Adding IR Control to IKEA Motorized Shades

Hacker "replayreb" finally got his hands on some IKEA FYRTUR motorized shades, but wanted to be able to operate them with an IR remote like the Logitech Harmony 659. While the shades come with a remote and can be integrated with a home automation system, replayreb didn’t want to have to jump through all of these hoops to simply make the blinds go up or down. Instead he came up with his own solution.

First, the blinds (four sets) were paired to two sets of remotes, which was a bit of a challenge in itself, but allowed for one to be attached to the wall as a traditional switch. The second unit was taken apart, then wired up to an Arduino Leonardo to activate the two button inputs. Remote power is now provided by the Arduino’s 3.3V pin and an IR receiver enables it to take commands from a traditional IR controller.

After decoding the hex values of the IR commands for up and down, the Arduino was programmed to act as a low voltage/current relay. Pin 11 is initially set to low, while 9 and 10 are high, setting the “relay” as off. When 9 or 10 is set to low, it completes the circuit, triggering the button input. Now replayreb can actuate his blackout shades with the same remote he uses for AV equipment.