ronsimpson
I'd like to get involved with the PI too and I got a
PI 4B from a member here. It's going to need a little more robustness first.
1) It needs to run headless
2) It needs to run VNC
3) Needs ssh access
4) Needs to have two virtual COM ports.
Status: Not even close
The device I want to control
Dual AM/FM Tuner isn't hooked up
1) Need to mount active antenna in the attic
2) Mount tuner in the ceiling
3) Need to verify that it works
4) It would use 1 Virtual COM port
The HDMI wireless connection look like it will work
1) Managed to play a tone wirelessly with a VGA to HDMI test pattern
2) Haven't monkeyed with the controls. - e.g. try to get the raster black.
3) The VGA generator will be replaced with a kit that will need a virtual COM port connectiion.
V-com port gizmo (need two ports for this project)
It's like
OPTIONAL for the time being.
The third might go to a FAX modem.
Maybe one to the console port.
1) Haven't managed to get admin access to it yet. The other one is broke.
Unable to do it by Ethernet. Ethernet light blink on one. Don;t on the other "bad" one.
The HDMI repeater should repeat IR
So, antenna, tuner, IR repeater, HDMI repeater is the minimal setup with no PI,
The next thing to add is the device that would basically turn the TV into a vt100 display terminal with no keyboard.
i.e. the VCOM port downstairs. I could make the cursor invisible and get a black raster.
So, I either get black raster from the brightness control (unknown) or from the vt100 terminal (likely)
I don't need any user interface initially. The RS232 interface should pick up unsolicited keypresses from the IR remote
Who knows how this might work.
Now it comes down to what to use. There is a free LabView community web edition, so it might work.
Then there is Python and some web add-on.
Getting either of them to work seems like a messy proposition. The PI might have to be a webserver.
I want a webpage I can access with my cell or laptop to select stations etc. Mom would use the IR method.
If it works, the second tuner could have audio hard-wired (powered speakers) to the kitchen downstairs or connect to a Barrix Extreamer to play on a phone/laptop.
I don't know python. I did know LabVIEW.
Once the PI is setup, I could play with CEC-HDMI where I want to try muting the TV with certain events. That library would work on Linux.
So, that's like a plan.
This idea might be an interesting function like "Leave a note". I have no idea how that might work. Maybe use the CEC-HDMI and put something on the TV that tells the viewer to check for a note, so you would have to goto radio mode and access preset 6 which would be a no station.
If I gave it access to the house or the LabView cloud, I could send a message from anywhere. it's would be like one-way paging from yesteryear. A one way SMS would work fine.
Lots of wierd things are possible. Muting is what I really want. e.g. phone, doorbell. nurse call. It might be able to annouce on the TV probably.
Basically want a AM/FM tuner that plays through a TV without an AV receiver. it could evolve into all sorts of things.
Even later in the process, the wireless HDMI/IR might turn into a wired HDMI/IR. I might be able to pull IR over Ethernet.
Then the idea of a custom remote control that would be used from the hospital bed.
One other project could be added is real-time antenna positioning display. The antenna rotor display is correct when its stopped, but not when it's moving.