What is the function of the IR detector on the RRW1A transmitter board?

The IR detector on the RRW1A transmitter board detects a 38 kHz IR signal and inverts its output.

How does the RRW1A transmitter board modulate the 433.42 MHz oscillator?

The RRW1A transmitter board uses the data from the IR detector to switch on and off a 433.42 MHz oscillator, creating a carrier frequency for the wireless part of the kit.

Can the error correction feature be disabled on the RRW1B receiver board?

Yes, you can remove the jumper from J21 to disable the error correction feature and have the micro-controller on the receiver board blindly re-create the data it sees.

Wow! There’s a lot going on here | Ramsey Electronics RRW1A

When the IR detector on the RRW1A (transmitter board) “sees” a 38 kHz IR signal, the output of the detector goes low (it is inverted). When there is no 38 kHz signal present the output idles high. On the output of the IR detector you won’t see the 38 kHz, just the data that the 38 kHz represents from your IR remote control. This data from the IR detector is then used to switch on and off a 433.42 MHz oscillator. Instead of switching an LED on and off at 38 kHz, we are now switching an electrical field on and off at a rate of 433.42 MHz. This acts as our new carrier frequency for the wireless part of the kit.

The oscillator section is a Colpitts style oscillator formed by Q2, C7, C8, R6, and X1. The oscillator is turned on and off by Q3 through resistor R4 in accor- dance with the received IR data. When a data pulse is detected by U1, its out- put goes low pulling the base of Q3 low to turn it off. When Q3 turns off, the collector (R3, R4, and Q3 junction) is pulled high so the needed bias voltage is applied to R4 causing Q2 to turned on and begin oscillating with the surround- ing parts. Turning Q2 on and off performs the on-off data keying (OOK modu- lation) that we require to re-broadcast the IR signal.

The RRW1B (receiver board) has a specialized receiver chip which is also set at 433.42 MHz. The receiver detects whether or not a 433.42 MHz field is being broadcast and only sets its data output high if a signal is present. The RRW1B will replicate the transmitted data by turning its data out pin on and off at the received data rate. To re-send this data, we have to modulate a 38 kHz carrier again in accordance with the data the IR detector puts out. By using a micro-controller the data output from the IR detector can be sampled and a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) signal at 38 KHz can be generated in accor- dance with the detected data.

By using this method with a micro-controller, we can add some intelligence to the regenerated signal as well. The sample IR remotes we have looked at send their data at a rate of around 2400 bits per second. This means that our minimum pulse length for a zero should be 1/2400 x 0.30 seconds long (125 uS). Consider this example, let’s say that the signal from the IR remote is weak and it fades out due to interference from some other IR source before the data pulse is finished (i.e. 80 uS instead of 125 uS). The micro-controller will continue to send the 38 kHz until 125 uS is up, not allowing the re- transmitted signal to drop out the way the original source did. This error cor- rection feature can be disabled in case you have a strange remote that is not compatible (to this point we have yet to run across one that doesn’t work). Re- move the jumper from J21 to disable this feature and have U21 blindly re- create the data it sees.

Once the micro-controller on the receiver board has re-generated the 38 kHz carrier (modulated by the data), its output is buffered by a transistor stage that drives the high power IR LED used to control your equipment.