Controlling your Pi with an infrared remote

Configuring the Remote

You will need to create a file called /etc/lirc/lircd.conf that contains the remote control configuration information. I will start by configuring LIRC to work with the optional IR remote listed in the "Parts List" box. Be sure you are in the home directory, then create a configuration file using the nano text editor by typing the following commands:

cd ~
sudo nano lircd.conf

You can then type in or copy/paste the code shown in Listing 3. Next, close and save this file by pressing Ctrl-X and then Y.

01 # Please make this file available to others
02 # by sending it to <lirc@bartelmus.de>
03 #
04 # this config file was automatically generated
05 # using lirc-0.9.0-pre1(default) on Tue Oct  8 07:05:38 2013
06 #
07 # contributed by
08 #
09 # brand:               /home/pi/lircd.conf
10 # model no. of remote control:
11 # devices being controlled by this remote:
12 #
13
14 begin remote
15
16   name  /home/pi/lircd.conf
17   bits           16
18   flags SPACE_ENC|CONST_LENGTH
19   eps            30
20   aeps          100
21
22   header       9006  4447
23   one           594  1648
24   zero          594   526
25   ptrail        587
26   repeat       9006  2210
27   pre_data_bits   16
28   pre_data       0xFD
29   gap          107633
30   toggle_bit_mask 0x0
31
32       begin codes
33           KEY_1                    0x08F7
34           KEY_2                    0x8877
35           KEY_3                    0x48B7
36           KEY_4                    0x28D7
37           KEY_5                    0xA857
38           KEY_6                    0x6897
39           KEY_7                    0x18E7
40           KEY_8                    0x9867
41           KEY_9                    0x58A7
42           KEY_0                    0x30CF
43           KEY_DOWN                 0xB04F
44           KEY_LEFT                 0x10EF
45           KEY_UP                   0xA05F
46           KEY_RIGHT                0x50AF
47           KEY_BACK                 0x708F
48           KEY_ENTER                0x906F
49           KEY_SETUP                0x20DF
50           KEY_PAUSE                0x609F
51           KEY_PAUSE                0x807F
52           KEY_STOP                 0x609F
53           KEY_VOLUMEUP             0x40BF
54           KEY_VOLUMEDOWN           0x00FF
55       end codes
56
57 end remote

If you are using Raspbmc, you are done configuring the remote, because Raspbmc is set up to pull in a configuration file stored in the /home/pi folder. However, on Raspbmc, you then need to return to the IR receiver menu in the settings and re-enable the Enable GPIO TSOP IR Receiver option (Figure 7). The GPIO IR Remote Profile also needs to point to the custom file you just set up.

Figure 7: Re-enable the GPIO IR Remote Profile to point to the custom file.

Once you have changed these two settings, you can then save the settings and restart the Raspberry Pi.

When the system restarts, you should receive a pop-up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen saying Detected New Connection – Starting LIRC, and you should now have a fully working IR remote with Raspbmc!

If you are using Raspbian, you will instead need to enter a couple more commands. First, move the configuration file into its correct location:

sudo mv /home/pi/lircd.conf /etc/lirc/lircd.conf

Then, restart LIRC:

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc restart

You should now have a fully working remote with Raspbian!

Using an Existing Remote

The LIRC SourceForge page already has ready-made configuration files for a huge number of remote controls [8]. For example, the SourceForge archive contains files for my Sony RM-ED009 remote and my SkyHD remote.

If a configuration file for your remote is available at SourceForge, you can still follow the instructions in the preceding "Configuring the Remote" section. But, instead of copying the contents of Listing 3, you can just copy/paste the code found at SourceForge.

If you are unable to find a ready-made configuration file for your remote, that does not mean the remote is not supported by the software, just that no one has contributed a configuration file for it. One of the main benefits of the LIRC software is that it can "learn" remotes – meaning you can easily configure your own remote to be used with the software.

To begin this learning process, you first need to have completed the steps in the previous "Testing LIRC" section. You can then use the irrecord function, which is built into LIRC, to record the outputs of the new remote.

When you run irrecord, it will ask you to name each button as you "teach" it to LIRC; a predefined list of valid names is available, which you can find by running the following command:

irrecord --list-namespace

It is worth noting down the available button names, or copying and pasting them to a text file to refer to later. When you are ready, you can initiate the irrecord function using the following command:

irrecord -d /dev/lirc0 ~/lircd.conf

When using the irrecord command, make sure you follow the instructions very carefully. If you make any mistakes, you can always start again, but it takes a fair bit of time, so it is worth getting right the first time. If you want to keep the configuration file for the old remote, make a backup using the following command:

sudo mv /etc/lirc/lircd.conf /etc/lirc/lircd_original.conf

Once you have a backup, it is then very easy to copy the new file with the irrecord function back to the directory it needs to be in. If you are using Raspbmc, you can just leave the config file where it is and skip this step. To copy the file, issue the following command:

sudo cp ~/lircd.conf /etc/lirc/lircd.conf

If you are using Raspbmc, you will need to return to the Settings menu and tick the Enable GPIO TSOP IR Receiver option, as well as selecting the custom configuration file from the list (see the end of the previous "Configuring the Remote" section for a more detailed description).

You can then restart the system using the following command:

sudo reboot (or sudo shutdown -r now)

If you are using Raspbian, you can just restart LIRC without rebooting, using the following command:

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc start

You should now have a fully configured remote.

If you could not find your remote listed in the repository and had to generate your own configuration file, please help to support the LIRC community by sending the model number of your remote, the configuration file, and preferably a picture of the specific remote to lirc@bartelmus.de. This will allow your file to become part of the configuration file repository.