Element IR
- 4 Devlogs
- 4 Total hours
A smart universal remote that controls your entertainment while emulating infrared signals, then seamlessly morphs into a live weather station when docked.
Ship #1
Pending review
-
What did you make?
I built a dual-purpose, smart touchscreen device that functions as a high-utility Universal Infrared (IR) Remote when in use and transitions into a desktop Live Weather Station and Clock when idle.
Universal IR Tool: It features a custom touchscreen UI capable of capturing raw infrared signals from existing appliances, displaying their exact hex codes, and saving them with custom names using an on-screen QWERTY keyboard for later emulation (signal playback).
Smart Power & Display: To maximize signal accuracy and power efficiency, the device automatically shuts down its Wi-Fi radio when entering active IR Mode, and instantly spins the wireless connection back up to fetch live weather data when docked or idle. -
What was challenging?
The most significant challenge was hardware resource management and strict signal timing. Leaving the background Wi-Fi network stack active while trying to capture or transmit precise IR pulses caused microsecond delays and signal jitter. This resulted in corrupted hex codes.
I resolved this hurdle by writing a strict power-management rule into the state machine: the system completely terminates the Wi-Fi radio connection the exact millisecond the user enters IR Mode, ensuring clean, interference-free hardware timers for precise signal emulation. -
What are you proud of?
I am incredibly proud of the UI/UX integration and the custom QWERTY touchscreen keyboard. Designing a responsive UI on a small TFT screen that feels intuitive was a massive hurdle. Successfully implementing a dynamic naming system—where a user can tap an on-screen keyboard to instantly label a captured hex code as a human-readable string (like “OFF” or “VOL_UP”) rather than managing hardcoded array values—gives the project a highly polished, consumer-grade feel. -
What should people know so they can test your project?
To successfully flash and test this project, reviewers and users need to know the following parameters:
Required Libraries: Before compiling the Arduino sketch, ensure you have the TFT_eSPI library installed and properly configured for your specific display pinout in the User_Setup.h file. You will also need the IRremoteESP8266 library to handle signal decoding.
Network Isolation: Keep in mind that when testing the IR Tool functions (CAPTURE/SEND), the device’s web and Wi-Fi features will consciously disconnect to safeguard timing accuracy.
Testing Hardware: If testing without an existing television remote, you can target any standard consumer remote (such as an Light or AC controller) directly at your IR receiver module to verify that the hex protocols populate accurately in the display terminal.
1h 2m logged
DEVLOG #4 — Project Complete! 🎉
It is officially done! What started as a concept to merge a utility tool with a desktop display is now a fully polished, working piece of hardware.
The universal remote and weather station project is officially 100% completed.
A Quick Look Back
The Desktop Mode: When sitting in its dock, the device serves as a live weather station and clock, blending perfectly into a desk setup rather than just sitting around as a blank piece of plastic.
The IR Toolbelt: When picked up, it shifts into a dedicated infrared tool. It can seamlessly capture raw hex protocols from existing household remotes, save them, and emulate those signals back to control TVs, soundbars, or appliances.
The Custom Keyboard UI: In the last update, I finalized the custom touchscreen QWERTY keyboard layout. Now, every single captured signal can be instantly named (e.g., “OFF”, “VOL_UP”) and saved directly to memory for quick, human-readable playback.
Final Polish & Tweaks
To cross the finish line, I spent the last few hours tightening up the UI transition animations and stress-testing the power-management loop (making sure the Wi-Fi shuts down reliably during IR capture and spins back up instantly for weather syncs when docked). Everything is running smoothly, responsively, and without timing glitches.
The code is cleaned up, the hardware is rock solid, and the project is officially wrapped. Huge thanks to everyone who followed along with the builds and logs!
1h 1m 14s logged
DEVLOG #3
What’s new today?
We are officially entering the homestretch! Following up on yesterday’s breakthrough with catching raw infrared signals, I spent today building the file organization and naming logic.
As you can see in the new screenshot, I successfully implemented a custom on-screen QWERTY touch keyboard directly into the IR Tool menu. The device now shifts into a purple “LISTENING..” state to grab a command, and then immediately pops up an intuitive text input field asking you to Name this signal:.
Right now, I am testing saving a captured button as OFF. Being able to give captured hex codes human-readable names on the fly means no more guessing what random array entries do when it comes time to hit SEND.
Project Status Update:
With file naming, keyboard inputs, UI states, and the weather station system all completely built and integrated, this project is almost over! All that is left to do is run a few final hardware playback tests and wrap the electronics into a clean enclosure. Stay tuned for the final showcase video soon!
1h 1m 29s logged
DEVLOG #2
Since my last update, the live weather station and clock functionalities are officially 100% complete and stable. With the idle state locked down, I shifted focus entirely to the core remote control hardware. Today, I successfully stood up the touchscreen interface for the IR Tool menu!
As you can see in the screenshot, the UI is fully responsive. I managed to successfully catch and parse a raw signal from an ONN remote, pulling down the specific hex protocol code (0xE61C00A1).
1h 8m 9s logged
DEVLOG #1
I am working on building a smart universal remote that emulates infrared signals to control entertainment systems, having already successfully completed and integrated the live weather station functionality for when the device is idle. Its with the use of an esp8266 and TFT DISPLAY now, will add other components later.
