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TEST&MEASUREMENT

IR Code Analyser
identify remote control codes!

Point any IR remote controller at this nifty device and its in-built micro-
controller will quickly analyse the signal and reveal which of eight stan-
dard control protocols the controller is using.

Microcontroller
– 4 KByte ROM
– 128 Byte RAM
– 32 Byte EEPROM for user code
– 2.7 to 6 V Supply voltage
– Two 16 Bit Timer/Counter
– Integrated reset
– Internal RC Oscillator
(selectable)
– 20 mA drive current
from all the port pins
– Maximum 18 I/O-Pins,
when the internal reset and RC
oscillator is used.
– 2 analogue comparators
– I2C interface
– Full duplex UART
– Serial In-circuit Programmable

It’s a rare piece of entertainment equipment bly think of lots of applications for a tion. The chief design criteria for the
that does not come with its own remote con- discarded remote controller. For IR analyser was to produce a neat,
troller. After a few years it’s easy to accumu- example using the well-documented portable unit that would quickly
late a drawer-full of (functional) controllers RC5 or RECS80 protocol from Philips enable a check to be made of the
belonging to equipment long since consigned a simple receiver/decoder can be output signal of an unknown remote
to showrooms at your local household built using the SAA3009 or SAA3049 controller. A microcontroller decodes
amenity tip. IC from Philips if only you knew the IR message and displays the
Equipment manufacturers tend to use dif- details of the controller coding. Sim- important information on an LCD. In
ferent controller protocols so it is rare to find ilarly if you are looking for a second use the unknown IR controller
by chance a controller from one manufacturer controller for a piece of equipment its should be placed close to the
able to control equipment from another. All of not practical to lug a portable oscil- analyser’s receiver IC before a com-
the protocols used should however comply loscope to the local car boot sale to mand key is pressed. The microcon-
with one of the eight industry standards. analyse each controller on offer. troller will decode the message and
Many electronics enthusiasts can proba- This device offers the ideal solu- display information indicating the

26 Elektor Electronics 10/2001

 TEST&MEASUREMENT

ted so it’s a good idea to carry a few spares

with you.
Some of the more modern remote con-
trollers will send out two messages each time
a key is pressed. The first message is in one
format while the second message contains
the same information in a different format.
The analyser will only display the last mes-
sage format sent.

Hardware
There are no surprises in the circuit diagram of
Figure 1. Flash mode signal (a) modulated mode signal at 36 kHz (b). the IC code analyser shown in Figure 3.
The infra red signal is detected by IC2. Infi-
neon have ceased production of their receiver
protocol used and the command shown on the display. IC but any one of the compatible devices
sent. A good source of detailed infor- specified in the parts list would be suitable.
mation about the different IR proto- 2. Key press: Command This device contains a highly sensitive infra
col formats can be found in the This hexadecimal value indicates the red receiver, amplifier, filter and demodulator
March and April 2001 edition of Elek- type of command that was sent in tuned to an IR carrier frequency of 36 kHz. A
tor Electronics. the message. A 10hex (16dec) for data sheet for this device can be down
This analyser is only suitable for example in RC5 coding indicates loaded from:
decoding modulated signals in the that the command will increase vol- ([Link]/cmc_upload/0/000/
range of 30 - 40 kHz. Fortunately all ume of the controlled equipment. 008/562/[Link]).
the common control protocols use The inverted demodulated received signal is
this frequency range. 3. Key press: Complete code connected directly to an input port of the
Some (older) controllers use flash The contents of the entire message microcontroller IC1. IC2 is relatively sensitive
mode where the message informa- are displayed in hexadecimal. The to supply rail disturbances so R2 and C2 are
tion is conveyed by switching on the hex value assumes that the data is used to form a low pass filter, decoupling any
sender diode for a short period sent in the order Bit 7 to Bit 0. Some interference.
rather than modulating it at 36 kHz manufacturers (e.g. Sony) however The core of the microcontroller is based on
(see Figure 1). The analyser’s IR reverse the bit order. In this case the the Intel 51 architecture that lends itself to
receiver chip will only respond to values are corrected before display. simple low-cost program development by
modulated signals so that flash using any of the available Shareware devel-
mode messages will be ignored. 4. Key press: Type of Code opment tools. The 87LPC764 is produced by
This displays the protocol type of the Philips and is described as a Low power, low
last received message e.g. RC5, price, low pin count microcontroller. Decoding
Operation SIRCS or RECS80.
Once the analyser is switched on the When the display shows
message ‘CODE ANALYSER VER 1‘ UNKNOWN this indicates that the
will be displayed and then ‘WAIT- received message does not conform
ING...‘ indicating that the analyser is to any of the eight standard proto-
ready and waiting to receive an IR cols. It could also indicate however
controller message. As soon as a that the signal was too weak or too
message is received the analyser distorted. The IR receiver IC2 is opti-
will display the type of coding sent mised for reception of a 36 kHz mod-
by the controller and pressing push- ulated signal so its sensitivity to
button S1 will display further infor- some signal protocols at the
mation about the received message. extremes of the 30-40 kHz band will
be greatly reduced (see Figure 2 ).
1. Key press: Address Always place the output diode of the
This hexadecimal value indicates the handheld controller as close as pos-
type of equipment that the controller sible to IC2 of the analyser to ensure
was originally designed to control. a good signal. LED D2 will blink to
As an example, if the controller uses indicate signal reception irrespective
RC5 protocol format and the address of the type of protocol so it gives a
0 is displayed this indicates that good indication that the controller is
controller will control a TV. Some sending out a signal. If the diode
manufacturers do not use the does not blink try a new set of bat-
address field in the message so in teries in the controller. Items at car Figure 2. The sensitivity of the IR receiver falls
this case two lines (—) will be boot sales rarely have batteries fit- off sharply either side of its centre frequency.

10/2001 Elektor Electronics 27

TEST&MEASUREMENT

9V +
Power for the analyser is provided
R1 +5V
220Ω by a 9 V battery and zener diode D1
20mA
R2 R3
R4 P1 regulates this on-board to 5 V. Resis-

100k
tor R1 limits the supply current and
100Ω

1k2
10k K1 overall consumption is approxi-
VSS
C1
D1 mately 20 mA.
VDD
Vo
10µ C2 D2
16V 5V1

100µ 16V
15
RS
R/W
Display
E
12 1 D0
The display is a standard 1x16 LCD
P1.0 P0.0
11 20 D1 (indicating 1 row of 16 characters).
P1.1 IC1 P0.1
IC2 1 10
P1.2 P0.2
19 D2 This display is a standard item from
9
P1.3(INT0) P0.3
18 D3
many manufacturers. It has a built-
3 8 17 D4
4
P1.4(INT1) P0.4
16 D5
in controller using a standard com-
P1.5 P0.5
SFH505A 2
3
P1.6
87LPC764 P0.6
14 D6 mand set. All of the compatible dis-
SFH505A 2
P1.7 P0.7
13 D7 plays mentioned in the parts list
Dot Matrix have identical pin-outs, RAM
X1 X2
Display addresses and multiplex rate. The
5 6 7
X1 1 x 16
S1 information generated by this
analyser could be displayed on a four
C3 6MHz C4
1 3 line LCD but to reduce costs it was
2
0 15p 15p decided to employ a single line dis-
010029 - 11
play and use a pushbutton to toggle
through the information. The display
control software is simplified by
Figure 3. Only two IC’s are used in the analyser circuit diagram. using eight controller port pins. P1 is
a variable resistor, allowing adjust-
ment of the display contrast.
the IR message is relatively processor inten- 1 µs. The main features of this
sive so a clock rate of 6 MHz is used for the processor are summarised under the
microcontroller giving a machine cycle of heading ‘microcontroller’. Software
All the relevant data for the follow-
ing protocols are integrated into the
software so that they can be
matched to the incoming signal:

JAPANESE NEC RC5 RECS80

SIRCS DENON DAEWOO
MOTOROLA
The software starts its analysis of
the incoming signal by measuring
the first low-phase. Almost all of the
protocol formats have different
length start bits so this simplifies the
identification process. All of the
incoming signal time measurements
are made using the microcontrollers
timer, this gives a maximum resolu-
tion of 1 ms with the 6 MHz clock
frequency. After the start bit that
usually consists of a low followed by
a high of predefined length the
microcontroller decides how the
incoming data will be stored in the
internal registers. The message
length will depend on the type of
protocol and can be from 11 bits for
RCS80 protocol up to 48 bits for
Japanese coding. The timing toler-
ance of the message length is taken
into account and the length of each
bit is measured and compared to its
limit values.
Figure 4. An NEC coded signal (used by Harman/Kardon or Yamaha). The Software, including source

28 Elektor Electronics 10/2001

 TEST&MEASUREMENT
code is available free of charge from
the Elektor Electronics website or
alternatively can be ordered (at nom-
inal cost) on diskette 010029-11. If
you are planing to modify or cus-
tomise the software it should be
noted that the pulse width of the
received IR signals varies quite sub-
stantially with received signal
strength so the decoding software
should be correspondingly tolerant.
The following table gives a practical
example of pulse tolerances for the
signal shown in Figure 4 (NEC code
from Harman/Kardon or Yamaha):

1. Low phase: 8700 - 9200 ms

1. High phase: 4352 - 4607 ms
Second low phase: 400 - 767ms
Gap between low phases:
0-Bit: 400 - 767 ms
1-Bit: >767 ms

The relatively large tolerances often

correspond to the high byte value of
the 16 bit timing counter so that the
hex calculations can be simplified by
ignoring the least significant eight
bits of the timing counter.
Construction dated (just double-check the pin-outs).
The PCB layout is shown in Figure 5. The LCD is connected to the PCB via a
The board shown is unfortunately short length of ribbon cable. The displays
not available ready-made through given in the parts list have a 1:1 pin to pin
COMPONENTS LIST our Readers Services, so you have to compatibility with the PCB layout. Other
make it yourself. Microcontroller IC1 types of displays can be used but you will
Resistors: need to study the corresponding data sheet
is fitted to the PCB using a 20 pin
R1,R2 = 220Ω to ensure correct signal connections. Once
DIP socket. The IR receiver (IC2)
R3 = 1kΩ2 the circuit has been given a functional test it
shown is the Infineon type but other
R4 = 100kΩ can be mounted together with the 9 V battery
compatible types given in the parts
P1 = 10kΩ preset H in a suitable case. If a transparent case is
list can be fitted. The compatible
types have similar performance but used it will only be necessary to drill two
Capacitors: holes in the case, one for the on/off switch
not identical pin-outs so extra
C1 = 10µF 16V radial and one for the mode switch. The display will
mounting pads on the PCB enable
C2 = 100µF 16V radial be visible through the case.
these other types to be accommo-
C3,C4 = 15pF (010029-1)

Semiconductors:
D1 = zener diode 5V1, 1 W
1-920010 010029-1
D2 = LED, high-efficiency, red ROTKELE )C( (C) ELEKTOR
IC1 = 87LPC764 (programmed, C1 0
order code 010029-41)
H1

D1
IC2 = SFH505A (TSOP1736, C2 X1 R1 +9V
SFH5110-36, PIC26043SM, C4 C3
R2

IS1U60, TFMS5360) S1

Miscellaneous:
R3
R4

K1 = 14-way flatcable IC1

IC2

S1 = push-button, 1 make contact

D2
X1 = 6MHz quartz crystal P1
Dot matrix display, 1 x 16 charac-
H2

ters (MCC161A1-4, MCC161A2- K1

010029-1
3(Truly), LM161556 (Sharp)
9V battery with clip
Enclosure (Heddic 222)
On/off switch Figure 5. The crystal needs to be mounted flat on the PCB
(board not available ready-made).

10/2001 Elektor Electronics 29

GENERALINTEREST

IR Remote Control
Codes (1)
formats, protocols and
(in)compatibility
By A.N. Other

There are so many different remote

control message formats currently in
use that it can all be a bit confusing. If you are experimenting with remote
controller IC’s then its important to know the different control protocols
used by each manufacturer. This article seeks to describe the most pop-
ular protocols in current use.

Its almost impossible to buy a TV today that is subject to interference from other with a reduced range. In the upper
doesn’t have a IR remote controller and its IR sources in the vicinity. These half of the picture a single telegram
only when we temporarily mislay this device include heaters, incandescent lamps is shown and in the lower half a con-
that we realise how useful they are. Back in and other heat generators. One stan- tinuous key-press is shown. The out-
1975 when the first remote controllers dard method of rejecting this put of the IC goes low when the
appeared they used ultra sonic signals to unwanted interference is to modulate modulated signal is detected.
send the control information, these were later each transmitted bit with a stable It is important to note that the
superseded by the controllers that we are carrier frequency in the range of 30 to equipment manufacturer is entirely
familiar with today using infra red. The infra 40 kHz. Another method is the so- at liberty to choose a transmitter
red devices offer lower production costs, wide called flash mode, this technique is clock frequency and as such the tim-
operating range and good communication employed by the Plessey MV500 chip ing given here may not be accurate
security. A look inside a typical remote con- (described in the February 1991 edi- under all conditions. The timings of
troller will show that it consists of only one tion of Elektor Electronics). This pulse lengths may also be affected
IC. The IC interprets each key press and method outputs data in the form of by the sample clock in the
sends a coded data signal to the transmitter 17 µs short flashes of IR light fol- TFMS5360 and could have an error of
IR diode. A simple resonator is also used to lowed by different off periods. Nokia ±160 µs (Temic data sheet).
supply a stable clock. On the receiving side also use this method with their The communications formats
in the equipment being controlled we find a IRT1250 IC. This system has however described are the most popular but
IR detector and demodulator which is nor- not gained wide acceptance and the it does not represent all the possible
mally integrated into the same device. The vast majority of remote controllers formats that you are likely to find.
SFH505-xx family of devices from Siemens use the modulation technique. Many firms have devised their own
contains the receiver, demodulator and out- The accompanying oscilloscope control format, sometimes in order to
put driver so that the received data can be pictures show each of the described reduce costs or sometimes to incor-
connected directly to a micro controller or transmission formats received by the porate different control features that
control decoder. Unfortunately the actual con- Temic TFMS5360 receiver IC. This are not catered for with the existing
trol protocol used by each manufacturer are device is optimised for reception of a standards. If you use a mask pro-
mostly incompatible. signal modulated at 36 KHz but can grammable micro controller for cod-
The IR message transmitted by the controller also detect other frequencies albeit ing and decoding you will be com-

50 Elektor Electronics 3/2001

 GENERALINTEREST

pletely at liberty to devise your own the equipment manufacturer is that Code Manufacturer
protocol which may be more suited for future equipment development
RECS80 Thomson, Nordmende
to your own particular hardware of you need not wait for a chip manu-
software. This method also ensures facturer to produce a controller using NEC Harman/Kardon, Yamaha,
that a manufacturer will not need to a particular IR coding standard. It is Canon
worry about licencing fees or possi- now possible to select the best or DENON Denon
ble patent infringement. cheapest integrated equipment con- SIRCS Sony
Some modern remote IR con- troller and be sure that the IR remote
RC5 Loewe, Philips, Grundig,
trollers transmit the message a num- controller will produce compatible
ber of times using different message control signals. Marantz
formats. For example the controller So which manufacturer and which MOTOROLA Grundig, Kathrein
will first send out the Japanese code coding system? This article JAPAN Panasonic, Loewe
and then 50 ms later sends out the describes some of the most popular SAMSUNG Samsung
same command but this time using IR coding standards currently in use. DAEWOO Daewoo
RC 5 code. The advantage here for (010023-1)

RC5 Code
The most widely used coding method for IR control in Europe
is the RC 5 code. This was originally developed by Philips and
has the capacity to send 2048 different commands. 32 address-
able groups each with 64 commands. Each piece of equipment
has its own address so that for example adjusting the volume
of your audio system will not affect the sound level of your TV.
One complete message has a length of 14 bits and is com-
posed of the following bits:

– 2 Start bits to control the AGC levels (Auto gain control) in

the receiver IC.
– 1 Toggle bit indicates that a new key is pressed.
– 5 System address bits
– 6 command bits

The toggle bit changes its value every time a new key is
pressed and is used to tell the difference between pressing Figure 1. RC5 code at the output of the receiver IC TFMS5360.
the key again and holding the key down. The five address bits
follow the toggle bit and indicate which piece of equipment is Table 1 shows in decimal the correspondence between the
being controlled. Lastly the six command bits contain the con- equipment and command codes used for this format.
trol information.

RC5 code employs biphase encoding, One bit of data is rep-

resented by two half bits. A Low/High combination of these
bits indicates a data ‘1‘ whereas a High/Low combination indi-
cates a data ‘0‘ The length of each bit is 1.778 ms, and a com-
plete message is 24.889 ms long. 113.778ms

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0

The RC5 code is probably the best documented protocol for

IR control and particularly interesting are the two free system
addresses 7 and 13 these are not allocated to any particular
start bits toggle bit address (bit 4 … bit 0) command
equipment type but are reserved for experimental purposes.
Typical IC’s used for this message format are: 24.889ms

889us
Transmitter: "0" "1"

SAA3006, SAA3010 (Philips)

1778us 010023 - 12
HT6230 (Holtek)

Receiver: Figure 2. RC5 code message format (Address 1, command 28

SAA3009, SAA3049 (Philips) shown).

3/2001 Elektor Electronics 51

GENERALINTEREST

The RC5 codes:

92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Multi strobe (Date + for system 9)
93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Main frozen (Date – for system 9)
94 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3/9 multi-scan (Start time + for system 9)
Address Equipment 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP select (Start time – for system 9)
0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TV1 96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mosaic/multi-PIP (Record program + for system 9)
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TV2 97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Picture DNR (Record program – for system 9)
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Videotext 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Main stored (Alternate channel for system 9)
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Expansion for TV1 and TV2 99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP strobe (Stop time + for system 9)
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Laser Vision Player 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Recall main picture (Stop time – for system 9)
5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Video recorder1 (VCR1) 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP freeze
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Video recorder2 (VCR2) 102 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP step up +
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved 103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP step down –
8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SAT1 118 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sub mode
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Expansion for VCR1 and VCR2 119 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Options sub mode
10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SAT2 123 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Connect
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved 124 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Disconnect
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CD Video
13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved Special commands for equipment addresses 0 und 1 (TV1 / TV2):
14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CD Photo Code Key Function
15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1/2/3 digits / 10
16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audio preamplifier1 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Freq./prog./ch./11
17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tuner 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Standby
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Analogue cassette recorder 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mute/de-mute
19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audio preamplifier2 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Personal pref.
20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CD 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Display
21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audio Rack or Aufnahmegerät 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Contrast +
22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audio Satellite receiver 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Contrast –
23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DCC Recorder 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Search +
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tint/hue –
25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ch./prog. +
26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .writable CD 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ch./prog. –
27...31 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reserved 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Altern./ch.
35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .? language
keycodes: 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Spatial stereo
Code Key Function 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stereo/mono
0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sleep timer
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tint/hue. +
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RF switch
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Store/execute/vote
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Time
5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Scan fwd./increm.
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Decrement
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sec con/menu
8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Show clock
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pause
16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Volume + 49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Erase/correct
17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Volume – 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rewind
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brightness + 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Go to
19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brightness – 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wind
20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colour saturation + 53 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Play
21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colour saturation – 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stop
22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bass + 55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Record
23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bass – 56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .External 1
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Treble + 57 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .External 2
25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Treble – 59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Advance
26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Balance right 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TXT sub-mode/12
27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Balance left 61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sys. Standby
63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .System select 62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Crispener
71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dim local display 70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Speech/music
77 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linear function increment 79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sound scroll
78 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linear function decrement 104 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP size
80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Step up 105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pic. Scroll
81 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Step down 106 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Act. On/off
82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Menu on 107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Red
83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Menu off 108 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Green
84 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Display A/V system status 109 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yellow
85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Step left 110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cyan
86 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Step right 111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Index/white
87 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Acknowledge 112 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Next
88 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP on/off (Pay TV channel + for system 3) 113 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Previous
89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP shift (Pay TV channel - for system 3) 122 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Store open/close
90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP / main swap (Radio channel + for system 3) 126 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Movie expand
91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Strobe on/off (Radio system – for channel 3) 127 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Parental access

52 Elektor Electronics 3/2001

 GENERALINTEREST

SIRCS/Control S Code
error is detected. SIRCS message coding is identical to CNTRL
S, but SIRCS modulates the code at 40 kHz ready to be sent to
an IR diode. CNTRL-S is the baseband (unmodulated) signal
and is used between equipment where a communications
cable is fitted. Sony produce the following IC:

Transmitter:
KIE RA275 S42

Figure 3. SIRCS code at the output of the TFMS5360 receiver 45ms

IC.

A message sent using the SIRCS or CNTRL S protocol from

Sony consists of twelve to twenty bits. Five to thirteen of these 2.4ms 0.6ms
bits is used for the address field and seven bits for the key start bit 2 command (bit 0 … bit 6) address (bit 0 … bit 4) ext. +3...8 bit
code.
0.6ms
A Start bit (2.4 ms) is sent followed by a 0.6 ms space or 1.2ms
"0" "1"
pause. Next comes the data. A ’1’ is represented by a 1.2 ms
ON or mark followed by a 0.6 ms OFF or pause. A ’0’ is repre- 010023 - 14
1.2ms 1.8ms
sented by a 0.6 ms ON and a 0.6 ms OFF. A typical message
is shown in Figure 4. The message is sent a minimum of twice
(five times for a camcorder). The message is discarded if an Figure 4. CNTRL-S and SIRCS message format.

The Sony
008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 button 064 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Select input video1
009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 button/0 button 065 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Select input video2
011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Enter 066 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Select input video3

codes: 016
017
018
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Channel up
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Channel down
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Volume up
074
078
079
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Noise reduction on/off
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cable/broadcast
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Notch filter on/off
Equipment address codes (decimal): 019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Volume down 088 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP channel up
Address Equipment type 020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mute 089 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP channel down
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TV 021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Power 091 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP on
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VTR1 022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reset TV 092 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Freeze screen
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VTR2 023 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audio mode: 094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP position
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Laserdisc mono/SAP/stereo 095 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PIP swap
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VTR2 024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Picture up 096 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Guide
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VTR3 025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Picture down 097 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Video setup
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Surround sound 026 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colour up 098 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audio setup
processor 027 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colour down 099 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Exit setup
16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cassette deck, tuner 030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brightness up 107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Auto program
17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CD Player 031 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brightness down 112 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Treble up
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Equaliser 032 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hue up 113 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Treble down
164 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TV digital effects 033 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hue down 114 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bass up
(8 bit device code) 034 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sharpness up 115 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bass down
035 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sharpness down 116 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+ key
keycodes: 036 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Select TV tuner 117 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .– key
code key Function 038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Balance left 120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Add channel
000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 button 039 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Balance right 121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Delete channel
001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 button 041 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Surround on/off 125 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Trinitone on/off
002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 button 042 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aux/Ant 127 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Displays a red RtestS
003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 button 047 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Power off on the screen
004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 button 048 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Time display
005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 button 054 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sleep timer
006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 button 058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Channel display
007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 button 059 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Channel jump

3/2001 Elektor Electronics 53

GENERALINTEREST

RECS80 Code
this time period will be represented by a burst of carrier fre-
quency. If configured to flash mode the IR transmitter will be
flashed on at this time. A ‘0’ has a space of 5.06 ms while a
‘1’ has a space of 7.60 ms (derived from a 455 kHz resonator in
the remote control transmitter). Although the length of the
data packet is dependent on the commands sent, the time
between two messages is fixed at 121 ms. The modulation fre-
quency is 38 kHz.

Typical ICs for remote control:

Transmitter:
SAA3004, SAA3007 and SAA3008 (Philips)
M3004, M3005, M3006 (ST Microelectronics)

Figure 5. RECS80 code at the output of the TFMS5360 receiver Receiver:

IC. SAA3009, SAA3049 (Philips)

The RECS80 code from Philips a pulse position modulation

technique. With this system a fixed length pulse of light is fol-
lowed by a variable length space. The space timing conveys
the data. There are 1280 possible codes divided into 64 com-
mands and 20 subsystems. A subsystem is simply the type of
equipment being controlled i.e. a TV or a VCR. A message is 60ms
composed of 11 bits. The first two bits are the toggle bits fol-
lowed by three sub-system address bits and six data bits,
these indicate which key was pressed. The toggle bits are
incremented if a key is released for a minimum time but will
8ms 4ms 4ms
remain unchanged within a multiple key-stroke sequence. If
start bit address (bit 0 … bit 7) command stop bit
the transmitter is configured to operate in modulated mode
0.55ms
the first toggle bit is replaced by a REF bit of fixed duration. "0" "1"
In the lower trace of Figure 15 not all the data is shown
010023 - 26
because of the low sampling rate of the scope some of the bits
1ms 2ms
have been missed. The RECS80 protocol encodes the data by
variable length spaces between constant width ON pulses
(140.8 µs). If the transmitter is configured to modulation mode Figure 6. RECS80 code message format

Internet Links
Nec Format:
[Link]

Philips semiconductor:
[Link]
[Link]/pip/SAA3049AP

Motorola Home-Page:
Next month: [Link]
Motorola-Format:
– NEC [Link]
– DENON
Samsung Home-Page:
– MOTOROLA
– JAPAN [Link]
– SAMSUNG /Microcontroller/product_guide.html
– DAEWOO

54 Elektor Electronics 3/2001

GENERALINTEREST

IR Remote Control
Codes (2)
Part 2

By A.N. Other

In this second and

concluding instalment we
look at the structure of the
infra-red remote control
code systems proposed by Denon, NEC, Motorola, Samsung and Daewoo,
as well as a format which is generally referred to as ‘Japanese Code’.

Correction to Part 1 (March 2001)

In last month’s instalment, the illustrations with the RECS80 format description show the Daewoo format.
The correct drawings are shown below.

121ms

start bit toggle address (bit 2 … bit 0) command (bit 5 … bit 0) stop bit

140.8us

"0" "1"

010023 - 20
5.06ms 7.6ms

Figure 5. RECS80 code at the output of the TFMS5360 receiver IC. Figure 6. RECS80 code message format

54 Elektor Electronics 4/2001

 GENERALINTEREST

Denon Code
the second time 65 ms after the first. During the second time
the command field bits are inverted. The receiver will only
accept commands when the second message is identical to
the first after the command field bits are inverted. The address
field is always sent uninverted. Bit 16 is a stop bit.

There are currently no dedicated chips to implement this

code. Transmitters and receivers can be built from mask pro-
grammable micro controllers e.g. the Mitsubishi M50560.

Figure 7. Denon code at the output of the TFMS5360 receiver

65ms
IC (CD Player)

A Denon coded message consists of 15 information bits. The

first five bits are the equipment address field while the remain-
ing ten bits contain the command. address (bit 4 … bit 0) command (bit 9 … bit 0) stop bit

The modulation frequency is 32 kHz and the bit coding is: 275us

"0" "1"

1: 275 µs mark, 1900 µs space

010023 - 16
0: 275 µs mark, 775 µs space 1.05ms 2.175ms

To reduce the effects of interference the message is sent twice, Figure 8. Denon code message format

NEC Code
The NEC code operates with a carrier frequency of 38 kHz and 0: 0.56 ms Pulse, 0.565 ms space
uses pulse position modulation (PPM). Transmission begins A new message is sent 108 ms after the start of the preced-
with a 9 ms long start bit, followed by a 4.5 ms space. The ing message. A special current saving feature is implemented
message information is contained in the following 32 bits if a key is held down on the controller. In this case the mes-
which consists of a 16 bit manufacturer field and a 16 bit com- sage consists of a 9 ms start bit followed by a 2.25 ms space
mand field. The 8 bit wide data is sent twice, the second time and a 0.56 ms pulse.
inverted. A complete message is 67.5 ms long. Each bit is sent Sanyo supply ICs that generate codes using this format but
using the following format: have a 13 bit manufacturers code.
1: 0.56 ms Pulse, 1.69 ms space

67.5ms
108ms 108ms
Bit 0 Bit 7

9ms 4.5ms manufacturer code manufacturer code data code data code
27ms 27ms

0.56ms

"0" "1"

010023 - 18
1.125ms 2.25ms

Figure 9. NEC code at the output of the TFMS5360 receiver IC Figure 10. NEC code message format

4/2001 Elektor Electronics 55

GENERALINTEREST

Typical transmitter ICs remote controls: uPD6120, uPD6121 (NEC)

PTPT2221, PT2222 (Princeton) LC7461M, LC7462M (Sanyo)

Motorola Code
the controller will cause three messages to be transmitted.
Each message consists of a pre-bit, a pre-bit-pause, a start-
bit and nine data bits. The pre-bit and the start-bit are always
a logical 1. The pre-bit is used by the receiver to set the AGC
gain level of the IR receiver.

The IC MC144105 chip is typically used to implement a

remote control system using the Motorola code.

Figure 11. Motorola code at the output of the TFMS5360 34ms

1 1
135.6ms
0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
receiver IC.
The Motorola code consists of a 9 bit data word. Biphase mod-
ulation is used similar to the RC5 standard but with Motorola
a ‘0‘ is represented by a 512 µs pause followed by a 512 µs pre(amble) bit start bit command (bit 0 … bit 6)
long high and a ‘1‘ is represented by a 512 µs high followed by 13.8ms
3.072ms 1.024ms 2x 512us
a 512 µs long pause. This is opposite to the data representa-
tion found in the RC5 code. A 32 KHz carrier frequency is used. 512us
"1" "0"

A typical telegram has a message start header consisting 010023 - 22

of nine consecutive ‘1‘s followed by the key code of the 1024us

pressed key (repeated for as long as the key is pressed) and

ended by sending nine consecutive ‘1‘s. A brief key press at Figure 12. Motorola code message format.

Japanese Code
Similar to the way in which the RC5 code has been standard-
ised in Europe, the Japanese Association for Electric Home
Appliances has produced a standard for IR control. This sys-
tem is called (uninspiringly) the ‘recommended standard for 47.7...64.6ms 42.2ms

infrared remote controls‘.

The code is used by a number of manufacturers and has a

message length of 48 Bits split into the following fields:
3.38ms 1.69ms Hersteller-Code Parity System- Produkt- Funktions- Daten Check-
Code Code Code Code
Manufacturers Code (16 bit) 0.42ms
These 16 Bits comprise the unique code for each manufacturer "0" "1"
and are registered by the standards organisation. This code is
010023 - 23
programmed into the IC mask.
0.84ms 1.69ms

Parity Code (4 bit)

These four bits detect data corruption in the message.
Figure 13. Japanese code message format.

56 Elektor Electronics 4/2001

 GENERALINTEREST

System Code (4 bit) Data check code (8 bit)

The four system code bits are pre-programmed into the IC dur- These eight bits are used to detect data corruption. The sys-
ing manufacture. tem, product and function codes are passed through an algo-
rithm to generate this check code.
Product Code (8 bit)
The 8 Bit Product code is made up of two mask programmed A digital zero is represented by a ‘1‘ of 0.42 ms followed by a ‘0‘
bits and 6 user wired bits. The six hardwired bits determine of 1.27 ms. A digital one is represented by a ‘1‘ of 0.42 ms fol-
the equipment address. lowed by a ‘0‘ of 0.42 ms.
Sanyo produce the LC7465M this device interfaces to a key-
Functions Code (8 bit) pad and sends IR messages using this format.
The 8 bit function code is the value of the key pressed.

SAMSUNG Code
The Samsung code consists of a start bit followed by a 12 Bit 60ms
manufacturers code and an 8 bit command code. The message
is always sent a minimum of twice.
A digital zero is represented by a ‘1‘ of 0.56 ms followed by
a ‘0‘ of 0.56 ms. A digital one is represented by a ‘1‘ of 0.56 ms
4.5ms 4.5ms
followed by a ‘0‘ of 1.69 ms. A continuous key press will cause start bit manufacturer code (bit 0 … bit 11) command (bit 0 … bit 7) stop bit
the message to be repeated every 60 mS. The carrier fre-
0.56ms
quency used for this code is 38 kHz. "0" "1"

There are no dedicated transmitter IC’s for the Samsung 010023 - 24

1.125ms 2.25ms
system. A microcontroller is generally used to generate the
code e.g. the data sheet of the KS51840 from Samsung gives
an application for remote control use. Figure 14. Samsung code message format.

Daewoo Code

60ms

8ms 4ms 4ms

start bit address (bit 0 … bit 7) command stop bit

0.55ms
"0" "1"

010023 - 26

1ms 2ms

Figure 15. Daewoo code at the output of the TFMS5360 Figure 16. Daewoo code message format.
receiver IC

A digital zero is represented by a ‘1‘ of 0.55 ms followed by a ‘0‘ 38 kHz. A 4 ms space separates the address field from the
of 0.45 ms. A digital one is represented by a ‘1‘ of 0.55 ms fol- command field.
lowed by a ‘0‘ of 1.45 ms. This uses a carrier frequency of (010023-2)

4/2001 Elektor Electronics 57