I have a projector on my ceiling and don't have the remote for it. It's old and they no longer make them any more.
Rather than climbing on a chair to turn it on and off, I thought this would be a fun little project!
About the projector:
To turn it on, the power button must be pushed and held for about 2 seconds.
To turn it off, the power button must be pressed twice.
I would guess the easiest way is to do this is to replace the button with the Arduino.
I am looking for input / suggestions for this project - it's my first time with an Arduino so I am very excited.
Any comments so far?
I would have thought that the easiest way would be to replace the remote control
Most manufacturers don't change the protocol for their remotes so if you can find a control from a later model projector perhaps it will work. You can buy 'learning remote controls' that copy the signal from another control, perhaps you can bring one of these into a shop that sells projectors and see if you can snatch the protocol.
Or, if you really want to make this an arduino project, you could use an infra-red detector and emitter to make your own learning remote.
Some projectors (like the ones we use in our classrooms) have an RS232 port that can be used for hardwired control.
We had problems with remotes disappearing, so we hardwired the RS232 port to a computer, then wrote a little application to issue the on and off commands. This would be easy to do with an Arduino, and maybe even use an IR remote to control the arduino.
I agree with mem, though, the path of least resistance would seem to be replace the remote.
Interesting replies, many thanks for getting back to me.
I have tried getting hold of a remote and had no luck, which is why I decided to try the Arduino. All in one remotes are a good idea, but I have yet to find one whch says it supports my projector.
The projector is a NEC VT560 (click that link for the manual).
Connection wise it has a usb port (not that it can be used for turning on and off), and a "DIN 8 Pin" which it says is only for service engineers.