This Tiny RF Remote Is Designed for Use with Commercial Devices

Adding to his long list of tinyAVR project, Stefan Wagner has designed a small radio frequency (RF) remote around the ATtiny13A microcontroller aptly named TinyRemoteRF.

While most audio/video receivers come with IR sensors, we've seen an increase in the implementation of RF-based remote control in a wide range of applications, including television, sound systems, and RC toys. Aside from the ATtiny, the TinyRemoteRF features a SYN115 ASK transmitter IC and a CR2032 coin cell battery.

Even though the remote has five buttons, you can use its four-key system by uploading the proper version of firmware. "If you want to use all five buttons, you have to disable RESET on PB5 by burning the respective fuses after uploading the 5-button version of the firmware," Wagner notes.

The power-saving mode of the firmware works in such a way that it shuts down the unused peripherals allowing it to work for many months on the CR2032 battery. When you think of remote, the most important part is the timing accuracy. This device has an accuracy of +/-10% with the factory calibration, which is assumed to be enough for any RF remote.

For data transmission, it is essential to have a 433MHz RF receiver module. According to Wagner, the TinyRemoteRF should also be able to operate commercial radio-controlled sockets or other devices as well. With the adoption of the unit, we can expect to get the appropriate firmware from the designer.

More details on the project, including the EDA files, are available in Wagner's GitHub repo.