Comments on: DIY TiVo IR Blaster

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 17:25:27 +0000

This usually works, provided that the IR blaster doesn’t block the entire IR sensor on the cable box.

By: Barbara Gingrande

Barbara Gingrande — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:34:31 +0000

What if I want to use the cable remote sometimes for OnDemand? I recently moved an older setup from MA to NH and had to get a newer Cable box that would not accept the serial input. Thinking of some kind of clip arrangement for the blaster. Any thoughts? All I really wanted was an old cable box. Sniff.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:59:54 +0000

Awesome! $2.50 is a pretty fair price to pay for one of these.

By: jh1523

jh1523 — Wed, 12 May 2010 04:02:07 +0000

Thanks for the details on the polarity etc. saved me a bit of time on building this. Total cost: $2.50 (one set of junky earbuds from Wal-mart to use for the plug+cord). 420 ohms resistor found in parts bin, same for IR LED – bought as a 20-pack about 10 years ago, never got around to using them anywhere. Also from parts bin: solder, flux paste and a bit of Kapton tape to hold it together.

TiVo up and running with the new (now required) cable box.

Thanks!

By: wvallen

wvallen — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:18:28 +0000

i made this yesterday and it worked immediately. I had the mono-plug laying around and walked to a radio shack to pick up the IR LED and 330 Ohm resistors for a total of $3. I also used speaker wire for the go-between. thanks!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:34:50 +0000

Awesome! It’s good to know that Radio Shack still carries enough electronics components to build this project.

By: DCP

DCP — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:13:23 +0000

Thanks for the quick solution. Just built one this afternoon with a Radio Shack IR LED (940nm, Catalog #: 276-143, $1.99) and a 1/8th” mono phone plug (Radio Shack Cat. #:274-286, $2.99 for two).

I, too, used a 1k Ohm resistor (since I had some sitting around), but 330 ohm would have been fine…maybe better/brighter. Anyway, it works fine with a Series1 TiVo and the Motorola DCH70 cable box from Comcast (remote code “00093-Fast” in the TiVo setup).

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:14:08 +0000

I used this exact article to make a replacement IR Blaster for my Hauppauge HVR-1250. I purchased from Radio Shack a 6 ft. 1/8″ Mono Audio Cable, the 1K resistor and a single IR Emitter LED. Total cost out the door was $5.97. Thanks

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:22:41 +0000

That’s awesome. I came across your posting looking for an ir blaster to purchase because my cats destroyed mine. I do not have the skills or tools to build such a thing but I like the fact that there are people out there that can and do.

By: Speedybob

Speedybob — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:51:06 +0000

Thanks for posting this! The IR LED seemed pretty dim with a 1k limiter when usedd with a Panasonic Replay (compared to the remotes led’s), & I’d feel safe starting out using something around half that value, but I really dont want to take it apart! Thanks again!