Comments on: Remote uses no batteries

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:25:53 +0000

As an aside:

There’s that ham, AA1TJ, who’s been experimenting with voice-powered transmitters.

He shouts into a speaker, uses the signal for both power and modulation, and can make contacts over impressive distances with milliwatts.

http://mjrainey.googlepages.com/elsilbo

By: b.YISK

b.YISK — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:47:46 +0000

The problem now isn’t just existing of those batteries inside a remote, the problem is more with the weight of batteries. It was said that nobody really cares about batteries, because they are often for live. It is more like “damn, this remote would be lighter if there were no batteries inside”.

By: nitori

nitori — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:45:59 +0000

I would have just made a squeeze generator to power the remote.
You want a remote to be kinda big anyway so you can actually find it.
This would allow tradition LEDs in the remote and not require any expensive HV power conversion electronics.
Going from LV DC to HV AC is easy going back is a little more difficult.
Besides make those couch potatoes get some exercise.

By: LarrySDonald

LarrySDonald — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:34:16 +0000

Piezoelectric lighters spring to mind immediately. It would be kind of interesting for more “one shot” stuff like garage doors (they’re supposed to be hard to push anyway) and it shouldn’t be that terribly hard to emit a specific bleep or bleeps of RF instead of a spark.

By: Oren Beck

Oren Beck — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:11:20 +0000

RE: remote pager @device. 99% of cordless phones have the feature. And 99% of the users do not know it’s there-or do not use the feature. Paging from cordless phone base to handset is cheaply added using the existing base-to-handset comm channel. Most device control remotes are 1 way with no device>remote comm path.

Approx 1995 or so NAP sold some TV sets with a RF based “remote locator” Do note that the feature is not in any current production sets these days. With an amusingly IRONIC on topic angle.

The battery drain of a remote’s RF locator receiver made them exasperating. Short battery life+can’t find it with the locate button when the batteries are dead=not good for sales.

By: bothersaidpooh

bothersaidpooh — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:53:18 +0000

pretty neat. i saw something similar to this a while back where they used the piezo element from a lighter, connected to the high voltage winding of a photoflash transformer. Converts the >2KV into a few volts, enough to charge up a supercap.

IIRC it was in Electronics World…

By: rob

rob — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:27:17 +0000

so this will justify beating the shit out of it when its not working?

By: Steve Nordquist

Steve Nordquist — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:01:56 +0000

When the demo has a nice display, it might be worth the piezo (or for the cable box, just GUIDE gets hit enough); for that matter, where is my jog shuttle remote now Videodiscs are gone? Where?

Good collateral links with EnOcean and shake lights (though the engineering level is similar); not so the block adapter leak thing, which is obsolete, a non-issue and misguided in the way that 2′ windmills are. Ripcords on controllers (or the breakout off the console) sounds awesome.

It’s easy to attach a bit to the length so that a low-grade service animal (i.e. pretty ok pet) can seek and retrieve the remote.

By: Skitchin

Skitchin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:03:08 +0000

Yeah, they should really just start putting big piezo stress balls on console controllers…Stunt Driver for PS2 anyone? :)

By: amk

amk — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:00:07 +0000

I don’t think I’ve ever had to change the batteries in a remote. I seem to lose/break/replace them long before the batteries run out. Now wireless console controllers, that’s another thing. I wonder how much power could be generated by all of the abuse those things go through.

By: cath0de

cath0de — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:55:06 +0000

i agree paul. kinda off topic but every unit (tv, dvd, etc) with a remote should have a big ‘page’ button on the unit itself. just like all cordless fones. i guess it would up the cost of a remote from nothing to almost something but i spent almost $1200 on my little tv and the remote feels and acts like a dollar store flashlight.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:18:57 +0000

I just want a whistle remote, or a harmony type unit that beep when paged… I’m always loosing the dammed things. BTW the harmony wasn’t, the damed remote got beaten up down, didnt support my stuff well enough, but mostly… Was the only thing with live batteries so when it got lost, you couldnt do anything. Pagers for remotes someone PLZ!!!!

By: Ben Ryves

Ben Ryves — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:57:52 +0000

I wonder if the technology could be adapted to wireless game controllers. Admittedly said controllers need to perform more processing than a TV remote control, but the game player is also pressing the buttons and wiggling the joysticks more energetically than you would interact with a typical TV remote control.

By: epicelite

epicelite — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:11:18 +0000

My remote still has the same battery’s that came with it when I got it with my TV.
4 years ago…

By: AO

AO — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:37:52 +0000

I’ve also seen this technology used by lighting companies for battery-less, wireless light switches.