LIRC, DDL, and the bogobox

Have you heard of LIRC? LIRC is the Linux Infrared Remote Control project. This software can receive the IR commands from many commercial IR remote controls requiring a few electronic components connected to the serial port. It also allows to transmit IR commands as if they came from the remote directly, but this feature is not used here.

Similar to DDL, also this software has a core process that monitors the serial port, decodes any detected IR transmission and makes this information available as a "device". Other application software can connect to this device and perform actions in dependence on the IR commands received and provided by the LIRC device.

The way from my remote to my loco running on the layout therefore is as follows:

• pressing a button on my IR remote emits a type/brand specific sequence of IR impulses
• The IR signal in the air is converted into electrical impulses to the PC serial port by some simple electronic hardware.
• the LIRC device detects the IR signal on the serial port, decodes it, and provides this information at the device port.
• a LIRC application (part of the LIRC package) uses the device output to simulate keyboard entries to a telnet-like railway application programme (an improved version of simpleclient, part of the DDL package)
• the DDL application simpleclient gets simulated keyboard inputs and generates the commands to the DDL core process
• the DDL core process generates the railway signal at the serial port
• my bogobox booster amplifies the signal to the rails
• the loco reacts and produces a crash...

click on the image to see my IR receiver hardware (left) and re-used TV remote control (right).

Summary

Where others have their Control Unit or Intellibox, I have an old 386DX33 PC, with 4 MB main memory, and a few hundred MB harddisk space. On this PC runs a special minimal version of Linux, that is muLinux, and the LIRC and DDL packages compiled (and in the case of DDL patched) for this situation. From my experience I can not recommend to use such a minimum system although it really works. You will probably have much less trouble with a Pentium PC, and a standard Linux distribution. You will probably need the advice, assistance and patience of a Linux guru, I certainly did! If this is the first time you want to use Linux, as in my case, don't do without a friend. But once you have managed to get it running you will not regret it at all. Believe me!

^ back to bogobox page ^

^^ back to homepage ^^

last update: 2003-01-18; webmasterbogobit.de