IR receiver gets signals but they aren't passed any further

imathew · October 27, 2018 at 12:44 PM

Edit: Was just a flat battery! Didn't realise it could partially work in that condition.

Hi all, I'm struggling to find out where the problem is in getting my remote working.

I'm using LibreELEC 8.2.5, on an Acer Revo 3700, with an HP MCE remote and receiver. I've followed the troubleshooting steps here: Infrared Remotes [LibreELEC.wiki]

My progress is pasted below. Essentially I get feedback from "ir-ctl -r", but not from "ir-keytable -t". Unsurprisingly, I get nothing from "irw", either. I have also tried "ir-keytable -p <protocol> -t" for each of the supported protocols, with no luck. I've played around with different keymaps to no avail, but I presume the problem is at a lower level than that, anyway.

I've been searching here and googling but I haven't found any examples of someone stuck at this particular point. Any ideas on how I can progress would be much appreciated! Thanks.

Code

root@revo:~# ir-keytable
Found /sys/class/rc/rc0/ (/dev/input/event8) with:
        Driver mceusb, table rc-rc6-mce
        Supported protocols: lirc rc-5 rc-5-sz jvc sony nec sanyo mce_kbd rc-6 sharp xmp
        Enabled protocols: lirc nec rc-6
        Name: Media Center Ed. eHome Infrared
        bus: 3, vendor/product: 1934:5168, version: 0x0001
        Repeat delay = 500 ms, repeat period = 125 ms

Code

root@revo:~# ir-ctl -r
pulse 1950
space 63000
pulse 1350
space 16777215
<etc>

Code

root@revo:~# ps | grep /usr/sbin/lircd
 1250 root       0:00 grep /usr/sbin/lircd

root@revo:~#

Code

root@revo:~# systemctl stop eventlircd

root@revo:~# systemctl stop kodi

root@revo:~# ir-keytable -t
Testing events. Please, press CTRL-C to abort.
<no results when I press the buttons>

root@revo:~#

**HiassofT** · October 27, 2018 at 1:01 PM

Can you please check it this also happens on the latest alpha release (currently 8.90.006)?

I've been testing quite a lot with the HP branded MCE USB receiver (also USB VID/PID 1934:5168) plus 2 HP branded MCE remotes and they worked out of the box.

so long,

Hias

imathew · October 27, 2018 at 1:39 PM

Thanks HiassofT, I just wiped and installed 8.90.006, I made no configuration changes to the OOTB settings except to enable SSH and connect to my wifi, and get exactly the same symptoms as above when following the same series of commands.

"ir-ctl -r" reports keypresses, but I can't get any further.

Thanks, Matt.

**HiassofT** · October 27, 2018 at 1:46 PM

Stupid question: have you tried new batteries in your remote?

If that doesn't help please post your journal journalctl -a | paste and the full output of ir-ctl -r from a short button press.

so long,

Hias

imathew · October 27, 2018 at 2:09 PM

Not a dumb question at all - in fact, it's an old battery, has been in storage for a while. I would have suspected it first but I thought the fact ir-ctl showed keypresses meant it must be working. But perhaps it needs more power to work correctly? I need to buy a new one, will report back when I do. Thanks.

**HiassofT** · October 27, 2018 at 2:32 PM

ir-ctl -r will show you the raw signals and you can use it as a simple check if something is received. If you have bad batteries, bad reception or interference you could still get "something", but that doesn't neccessarily mean it's a valid signal that can be decoded.

By looking at the exact pulse/space durations it's possible though to see if it's garbage, a valid remote signal or some unsupported protocol.

In case of MCE remotes the most likely cause is bad batteries, bad reception or interference - that protocol is well supported and also your IR receiver is know to work well.

so long,

Hias

kokodil · October 28, 2018 at 3:50 PM

Hi dear all,

Same to me with home-brew IR serial receiver and Panasonic TV remote:

ir-ctl -r return space/pulse but ir-keytable -t wan't to recognize signal with any protocol.

I'm totally new in LibreELEC but old OpenELEC user.

Before I use same receiver with same remote with no problems. My old lircd.conf is:

Code

# brand: Panasonic Viera
# model no. of remote control: N2QAYB000490
# devices being controlled by this remote: Panasonic Viera Plasma TV

begin remote

  name N2QAYB000490
  bits           24
  flags   SPACE_ENC
  eps            30
  aeps          100

  header       3500  1750
  one           440  1300
  zero          440   440
  ptrail        445
  
  pre_data_bits      24
  pre_data     0x400401
  
  gap               73964
  toggle_bit_mask     0x0

      begin codes
          POWER                    0x00BCBD
          KEY_MENU                 0x004A4B
          KEY_UP                   0x005253
          KEY_DOWN                 0x00D2D3
          KEY_LEFT                 0x007273
          KEY_RIGHT                0x00F2F3
          KEY_OK                   0x009293
          KEY_BACK                 0x002B2A
          KEY_EXIT                 0x9059C8

          KEY_R                    0x000E0F
          KEY_G                    0x008E8F
          KEY_B                    0x00CECF
          KEY_Y                    0x004E4F

          KET_TEXT                 0x80C041
          KEY_STTL                 0x80A021
          KEY_INDEX                0x801091

          KEY_1                    0x000809
          KEY_2                    0x008889
          KEY_3                    0x004849
          KEY_4                    0x00C8C9
          KEY_5                    0x002829
          KEY_6                    0x00A8A9
          KEY_7                    0x006869
          KEY_8                    0x00E8E9
          KEY_9                    0x001819
          KEY_0                    0x009899
          KEY_LAST_VIEW            0x00ECED

          KEY_VOLUME_UP            0x000405
          KEY_VOLUME_DOWN          0x008485
          KEY_CHANNEL_UP           0x002C2D
          KEY_CHANNEL_DOWN         0x00ACAD

          KEY_POWER_OFF            0x90CB5A
          KEY_REC                  0x90A332

          KEY_PLAY                 0x900392
          KEY_STOP                 0x9043D2
          KEY_PAUSE                0x908312
          KEY_PREV                 0x903BAA
          KEY_NEXT                 0x90BB2A
          KEY_PROGRANE_UP          0x905BCA
          KEY_PROGRAME_DOWN        0x90DB4A    
          
      end codes

end remote

Display More

Is there any chance for me to setup my old IR devices with new fancy LibreELEC?

Thank you!

**HiassofT** · October 28, 2018 at 4:22 PM

If ir-keytable -p all -t didn't output anything then either eventlircd or kodi were running in the background or the remote uses an odd protocol that's not supported by in-kernel decoding.

I haven't looked in detail at your lircd.conf file but it looks like it might indeed by the Panasonic protocol, which isn't supported (yet).

So, just use your lircd.conf file, you only have to change the KEY_ names to match the official key names input-event-codes.h\linux\uapi\include - kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

In LibreELEC 8.2 you have to enable Lirc in LibreELEC Settings, in LE 9 and the current alpha versions lirc will be started automatically when a /storage/.config/lircd.conf file is present.

Also read the info in the wiki Infrared Remotes [LibreELEC.wiki]

so long,

Hias