Gadget Techie

This was a fun project. I got the idea for it at a website (I cannot remember which at the moment). The idea is simple: You make a circuit that sends out an IR (infrared) signal to the TV with the same frequency at which the TV remote operates, essentially ”masking” or “jamming” the signal coming from the remote.

A TV remote operates around 38kHz. Since the frequency does not have to be exact, I decided to go with a 555 timer IC in order to be able to fine tune the frequency by turning a potentiometer. Once I had my circuit assembled, I had to test that it was turning on and at least blinking. Since the human eye cannot see light in the infrared region of the light spectrum, I verified that the IR LED was indeed blinking by turning on the camera on my phone and pointing it at the LED. After verifying that the LED was blinking, I took the circuit to the nearest TV for it’s first field test.

With my girlfriend continuously holding down the volume button up and down (to provide a continuous signal that could be monitored by the presence of the volume bars on the TV), I aimed the IR LED at the TV and started slowly turning the potentiometer. As I turned it I watched for the volume bars on the TV to stop moving. After about 2 seconds, I had hit the right spot and my girlfriend could no longer control the TV with the remote. Needless to say, I was ecstatic!

What made it so amazing was the fact that it actually worked! I really had no hope for it and the fact that I had put the circuit together so quickly without checking to make sure that everything was connected properly made it even less likely for it to work. But it did and I was happy. The only thing that I was disappointed with was the range of the jammer. After about 2 feet, the jammer was not able to jam the TV anymore. I did some research and now know how I can make it more powerful while still being able to power it with batteries. However, after seeing it work, I was satisfied and moved on to another project.

One day I will go back and redo this circuit and make it longer range.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have and I will update this post accordingly.