How to embedd a wireless receiver on a IC device

Hi Victor,

You have a whole lot of both IR and RF devices to choose from to implement remote control.  I know some of the overhead fans use an IR remote, and there a many examples of how to hook them into your Adruino or other embedded processor board.

Texas Instruments has an integrated RF board that plugs into their TI430 processor family that I will be playing with over the winter.  They are not very expensive, $20 USD per set, so you can get into the RF control pretty easy.

There are also RF and IR boards for the Arduino family with plenty of software support.

So if you want to learn, there is a lot of open information available for you.

I hope this helps,

DAB

Victor,

There are a few things your can do:

1. The devices you want to change already have a wireless version available. Many online retailers have them. The Trane Internet controlled thermostat looks like a great option.

2. If you want to do it yourself (DIY), then one option is to emulate the controls (IE the thermostat wheel) digitally and feel the information into the original tech.

3. Another DIY option is to build a whole new set of controls. For example, you could use a Thermistor ( or use a thermocouple, resistive temperature detectors) that can be used to out put a voltage that corresponds to the room temperature. Your microcontroller will monitor this and trip a relay that turns on the house heating system. The microcontoller could also have a wireless adapter that could allow for external adjustment.

Like DAB said, some controller boards out there probably have alredy been used for such projects.

4. One user on element14 wants to use a mechanical controller on a thermostat that is remotely controllable. Worth a read.

These principles can be applied to any device.

Cabe

Many thanks for the reply. I am trying to understand all the terminology and if I don't completely understand the meaning of the some of things you are describing please accept my apologies. Yes I would be interested in doing it my self but perhaps not right now  at this very moment. The fan and the thermostat were both just examples. Ok here is a better example...what if someone wanted to control a device like a portable MP3 player or perhaps a Digital Multimeter or perhaps a computer motherboard or a computer monitor or comuter video card or a compuiter power supply ? What then ? Where in the world would someone get the design of such a chip that could accomplish controlling such devices ? Of course for the MP3 player one could implement controls that emulate the push of the buttons on the player. What about a computer motherboard ? Suppose wanted to be a super geek and wanted to control the signal flows like the mouse signals or the keyboard signals sent to the motherboard and so on....I can give more examples....What I really want to know is exactly how does someone do it when the devices that I am mentioning now are not mainstream for RF ? Do they replace the entire Circuit Board with their own ? I somehow don't believe that is the case....rather the existing board is modified but how ? That is the question I was looking for.....I can give more examples like turning off a LCD monitor for a computer and so on. I can be much more clearer just ask.

I really appreciate your helpful reply and apologize for not being more clear with my questions in the my post.

Best Regards

Victor

Thanks Cabe.

I really appreciate the helpful reply. I was hoping that you might be able to review my last post prior to this one for further clearifications. I am sorry for not being more clear as to my questions that I was searching for.

Best Regards

Victor

Hi Victor,

Sounds like you are sort of asking about the whole world of embedded development.  There is not one single answer to your question.

Some home hobbyists want to hack into an existing circuit to add wireless control to an existing product.  This usually involves a lot of investigation, experimentation and sometimes a few smoke and flame failures to figure out how to control something that was probably not intended for wireless control.  The best bet here is to analyze the existing device using scopes, meters, etc. to find something that can be controlled with a simple circuit, usually a few digital, PWM or analog signals.  Then you could cut the control signals of the original device and add your own CPU and wireless radio circuit, usually bringing the original control output signal as input into your circuit, changing it based on the wireless control signals, and sending a new signal back out to the device. 

Sometimes this can damage the original device beyond repair and almost always voids the warranty, so it is not generally recommended for expensive stuff.  How much control you can add this way depends a lot on the original product circuit.  Simplistic stuff, like turning power on and off, can sometimes be easy to add control to, more complex products or control methods could be difficult to impossible to control this way.

Some products are controlled by CPU's and the buttons or controls are just input devices to the CPU.  If the original circuit is designed for a wireless add-on, then adding wireless is just a matter of adding a wireless radio or transceiver circuit to communicate with the CPU.

Most products are not designed this way if they are not expected to have a wireless option, so adding wireless involves redesigning the entire CPU or control circuit board to interface to a wireless transceiver.  So, yes, the entire control board would generally be replaced. Product companies hire numerous embedded engineers and launch expensive development programs to add this kind of control to existing products they want to upgrade to wireless.  It's not usually a simple thing.

The world of embedded control is pretty broad, so there's lots of variety and different kinds of design.

Hope this gives you a better picture.

Bob