How to check if the remote control is working. How to test the TV remote control for functionality at home? No signal from the remote control

When ordering a remote control, you always need to explain whether your remote control is lost or does not work. If the remote control is available, but you think that it does not work, then first you need to check the functionality of the remote control. The testing procedure outlined below allows you to identify problems with the remote control. remote control with a probability of more than 95%.

We are talking about all types of wireless remote controls (infrared, IR) for all types of equipment. Using this method, you can check the remote control for an air conditioner (split system), remote control for a TV, remote control for a DVD player, remote control for a VCR, remote control for a music center, remote control for a receiver, etc.

Preliminary check of the equipment itself: Before we start checking the remote control, we first make sure that the equipment itself (air conditioner, split system, TV, VCR, etc.) is operational and is turned on by the corresponding buttons on its control panel. The split system has a button to turn on the mode automatic operation. This button is usually located under the front panel of the indoor unit (see the instructions for the split system). If you do not have instructions for the split system, then you can find them on the page of our website. If the equipment does not turn on from the buttons on the control panel, then do not rush to call service center, and first remove the plug from the socket and after 20-30 minutes, insert it again, preferably turning the power over. fork 180° from its original position.

If you are convinced that your equipment operates from the buttons on the control panel, then we proceed to checking the control panel.

Checking the remote control:

1. External inspection of the remote control. Mechanical damage is detected, including darkening of the screen (complete or partial).

2. Lack of moisture inside, incl. traces of alkali that can leak from an old depressurized battery in the remote control compartment. That is why we do not recommend using alkaline batteries R03, R6. It is better to use alkaline batteries LR03, LR6, etc. Alkaline batteries do not leak and can be stored for up to 5 years. If the remote control has traces of moisture and alkali, then you need to remove and throw away the batteries (recycle), wash the remote control several times with water, and dry it (on a central heating radiator, with a hairdryer, etc.). After making sure that the remote control is dry, insert new alkaline batteries into it and turn it on. If the screen does not light up, then the remote control could not be restored. It is faulty and there are three options left:

Option 1: Take the remote control to a service center (waste of time, it is not a fact that it will be possible to repair it, the cost of repair may exceed the cost of a universal control remote control).

Option 2: Buy an original control panel. It is expensive and usually takes a long time to find.

Option 3: Buy Universal remote management. It costs less. Fast delivery. Shipping by cash on delivery is possible. Money back guarantee within a month, without explanation.

3. If your remote control does not have mechanical damage, as well as traces of moisture and alkali, but its screen does not light up, then first of all replace the batteries with known good ones. When replacing, be careful not to reverse the polarity of the batteries. If there are several batteries in the remote control, always use the SAME batteries. If the screen does not “light up”, then the remote control is faulty. See three options for your actions.

4. If the remote control screen “lights up” and icons and symbols change when you press different buttons, then move on to the next check point. If there is no change on the screen when you press different buttons, then remove the batteries. If the screen “continues to glow”, then this means only one thing - you see symbols that reflect light. These symbols are found in some remote controls and do not say anything about its performance. So, if you see the SAME symbols or letters when the batteries are inserted and when they are removed, then replace the battery with a known good one (see point 3).

5. If the characters or numbers on the remote control screen change when you press buttons, and the air conditioner, TV, DVD player etc. does not react in any way to your actions, then first of all you need to check whether there are any obstacles between the photodetector window on the controlled equipment and the LED of the control panel. We've seen LEDs on the remote control covered with chewing gum, plasticine, bread crumbs, paint or nail polish. There have been cases when the photodetector window (usually dark red or almost black) was covered with paint, whitewash, covered with translucent or opaque tape, chewing gum candy wrappers, etc. In some such cases, it was possible to turn on the equipment only by bringing the remote control close to the photodetector window. In some cases, the remote control only works at a distance of 2-3 meters, even when installing new batteries. This happens quite rarely and is possible if there is a source of interference in the room. So, we eliminate the obstacle, if it turns out to be one, and if the equipment does not respond to the remote control, then we proceed to the procedure described at the beginning of this instruction in the section “Preliminary check of the equipment itself.”

6. If you cannot turn on the equipment this time, then check the operation of the LED on the remote control itself. If the remote control is working, then the LED should blink when you press buttons on the remote control, but the fact is that the LED blinks in a range not visible to the human eye. To see this blinking, we need to look at it through the camera built into the mobile phone (of course, you can also use a digital camera, video camera, web camera, etc.).

Point the camera lens at the remote control LED. The LED is located on the front of it and can be hidden by a translucent dark red panel. Turn on the photo or video mode on your phone and, having found the LED or remote control window on the phone screen, press the “on” button on the remote control or another button. If you see that the LED is lit or blinking, then the remote control is working (99%). If you don’t see a glow on your phone’s screen, then don’t worry, you may have set the shooting mode incorrectly. Check your actions on a known working remote control for any of your equipment and only after making sure that the diode lights up on a known working remote control, proceed to checking the “faulty” remote control. It is better to check on the on/off button, because there are buttons that produce a very short pulse and you simply may not notice it by accident.

It happens that you press the buttons on the remote control, but the TV does not listen. This is especially annoying (if not simply infuriating!) when you are already ideally positioned in your or your favorite chair, but the remote control does not work, and you really don’t want to get up. But, nevertheless, you will have to get up from the sofa, because you need to find out what the reason might be, the remote control is faulty, or maybe something suddenly happened to the IR receiver on the TV itself. You can check whether the remote control is working very simply and you don’t need any complex devices for this. We will do all this using a regular cell phone.

We check the remote control using the phone. How to do it?

In general, this method works not only for remote controls, but also for other devices. Here everything depends not on the device for which this remote control is used, but on the operating principle of the remote control itself. I’ll say right away that this method only works for remote controls that operate on infrared radiation. The majority of these still remain, although now there are also radio remote controls for TVs and other devices. You won't be able to check them this way.

What do we need for verification? Ordinary any model. Nowadays there are probably no phones left that do not have a camera. It is your camera mobile phone we will need it to test the remote control. The same can be done with any digital device. But holding it is not very convenient, and it is especially problematic if it is quite bulky and there is no one to help you. So, the ideal option is to use your phone for this.

What are we doing? You just need to place the remote control from your TV under the camera (the camera is turned on and the picture from it should be displayed on the display). This must be done in such a way that you can see the infrared LED in the camera, which is located on all infrared remote controls in their upper part.

Next, you simply press any button on your remote control and at the same time see what your phone’s camera shows you. If the remote control is working, then it should send an infrared signal, and you will see it on the phone. The infrared LED will flash purple on your phone's screen. This means that the batteries are “alive” and your remote control is working. Although, if the batteries are a little low, the brightness of the signal drops. But, you will still understand that your remote control is working. To be completely confident that it is fully operational, you just need to replace the batteries with fresh ones.

If this helps and your TV starts listening to the remote control again, then very good. Well, if not, then look for the problem in the TV itself. It is quite possible that the infrared signal receiver on it is faulty, or something else happened. Here the problem is more complicated than checking the remote control at home.

And here is also a short video on the same topic. Where will all this be demonstrated to you? Let's see. You can then check your remote control in this way.

An elegant and simple way to check the functionality of your TV remote without an oscilloscope.

The situation is trivial - they came to repair the TV, but the remote control doesn’t work. In principle, everything can be solved; we open the remote control and use a tester to make sure that there is a signal at the input of the emitting diode. But it’s not a fact that he himself didn’t die; in general, without an oscilloscope, we begin to experience obvious discomfort, and who in their right mind would carry it on the line. Although its presence when checking the remote control implies some clearly unnecessary body movements - a photodiode suspended from the oscilloscope, through which all this is checked.

There is a more elegant solution - an indicator for the presence of a signal from the remote control. This is a small pocket that can be easily built into a Chinese switch and allows you to spend a minimum of time during such repairs.

One thing, not all photo receivers operate on reduced power; supply imported ones with the normalized 5 volts. Although there is a way out by using a domestic one, free from this drawback. Installed in the latest produced MSN405.

It works great with a 2.5 volt power supply, which is just right for a switchman with a pair of one and a half volt batteries. The operating range with this power supply is 20 cm, but this is quite enough to check the remote control. With a source of 5 volts, of course, you can install any three-legged photo receiver, the range will be the same as that of a TV.

And here is the circuit itself, built on the widely used 555 microcircuit, taken from the program for calculating elements for the 555 timer.

As load R2, you can optionally use a piezo tweeter with or without a built-in generator, an LED with a current limiting resistance, or all together.

Transistors, I suspect, can be any with the appropriate structure and gain. When supplying power to the device at five volts, it is mandatory to install an electrolyte of at least 330 μF on this bus; at three volts, if there is no excitation, then you can do without it.

You pick up the remote control for your TV or other household device, press the power button and... nothing happens. The TV doesn't turn on. It's a shame, right? Well then, let's go to the box and turn it on with the button. Turned it on and again trying to control it from the control panel. Well, nothing comes of it. It's a shame... It doesn't matter, we'll try to find the reason for its failure. To begin, bring the remote control close to the TV and press the buttons.

If nothing happens, then open the lid on Remote control and remove the batteries. Take a digital multimeter and check the EMF value. It should be at least 1.25 volts. Better yet, install new batteries and repeat the steps described above. If the remote control is now working, then you don’t have to read any further and just sit down and watch TV or DVD. 😀 Well, if he showed no signs of life, then we move on. Now you need to check whether the remote control works or not. How to do it? We take a cell phone with a camera in our hands, turn it on and point it at the infrared LED of the control panel and press any buttons in turn. If the remote control is working, then the LED will blink green on the screen. If you don’t have a cell at hand, but have a portable radio, then turn it on and bring the remote control close to it and press the buttons. Every time you press the button, you will hear a bubbling sound in the speaker. If you hear a chaotic bubbling noise when you press a certain button, then that button is dirty and has poor contact. If you can't hear anything through the speaker, then the infrared transmitter is faulty.

Now let's proceed to the “barbaric” verification method. Take the remote control in your hands and tap on it. This can often bring the remote back to life. If this happens, then feel free to remove the cover from the battery compartment, take out the batteries and check the condition of the battery compartment contacts. If they are oxidized, then take a knife and carefully clean them. Also like this unstable work Remote control may be caused by loose components or a cracked circuit board. Check when good lighting installation printed circuit board. Make sure there are no breaks in the capacitors, quartz resonator, or transistor. Solder all defective areas. If the remote control works a short distance from the device, then there is a possibility that the batteries are dead. Change them. If all these actions did not help you revive Remote control, then you need to give it for repair to people who will check its components for failure. In conclusion, I want to say that the cost of control panels is not high now, so it is often not economically justifiable to repair them. Read also articles on,

Infrared remote controls have firmly taken their place in consumer electronics. Any equipment that is not equipped with this very convenient device includes TVs, stereos, microwave ovens, car CD/MP players, chandeliers and many many other things familiar to us.

Such a widespread use of remote controls could not help but affect their frequent breakdowns. Since it is sometimes difficult to purchase a new remote control needed for a specific device, they are sent in for repair.

How to quickly check the remote control?

The simplest and most effective method is to check remote controls using digital cameras. Now in almost every cell phone I have a digital camera.

Many laptops have a built-in webcam. For netbooks, a digital web camera is generally a mandatory attribute. Also suitable for testing remote controls digital photos and video cameras. In general, any device that has even the simplest digital camera is suitable for testing the remote control.

To check the remote control, you only need to point the emitting infrared LED at the camera lens. On the digital display, when you press buttons on the remote control, periodic flashes of purple light will be visible. This indicates that the remote control is working properly.

The photo shows flashes of an infrared LED captured by a mobile phone camera Sony Ericsson K810i.

If you don’t have devices with digital camera, then you can use the following method.

Instead of an infrared LED, it is necessary to temporarily solder in a regular light-emitting diode. The LED can be of any color: red, green, yellow, white, in general, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that the LED is 3 volts.

When you press the buttons on the remote control, a temporarily soldered ordinary LED will emit flashes of light. It should be noted that the brightness of the radiation will be low.

In the photo there is a regular white LED, soldered in instead of an infrared one.

The remote control can be tested using an infrared photodiode and an oscilloscope.

In this case, an infrared photodiode is connected to the input of the oscilloscope. When the remote control is operating, pulses of short bursts will be visible on the oscilloscope screen. It is important that the photodiode is connected to the open input of the oscilloscope.

This is how simple and easy it is to check the functionality of any infrared remote control. To do this, it is not at all necessary to collect any sample circuits and clutter up the resulting overloaded workshop, because all the necessary tools are already at hand, especially a mobile phone with a camera