[SLAM-ER]

I am building up a linux media PC to replace my Xbox so I can watch streaming Hi-Def. Love XBMC and am super happy I can stick with it, but I am a Linux n00b and have no idea what I'm doing.

I installed Ubuntu 8.1 Desktop, downloaded XBMC via Synaptic and that's all fine and running ok.

I wanted to use an old TV-Tuner I had for the remote (dont care about the TV tuner itself) so I plugged in the PCI card (Dynalink Magic TView 99 CPH061) and plugged the IR reciever into the back of it.

I downloaded LIRC and set it to Askey CPH03x as the closest match, but the remote wont do anything. I tried pressing 1,2,3 in a text editor assuming it should type 1 2 3 in there but nothing happened. Also in XBMC none of the buttons do anything at all.

So I downloaded Gnome LIRC Properties but it wont run. From the GUI I get the loading thing but it never comes up (bombs out), when I run it from the terminal it gives an error about "too many values to unpack". I found the hardware.conf and checked it, it did seem to be set correctly to the CPH30X driver, but if I run sudo /etc/init.d/lirc start it says "Starting remote daemons LIRC : FAIL". Upon looking on the net it seems to be a problem with the module, rechecking the hardware.conf it says

Code:

REMOTE_MODULES="devlib"
REMOTE_DRIVERS=""

which seems to be around the wrong way. So I tried to edit the file (but had no permission so I chown it) and changed it to

Code:

REMOTE_MODULES=""
REMOTE_DRIVERS="devlib"

and now the sudo /etc/init.d/lirc start command seems to start happily, but I still get no response from the remote in anything.

Any tips? I'm 99% there, and have been banging my head on the wall for 2-days trying to get the remote working!!! I am a PC/windows expert, but a newbie with the mysteries of linux....

[BLKMGK]

you're going to want to read up on Lirc - no it won't put anything into a text editor. Read up on a tool called irw....

[SLAM-ER]

I tried IRW, it didnt output anything either... and believe me, I have been reading up on LIRC for 2 days solid. Getting nowhere, I just have no idea what I'm doing, it's like I'm reading a foreign language.

Cheers for the reply.

[Temar]

I downloaded LIRC and set it to Askey CPH03x as the closest match, but the remote wont do anything.

Hmm, "closest match". If you don't find an exact match for your TV card you should first make sure, that the lirc driver of the closest match supports your TV card, too. Just google a bit and check which driver others use. Maybe the Askey CPH03x driver doesn't support your IR module.

I tried pressing 1,2,3 in a text editor assuming it should type 1 2 3 in there but nothing happened.

That's not the way LIRC works. LIRC does not emulate a keyboard! Lirc creates a socket from which other programs can read the IR events. So to be able to use your remote as a keyboard, you need a program which reads the IR events and translates them into button presses.

Also in XBMC none of the buttons do anything at all.

Out of the box XBMC won't work with your remote. You have a long way to go.

1) Check if the lirc driver supports the IR device on your tv card.
2) Check if your remote works using "mode2". The tool "mode2" displays the raw button codes of your remote.
3) Train your remote for LIRC using "irrecord"
4) Check if your recorded buttons work using "irw". The tool "irw" is similar to "mode2". Instead of displaying the raw button codes, it displays the LIRC button codes with the names you entered when using "irrecord".
5) Adjust XBMC's Lircmap.xml file to fit your remote.

Any tips? I'm 99% there, and have been banging my head on the wall for 2-days trying to get the remote working!!! I am a PC/windows expert, but a newbie with the mysteries of linux....

You first HAVE to make sure that the LIRC driver you are using supports the IR device on your tv card. Read the manpage of "mode2", start "mode2" and press some buttons on your remote. If you don't get any response at all, then you need the recheck the LIRC driver. As long as you don't get any response from "mode2", you won't be able to use your remote with XBMC or any other program which supports Lirc.