IR volume control for Onkyo AV receiver?

[Jisp]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me with a project I'd like to undertake. Brief history..... a friend and I run an annual fund raising event at our children's school, part of which involves playing music videos. The AV side of the equation is handled by an Onkyo TX-SR701 receiver. There are multiple times over the course of the event that require manual volume change via the volume dial on the receiver face.

I'd like to be able to control just the volume remotely but the factory remote control (Onkyo RC-533M Remote Control Part # 24140533) will set me back close to 100 bucks with shipping. Naturally this isn't an overhead that I'm willing to apply to a fund raiser. Sooooo, the DIY in me is wondering if there is a way to construct a two button IR controller for both volume up & down. A kit perhaps, similar to a garage door controller? My soldering skills are good but my working electronics knowledge is quite average.

Would appreciate any thoughts and ideas. Thank you, J.

 

[Arouse1973]

You would need to know the IR protocal to do this. If you can find this then yes it could be done. You could be a bit naughty and order one and then get one of those universal remotes to learn the codes. Then send the exspensive one back for a refund.
Adam

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

It might be worthwhile buying a universal remote (you can get them very cheaply at two dollar shops here in New Zealand) and trying the volume buttons on each of the settings, starting with the Onkyo ones (if it has them). They may have used a custom protocol or custom variant for this model, or models of this type, but they may also have used a standard one, especially for the standard functions.

If that doesn't work, try what Adam said... Is there a retailer that has a system with a remote, who would let you record just those two signals if you explained to him that it's for charity and you can't afford to buy one? Or someone else you know with one?

 

[Jisp]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys.

LOL, Adam, I'm not at all against the idea of entertaining the naughty option but I'd always try to find an alternative first, if possible.

I actually have a cheapo universal remote, OneForAll brand, that I bought years ago for an unrelated project. Prior to last year's staging of our event I tried to get it to hook up with the receiver but no joy. There are no codes for any Onkyo gear in the supplied list. According to notes that I left with the remotes instructions at that time, I found a code that would operate the power off function but that was all. I don't recall if I found the code via the remotes intelligent search function or via google but I guess it matters not. May I digress just a little...... how universal are the actual codes? If the code for a particular receiver is xxxx in my remotes code list, is it the same in the list for another brand of remote?

KBNZ, I did consider the path of trying to find someone with the factory remote to learn the codes from but the receiver was purchased at least ten years ago and I'm not confident of finding anyone who still stocks it or the remote in Melbourne.

The nature of the event we run means that I'm on my feet moving around the viewing/listening area the entire time which is why I would prefer a simple, small two button controller like a car central locking key ring controller. I could just drop it in my pocket rather than carrying around a full remote. Yea, I know that sounds really fussy but it's just a preference. Given that I have just taken the universal remote back out of the cupboard and am looking at it, I'm fired up again to try and find a working code for it and therefore not have to spend anything on a solution. I'm off to google again!

Any further suggestions are always welcome, thanks.

Cheers,
Michael.