Home Assistant to IR blaster

Hardware
1

Is there a how-to guide that i can follow to put together an IR blaster for my HA/Node Red setup?

I had a Broadlink RM-Mini3 but it crashes my DHCP table when connected - the router works but the attached devices list drops out to blank! I have tried three routers all the same problem, unplug the Broadlink and the router is happy again.

I would like a local control IR blaster that talks to home assistant - i need three devices for my setup.

Is there any such thing?

I see some mention of NodeMCU but i have no idea what that is i’m afraid :slight_smile:

2

Hardware setup, tasmota is probably easier to use than espeasy these days.
https://www.inspectmygadgets.com/wemos-d1-mini-ir-blaster-using-esp-easy/

Tasmota setup
https://www.inspectmygadgets.com/tasmota-wemos-d1-mini-ir-baster/

I personally don’t use the NPN transistor. My IR led just gets wired to a GPIO and ground.
I usually use a Wemos D1 mini (instead of a nodemcu) because they are small. I plug them into either a usb port on my tv or a phone charger. so that covers power and the IR led. the rest is tasmota and home assistant configuration for the codes you need.

Useful IR database. It might help to check if your device is there. Otherwise you may have to learn your codes from a different setup.
http://irdb.tk/find/

something like this, you can cut the jack off.

3

Thanks for that, it looks fairly easy for a noob to pick up :wink:

Can the same device be used to “learn” remotes too ?

4

You need a ir receiver led for learning. They are 3 pin.

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ir-communication/all

And

I use IrScrutinizer which can also be installed on an arduino board. I use the Windows part to convert pronto or raw commands to hex codes.
This can be helpful for converting codes from irdb.tk

The arduino part can be used to capture sent codes. I haven’t used it for a while though as I have my codes now. It’s a simple device, although finding and setting up the github part might be abit of a learning curve if you have never used arduino ide.

http://www.harctoolbox.org/arduino_nano.html

5

LOL, learning curve :slight_smile: I’ve never even seen an arduino before. I really just need a locally controlled device that can connect Home assistant to IR :slight_smile: Its all a bit advanced for my age, i should have started 20 years ago :slight_smile:

6

Tasmota is easy if you can get the codes you need from irdb.

1 Like
7

Hmm, if i can’t find a plug-n-play solution i guess I’ll be getting some of this kit to play with :slight_smile:

1 Like
8

Hmm this sounds familiar. My Broadlink Mini RM3 is also acting up on the network. I have a RM4 underway, might still be a couple of weeks though. I’ll try to remember to update this post with my findings.

9

I have been messing all morning - the Mini-3 is wifi killer. It takes a previously reserved IP address - that should never happen, it also upsets the wifi in the room - my laptop will will repeatedly connect and disconnect until i unplug the mini-3

Its a very nasty little device and i will be binning my one - you cannot even assign or change the IP on it!

10

I replaced the Mini 3 with a Mini 4. This is much better: instead of dropping off the network all the time, this one has a stable Wifi connection. I don’t know if it would fix your problems, but my first impression is much better than Mini3.