Linking software

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PICLink

IR Link

PIXpander

PIC16x84 programmer

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Description

The 2 switches will let you choose the mode of operation:


Switch 1 Switch 2 Mode

OFF OFF Linking w/o Ack.

ON OFF Linking with Ack.*

OFF ON Remote Control Recieve* & Send, and I/O Expand*.

ON ON Line State mode.*

Modes and Switchs

Linking without Acknowledgment:

The PIC will recieve the data from the calc in TI's low level protocol. The data is then encoded and sent by flashing the IRLED at 30khz (the oscillation is made only by software). On the other end the IR reciever senses the signal and the PIC decode it and send it to the calc.
The PIC will send the byte but it will not wait to see if the it has arrived. This mode is useful when Chating. When a byte is sent by a calc, it can be received by all other calcs that are ready for receiving.
This mode should be used with InfraRed Chat. This is the beta version of IR Chat, a multiple users chat and whiteboard program. I have written it for the TI85(Usgard) and TI82(ASH), and should also run under the TI86. For simple chatting TALK, RTerm8x or FTerm can be used.

Linking with Acknowledgment: *

The difference between this mode and the previous one is that the PIC will wait until it has received an acknoledgment from the other calc, which indicates that the byte was recieved from the other calc. There is a time-out set tp aprox. 1s if the Acknoledgment was not received.
With this mode variable transfer between 2 calcs is possible; This mode let the calc synchronise with each other. Note however that only small files(500b) can be sent, because when a large variable is sent there is more chances that an errors occure.
This mode should not be used with multiple calcs, because each calcs will then send its ack bit at a different time.

Line State mode: *

In this mode the PIC senses everytime the state of the calc pins changes, and it will send the information to other PIC, which sets the lines according to what he recieved.
This mode is somewhat slow, but it enables the use of every protocol, eg. I2C.
To work correctly the calc has to change the lines not too fast.

Remote Control sending mode:

In this mode the calc can send signals in whatever protocol to every device that receives IR.
When used in Remote Control mode, the PIC will recieve data from the calc in the following format(using TI's low-level protocol):

1 Byte : Number of bytes n to send
1 Byte : The duration of each bit
1 Byte : The first cycle length
1 Byte : The second cycle length
n Bytes: Data

The first byte is the number n of bytes that will be sent later.This Byte also determines if the PIC should enter the I/O Expand mode, the Remote recieve mode, or Remote send mode.
If Bit 7 of this byte is 1, then the PIC goes to the I/O Expand mode.
If Bit 6 of this byte is 1, then the PIC goes to the Remote receive mode.
The second byte is the duration of each bit of the data bytes. The unit of this is the inverse of the frequency(eg, 27.7us, if the frequency is 36KHz).
The third and forth bytes determines the frequency and the duty cycle of the signal. Here is table that shows the needed values:(This will be soon updated)

*: This will be written soon.
Duty Cycle	30 Khz	32 Khz	34 Khz	36 Khz	38 Khz	40 Khz	42 Khz	44 Khz	46 Khz	48 Khz
50%	0x0B 0x0F	0x0C 0x10	0x0D 0x11	0x0E 0x12	0x0F 0x12	0x0F 0x13	0x10 0x14	0x11 0x14	0x11 0x15	0x12 0x15
60%	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
70%	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
80%	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

And at last comes the n bytes of data.

For example(see ir_phlps.asm) , let'a assume we want to control a Philips TV. Philips uses a protocol named RC5, in which a logic '1' consist of a 0-1 signal, and a logic '0' of a 1-0 signal. A 1 and a 0 signal have each one a duration of 889us. The signal is sent at 36KHz.
The data consist of 14Bits: 2 sync bits, 1 control bit and 11 data bits. The Sync bits are always 1, and the control bit change every time you press a key, we will suppose that it is 1.

We know that the 11 bits code for Volume + are:
00000010000.

So the 14 bits are:
11 1 00000010000

After RC5 encoding we have:
0101 01 1010101010100110101010

If we group them in bytes we have 4 bytes:

#01010110b
#10101010b
#10011010b
#10100000b

We know that each bit of this has a duration of 889us=32 * 27.7us.
So what we need to send to the calc to make a Volume + is:

#4d ; 4 Bytes
#32d ; The duration = 889us
#0Eh ; First cycle
#12h ; First cycle
#01010110b
#10101010b
#10011010b
#10100000b

Take a look at ir_phlps.asm. This simple Usgard program will let you control the Volume and the Channel on a Philips television.

For a complete list of all different codes used by differents manufactures, see the rem34bg.zip and see also the IR Remotes Page.

If you don't know what for a code your remote control use, try to connect a SFH506 to your Sound Card to visualize the output of it. Or you can use the Remote recieving mode:

Remote Control receiving mode: *

This mode works the same way as the previous one, execpt that bit 6 of the first byte(data len size) is set. The format is:

1 Byte : Number of bytes n to read.
1 Byte : The duration of each bit.
1 Byte : The first cycle length.
1 Byte : The second cycle length.

After recieving this header from the calc, the PIC will wait for data from the remote, and then it reads n bytes and send them to the calc.
Here is a programm that demonstrate this: IR Remote. It will learn the code from every remote control and store it, so that the same code can replayed.
When you start the programm you have the choice between replaying an existing code or recording a code. To record press 2nd, the choose the key to which you want to assign the function, then choose the frequency and the time base of the signal. If you are dealing with an unknown remote, you should try some differents values. After selecting this the RED LED in the link will switch on and the calc will be waiting to the code from the remote. When it recieves the code, the calc will return to the main screen and you will be able to replay the code by pressing the assigned button.

If dealing with an unknown remote, some values that often are used by manufactures can be tried, for example the Time Base/Frequency combinations like 15/38Khz and 12/32Khz.

I/O Expander mode: *

The unused I/O lines RB2..RB5, are each one an open drain line(like the one of the calc). You might find it necessary to place pull-up resistors, since the internal ones of the PIC are not set.
The PIC enters this mode if Bit 7 of the byte sent is 1 (see above under Remote Control mode). If Bit 6 of the same byte is 1, then an output will be made. If it is 0, and input will be made.

In input, the PIC sends back the byte read from RB.

In output, the PIC sets the lines according to the byte first sent(that is only 1 byte have to be sent to make an output).

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Author : Sami Khawam