[mythtv-users] IR Blaster: possible serial port problem

[Nick]

On 6/11/05, Drew Zerdecki <dzerdecki at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I do have a PVR-350 and use its IR receiver, which I have read is on
> COM1.  I have tried both COM1 and COM2 settings in modprobe.conf,

Not the case. The Hauppauge cards use their own interface via i2c (the
LIRC module is lirc_i2c) to enable the IR receiver to work. It doesn't
touch the COM ports at all.

> mathcing the serial irq settings of my BIOS.  Is there a way for me to
> ensure that my serial port is working?  Would I make a serial
> connection with my laptop's hyperterminal?  What would be the easiest
> way to ensure /dev/ttytS0 or S1 is outputting anything?

If you have another machine with a spare COM port, you could try to
connect the two together, and then send and receive to ensure the port
is working consistently. Alternatively, if the other machine is
running linux you could try the blaster on that machine too (or use a
live CD to test it).

If there is a single COM port, it is likely set as COM1 with address
0x3f8, and IRQ 4. (Check the BIOS on messages on boot to confirm this)

When I had a machine using a receiver on the Hauppauge card and a
blaster on the serial port, I had to build 2 separate instances of
LIRC to control them. The details are explained here:
http://losdos.dyndns.org:8080/public/mythtv-info/MythTV_DISH_IR_LED_TX_via_Modified_LIRC.html

The second instance has its own config, own remotes definitions, and
own running modified LIRC instance. You need to remove the kernel
serial driver from using the device before you modprobe lirc_serial
which will control the device. Assuming the correct device nodes exist
for the second instance, and that the physical device actually works,
you should be up and running.

If you've followed the instructions on lircsetup and still got
nowhere, I'd try to see if you can tell if the device works before
spending a lot more time trying to configure it. It's pretty much a
case of installing LIRC, supplying the correct remotes definition file
for the blaster, and starting it up. It may be easier to first
stop/remove the LIRC process using the Hauppauge card whilst you are
trying to verify the blaster is working, as you only need to worry
about having a single working instance of LIRC for the blaster. When
it's up and running, you can then add back the IR receiver LIRC
instance and should then have both running.

HTH,
Nick