Arduino uno User Manual

CHAPTER 12
Creating Your Own Universal Remote
Control
Remote controls add a lot of convenience to our lives, but they aren’t without
annoyances. Sometimes remotes don’t have a certain function that you’d like,
such as a sleep timer. Plus, remote controls seem to reproduce at the same
rate as rabbits. They quickly occupy your whole coffee table, and you have
to feed them with expensive batteries that you don’t have at home when you
need them during a football game. Universal remote controls reduce the pain,
but even the most expensive products aren’t perfect.
Although we use remote controls every day, few of us understand how they
work. In this chapter, you’ll find out how remote controls work from the inside
out, and then you’ll build your own universal remote control that’s better
than a store-bought one because you can fully customize it to your needs.
You can easily add all of your favorite functions, and you can add functions
that other remotes don’t offer. If a commercial product doesn’t support a
certain vendor, you’re usually stuck. With your own remote, you can easily
add new protocols. You can even support not only infrared, but also more
transmission technologies, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
We get started by learning the basics of infrared signaling. You’ll build an
infrared circuit to grab control codes from any remote you have on hand.
Once you grab the control codes, you can emit them using an infrared LED,
and you’ll start to build your own universal remote control.
Then we’ll even take the idea of a remote control a step further. Once we have
a universal remote, we’ll control the Arduino itself using the serial port or an
Ethernet connection. This way, you can control the Arduino using a web
browser, so you can control your TV set or DVD player using a web browser.
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Arduino uno Specifications

General

Form factor	Arduino
Certification	RoHS, FC, CE
Processor model	-
Processor frequency	- MHz
Microcontroller model	ATmega328
Microcontroller frequency	16 MHz
DC input voltage	7-12 V
Operating voltage	5 V
DC current per I/O pin	40 mA
Flash memory	0.032 MB
Maximum internal memory	- GB
SRAM (Static Random Access Memory)	2 KB
EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory)	1 KB
Wi-Fi	No
Number of analog I/O pins	6
Number of digital I/O pins	14

Weight and Dimensions

Board dimensions	53.4 x 68.6 mm

Summary

Arduino Uno and the Arduino Platform

The Parts You Need

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Arduino

What Exactly Is an Arduino?

Exploring the Arduino Board

Analog and Digital Signals

Installing the Arduino IDE

Provides step-by-step instructions for installing the Arduino Integrated Development Environment.

Meeting the Arduino IDE

Hello, World!

Introduces the first project: making an LED blink using the Arduino.

Compiling and Uploading Programs

Explains how to compile and upload sketches to the Arduino board.

Chapter 2: Creating Bigger Projects with the Arduino

Managing Projects and Sketches

Changing Preferences

Explains how to customize Arduino IDE settings for better workflow.

The Arduino Programming Language

Using Serial Ports

Explains serial communication for data exchange between Arduino and computer.

Chapter 3: Building Binary Dice

Working with Breadboards

Explains how breadboards work and how to connect components.

Using an LED on a Breadboard

First Version of a Binary Die

Implements the first version of a binary die using three LEDs.

Working with Buttons

Details how pushbuttons work and how to connect them to the Arduino.

Adding Your Own Button

Building a Dice Game

Completes the dice project by adding a guess button and game logic.

Chapter 4: Building a Morse Code Generator Library

Learning the Basics of Morse Code

Building a Morse Code Generator

Starts the implementation of the Telegraph C++ class.

Fleshing Out the Morse Code Generator’s Interface

Defines the Telegraph class interface and Morse code data arrays.

Outputting Morse Code Symbols

Installing and Using the Telegraph Class

Guides on integrating the custom Telegraph library into Arduino IDE.

Chapter 5: Sensing the World Around Us

Measuring Distances with an Ultrasonic Sensor

Introduces ultrasonic sensors and builds a distance measuring device.

Increasing Precision Using Floating-Point Numbers

Increasing Precision Using a Temperature Sensor

Integrates a temperature sensor to refine distance measurements.

Creating Your Own Dashboard

Chapter 6: Building a Motion-Sensing Game Controller

Wiring Up the Accelerometer

Details connecting the ADXL335 accelerometer to the Arduino.

Bringing Your Accelerometer to Life

Reads and outputs raw accelerometer data for three axes.

Finding and Polishing Edge Values

Building Your Own Game Controller

Integrates a pushbutton and refined accelerometer data for a game controller.

Chapter 7: Writing a Game for the Motion-Sensing Game Controller

Writing a GameController Class

Creates a JavaScript class for convenient access to Arduino motion data.

Creating the Game

Implements a Breakout clone using JavaScript and the motion controller.

Chapter 8: Generating Video Signals with an Arduino

How Analog Video Works

Building a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC)

Details building a binary-weighted DAC for video signal generation.

Connecting the Arduino to Your TV Set

Describes modifying an RCA cable to connect to the Arduino.

Using the TVout Library

Introduces the TVout library for generating video signals on a TV.

Building a TV Thermometer

Creates a graphical thermometer display on a TV screen using sensors.

Working with Graphics in TVout

Chapter 9: Tinkering with the Wii Nunchuk

Wiring a Wii Nunchuk

Details wiring the Nunchuk controller to Arduino analog pins.

Talking to a Nunchuk

Building a Nunchuk Class

Creates a C++ class for interfacing with the Nunchuk controller.

Using Our Nunchuk Class

Demonstrates reading Nunchuk data (joystick, accelerometer, buttons).

Creating Your Own Video Game Console

Creating Your Own Video Game

Handling the Different Game States

Chapter 10: Networking with Arduino

Using Your PC to Transfer Sensor Data to the Internet

The Arduino and the Internet of Things (IoT)

Registering an Application with Twitter

Tweeting Messages with Processing

Communicating Over Networks Using an Ethernet Shield

Using DHCP and DNS

Chapter 11: Creating a Burglar Alarm with Email Notification

Emailing from the Command Line

Detecting Motion Using a Passive Infrared Sensor

Bringing It All Together

Chapter 12: Creating Your Own Universal Remote Control

Understanding Infrared Remote Controls

Grabbing Remote Control Codes

Cloning a Remote

Using the TvRemote class

Controlling Infrared Devices Remotely with Your Browser

Building an Infrared Proxy

Chapter 13: Controlling Motors with Arduino

What You Need

Lists components for motor control: servo motor, wires, Arduino.

Introducing Motors

First Steps with a Servo Motor

Building a Blaminatr

What If It Doesn’t Work?

Troubleshooting motor control: power consumption, weight, adjustments.

APPENDIX 1: Electronics and Soldering Basics

Current, Voltage, and Resistance

Electrical Circuits

Resistors

Learning How to Solder

APPENDIX 2: Advanced Arduino Programming

The Arduino Programming Language

Bit Operations

APPENDIX 3: Advanced Serial Programming

Learning More About Serial Communication

Serial Communication Using Various Languages

APPENDIX 4: Controlling the Arduino with a Browser

What Are Google Chrome Apps?

Creating a Minimal Chrome App

Exploring the Chrome Serial API

Writing a SerialDevice Class