Best ir blaster for HA?

Configuration
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I have a tuya IR device, which doesn’t seem supported by HA. It controls my Aircon, and another controls my TV. Currently I have a ‘scene’ in tuya app, and HA script calls that scene. Just on/off for both devices. I don’t want a scene/script for every button.

I also got the tv in [DLNA Digital Media Renderer: Main Bedroom TV] but it doesn’t seem to give me any controls.

I wonder if there is a recommended IR device for HA, and what that looks like when used in HA. Is it still just scenes, or can it be a device in HA with a proper interface?

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2 Likes
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You could use one of the Boadlink RM series Universal remotes. They use to be a real pain to setup, but over time Homeassistant has made it very easy to use. Check out this video:

2 Likes
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It seems you still create a script for every button. HA doesn’t see it as a device yet

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HA will not see an IR Device as a device. The Broadlink integration will allow you to control the device, by making switches, which you can use to control the device, like this:

switch 1:
  - platform: broadlink
    mac: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
    switches:
      - name: Samsung_55_tv Power
        command_on: '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'
        command_off: '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'
      - name: Air_Conditioner
        command_on: 'JgDAAAABK5EVNRUQFRAWEBUQFRAWDxY0Fg8WNBY0FRAWEBU0FjQVEBY0FRAWEBUQFRAWEBUQFTUVEBU1FTQWNBY0FTUVNBYQFQAFaAABK0cWAAxZAAErRxYADFkAASxHFQAMWQABLEcVAAxZAAEsRxUADFoAAStIFQAMWQABK0gVAAxZAAErSBUADFoAAStHFgAMWQABK0gVAAxZAAErSBUADFoAAStHFgAMWQABK0cWAAxZAAErRxYADFoAAStHFgANBQAAAAAAAAAA=='
        command_off: 'JgDAAAABK5EVNRUQFRAWEBUQFRAWDxY0Fg8WNBY0FRAWEBU0FjQVEBY0FRAWEBUQFRAWEBUQFTUVEBU1FTQWNBY0FTUVNBYQFQAFaAABK0cWAAxZAAErRxYADFkAASxHFQAMWQABLEcVAAxZAAEsRxUADFoAAStIFQAMWQABK0gVAAxZAAErSBUADFoAAStHFgAMWQABK0gVAAxZAAErSBUADFoAAStHFgAMWQABK0cWAAxZAAErRxYADFoAAStHFgANBQAAAAAAAAAA=='

This will create switches to control my TV and Air conditioner. Now to take this a step further you can use power monitoring plugs on these device to allow you to know if the device is on or off. i hope this clears things up.

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hey @TinyDoT , thanks for your example.
I wonder where can i find these commands based on my devices.

My R4mini is fully working with the App, can it be useful to discover them ?

EDIT: just found watching the video until the end :slight_smile:

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When I set my Broadlink device up, it was quite some time ago, and there were some script that would help with this. Now things are a lot easier to do with the advancement of HomeAssistant. Here are a couple of links that will help:

I hope these help : )

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Tried a Broadlink RM Pro. Had compatibility issues with the router. Also it limits the WPA key to 32 characters. Any other suggestions?

Cheers.

1 Like
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I also tried the Broadlink devices, the RM3 mini simply does not connect to a modern wifi and the other had serious problems with keeping up a stable connection.

I am now using a Tuya Zigbee IR device, works like a charm, sadly there is a bit of configuration involved in getting it running in HA, but luckily no soldering of any kind.

Description on how to get it running here:

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I found a way to get around this a little. It isn’t
a solution that allows you to directly control individual IR devices as if you were in Tuya’s app, but it can still trigger actions.

I created a few tap2run scenes within the Tuya app. One I titled Theater Off while the other was Theater On. I filled each one with the commands I want run for each of the IR devices. Both of those scenes popped up into HA. Thus I was able to trigger them manually or through automations. So it’s an automation triggering an automation essentially. It isn’t perfect, but it works at least.

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Note: You can use the last_learned_ir_code Attribute from the ZosungIRControl Cluster to get the IR codes a bit faster than manually going through log files. Otherwise thank you so much for this guide, very informative!

1 Like
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These are easy to code and very cheap.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001632975624.html

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Thank you for this information :heart:. I updated the blog post accordingly.

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If you use the tuya zigbe you don’t need to use the tuya app at all.

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Have you tried doing this with a Tuya IR blaster? If so, how does it add new devices? Can you interact directly with those devices? I would be fascinated to know if someone has any experience with that.

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Yes. You can read out IR commands and send them. All locally. No cloud, no other app. You just need a working zigbee stick and the zigbee tuya ir blaster.

Details in the blogpost I linked to above your message.

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Wow…I’ll give it a try as I can get my hands on one of those IR units, but wow…that’s going to be a learning curve

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Yeah, sadly that’s true. But luckily no soldering is involved :sweat_smile:.

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Well, I snagged one of the blasters. Added it via the Zigbee stick on HA. Downloaded the py file and dropped it in the folder I created in the config directory, then added the lines to configuration.yaml. I restarted HA, but going to the device within Zigbee integration and going to manage, there is no option for “ZosungIRControl ” or “IRLearn ”, so that might have been a waste of money .