Hi guys! One year ago, I decided to read about some way to make wi-fi enabled universal IR remote controller. After a short search I found this youtube video:
I’ve assembled 5-6 pieces of these and they work just fine. Yet I can’t find enough time to make it work with Tasmota or any MQTT, but it works perfect with HTTP requests, so I decided to share it with all of you. Who knows … You might make it work even better.
I had the idea to attach to it RF too, but I had no time for this.
PS: On my board (NodeMCU v3 Lua - LoLin) I had a problem with very low IR light, but I fixed it connecting the 100Ohms resistor to the 3V pin, instead of the Vin(VCC or VU). You can even use regular IR diode (like from some old unused RC).
A lower voltage giving you more IR output seems odd.
IR diodes can be pulsed (for short periods of time) with much more current than the GPIO can sink or supply. The diode’s pulsed forward current rating is much higher than the DC rating. I made this circuit for my iTach but it will work for any digital output for IR:
It is not lower voltage its greater and I’ll tell you why - when I measured Vin and VU only 0.2V were passed by the board there and it is not enough to power the IR led, so I switched to the 3V pin. For some reason I couldn’t find any pin providing 5V on this board. The only way to do that is to solder a wire directly on MicroUSB connector’s 5V rail, but I see that 3V are enough for me … Maybe in the future I’ll do it because I want to attach a few more diodes to make it omnidirectional … Because I want to use only one for each room, but currently I’m using two of them …
I meant is the sentence I quoted meant to be around the other way: connect to 5V not 3v to increase the range. However you just explained why that is not the case.
true … But I really like your flood example … Can you suggest me what I can do to make it better, rather than just connect 1-2 more diodes to the first one … I’m not a specialist in electronics, but at least I like to experiment and read about it. (I’m feeling happy that I don’t like chemical experiments … )
you cant get the parts that cheap (you probably forgot cable and powersource) and its not really an alternative for a braodlink Rm, because all it does is IR.
a better title would have been “DIY IR remote” or something like that.
Actually for not more than 0.30$ per piece, you can make it RF too … This is why I made this post. I still don’t have enough time to put RF transmitter on it and write a few lines of code. I’ve bought 10 pieces RF transmitter + RF receiver for 1.80$ from aliexpress and 5 microusb cables for under 2$ (but I cant remember the exact price). The board itself can be bought between 2 and 2,5$ (2.35$ is the price that I ought it at). The power source can be anything that has USB, but if someone wants can purchase cheap separate power adapter for 0.8$ - 1.0$. So the price is really between 3 and 5$. Another reason I that I made this post is that someone could find it interesting project and make it work with Tasmota, so it could be used with MQTT too (and integrated in home assisant).
i never saw power adapters that cheap, but even so is my experience that the most cheap power adapters (and i bought quite a lot) are not stable enough or are to noisy to work with a rf transmitter. and for certain the cheap rf transmitters
links to the cheap stuff would be very helpfull though, because also i never saw 5 usb cables for under 2 euro. (and would like those)
another reason why i reacted in this topic is that i then automaticly follow it, and i always like this kind of stuff
i got all that stuff lying around. its the coding thats what makes it difficult.
Done. These are best prices with free shipping (for Bulgaria) I found for few minutes. There can be even better prices, but I don’t have much time to search.
I’ve been meaning to make a nodemcu IR blaster. I currently use broadlink rm mini3 however there have been two occasions (triggered by power cycling the whole house when doing mains voltage work) where the broadlink hasn’t worked and I’ve had to turn it off and on to get it going.
I created one project similar to yours some time ago and documented it here:
I’m using a Particle Photon, in case you prefer those. Price is higher, includes a free cloud, so you can control it from the internet.
Cheers,
Gustavo.
If you check the specs of the IR LED, the pulse current rating is likely more than the NodeMCU can provide, so in my example of this project, I don’t use limiting resistors at all. It’s been working for about 6-months.
Since then I have discovered the Broadlink RM Mini.
Nice work! I built a few of these for my TV and for AC units. The code for the AC controllers uses MQTT, while the TV/Cable controller responds to HTTP. MQTT is more reliable, but I need to find a way to link to a Google Assistant voice command. Still working on it.
I just want to say, again, that this project is not mine … I just watched the video on youtube, and decided to share it with you, as I know that it is working and it worth. I just made a couple of improvements to make it work good for me.
Because I want to use only one for each room, but currently I’m using two of them … 
