Let’s be honest… pressing the spacebar or a mouse button to move to the next slide in your presentation or to skip to the next song is sometimes too much of a hassle… we want things to be smooth and easy, that’s what computers are for!
How to remote control your computer?
In order to control your computer with a remote control, you’ll need an Infra-Red receiver, a software program to translate all the signals and the target software which you want to control (volume up, next page, etc…). The program we use to interpret the remote’s IR signals, is Lirc for Linux or WinLirc for Windows operating systems.
You’ll have to define all the remote signals in a config file that Lirc can read, but I’ve made it easy for you if you have a telenet DB-AD100 remote laying around. Instructions should also work with other remote controle models.
Download Lirc config file for Telenet Remote Control DB-AD100
I have prepared this config file for you and made it available to download via the Lirc configuration file repository. This will directly recognize your remote control (type: telenet DB-AD100) without the need to configure the whole thing. There were double signals (one for press and one for release button) that I had to comment out in order to create a correct remote control functionality.
Download the lirc configuration file for the telenet remote control.
In case it’s unavailable, here’s the mirror.
This file should be copied or renamed to
/etc/lirc/lircd.conf
…and you should be ready to go!
Get the hardware: an infra red receiver
IR receivers can be bought at very reasonable prices these days, but in case you want to do it the hard way, you can also attempt to create your own serial Infra-Red receiver. This device will be recognized by Lirc or WinLirc and you’ll be able to let your remote control communicate with it.
Lirc communicates with any software
Setting up your remote and connecting the infra red sensor to your computer won’t do much good. You still need to tell your target program what to do when you press the buttons of your remote. Let’s get to it!
Create a new file in your homedir and call it .lircrc (include the dot in front of the filename). It should contain lines like:
begin
prog = irexec
remote = YOUR_REMOTE
button = KEY_PLAY
config = dbus-send —type=method_call —dest=org.kde.amarok /Player org.freedesktop.MediaPlayer.Play
end
You’ll need to copy this block for each key or command you want to define. Be sure to run irexec in the background! This will connect your remote buttons to a command. You could also make it easier, e.g. change volume:
aumix -w YOURCOMMAND
Just experiment a little and be sure to check the lirc documentation and you’ll be remote controlling your computer with Lirc and a telenet remote control in no time!
Laurens Vercaigne is an IT-consultant, web developer, programmer and copywriter with profound expertise of both Linux and Windows environments. He has experience in developing and optimizing trading scripts and robots for forex- and stockmarkets. There is also a lot of fun to be had with automating as much as possible, or making tasks and processes more efficient, practical of just smart. After all, computers are here to make our lives easier, aren't they?
