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Switch your PC On/Off with your IR Remote

Show off your HTPC builds, NAS Servers, and any other hardware. Great place to ask for hardware help too.
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Pauven
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Re: Switch your PC On/Off with your IR Remote

Post by Pauven » Tue Aug 27, 2019 10:45 am

Anyone who has years of messing with DIY computers will understand the kind of night I just had. The kind of night where you feel that you are only moments away from a working solution, and as the hours slip by unnoticed, your mental exhaustion only seems to fuel the insanity to keep on trying.

I give thanks to OrigenAE for last night's insanity, though I do arrive on the other side with a newfound realization. Origen's IRTrans IR110 is a dead product, unless you want to time travel back to Windows XP/Vista.

I was able to get the USB drivers installed easily. The IR software, both Origen's legacy version and IRTrans' current version, also installed without a hitch. The problem, then, is that the software is refusing to talk to, or even acknowledge, the hardware. I spent hours troubleshooting this issue, at one point I even had my voltmeter out to test the connections. IRTrans goes on record saying that OEM products, like Origen's IR110, must be supported by the OEM and that IRTrans can't help. Origen's website hasn't seen updates in years, so they seem to be on life support if they aren't already dead. And I finally noticed on the IR110 product page that it clearly states XP/Vista only. Doh!

But my futile attempts also brought a few things into clear focus for me last night. First, the IRTrans solution is not for me. It is not a natively MCE compatible solution, rather you must run a software 'server' process that reads the IR signals from the board, and converts them to WMC compatible messages. Granted, it's a very powerful solution, but with great power comes great pain-in-the-arse, and the extra benefits it provides have no value for me as I just need basic MCE RC6 ir remote handling. I just want a hardware based native RC6 receiver.

Second, I really really really want a solution that fits inside the X15e case and uses the original IR sensor light-hole (sounds kinda dirty... hehe, he said light-hole). Origen's 'current' IR products don't appear as if they would even fit the X15e case, nor would any of IRTrans' products which are all external solutions. Not that any of that matters, since I don't like the software server command translation process.

Origen AE IR110 PCB.jpg
Origen AE IR110 PCB.jpg (343.98 KiB) Viewed 8662 times


Third, I also really want a solution that can power up a fully off PC, similar to the SIMEREC PCS-1/PCS-2 solution. The problem with those devices is that they are single function only, powering the PC on/off, and they don't receive/process remote commands. The really nice thing about the Origen IR110 was that it did everything, both PC power on/off, and reading IR signals into the PC. The X15e's light-hole (hehe) seems large enough for a single sensor, but I don't think I could hide two behind it.

With a clear understanding of what I want (native RC6 receiver with ability to trigger the power button on a powered off PC in a form factor that would fit inside my X15e HTPC case) I asked Google for help.

And Google replied with this failed Kickstarter campaign from 2015:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26 ... %20control

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The PC-IRS-01 looked perfect! It's hardware native RC6. It's super small, and would probably mount easily behind the X15e's light-hole (if I rotated it vertically), and it can use IR receiver sensor extenders, guaranteeing it will fit any case. All of this doubled my frustration that the funding was unsuccessful. :cry:
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But then for some reason I clicked on the 'Updates' button for that campaign, and to my surprise I discovered that Inteset Technologies, the company behind the PC-IRS-01 Kickstarter campaign, said they were going to make it anyway!!! And here's a link to their page where you can read up on it and even order it: https://intesettech.com/index.php/produ ... ender-kit/

What could be better than that? How about this: it is available on Amazon for $32, has 4.6/5 star rating, and with my Prime free shipping it will be here tomorrow!

Woo-hoo! :D
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Pauven
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Re: Switch your PC On/Off with your IR Remote

Post by Pauven » Tue Aug 27, 2019 10:59 am

Heads up for anyone purchasing the Inteset PC-IRS5-01 on Amazon. I already checked out so it's too late for me, but right below the price on the product page is a coupon, clicking it will save you $5, bringing the price down to $26.95.
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Pauven
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Re: Switch your PC On/Off with your IR Remote

Post by Pauven » Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:58 pm

I was able to get the Inteset PC-IRS5-01 working successfully on my HTPC.

I had to take a Dremel to the mounting bracket, which was a couple millimeters too long, and was hitting the mounting posts for the original Origen IR110 PCB. Once I had the clearance I needed, I used some Scotch permanent double-sided tape to mount the bracket inside the case. I like this tape, which is thin just like regular Scotch tape, unlike normal double-sided mounting tape which is 1-2 mm thick. I use this for lots of projects.
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I got lucky and my USB header still provides power after the PC is shut off, so I didn't need to run a separate 5V power supply - I think I enabled this by configuring the BIOS to allow USB to wake the PC. The only downside to this is that if you fully cut power to the power supply (i.e. electricity goes out or you flip the switch on the power supply), then when power is restored my motherboard does not provide USB power. It only provides power if the motherboard has already been booted, then shut down. I guess the BIOS is only enabling USB power after the first boot, and the setting is lost if electricity goes out. I can live with that.

Here you can see it installed in the case, and the power/connectivity LED's are lit even though I've shutdown the PC:
Inteset PC-IRS5-01 Installed.jpg
Inteset PC-IRS5-01 Installed.jpg (455.78 KiB) Viewed 8656 times

I can see that amber light shining through the sensor window, which let's me know it has power. I can also see the flash of the red led when I push buttons, so I can see it is receiving commands. All in all, that's worked out very well.

I'm pleasantly surprised that the IR sensitivity is very good, and even seems to pick up button presses when I have the remote at oblique angles. That's not to say it couldn't be a touch better, the mounting bracket is preventing perfect sensor alignment with the light-hole (hehe). I plan to model and 3D print a new mounting bracket that uses the original mounting posts, and positions the sensor perfectly.

The best part is that the remote shows up as a Microsoft eHome receiver, so I haven't had to do any remote reprogramming, everything has been plug and play.

A few negatives:
  • One of the cables was missing in my package - the internal cable for connecting the external IR receiver. I have no need for the external receiver (currently), though I wish I had the cable for future use if needed.
  • The wire connections to the existing case power switch aren't tight (I think the diameter of the connecting pin is undersized), and feel like they would come apart on their own over time, so I wrapped the connection in tape to keep it secure.
  • If I did use the external 5V power supply, it would require running a wire external to the PC case. I know it's supposed to be easier, but I don't like that approach, and would prefer if they also gave an easy way to tap in to internal 5V power which is readily available in the PC. Origin has already provided me with a 5V power tap for the ATX motherboard power, and I had planned to connect the PC-IRS5-01 to that power source if I need a separate 5V power supply.
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Teddyboy
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Re: Switch your PC On/Off with your IR Remote

Post by Teddyboy » Thu Aug 29, 2019 3:58 pm

Ha!
I have that very same receiver! It’s sitting in my spare parts box collecting dust! It’s brand new. I bought it from amazon back in 2016. I had to go back and look at all my previous orders, and there it was. My problem is I’m going to have to machine a pocket for it with a hole for the sensor. I have a friend who owns a machine shop. I’ll have to measure the face plate and create it and the features to mount the board in Solidworks so he can take the model directly in to his CNC mill and create the mounting points for the board.
Mechanical Engineer, Solidworks junkie, Reef aquariums, sci-fi, weight training, orchids, Ferns, Kaiju, model kit building, balboa park, scripps aquarium

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Pauven
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Re: Switch your PC On/Off with your IR Remote

Post by Pauven » Mon Sep 02, 2019 4:10 pm

Here's an update on using the Inteset PC-IRS5-01.

After a couple days, I was finding IR reception to be inconsistent. The IR sensor wasn't aligned well with the IR window in the case, and I decided I needed to go ahead and make a custom mount. Using the old Origin IR110 PCB and the Inteset PC-IRS5-01 PCB as templates, and with a few extra measurements from the Origin X15e case, I was able to mock up a design in Tinkercad.

In the picture below, the green represent the PC-IRS5-01 PCB, the red is the part I'm modelling, and the transparent circle is the IR window in the case. I purposely positioned the sensor off center, low and to the left, since I normally sit up and to the right of where the case resides. This finely tuned position maximizes the sensor's line of sight with my seating position.
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This next image shows a rotated view, approximately from my seating position, and the sensor is still in view in the center of the opening.
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An hour and about $0.08 worth of plastic later, I had my new mount. Notice that the new mount positions the PCB lower, and closer to the front of the case (the IR sensor tip is positioned just inside the IR window), plus attaches to the available X15e mounting posts.
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Here is the PC-IRS5-01 mounted to the 3D printed part (using the originally supplied stand-offs, which provide clearance for components on the bottom side of the PCB):
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Here it is installed. Luckily my careful measurements paid off, as the IR sensor is positioned exactly where I wanted it, diagonally offcenter:

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The new mounting position 100% resolved my IR reception issues. It now responds perfectly.

I did encounter one additional issue that I was able to resolve. I typically like to sleep the PC, instead of shutting down, to get near instantaneous power-up. When I put my PC to sleep, that amber power LED on the PC-IRS5-01 was flashing, which was annoyingly visible through the IR window. This was driving me bonkers. Worse, I was having a very hard time waking the PC up using the remote when it was sleeping (powered off it woke up fine). I would have to press the power button 10 or 20 times before it would wake up, even though I could see the red signal light flashing with almost every button press. I finally noticed that I had to press in sync with the flashing amber LED, so I figured the flashing LED was part of the problem.

I then remembered in the motherboard BIOS seeing some options related to power and blinking. Sure enough, a quick trip to my BIOS and I found a setting to turn off the blinking LED when the PC is sleeping. Now, the light no longer flashes but rather stays a solid amber when the PC is sleeping, plus it wakes up on the very first button press like it should.

I am extremely pleased with how well this little receiver is working, this is exactly what I wanted. I wish I had replaced the Origen IR110 years ago.
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