From: Justin Fisher <JustinF_at_valvesoftware.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 15:45:14 -0700

Everyone hates the archos remote, but few people have the electrical skills
and
time needed to build a (microprocessor-based) replacement, even though TJ
has done the difficult stuff and put plans online.

Unlike the insane archos remotes, sony discman/walkman/MD remotes are
dead simple to build (and easy to obtain if you don't want to build one) -
each function can be as simple as a switch connected to a resistor. No
batteries, nothing complex, just a button and a resistor for each
function. (They're actually more cunning that this - you can control a
dozen or so functions with just four switches and four cleverly chosen
resistors via keypres combinations, and so on, but I digress).
Anyway, I was wondering if there is any way to have rockbox test the
remote input on the archos audio jack for resistance, rather than a coms
signal. If so, rockbox could be made compatible with sony remotes, and
there is a WEALTH of info online to make sony remotes, infra-red
remotes, radio-control remotes, computer-controlled remotes, etc etc
that work on the sony resistances.
It would be an interface that would allow the archos to operate with a lot
of existing infrastructure, not to mention give archos users a wide
selection of decent remotes to choose from.

If this is possible, and someone wants to do it, I'm not a coder, but I
can lend a range of remotes for testing purposes, and rig up a
sony-archos plug adaptor to send with them so they can be plugged right
in without hassle so you get straight into code :)

Some quick reference, if anyone is interested:

A list of the resistance values:
http://www.cc.jyu.fi/minidisc/r3_remote.html

The LCD display protocol for sony LCD remotes if someone is insanely
ambitious :-)
http://www.omegav.ntnu.no/~lassen/
Received on 2002-08-09