Make Dumb Electronics Smart for $3

The only reason those remotes use a 12V is for the range. The RF transmitter section gets the 12V., and the RF IC internally regulates it down to whatever it needs. The quiescent current on these parts are usually is in the sub-microamp range and sometimes zero, as the push button applies power to the IC, and based on which pin has power as it turns on determines what the remote is supposed to do. The 12V battery allows it to operate at lower temperatures, where the battery current starts dropping. Lastly, since the transmitter operates over a wide voltage range (albeit at a diminishing range), the battery life is exceptional, since it can drop down to a few volts before it stops working.

How on earth are we supposed to know who this guy is, and whether or not he likes to make stuff??

esphome is the software/firmware you want.

Maybe the switch blocking the antenna is more of an issue now that it is running on 3.3V instead of 12V? It might have reduced the transmit power/range.

For controlling IR remove devices, I've made a few ESPs around the house with IR emitters. That way instead of hooking up an arduino to existing remotes, I have one arduino control tons of devices in a room.

The wheel on the limit switch is so the trigger mechanism can slide by the switch instead of crashing into it, because 13:05 can crush the switch and cause a malfunction. Use a mechanical switch along side the path of motion, not in the path of motion.

I like the video and enjoyed the process, but 2 things come to mind: 1) using the limit screw on the screen's motor assembly reduces a lot of the complexity of this project 2) Modifying the operation buttons attached to the wall would have made more sense, as you wouldn't have signal issues, and you would still have a useful remote. no shade though, I always appreciate project sharing. cheers!

I've got the same screen and it's adjustable, it's a little screw-turn limiter in the screen housing on the side with the power cable. It's not really obvious just looking at the screen or in the instructions IIRC. Pushing up on the remote when the screen is going down will stop the screen as well. You could set your routine on a timer and tell it "After 10 seconds, Screen Up" and not need the physical limiter, or have to wire up the stop button.

A much elegant solution is to replace the mechanic switch with a reed relay with a long wire and a magnet embedded on the screen's back and hide this box entirely. There's no need to make changes on software or the esp.

This is extremely similar to how a garage door works. There was a class I took in college about PLCs. One of the assignments was to make a garage door works. There was a switch at the top to stop it from going too far up and a switch at the bottom to stop it from going too far down. One of the objectives in that assignment was also allowing it to stop in the middle and allow it to go to the top or bottom from any position.

4:05 I actually enjoy seeing the code. It doesn’t need a line-by-line walkthrough of what and how every little bit works because I get how that would be overwhelming/boring for someone who doesn’t understand code at all. But, I like even a quick scroll through of the code, that I can pause and look through, because, like watching someone’s physical build process, I enjoy seeing how someone else solved a problem, compared to how I might do it, and seeing what tidbits I could potentially use to solve problems in my own projects.

6:53 Transformers are for AC voltage conversion, while buck-boost converters are for DC voltage regulation

Another possible solution is to use an IR RF smart hub which can mimic the signal sent from the remote

hall effect sensor in the window surround with a magnet on the bottom of the screen would be tidy i reckon.

Those remote screens usually have a manual setting in them to tell them where to stop. There’s a yellow hex key spot on the left side where the power enters. You can turn that to adjust the stopping point.

Screen goes up. Screen goes down. Screen goes up. Screen goes down.

Wow! such a contrived solution to a very simple problem, and $3 for hardware is dwarfed by many expensive Engineer's hours needed to implement it. Yes, the screen already should have a limit switch, actually 2 switches - one for up and one for down, with adjustment screws. I have 2 switches in my screen and flat-headed screws to adjust them. But maybe cheapest projectors don't have them. Further simplification can be achieved by using projector's "trigger" output, which puts 12V voltage when projector is on. In some projectors there is no "trigger" output, but they have something else that can be used, like a USB connector, which will have 5V when projector is on. Many many years ago I made my setup, where I added a PIC microcontroller to listen to the "trigger" signal from the projector and press up and down buttons on the control. I did not sacrifice the screen remote for that setup, as the control box has the power and buttons to hook up a microcontroller to. I did the whole thing within 1 day, including PIC program. it was even before YouTube. These days motorized screens have trigger inputs, so the setup should be just laying some wire from projector to the screen.

Im wondering if you’d tried SDR to analyze the signal. With the signal info, you can usually just mimic it via the arduino and a $0.60 transmitter. Combined with esphome, and home assistant (not necessary but highly recommended,) you can control the screen and a ton of other stuff however you like.

For those not familiar. ESP32 dev boards are not Arduinos. Yes Arduino has an ESP32 based board. Just pointing this out because when you choose your editor you will need to know what board you have because GPIO pins are not always the same from one board to another.

I would have used a reed sensor with the magnet on the back of the bottom of the screen. Then you could have run a very thin cable to the controller, located in a different spot. But that's a personal choice. Cool little project.