Remote Control Tester Object
Nearly always when a remote control doesn’t work, the underlying problem is elementary: the unit does not emit light.
The cause may be dry solder joints, defective
LEDs etc., but also a flat battery (perhaps due to stuck key). The human eye is unable to perceive infra-red light. By contrast, an ordinary photo transistor like the BP103 has no problems working in the infrared spectrum, so in the circuit here it simply biases the BC558 which, in turn, makes LED D1 flash in sympathy with the telegram from the remote control. The preset in the circuit determines the sensitivity.
At the same time, the buzzer beeps at the same rate as the incoming signals from the remote control transmitter. The pressing of different buttons on the remote control will result in different pulse rates which would change the rate at which the
LED blinks or the buzzer beeps. When no signal is sensed by the sensor module, output pin 2 of the sensor goes high and, as a result, transistor T1 switches off and hence LED1 and buzzer BZ1 go off.
Remote Control Tester Circuit
This circuit requires 5V regulated power supply which can be obtained from 9V eliminator and connected to the circuit through a jack. Capacitor C1 smoothes DC input while capacitor C2 suppresses any sudden spikes appearing in the input supply. Here, a plastic moulded sensor has been used so that it can easily stick out from a cut in the metal box in which it is housed. It requires less space. Proper grounding of the metal case will ensure that the electromagnetic emissions which are produced by tube-lights and electronic ballasts etc (which lie within the bandwidth of receiver circuit) are effectively grounded and do not interfere with the functioning of the circuit. The proposed layout of the box containing the circuit is shown in the figure. The 9-volt
DC supply from the eliminator can be fed into the jack using a banana-type plug.