We have been intending to add support for LIRC into AnalysIR for a long time. Recently one of our enthusiastic users, working on his Raspberry PI,  needed some help getting Air conditioner signals from his ‘Air Conditioner’ infrared remote control decoded. His preference was for a LIRC based approach as he already had this working for his TV via his RPi using a cool web based interface from his smart phone.

After the success of our export feature for IRremote & IRLib on Arduino, where AnalysIR automatically generates the ‘C’ code for the Arduino IDE, we spent some time thinking about a similar approach for the Raspberry Pi. It didn’t take long before we settled on leveraging the existing LIRC support on the RPi. (AnalysIR already makes use of LIRC mode2 to import IR signals via LAN/Wi-Fi for decoding).

First of all we implemented the individual signal export feature and got our RPi user to try the ‘OFF’ signal live on his Aircon unit – as a proof of concept. After a couple of adjustments and email exchanges the unit was being turned off from his smartphone, via the RPi – thanks to LIRC & AnalysIR. Initially, he was driving the IR LED direct from a GPIO pin, which wasn’t capable of delivering the required range. Once a more robust circuit was implemented we got the green light or more correctly the (infra) red light! We quickly sent over the ‘ON’ signal in LIRC format so he could control his Air Conditioner over-night.

(Note: if you need extended range check out our blog post here)

Next day, we set about implementing a full batch export facility, whereby all of the signals he had recorded using AnalysIR are automatically exported in LIRC raw format. He previously sent us an AnalysIR history file with 36 different signals for his Aircon unit. After an hour or so, we were able to email a full LIRC ‘.conf’ file with all 36 signals defined. We were delighted to hear back within minutes that all signals worked flawlessly in his setup.

This new ‘Batch export’ feature for LIRC opens up a much larger base for AnalysIR within the Raspberry Pi community and the even larger Linux base. As long as a system supports LIRC (i.e. most Linux systems), users can now leverage this powerful new feature of AnalysIR. Of course, this does not just relate to air conditioners, it works equally well with TVs, media & AV devices or just about any infrared remote controlled device.

Exisiting users of AnalysIR will get this feature as part of the next release, but if you can’t wait send us an email for a sneak preview.

A download of the LIRC ‘.conf’ file can be found here. (AnalysIR LIRC Export File)

Air Conditioner Model: A ROWA model RAS-90JAH-R407; a 9,000 btu device running on R407 gas.

Get your copy of AnalysIR at the special low pricing for backers & supporters (available for a limited time only), by making a contribution via PayPal now.