Remote control and infrared without IR
I bought a Pioneer VSX C402 two weeks ago. Nice Hardware that fits into my 19″ rack. Equipped with 3 optical Toslink ports for Digital Audio it is now the central sound system of my livingroom. My digital satellite receiver, the workstation and maybe a PStwo can now connect to the VSX and support it with fine 5.1 Audio.
Beside the fine technique inside, one disadvantage is left, the whole thing is for enduser consumers and you guessed right..That sucks. No Ethernet, no serial ports, no internal documentation. The most annoying thing is this nasty Remote which is the only interface to control the box. As you can see the whole thing is a multifunctional boulder that is able to control all Pioneer home cinema products like DVD Player, Receiver, DVR and Flatscreens.
- I don’t like that.
Take Control:
To manage the control of all Pioneer equipment, they build a control port that is chained through all devices with a signal cable. Analyzing the signal on the control port shows up that the standard IR protocol is used, but without infrared…
Installing this little circuit, which does the proper signal conversation will enable the VSX to connect to a RS232 serial port.
At the moment I have a reduced set of instructions that are able to control the basic functions of the VSX (eg. Power, mute, input, volume). I took them from the LIRC Remotes list for the VSX C107 cause they use the same as C402. As soon as I’m able to build a IR receiver I’ll be able to decode the whole Pioneer Remote and collect all available signals.
Ok, for the first time I’m set, a command line base interface to the audio system is established and now I’m realy happy with my new toy.