you can use many of the common IC's out there is where I'm lacking.  Like for example, a while ago on a show you mentioned that you had limited I/O available through an Arduino Uno, so to expand your capacity you added a Bit Shift Register IC which expanded your available I/O and you mentioned that you could basically expand it even more by adding more BSR IC's..... HOW!? This is what I'd love to see. A show dedicated to common components used in the electronics design industry and some uses for them.   This would expand my capabilities as a designer MUCH more.

 

Ok so my REAL challenge!

 

I am a father of 2 and 1 on the way.  I've had this idea for years that I just haven't been able to realize and I'd love to challenge you to make it work!

Design and build a device which can be programmed to record and playback IR commands from remote control devices like a TV or cable Box.  Then when called upon by pressing a kid friendly large button, playback those IR commands in order which will Turn On the TV and Cable Box, Change the Channel to a programmed one.  I think it would be necessary to have a key or some sort of button which would be needed in order to record the IR signals from the remote controls and a handy display to be used for programming it. I don't think you've ever done a show that features the use of IR sensors, this would be a neat one I think many people would repeat.

 

The overall idea is to make a device which would allow a small child 2-5 to be able to turn on their tv and watch their shows without a parents help.

 

What do think?

 

-Tim Ryder

  • Hey Ben,

     

    Did you see someone stole on of your ideas and went to market with it?  Well it's based off of it anyway.

     

    http://gizmodo.com/5991055/prevent-texting-and-driving-by-docking-your-phone-in-this-ignition-lock

  • The "Infrared Toy" from dangerous prototypes already implements of of your desired feachires ( http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/USB_Infrared_Toy ) but requires a USB connection. Also, would like to mention that leting a 2 year old watch as much tv as he likes is not the best parenting aproach.

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    That's a neat product. It's not exactly what we're looking for here but that certainly does solve a solution.  I agree with you that a 2 year old shouldn't watch unlimited tv but this is just a Fun idea, your parenting should always override convenience. But the intent is something that I believe would make for a really cool show.

  • in reply to timryder

     

    Let's assume that people in this thread are amazing parents so our topic can stay on electronics and ideas for Ben Heck's show. Zeta does bring up a good point however, perhaps a timing feature could be implimented to turn everything off after maybe 30-45 minutes. Pressing the main button would start the timer, and the manual switch to reset the button would also reset the timer.

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Sure An automatic maybe programmable timer which turns off the TV might be a neat addition too.   There is definitely a lot of very thoughtful ideas coming from this community!  Thanks for the input everyone.

  • in reply to timryder

    Maybe throw in an RTC (real time clock) so the automatix shutoff time falls at the end of an hour / episode getting over.

     

    It would be a lot better for the kid to just have to press it again, then for them to press it over and over toggling on and off.

     

    Only issue with sensing power is that requires a cable.

     

    So you'd need an IR receiver to "read" the existing codes from the remote(s), and an emitter to send it to the TV.

  • in reply to benheck

    Ben,

     

    We could get stupid crazy and hook up a wireless transmitter in the power strip with built in current sensing.  The XBee Sheld and XBee transceiver is pretty inexpensive and could easily transmit the values of each of the current sensing plugs to the remote.  We could write a simple protocol which would cycle through the analog signals from each of the current transducers and transmit their values. Though that is getting a bit extreme.  But who's to say that this box can't be an ALL in one with a small pendant for the push button/programmer that does have a cord attached.  I personally wouldn't gripe about having to stick this pendant on my entertainment center out front with a small cord running back to the main box which contains not only the power strip of plugs but the electronics.

     

    That might make things simpler?

     

    The RTC is a nice addition. If you do end up making this an episode, can you do one thing for me? Show how you actually SET the time on the RTC.  In all of your shows when you make use of an RTC circuit, you show how to process the data it's sending to the processor but never how to actually set the time.  I'd personally be very interested in seeing this.

  • in reply to QuantumAberrant

    @QuantumAberrant: If you're using an advanced remote like a Logitech Harmony or more than that the Philips Pronto or Marantz's 9000+ series and newer remotes (all touchscreen, dating back to the early 2000s) they do in fact have a way not to tell but to program a remote code. Most TVs actually have 3 power codes they will accept from remotes. "Change State" which is what most remotes used, as well as "Discrete On" and "Discrete Off" codes. When you program a macro into those smart remotes, you use the discrete codes for your items. I used to program them for friends/family (and even got paid by some friends of theirs to code the remotes they had bought, heh), I had my remote/AV stuff set up so I could pick up my remote, it would sense it and light up, then hit "Watch Movie", then a button for the first letter of the movie (I had the system tied into 2 sony DVD changers w/400 discs each) then scroll through/tap the picture on screen of the DVD's cover art. It would dim the lights (X10 system - at the friend's house he also had sliding vertical blinds and it would close those too), turn ON the tv, turn on the head unit/amplifier, turn on the DVD changer (whichever one was needed), switch the A/V system and TV to the right inputs, and on sci-fi movies it would also change the audio output settings on the head unit to a specific EQ setting I prefer. Oh, and it would also zero the volume level on the head unit (again, using a discrete code) and then turn it up a preset amount (30%) so I wouldn't be shocked if it started too loud. So yeah, I'm still leaning toward it being much more probable to build an arduino-based (or similar) DIY smart remote to counter the ridiculous prices of the professional ones. As a side note, I always bought mine used for $200-300, couldn't afford the $1000+ they cost new. Wish I was kidding.

  • in reply to timryder

    I believe they were working on the same thing. So it's more of a coincidence.