Infrared Remote Control Interfacing with Arduino Uno

In this small and simple tutorial/project i will be interfacing an IR(Infrared) remote with Arduino uno. The IR remote which i am going to interface with arduino is made by “Keyes”. I bought this module from aliexpress at a very cheap price around $2.5 with free shipping. The package contains a transmitter and receiver pair. Infrared transmitter is in the shape of a keypad. Transmitter transmits IR signals with encoded data when a particular button is pressed on keypad.

Infrared signal band frequency ranges from 430 THz to 300 GHz. This frequency is then divided in to divisions. Such as near infrared, short wavelength infrared, mid wave length infrared, long wavelength infrared and finally FIR(far infrared) division. Far infrared is most utilized in home appliances such as TV remotes, vehicle audio system etc. Our IR sensor pair used in the project falls in far infrared division.

Infrared transmitter in the keypad transmits the infrared signal at 38 khz frequency. At the receiver side i have tsop1738 ir receiver. Tsop1738 infrared receiver receives the infrared signals which are transmitted by transmitter at 38 khz frequency. Tsop1738 not not receives signal it also decodes the data present in the transmitted signal and then outputs the data.

Arduino IR remote project – Working principle

In this tutorial i am going to receive the keystrokes from infrared transmitter. Decode the signal, identify the key pressed and then display the particular key pressed by user on 16×2 character lcd. Character lcd which i am using is an arduino 16×2 lcd shield which can be mounted on the arduino uno or any other standard arduino board directly. Character lcd 16×2 shield is interfaced in 4-bit mode with Arduino Uno.

Arduino IR remote library

Arduino ir remote Library is used in the project to decode the data received from the transmitter. IRremote library can transmit and receive infrared signals. For this tutorial we are only going to receive the signal transmitted by an infrared source.The remote which i am using in the tutorial is one shown in the picture below.

Keyes infrared remote with arduino uno

Arduino ir library working

Arduino ir remote library utilizes timers of arduino to transmit and receive infrared signals. Arduino pins with timers functionality are operated at 38 khz frequency. Data signals are then easily encoded and decoded on these pins.

Arduino infrared project – circuit diagram

In our circuit Tsop1738 infrared receiver output pin is connected to Pin#3 of Arduino Uno. I am using an arduino lcd shield which can be directly mounted on the arduino uno board. The shield saves my time of lcd wiring. Arduino ir interface project circuit diagram is given below

Arduino IR(infrared) sensor interface

But if you do not have a shield, you can also make manual connections with the 16×2 character lcd if you have a stand alone lcd. The connections are very simple. Connect

LCD RS pin to digital pin 8
LCD Enable pin to digital pin 9
LCD D4 pin to digital pin 4
LCD D5 pin to digital pin 5
LCD D6 pin to digital pin 6
LCD D7 pin to digital pin 7
LCD R/W pin to ground

For your easy i made the circuit diagram of the stand alone 16×2 lcd interface with arduino uno for this arduino infrared project. Circuit diagram is below

Keyes infrared remote transmitter and Receiver(TSOP1738) with Arduino Uno

I tested the above arduino code and its working fine. I checked all the infrared transmitter buttons and each button is transmitting its code correctly. I successfully tested the transmitter at distance of 5 meters. Above 5 meters the signal fades and receiver misses the signal. One error that i encountered during testing is that the transmitter seems not working. I checked all the things and found that the cell inserted in the transmitter remote is not powering the remote. I removed the cell cleaned it, reinserted it and suddenly all started well.