Here are a couple of IR shields I have made, would like to hear any constructive feedback.
One has a joystick, the other has buttons.
Details are here: http://krazatchu.ca/2014/01/17/ir-r3m0c0n-1v09-multi-purpose-arduino-shield-with-ir/
And here: http://krazatchu.ca/2014/01/15/ir-r3m0c0n-2v14j-multi-purpose-arduino-shield-with-ir/
Thanks!
Michael Grant
Thanks for sharing......Does it work with IRremote & IRLib libraries.
I noticed that you have 3 pin positions for a second IR receiver. Is that to allow for different pinouts of receivers or is it designed to have 2 connected at the same time.
FYI: As the IR receiver is on pin 2, it will work out of the box with AnalysIR, but without measurement of modulation frequency.
Final question is - which model if IR receiver & IR Led do you use?
tnx
AnalysisIR software looks great.
I have an SMD design of the shield as well (for a pre-assembled version) but am gauging interest with the kit first.
Do you have a suggestion for a variable frequency/clocked demodulator that works well with AnalysisIR ?
I normally use IRremote but thanks for the tip about IRLib, it looks good, will start using it.
That funny IR receiver pinout actually supports 3 different positions, only one at a time, they are all wired to the same pin.
The third position is a combination of the other two, to accommodate the larger IR receivers like this one on the right:
It will fit 56kHz as well as the continuous demodulation receivers like the TSOP58038.
Which I was using for IR bootloading an Arduino project that didn't have external access for USB.
That's here: http://krazatchu.ca/2012/05/07/superduplex-an-infrared-bootloader-for-arduino/
The IR receiver in the picture is the VS1838B, cheap as chips on eBay.
The IR LEDs are run of the mill 940nm, digikey or eBay.
Thanks!
Michael
My advice is to avoid the cheaper IR receivers as they will cause tons of headaches and wasted hours for your users.
You can see the ones we recommend for our users here (These component kits are only available to users with AnalysIR):
They are all Vishay which are super quality, provided you select the right one for the job.
If you are also targeting AC remotes, you need to pay even more attention to the selection of receiver, because of the much longer length of the bitstream in each signal. We have an ongoing review of the best ones in the IRforum:
http://www.analysir.com/joomla/IRforum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16
There is also an example transmitter circuit on our blog, which may be of interest.
Regarding range of frequency, just check out the data sheets. Normally each receiver is optimised for one frequency. However, with AnalysIR we use the TSSP4038 (for demodulated signals & nominal 38kHz) which performs well from 30-56kHz because it has no AGC. It is actually intended for light barrier systems. This is OK for a decoder like AnalysIR, but I wouldn't advise for a stand-alone or deployed project.
For IR Leds - check out the TSAL6100, TSAL6200, TSAL6400and if you read the blog on the circuit above you will find the reason to have 2 different one vs identical ones! 
That is awesome feedback!
I've used the TSSP4038 for continuous data transmission (bootloading over IR) but I wasn't aware it would work at 56kHz.
That's good to know, going to experiment with that.
The VS1838b parts from eBay have been great, but I haven't been pushing them over 32bits.
About 300 of them were in use for the firefly project ( http://www.lumipendant.com/ ), where they would send a 32bit packet to set up a wearable social network.
Interestingly, in the firefly I 'detuned' the transmitters to reduce the transmission distance to about 3 meters.
First by reducing the duty cycle to the minimum (1 cycle on) and then by moving away from 38kHz.
Adjusting the transmit power allowed for range sensing but it wasn't implemented in the final build.
The LEDs used were PLCC2 package with 150 degree spread to get the most coverage and least distance.
I like the idea of using two different angles for the LEDs on the shield, probably I will rebag the kits to include that.
Thanks!
Michael
That firefly project looks fun...
....reminded me of the Disney Mickey Mouse ears that synchronise embedded LED lights in the Hats via IR for everyone in the audience.
A few months after the Firelfy project I came across the Disney hats article, none of had remembered reading about it before but I wonder if it was tucked away in the subconscious, Firefly is really similar.
That Disney is always beating me to the punch, they have a great research department!