Populated IrDA?

[Shawn Rutledge]

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 10:33 AM, Alan Ide <gamebeavis at gmail.com> wrote:
> if it is or is not populated / usable?? I really want to be able to use my
> FreeRunner as my universal remote using LIRC. Thank you.

IrDA and CIR (consumer IR) are usually not the same thing.  If you
start looking for the actual components you'll see there are several
wavelengths of light in use.  OTOH the phototransistors used in the IR
receivers are sensitive to a range of wavelengths (sensitivity vs.
wavelength is a bell curve), so they don't always have to match
exactly.

The Agenda (an early Linux PDA back in 1999 or 2000) had a CIR emitter
for just that purpose.  It was also possible to use the Palm's IrDA
port for remote-controlling your TV etc. but the range was very short,
like 3 feet or less.  Another company was selling a CIR emitter you
could plug into the HotSync port to get longer range.

Of course if you install an IrDA transceiver in your PC, you could use
an IrDA handheld as a remote for it.  But then why not use Bluetooth
or WiFi?  IR is too directional.