What is this remote for?  (IR, big, round, blue, with 4 big buttons) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2022, 12:08:45 am
content: Found an infra red remote. It's round, and as big as a donut. Looks like it was made for toddlers: no sharp edges, batteries lid secured with a screw, buttons easy to press, to big for reaching all buttons single-handed, to small for keeping it with both hands. No brand or name typed anywhere, CE markings on the back, made in China.Inside has a blob IC and the IR LED. Buttons are made of plastic and with a rubber cap conductive membrane under each button. The Tx can be received with a TSOP receiver. The middle button does not autorepeat, the others aoutorepeat identical codes. There are distinct codes for each button, with different codes for press and release. It doesn't look like RC5.Asking because its intriguing shape, and because the nice tactile feedback from the buttons. Anybody knows what is this IR remote for, please?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2022, 12:59:31 pm
content: A toy of some kind? Maybe a buzzer for a TV quiz game?What’s the text written on the bottom? The photo is too blurry to make it out.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2022, 01:59:25 pm
content: "CE", embossed drawing of how to unscrew the lid to reach the batteries, and "Made in China". A reverse image search with Google and Bing showed many alike IR remotes, yet none with a similar arrangement of buttons.Either way, those buttons feels great at pressing. The remote has a very strong IR signal, and can be received no matter the direction it is fired at. Will be fun to make a receiver for it and use the remote to control something. Though, can not find anything worth remote controlling that doesn't have its own remote already.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2022, 02:50:14 pm
content: you could have some writings on it like pattent numbers etc ...

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2022, 10:50:21 pm
content: Nothing else is written, neither outside nor inside.Just in case anybody recognizes the remote by the sent codes, these are the pulses corresponding to each button after the codes were received with a CHQA receiver IC (TSOP38like, CHQ0038https://datasheet4u.com/datasheet-pdf/CHQ/CHQ0038/pdf.php?id=704178)

author: shakalnokturn
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2022, 11:48:40 pm
content: The 4 notches at the back make it look as if it should be able to lock on to some kind of support. Wrist strap?

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2022, 08:27:34 am
content: The 4 notches could be for anchoring on something else, indeed, good observation, thanks!The remote is about the size of a fist, 8cm (~3'') in diameter and 3.5cm (~1.5'') height, maybe too big for a wrist. However, the 4 notches could be indeed for fixing the remote on something else. The notches are only a few mm deep (0.1-0.2'') but with a dent on one of their inner wall. That dent could be the locking mechanism with some other external part that is now missing.

author: frisc0
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2023, 09:26:45 pm
content: Looks like those devices you get in some diners/takeaways to indicate your dinner is ready... but this one onlytransmits?

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2023, 10:19:02 pm
content: I've open it and there was no buzzer or extra LEDs, it seems to be for Tx only.Anyways, found an application for it, to control the volume/pause for the lab's desktop PC.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/networking/ir-remote-receiver-for-linux/msg4612618/#msg4612618The round remote looks funny, though in practice it's a little too bulky, has too few buttons, and it's almost unusable because it's symmetric. You never know which button is which of those 3 buttons. Got tired of the round remote from the first day. Now I'm using for PC an IR remote from a former standalone DVD player.