Transmitting IR signals via Bluetooth to be sent by external IR hardware (irplus LAN)

irplus LAN This is a spin-off app of the original for sending custom infrared codes via a WiFi or Bluetooth. It has all the same features, but instead of using the IR-blaster it will send the IR-sequence over network (via plain HTTP) to a server which will do the job of processing and sending them as IR-light. Sounds cool? So you can make use of the app even when using a phone without IR-blaster. Although there is a small catch. You need to setup a server to process the signal. The process will be described here.

Prepare the hardware

Variant 1: For this guide we will use an Arduino Uno with a Bluetooth HC-05 serial module. The infrared LED with a Resistor on it's voltage pin will be attached to a PWM pin (3 as default) and GND. For the connection of the HC05 please check the following diagram. Note: It could be that you have to use a voltage regulator for the Pin-out! This depends on wether your HC05 has a voltage regulator integrated on it's breakboard or not! Using the Pin-out (5V) without any voltage regulator will most likely fry your HC05! Also Note: rxPin -> TXD, txPin -> RXD!

Variant 2: For this guide we will use an ESP32 Module which comes with WiFi and Bluetooth out of the box.

Arduino

ESP32

Instructions for flashing

1. Make sure the components are wired up correctly. Common mistake: You do NOT need to connect VCC of IR Transmitter Boards, only DATA and GND!
2. Download the script for your hardware using the table below
3. Download and Install Arduino IDE
4. Install IRremote 3.3.0 using Manage Libraries (Ctrl+Shift+I)
5. For ESP32 you need to add https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json in Preferences and in Board Manager you'llneed to install esp32 and select "Board: ESP32 Dev Module". Make sure you're using the correct COM Port. On Windows to flash you need to keep BOOT pressed.
6. Open the Script with Arduino IDE and make sure it compiles (Ctrl+R) and after verifying do upload (Ctrl+U). After rebooting the device should be pairable in Android.
7. Pair your Android with the Bluetooth module (Password: 1234). The name could vary. For ESP32 it is "irplusESP32"
8. Now start/restart irplusLAN and select the already paired Bluetooth module in the App's settings.
9. If you press a button on irplusLAN the app will transmit the signal to Arduino via Bluetooth and Arduino will send the IR signal.
10. To verify you can as usual use a different phone's camera to see the IR light. Some IR Emitter Breadboards come with an LED light to show activity

Script Downloads