Remote On-Off status of Radio/DVD/Wii through Arduino

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi all,

I have set up all my entertainment units (other than the TV and speakers) hidden behind a cupboard.

http://album.escix.com/index.php?/category/305

Now my problem is you wouldn't know whether the Radio or DVD player is on or not.

I am thinking of having an LCD display below the TV in lounge room, so it will display what the status of the units are.

But how do you think I can get the On/Off status of the units into Arduino.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks,

2

Well a simple approach might be to put a light sensor over each of the units power LED and shroud it so it doesn't see any background light. Then when your sensor indicates light, you know the device is on. If you don't mind modding your devices, you could replace the LED on each device (or run a circuit in parallel) with an opto-coupler that completes a circuit on the Arduino, and you connect that to an Arduino pin.