International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research

Volume 6Issue 6, 249-253, 2017, ISSN:-23198656

Adding Remote Controller Functionality To Any Stereo

Joe Abraham Ambily Francis

Department of Electronics andCommunication Department of Electronics andCommunication
Engineering Engineering
Jyothi Engineering College, Cheruthuruthy Jyothi Engineering College, Cheruthuruthy
Thrissur-679531, Kerala, India Thrissur-679531, Kerala, India

Abstract:. Use of stereo has become common in our lives. They are used in cars, TVs, music players etc. And it is essential at least to
control their volumes. Suppose there is a stereo amplifier which functions pretty well but it does not have a remote. It would be very
annoying if its volume cannot be controlled. So this project is useful as it creates a device which makes use of any existing remote to
control the volume. For controlling the volume, we use a volume controller IC. The electronic volume controller IC PT2258 is a digital
potentiometer which can be controlled using I2C protocols. It is used to control the attenuation for every combination possible from 0
to -79 dB/step. Universal IR receiver is used to decode the IR codes and the data will be transferred to the Arduino which in turn
communicates with the IC PT2258 and controls the volume. The device also consists of two buttons, which are used to synchronize the
IR code of the existing remote with the device. So the user will be able to use the device easily.

Keywords:

1. INTRODUCTION 2. LITERATURE SURVEY

The device designed is used to control the stereo
which doesnt come up with a remote controller or a device
2.1 Humble Volume Control Circuit
which is so old that the remote controller is not available in The humble volume control circuit can use to control the
the market. It will help the users to control the volume of any volume. Volume controls are usually implemented with a
stereo with any remote they have got with them. So to be potentiometer configured as a voltage divider. The signal
precise we can add up a remote controllable system to a goes to lug 1, the output is connected to the wiper (lug 2) and
normal computer speaker or any speaker that are readily the lug 3 is connected to ground. If we turn the pot shaft,
available in the market which doesnt come with remote and more or less of the signal voltage is sent to either to ground
we need to control the volume of the same using a remote (quieter) or to the output through the wiper (louder). This
controller. simple approach works well, but we are concerned with
stereo, which has that pesky concept of two independent
The device makes use of an Arduino, IC PT2258 channels. But your standard pot only is a "single-gang"
which is a digital potentiometer, Universal IR receiver, two device: it only has one set of lugs.
switches and 4 audio jacks (2 for input and 2 for output). The
Universal IR receiver receives the code and is given to the There are many issues with dual gang pots.
Arduino. Arduino takes the value and controls the IC Potentiometers are not exact devices. Their tolerance ratings
PT2258.The volume is controlled by making attenuation in arent terribly high, usually in the range of
the channels. Thus the output of the device will be attenuated 10percentage20percentage. That means that you can grab
signal of the input. two 10K ohm pots of the exact same part and manufacturer
and expect one pot to max out at 8k and the other at 12k. This
The same device can also be made using a pulse detector and really isn0t a big deal for most applications circuits are
an analog potentiometer IC, but the problem is that, we need designed with part tolerances in mind.
to provide a predefined remote controller along with the
device. Else we have to redesign the pulse detector each time Stereo input volume control with those variances. Each
the user needs to use any different remotecontrollers. On "gang" of the pot could be off by as much as 20 percentages,
using an Arduino, the predefined IR codes can be changed and matching of both gangs with a given shaft position could
simply by pressing the switch in the device. By pressing the be way off also, Make sense in an empirical way. The result
switch new IR values will be written to the device. is that by using a cheap dual-gang pot as a volume control
you are actually building in an unintentional balance control
The main application of this device is that in a stereo, which also. You can never really be sure if the left and right levels
does not come with any remote or whose remote is lost or being reproduced are what they were when recorded. The
damaged but they work fine manually, can be controlled with problem is these variances can become quite pronounced
any available remote when you are dealing a stereo volume control. But in our
project attenuation is properly controlled by IC PT228 by
different attenuation steps so that balance control problem is
minor

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 International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research
Volume 6Issue 6, 249-253, 2017, ISSN:-23198656

2.2 Balanced Volume Control Circuit 0 to 79 db. Once attenuation factor has been changed it will
The volume balance control circuit is a circuit that using be communicated to the IC PT2258 using SDA and SCL
to control the music between its source and speakers. The which are used for I2C communication. For this wire library
circuit is based on LM1036N which is a DC controlled tone is used in Arduino. Attenuation factor is changed means that
(bass/treble), volume and balance circuit for stereo an attenuation is given in the output signal when compared to
applications in car radio, TV and audio systems. The main the input. This simply means the volume has been changed or
disadvantages are complexity in design and are expensive.
decreased according to the attenuation factor. This is how the
device controls.
2.3 Digital Volume Control Circuit
Digital volume control circuit is the another popular IC PT2258
circuit using the IC MAX5486. PT2258 is a 6 channel electric volume controller IC
utilizing CMOS technology, specially designed for the new
MAX5486 is a 40K dual digital volume / balance controller
generation of AV multi-channel Audio system. The
that has a pushbutton interface. The IC has a built in bias
attenuation ranges 0 to 79dB at 1dB step, low noise high
voltage source that eliminated the need of an external
channel separation.
circuitry for the same purpose and thereby by reduces
external parts count. The IC also has an LED status indicator BUS INTERFACE
driver circuit which can be used for driving the status
indicator LEDs which indicates the volume level and balance Data are transmitted to and from the microprocessor
level. The IC can be operated from a single or dual power to the PT2258 via the SDL and SCL make up the bus
supply and is available in 24 pin TSSOP package. The interface. It should be noted that the pull up resistors must be
volume control circuit based on MAX5486 can be applied in
connected to the positive supply voltage.
a lot application like personal audio systems, hand held audio
devices, home theatre systems, car audio systems,computer
DATA VALIDITY
audio systems etc. The IC is not really purposeful an
accuracy will be less But the main advantages of our The Data on the SDA line is consider valid and
project is, we can control the volume, without the circuit in stable only when the SCL signal is in high state the high and
hand, using a remote. The synchronized working of both IR low state SDA line can only change when SCL signal is low.
sensors controls volume with any remote. It is an easy and
advanced method comparing with other old methods. Fig 2 : Internal Block Diagram of PT2258
START CONDITIONS

3 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM A Start Condition is activated when,

3.1 OPERATON
The SCL is set to HIGH and SDA shifts from HIGH to LOW
There are two switches in the device. By pressing the first State.
switch and by pressing any key in the remote controller will
make IR code emitted by remote save as Volume up
command. And by pressing the second switch and then
pressing any switch in remote will make the IR code save as
volume down command. Once the value is saved the device
will be comparing these values with the received IR values. If
an IR code is received is same as that of a volume up
command, then device will decrease the attenuation. And if
the IR code received is same as that of volume down
command then the device will increase the attenuation. The
universal IR receiver receives the IR code and is given to the
Arduino. The Arduino compares the received values to the
predetermined values. The Arduino accepts the IR code if it
is a predetermined one else it ignores the IR code and
receives the next IR code. If the IR code is predetermined
one, then the Arduino compares it with volume up command
and volume down command. An attenuation factor is defined
in the program. If a volume up command is received, then the
attenuation factor will be decreased and if a volume down
command is received then the attenuation factor will be
increased. The value of attenuation factor is limited between

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 International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research
Volume 6Issue 6, 249-253, 2017, ISSN:-23198656

HIGH State. The HIGH and LOW States of the SDA Line
can only change when the SCL signal is LOW.

INTERFACE PROTOCOL

A start Condition
A chip Address Byte including PT2258 address.8th
Figure 3: Start and Stop Condition Diagram bit of the byte must be 0. It must always
acknowledge the end transmitted byte.
STOP CONDITION Data sequence (N-bytes+Acknowledge)

The Stop Condition is activated when,SCL is set to

HIGH and SDA shifts from LOW to HIGH State.Every byte o IR Sensor
transmitted to the SDA Line consists of 8 bits.
IR used in this device is a universal IR receiver. Universal
IR receiver is used to read the infra-red code. It converts the
infra-red code to digital signal a transmits it through the
digital pin to the micro-controller or microprocessor.
SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION

PT2258 Address Code depends on the state of

CODE1 (Pin No. 17) and CODE2 (Pin No.4). If CODE1 or
CODE2 is connected to Vcc, then CODE1 or CODE2 is set

to 1. If CODE1 or CODE2 is connected to the Ground, it is

set to 0. Data byte Description.Every byte transmitted to
SDA line consist of 8 bites. Each byte must be followed by
acknowledge bit. The MSB is transmitted first.

Figure 6: Pin Out of IR Sensor

Figure 3: Start and Stop Condition Diagram

FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

Data are transmitted to and from the microprocessor

to the PT2258 via the SDA and SCL.The SDA and SCL
make up the BUS Interface.A data on the SDA Line is
considered valid and stable only when the SCL Signal is in

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 International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research
Volume 6Issue 6, 249-253, 2017, ISSN:-23198656

M LS
SB B
ATTENUATION UNIT BIT
1 1 1 0 A3 A2 A A0 6-Channel- -
A3/... A2/B2 A1/B1 A0/B0 ATTENUATION
1 1dB/step VALUE(dB)+
0 0 0 0 0/0
1 1 0 1 0 B2 B B0 6- channel- - 0 0 0 1 -1/-10
1 10dB/step 0 0 1 0 -2/-20
0 0 1 1 -3/-30
0 0 0 1 A3 A2 A A0 channel No.3- - 0 1 0 0 -4/-40
1 1dB/step 0 1 0 1 -5/-50
0 1 1 0 -6/-60
0 0 0 0 0 B2 B B0 channel No.3- - 0 1 1 1 -7/-70
1 10dB/step 1 0 0 0 -8/...
1 0 0 1 -9/...
0 0 1 1 A3 A2 A A0 channel no.4- -
Arduino and Programming
1 1dB/step
Algorithm
1. Start
0 0 1 0 0 B2 B B0 channel no.4- -
2. Check the buttonstate1 and buttonstate2.If any one
1 10dB/step of them is high, save the IR code received as a and b
respectively
0 1 0 1 A3 A2 A A0 channel No.2- - 3. Read the IR codes available at the IR sensor
1 1dB/step 4. Compare it with a and b.
5. If IR code received is a.
0 1 0 0 0 B2 B B0 channel No.2- - 6. And if the attenuation factor is i is greater than
1 10dB/step 0,Then i = i -5,and jump to step 10
7. If IR code received is b
0 1 1 1 A3 A2 A A0 channel No.5- - 8. And if the attenuation factor is i is lesser than
1 1dB/step 79,Then i = i +5,and jump to step 10
9. If the IR code is not a and b, then ignore them.
10. Split the attenuation factor i to ones and tens.
0 1 1 0 0 B2 B B0 channel No.5- -
11. Transmit this ones and tens to the PT2258 IC
1 10dB/decade through I2C channels.
12. Jump to step2
1 0 0 1 A3 A2 A A0 channel No.1- -
1 1dB/step Hardware Description
IC PT2258
1 0 0 0 0 B2 B B0 channel No.1- -
PT2258 is a 6-Channel Electronic Volume Controller IC
1 10dB/step utilizing CMOS Technology specially designed for the new
generation of AV Multi-Channel Audio System. PT2258
1 0 1 1 A3 A2 A A0 channel No.6- - provides an I2 C Control Interface, an attenuation range of 0
1 1dB/step to -79 dB at 1 dB/step, low noise, high channel separation.
Housed in 20-pin, DIP or SO Package, PT2258s pin
1 0 1 0 0 B2 B B0 channel No.6- - assignments and application circuit are optimized for easy
1 10dB/step PCB Layout and cost saving advantages.
The main features of IC PT2258 are as follows:
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 M 6-Channel, CMOS Technology
M=1 MUTE ON, Low Power Consumption
M=0 MUTE OFF Least External Components
Attenuation Range: 0 to -79 dB at 1dB/step
Operating Voltage: 5 to 9v Low Noise, S/N
Ratio>100dB (A-weighting)
High Channel Separation
I2 C Bus Control Interface
Selectable Address
6-Channel Outputs

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 International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research
Volume 6Issue 6, 249-253, 2017, ISSN:-23198656

4. CONCLUSION AND FUTURESCOPE

A device is designed and implemented in such a way that it
can use any existing remote, to control the volume of a
remote less stereo or can be used instead of a damaged
remote. In this project we have studied how to control the
volume using volume control IC, PT2258. Basic
understanding about the IR sensor and Arduino was also
studied during this work. The design and verification of the
remote control device was successful. The main advantage of
this device is that any available remote can be used to control
the volume of the required stereo just by pressing the buttons
on the device implemented. Thus it is useful to operate even
an old, good functioning stereo as it helps to control the
Figure 5.1: Pinout Diagram Of IC PT2258 volume. The project gave practical knowledge about the
IC PT2258 has any applications such as: electronic circuit and components used in this work and
AV Surround Audio Equipment helped to develop new ideas with proper guidance and help
Car Audio of facilities from the department. Project got completed
Mini Components successfully. Circuit can have further implementation in the
Computer Multi-Media Speaker future.
Other Audio Equipments
IR Sensor 5. REFERENCES
An Infra red (IR) sensor is used to detect obstacles in
front of the robot or to differentiate between colors [1] G. Eason, B. Noble, and I.N. Sneddon, On certain integrals of
depending on the configuration of the sensor. The picture Lipschitz-Hankel type involving products of Bessel functions, Phil.
Trans. Roy. Soc. London, vol. A247, pp. 529-551, April 1955.
shown is a very simple black box model of the IR Sensor. (references)
The sensor emits IR light and gives a signal when it detects [2] J. Clerk Maxwell, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, 3rd ed.,
the reflected light.It is a universal IR receiver which receivers vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon, 1892, pp.68-73.
all the IR codes that comes to it and it consist of 3 pins.It is a [3] I.S. Jacobs and C.P. Bean, Fine particles, thin films and exchange
universal IR receiver which receivers all the IR codes that anisotropy, in Magnetism, vol. III, G.T. Rado and H. Suhl, Eds. New
York: Academic, 1963, pp. 271-350.
comes to it and it consist of 3 pins. Vcc, GND and digital out.
[4] K. Elissa, Title of paper if known, unpublished
Digital output gives the IR code received digitally.This is a
[5] R. Nicole, Title of paper with only first word capitalized, J. Name
simple infra red receiver which receives all the IR codes.It Stand. Abbrev., in press.
doesnt come specific.It is a universal on. It receives the IR [6] Y. Yorozu, M. Hirano, K. Oka, and Y. Tagawa, Electron spectroscopy
code and transmit the received data digitally through out the studies on magneto-optical media and plastic substrate interface, IEEE
digital pin. Transl. J. Magn. Japan, vol. 2, pp. 740-741, August 1987 [Digests 9th
Annual Conf. Magnetics Japan, p. 301, 1982].

Figure 5.2: Ir Sensor Block Diagram

RESULT
The device was designed and implemented. And the
device works fine with almost all remote controllers
available in the market.

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