Well being a follower of bit-tech, a little discussion started regarding the building of a serial Infrared device. Well, being one for a challenge, I decided to give this one a go. The article I followed can be found here.

So what is needed for this build and where can I get the parts?

I looked at several places to buy the parts and this is what I came up with:

Part	Supplier	Part No
1N4148	RS Components	271-606
TSOP1838		286-1425
Capacitor 10µF, 16V		267-5072
Capacitor 100nF		405-8334
4k7 resistor (0.125W)		144-324
Voltage-Regulator (IC2): 78L05, 100mA,		189-1295
D-Range 9 way Socket	Maplin	RK61
Metalise D Hood 9 way		JB68
Heat Shrink Sleeving	I ditched this and used the plastic sleeve from some wire after it had been stripped.
Copper Wire	Used some single core bell wire I had lying around

 

I found that RS were slightly cheaper than Maplins (except for that TSOP1838 which isn't available from Mappers) but you have to by in bulk (i.e. 5-10 of each minimum). Another down side is that RS charge way way too much for P&P and if you go to the Trade counters you need to have an account. Luckily I work in an FE College and we have an account so I was able to get most of the stuff while visiting the in-laws in Nottingham. The IR receiver and a few other bits and pieces had to be sent to college as they didn't have any in stock.

Another source that you could use is Farnell. However, the IR receiver is almost three times the price as RS!!!!

I basically followed the the tutorial mentioned above, but used normal wire sleeving to cover my pins.

Since creating my first unit, I have added a fly lead enabling the receiver to be placed at the front of the case to make it easier to pick up the remotes signal to be picked up.