IR spotlight question

if I modulated a high wattage IR spotlight with TV remote control codes could I control a TV from a long distance?

vegasrndll said:

if I modulated a high wattage IR spotlight with TV remote control codes could I control a TV from a long distance?

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I would think it would, aiming may be harder than you think though.

I don't know much about IR spotlights, but if it's incandescent or HID the answer is no. LED, maybe. Those IR remotes rely on very fast switching, something that is not compatible with the cool-down or warm-up times of most lights. However, if you can get a mil-spec switching transistor (high current levels, high switching speed) and a big IR led, and hook it up to a ninja remote or something you would have a tv-b-gone with some serious range! Maybe someone on this forum could contract a company to give them an LED light with custom firmware and an IR LED, so instead of switching power levels or to strobe or whatever it switched which TV you were controlling I think I'd rather stick with a regular light, thank you very much.

will

If you pull this off, take videos and post them...

Also include video's of your frustrated neighbor.

vegasrndll said:

if I modulated a high wattage IR spotlight with TV remote control codes could I control a TV from a long distance?

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You would need to modulate it at around 38khz. If the light source is LED, you could modulate it directly, but if it was an incandescent or HID source you'd need a means of operating a shutter at that frequency.

PhotonWrangler said:

You would need to modulate it at around 38khz. If the light source is LED, you could modulate it directly, but if it was an incandescent or HID source you'd need a means of operating a shutter at that frequency.

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I really, really doubt a mechanical shutter is an option for a project like this at 38Khz
On this topic-has anyone modulated an IR laser to do this yet? That could be some real fun, tv "sniping" :thumbsup:

You might be able to modulate an electronic shutter to do this, though you'd cut down on final output power pretty heavily in doing so.

actually you don't NEED it to be IR, i once, when i was younger modified our TV remote with a green 5mm LED...my dad was pissed, and it didn't work from any further than about 3 inches, so if you ditch IR you have to make up for it with some serious lux on the phototransistor. (i put a new IR LED back in the remote for my poor ole pa)

SFG2Lman said:

actually you don't NEED it to be IR, i once, when i was younger modified our TV remote with a green 5mm LED...my dad was pissed, and it didn't work from any further than about 3 inches, so if you ditch IR you have to make up for it with some serious lux on the phototransistor. (i put a new IR LED back in the remote for my poor ole pa)

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lol
I'm pretty sure they put a bandpass filter (black plastic) in front of the detector to avoid light interference. I doubt it would be practical to use anything other than IR.

csa said:

You might be able to modulate an electronic shutter to do this, though you'd cut down on final output power pretty heavily in doing so.

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I agree, an accoustic modulator placed in the optical path can do it, although it will reduce radiated power. Better off to start with a really bright IR LED, direct modulation and some good optics.