passive mode

[guest]

Would it be possible for the UIRT to operate if the PC were powered off, just obviously don't send commands to the USB controller? Basically, pass through IR commands received through the external emitter connected to the unit. Hopefully it could draw its power from the USB bus even with the PC powered off (e.g. my USB hub's light is red when the PC is off). I would run the emitter from the HTPC (in the basement) to my A/V panel in the LR and would like to operate the equipment without having to power up the PC. I also need Girder capability, so this combined functionality would be perfect.

thanks!

[jrhees]

Would it be possible for the UIRT to operate if the PC were powered off, just obviously don't send commands to the USB controller? Basically, pass through IR commands received through the external emitter connected to the unit. Hopefully it could draw its power from the USB bus even with the PC powered off (e.g. my USB hub's light is red when the PC is off). I would run the emitter from the HTPC (in the basement) to my A/V panel in the LR and would like to operate the equipment without having to power up the PC. I also need Girder capability, so this combined functionality would be perfect.

thanks!

Currently, no. There are two reasons for this:

1) When the PC is powered OFF, there is no power supply for the USB-UIRT.

2) For the USB-UIRT to act as an effective IR 'repeater' means it needs to pass the entire IR signal (carrier and all) to the emitters. The USB-UIRT receives 'demodulated' IR (the carrier is stripped off). So, the USB-UIRT would need to know what frequency your remote was transmitting at for effective results.

-Jon

[hindif]

1) When the PC is powered OFF, there is no power supply for the USB-UIRT.

ah, yes, I forgot that my hub is powered, explaining the red LED when the PC is off.

2) For the USB-UIRT to act as an effective IR 'repeater' means it needs to pass the entire IR signal (carrier and all) to the emitters. The USB-UIRT receives 'demodulated' IR (the carrier is stripped off). So, the USB-UIRT would need to know what frequency your remote was transmitting at for effective results.

makes sense as well.

[ElvisIncognito]

Jon-

Somebody on AVS Forum asked this (excellent) question:

does it support storing a code in the UIRT device to allow remote power up via remote?

If you/users addressed the power requirement by adding some sort of battery backup (maybe a couple of Lithium CR2032's ?) does the UIRT have the capability (in general) of storing a specific turn-on code?

I think I already know the answer, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
(Gee, the USB-UIRT is still "wet behind the ears" and already you've got enough enhancemenet requests to do a USB-UIRT2! )

[jrhees]

ElvisIncognito,

The USB-UIRT is smart as long as it has power (which could conceivably be supplied externally with a bit of HW change). It also has nonvolatile storage where turn-on codes are stored (this is how it currently support remote wake from Standby). The problem in a full PC turn-on is that USB doesn't support this today (I believe there are extensions in the USB spec, but I know of no hardware wich supports this currently). Currently, all PCs when OFF have DEAD USB ports. So, it is not possible to turn the computer ON via USB. Now, one could go the approach similar to the UIRT2 and start connecting to WOL connectors, power buttons, etc. (that's exactly why the support was originally put into UIRT2 for this -- I wanted to turn on my PC remotely). This approach, however, lends itself to electronics hobbyists and not the general user. Hence the size of grief-srticken posts on the UIRT forum on Girder forums

-Jon

[DRH]

The motherboard I have an aopen AK79D-400 Max has power applied to the USB ports even when in soft-off mode (S5 or S4). This is verified by the LED flashing on the USB-UIRT when the system is off. Any chance that the USB-UIRT may be modified to power up this motherboard?

[jrhees]

If you're thinking of having the USB-UIRT power up the motherboard using the USB 'power on' event, no modification is necessary -- i.e., the USB-UIRT can already do that *provided* the motherboard's USB controller can pass the power-on signal to the power-up logic -- which I doubt.

Are you thinking of a modification which connectes the USB-UIRT to the power button or something?

-Jon

[Guest]

Jon,

You are correct about the MB not passing the power up signal and I believe that using the power button is the most generic way to turn on the PC provided the MB supplies power to the USB devices when in S4 or S5. But one could also use an optional wall wart to power the USB-UIRT. I have the Kanam IR module (works great for turning on the PC but not much else) and a Compro Videomate TV card that both control the PC power up using the power switch.

I read somewhere recently that you where working on something like this. I would be great if there where another or even a couple of buffered outputs available on the back, for this and other control possibilities. Also I am not sure if the microcontroller you use has a timer that could be used as a RTC. But it would be a really cool feature if the unit could be used to wake up (turn on) a PC from S5 and S4 states by remote or at a set time and better for the environment.

BTW – I think the USB-UIRT is a great device especially with girder and I have played with some of the others.

-Don

[jrhees]

Don,

These are all great ideas. Unfortunately, they all also must be *filtered* depending on the amount of real-world usage they'll get. What I mean by this is that these types of features were somewhat intentionally omitted from the USB-UIRT. WHY, you ask? Well, simply that the intent of the USB-UIRT was to target the most-used features but avoid other less-common features, because they simply all add up when the final price tag comes out. So, while you can expect some of these features to be explored, most if not all of them will likely be Do-It-Yourself with the soldering-iron type projects (add-ons to the base USB-UIRT). I know that this is disappointing to some, but from the info I gather, less than about 5% of all USB-UIRT users want this type of feature.

So, now, with that out, I plan on coming up with circuit modifications for those who can, to power their USB-UIRT externally and close a relay, etc. for external power-up.

-Jon

[ElvisIncognito]

It's a simple thing to configure most HTPCs to power up when the spacebar is pressed - even if the keyboard is a USB keyboard.

Does this open any doors?