can I DIY my own electronic blinds remote?

May 11, 2023 5:48 PM

I have two electric blinds in my bedroom that use a single remote to go down/up. The remote is super-damaged, thanks cats, and the blind company wants me to pay $280 for someone to come down and set up replacement remotes. I tried a cheap universal IR remote but it didn't work, but this must be a DIY-able situation, or should I just pay so I can sleep in darkness again?
posted by dorothyisunderwood to Grab Bag (17 answers total)

What brand are the blinds?
posted by aramaic at 5:59 PM on May 11, 2023

Response by poster: VB Blind - https://vbblind.com/, interior blinds. I'm fine with gritting my teeth and paying, but it seems like a wild overcharge to set the channel on a remote.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:31 PM on May 11, 2023

Is the remote infrared or radio? It would be very directional and have a black shiny plastic 'window' where the IR light comes out, if it's infrared. But most blind remotes I've come across are radio, and that won't work with IR universal remotes.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:41 PM on May 11, 2023

(And I would bet if they are radio that a 433MHz universal remote would work. I was all in the 'I can write code for that' headspace, but that ... might be a little overkill ...)
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:44 PM on May 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

From what I can see, they're basically a Singaporean reseller, and not an actual manufacturer. This implies that someone else makes the motor their blinds use, so if you have a way of identifying what motor they use (Somfy is a big one) that would be helpful as well. Uh, you may need to pull the end-cap off the blind roll to find this so it's possible you may not really care enough to risk it.
posted by aramaic at 6:46 PM on May 11, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ah I'd bet it's radio because there wasn't a black bump on the remote - it's a flat shiny white thing with buttons on a circuit board, no bumps at all and works without really having to directly point.

And they never even bothered to put the end-caps on (reseller of a reseller...) so I can see the motor but it's a no-brand generic thing.

433MHz universal remote sounds like that might be fun! Is this something someone who can write very basic python can do?
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:11 PM on May 11, 2023

You could try a flipper zero, but that’s not a very cheap workaround.
posted by slogger at 7:37 PM on May 11, 2023

A quick search in Amazon revealed a whole lot of generic 433 Mhz remotes with multiple channels, which makes me think somewhere out there there is a configurable remote that might work for your blinds.

Another idea: maybe search eBay for someone selling used (or extra) remotes for these blinds?
posted by StrawberryPie at 10:27 PM on May 11, 2023

Best answer: Is there any kind of branding on the back of the remote itself?

If you can just source a replacement remote, and you know the brand, the pairing and reset procedures will probably be very easy to track down on YouTube.
posted by flabdablet at 10:27 PM on May 11, 2023 [2 favorites]

You can do this in micropython with a 433MHz transmitter and receiver attached to an arduino or ESP, but it will involve some wiring and some learning. Receiver because you have to work out what it's sending before you attempt to replicate it.

In the grand scheme of programming and electronics it isn't super hard, and there should be libraries you can use that do the grunt work, but you'll be reading a lot of blogs to work out the details. (It has been done many times, so blogs exist aplenty.) I would only attempt it if you like learning and have some patience.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 12:40 AM on May 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Is your remote totally destroyed or just flaky? How much of an ass is your cat? You might have an easier time tearing down and hacking the remote unless the cat is truly the destroyer or worlds. Fixing a borked remote might be easier then building a replacement.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:08 AM on May 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

As an ex IT repair guy, it's been my unfortunate observation that cat piss is very corrosive stuff.
posted by flabdablet at 2:10 AM on May 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

ORANGE JUICE ATE ZELDA?? Can it be repaired? Gameboy color game repair! - YouTube
posted by zengargoyle at 2:16 AM on May 12, 2023

You can buy a generic Zigbee button, and a Zigbee dongle, and install free software called Home Assistant to do this....but it sure feels like overkill.

But if you like to tinker, HA would probably do it.

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/motion_blinds/
posted by wenestvedt at 3:11 AM on May 12, 2023

Response by poster: I have no idea why it never occurred to me but YES google image searching for flat white curtain remotes, I found the exact same model for $30 and have ordered it - if it works yay $250 saved, and if not, the cat has another thing to destroy.

Thank you for all the comments, I had fun looking at Zigbee, flipper zero and other stuff and imagining myself mcguyvering a solution
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:10 AM on May 12, 2023 [8 favorites]

Order two. ;)
posted by rhizome at 3:52 PM on May 12, 2023 [6 favorites]

Another potential for the future: Bond Bridges provide a control interface for many radio remotes from your phone. I think you can train it from the original if it has any life in it at all. It looks like they also have some special shades-specific remotes they sell as well.

I have one controlling a ceiling fan from like three rooms away.
posted by montag2k at 2:37 PM on May 13, 2023