Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with IR

Need clear or milky plastic spheres

sid — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:52:56 -0800

Asking for a friend: I need about 20 clear or frosted plastic balls that are 3" in diameter for a Nuit Blanche project. Where could I obtain such balls in Toronto? They will be used to diffuse IR light for an interactive art project. The project will debut at Nuit Blanche this year!

Best hardware for this homebrew universal remote?

unSane — Wed, 27 May 2009 06:07:06 -0800

What hardware should I use to build this networked universal remote? I want to build a universal remote which will work as follows. An IR transmitter is connected to a headless CPU, which is running a webserver. By connecting to the webserver (via an iPhone, for example) one can issue IR signals to control a plethora of AV components.

The simplest way to achieve this would be an Asus eeePC or a Mac Mini running apache, with something like this as an IR transmitter/receiver. However this seems like overkill. What's the neatest off-the-shelf hardware solution you can think of?

Where do I find transparent coatings that show up in near-infrared photography?

kscottz — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:46:38 -0800

I need a non-toxic coating that is transparent under visible light but appears much darker/lighter in near-infrared photography. My dear chemist, physicists, and material scientists, I am working on a project where I want to coat uniform surfaces with a substance that appears transparent or semitransparent in normal human vision but shows up really well under near-infrared photography. My infrared camera is a USB web cam with the IR filter replaced with some flavor of IR-Pass filter. I should be able to make my own paint if you can point me in the direction of a pigment that will have the desired results. Bonus points for substances that are non-toxic.

I do computer vision work and I want to detect image features on substances that would otherwise look fairly featureless (like a wall, or a tabletop).

How to use my laptop as a TV remote?

JDHarper — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:43:59 -0800

Is there an easy way to use my laptop's IR port to control my TV? I'm using a Fujitsu T4215 laptop running Windows Vista Business Edition, which has an infrared port on the back of it. I would like to be able to use this to remotely control my TV and my DVD player, but I can't find anything that isn't horribly complicated looking.

I know they made similar software for Palm Pilots (e.g. OmniRemote) where you could have the Palm "learn" the signals from your remote control. Surely someone's made the PC equivalent?

(Searches of previous threads indiate that there wasn't much around 3 years ago. Responding to a potential reply right off the bat: The IR signal is strong enough to reach the TV from my couch, as it will occasionally turn on the stereo next to the TV, seemingly at random.)

Mac infrared remote weirdness

snarfois — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:25:49 -0800

My problem with my Apple remote is just getting weirder Previously: Apple remote malfunctioning, How do I escalate my AppleCare problem?

After 5 weeks at the repair shop, who tells me they were unable to recreate the problem, I've brought the Mac Mini back home. Within a day, after being on for a couple of hours, the problem came back. I moved the Mini at least 30cm away from any other objects for several days, but the problem kept reoccuring.

Then yesterday, I found a simply bizarre "solution": I cover up the IR receiver (the black square at the end of the DVD slot.) When I do this, the problem instantly disappears and the remote functions as normal. What baffles me is that it functions at all. How sensitive are IR receivers? To put it to the test, I tried wrapping the Mini completely in a thick blanket, and only after about 8 layers of wrapping does the remote stop working. I can hold a thick hardcover book right in front of the Mini, and the remote immediately behind it, and it still works. And any of these tricks cure the remote repeating problem. Right now, I'm using the Mini with a tiny strip of paper covering the IR receiver.

Besides a possible diagnosis, what I'd like to know is whether I should pursue the matter further with Apple. This is obviously not how a new computer is supposed to act, and as unobtrusive as the little strip of paper is, it's still not the designer minimalist look Apple (and I) intended. And if I'm going to pursue this further, where should I take it?

How do I escalate my AppleCare problem?

snarfois — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:19:22 -0800

I'm disappointed with the service I'm getting from an Apple authorised repair centre. Where do I go from here? A month ago on AskMeFi I described a problem with my Mac Mini, 6 months old and still under warranty and AppleCare. As mumkin recommended on that thread, I took the Mac in for repair, especially as it was defeating the computer's main purpose of being a media centre.

I dropped the Mac off 3 weeks ago, with a video I took demonstrating the problem in action (using 2 different remotes and a clean install), and links to websites where 3 other Mac users describe the same problem (without reaching a resolution.)

The people at the repair shop keep telling me they are unable to recreate the problem. I admit it could be difficult: it usually only showed up after the Mac's been on for hours, and not every time. They say that until they can recreate it, they can't fix it. They are unmoved by the thought of me moaning about them, Mac servicing and Macs in general on the web.

Isn't it perhaps time for giving me some benefit of the doubt? It should be clear I'm not imagining the problem, nor doing without my media centre for laughs. If they can't find the problem, they can swap the machine for a new one. I'm just worried that this will drag on for weeks and weeks, I may never get it fixed, and my brand new Mac media centre will end up being a big waste of money. Or am I being unfair?

Wash my car for free?

tradeer33 — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:50:33 -0800

Today I washed my car at one of those touch less car washes that you just drop money into and drive in. This particular one was a Laserwash There was a maintenance man in one of the bays with a company truck. I watched him point a remote control at the exit of the wash and initiate a car wash two different times for testing purposes, I assume. My question is, if I had the code and it was an IR remote is it possible to program a universal remote to send that code and activate the carwash in the same manner? Searching Google for Laserwash codes didn't help me much.

Summer reading in IR

dead_ — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 06:28:23 -0800

What are the must-read books on international relations? This Fall I'm hoping to head off to graduate school for an M.A. in international relations and I'd like to do some refresher reading (I've been away from school for about a year). My regional focus is on Southeast Asia, and the program will focus on international community and society (things like immigration, globalization, media, etc., and how they affect people and culture).

I'm looking for some core IR texts to read through that will remind me just what it was I learned during those 5 years we call "undergraduate," but I'm also looking for a few more positional books dealing with some of the subjects/regions outlined above. Thanks!

Need some help designing and building LED light strips for an interactive table

warhol — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:31:08 -0800

Need some help designing and building LED light strips for an interactive table -- help me select 880nm IR LEDs, understand the circuitry, and figure out how to deal with power. As part of the table we need to build a couple of LED light strips making use of high output 880nm IR LEDs (yes, it's an FTIR table). One strip is 4' long, the other is 3' long and the LEDs are probably going to be 1" on center. Ideally, I'd like to power the strip from regular wall current.

So, the questions:

- Are there LED strips that I can readily adapt to this task?

- I love / hate digikey. For a novice, there's too much information. Can you help me find what I mean when I say "high output 880nm IR LED"? (I'm just thinking little bulb shaped guy with the 2 leads sticking out the bottom...)

- What do I need to do resistor-wise? The LEDs are going to be in series... Should I just be doing 1 stronger resistor at the end of the series or little ones in-between?

- How do I deal with the power? Is there a power brick that'll get me down into the range that I need or is will it end up being something custom?

Help me make sense of Australian industrial relations reform

teem — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 04:57:14 -0800

Help me make sense of the industrial relations reform (WorkChoices) that has taken place in Australia since the last federal election. Who do the changes benefit, and who do they disadvantage? Are they ultimately a good thing or should they be reversed? They've been in place for a while now, how are they shaping up in practice? I don't even know if I'm asking the right questions! So far all of the sources I've come across have been either extremely critical of the changes or quite the opposite. Either one side is overreacting, the other side is downplaying, or (more likely) the truth is somewhere in between. Where do I go for reliable explanations? I'm still a student at university and the money I earn comes from research scholarships so I don't even have any personal experiences of the changes.

I'm not trying to incite a political argument although I acknowledge that there are split opinions on the issue. I am asking this because it may well be an important issue at the next federal election and I want to be informed. All reasoned explanations and reliable, well-informed sources are welcome.

Related question: Was IR reform an issue in the the 2004 federal election campaigns, or was the idea introduced after the coalition won?

PVR power on by remote?

toomanyplugs — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:07:37 -0800

Can a Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 remote (or any other remote) power on a PC natively? I'm building a simple PVR, but I can't figure out if the "standard" remotes will actually power on the PC. This seems like a simple enough thing to do, but I can't find mention of the functionality anywhere. Is it just that common that nobody needs to mention it? Power on from standby or hibernate would be ok, too.

I've found the UIRT2 here, which has Wake-on-LAN support, but would building this be redundant if I already have the WinTV PVR 150? I have the non-MCE kit, but it comes with the remote, the IR receiver beanbag, and an IR blaster.

BTW, I don't actually have anything assembled yet, I'm trying to figure out what to budget for.

Using laptop IR to control TV

punishinglemur — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 13:47:01 -0800

How can I use the IR port on my Windows XP laptop to control my television?