On Thu, 2005-02-24 at 14:12 -0500, Dan Wilga wrote:I have two Dish 311 receivers. Rather than deal with an IR blaster that either requires an ugly LED attached to the two units, or a blaster that is subject to interference, I made a really cheap (about $15) hardware modification that allows me to make a hardwired connection directly from the 311's board to a small interface board that sits inside my HTPC. The interface board is connected to a serial header on the PC's motherboard.
I certainly agree this is doable. Is there any reason to do this other than for cosmetic reasons? I remember someone was selling a simple tiny transmitter that connected with clear doublestick tape that was fairly unobtrusive. I wouldn't think having to physicaly modify the hardware would be worth it unless perhaps you ended with a simpler or more reliable setup software wise. I suppose if you needed this to look absolutely professional, it might be useful.
It's partly for cosmetic reasons, but also for cost. If you don't go with one big blaster transmitting to all devices, and instead opt for the one LED attached to each receiver, then every time you add a receiver the cost could go up.
My hack consists of a board with a few resistors and an opto-isolator. Most serial ports could probably handle up to 6 or 8 devices (using additional optos). Probably the most expensive parts are the 1/8" stereo jacks; you need two per receiver, in order to have a clean-looking installation with a jack on both ends of the cable.
I also scavenged the stereo cables to go from the PC to the receivers, and a short length of ribbon cable to connect to the motherboard's serial port connector.
-- Dan Wilga [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Administrator http://www.mtholyoke.edu Mount Holyoke College Tel: 413-538-3027 South Hadley, MA 01075 "Who left the cake out in the rain?"
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