Setting up LIRC for the Musicbox.

I wanted an easy way to use PiMusicbox without having to use the pc or phone to control it every time.

I tried it with buttons but decided to use a remote control in the end, I didn't have the knowledge to wire various buttons into GPIO. Using LIRC it's all set up for me, I just have to change a few files to make it do what I want.

With a 10 button remote it's a bit limited but I can change track, change volume, have a choice of 10 different playlists and shutdown the Pi.

I used to use google TTS to tell me the names of the playlists, that stopped - maybe because of Google requiring a confirmation of reality and it just wouldn't work. Now I record them myself as there are only 10 anyway and I don't change them very often.

The Receiver.

The Keyes one is below, only disadvantage I find is that the whole thing has to be on show, 

in some applications I find one with a detachable receiver easier to place.

I think it's quite straight forward, 
GND connects to ground, Pin 6 or GND. 
VCC connects to Pin 1 or 3.3v. 
DAT or IN connects (in my case) to Pin 12 (or GPIO18)

I have connected into Raspberry Pi A+, B+ and Zero and the pins are the same location.

Have a look here for pinout diagram for the Pi.

When installing LIRC, you will note that I change the ./etc/modules file and use pin 18, obviously if you connect onto a different pin you will need to change that.

The Keyes handset is the one that the config file on the following pages is for. If you want to use your own, perhaps an old TV remote, you will need to find or record the appropriate config file. It doesn't matter which receiver you choose. 

Installing LIRC

Most of the installing information has been copied from Alex's site here - thank you

I have used same to install on Pi 0, Pi B+ and A+, but I should try it on an old setup first just in case. 

The config files relate to the Keyes brand of remote - widely available and remarkably cheap

SSH into the pi;

sudo apt-get update

                    

sudo apt-get install lirc

Click yes to any questions, ignore any messages once installed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------




You have to modify two files before you can start testing the receiver.

Open and add to your /etc/modules file

sudo nano /etc/modules

lirc_dev

lirc_rpi gpio_in_pin=18

Ctrl & x then y and enter to save and exit.

Change your /etc/lirc/hardware.conf file to:

sudo nano /etc/lirc/hardware.conf

########################################################

# /etc/lirc/hardware.conf

#

# Arguments which will be used when launching lircd

LIRCD_ARGS="--uinput"

# Don't start lircmd even if there seems to be a good config file

# START_LIRCMD=false

# Don't start irexec, even if a good config file seems to exist.

# START_IREXEC=false

# Try to load appropriate kernel modules

LOAD_MODULES=true

# Run "lircd --driver=help" for a list of supported drivers.

DRIVER="default"

# usually /dev/lirc0 is the correct setting for systems using udev

DEVICE="/dev/lirc0"

MODULES="lirc_rpi"

# Default configuration files for your hardware if any

LIRCD_CONF=""

LIRCMD_CONF=""

########################################################




Ctrl & x then y and enter to save and exit.




Now restart lircd so it picks up these changes:

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc stop

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc start

Edit your /boot/config.txt file and add:

nano /boot/config.txt

dtoverlay=lirc-rpi,gpio_in_pin=18

Ctrl & x then y and enter to save and exit.
Reboot to implement the changes.

Testing the IR receiver is relatively straightforward.

Run these two commands to stop lircd and start outputting raw data from the IR receiver:

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc stop
mode2 -d /dev/lirc0

Point a remote control at your IR receiver and press some buttons. You should see something like this:

space 16300

pulse 95

space 28794

pulse 80

space 19395

pulse 83

space 402351

pulse 135

space 7085

pulse 85

space 2903 

Press ctrl & c to exit

If there is no reaction then check the receiver is connected properly, that you have a battery in your remote and run through the above steps again.

This config file is just for the Keyes brand of remote control.

You will need to record/search for your own remote if you wish to use a different one, you can try the LIRC site or use irrecord to record your own.

To set up config files, open the lirc config files;

nano /etc/lirc/lircd.conf

Clear any info in there, then paste all the text between the ###'s.

Once pasted use Ctrl & x then y enter to save and exit.

#########################################################################

# Please make this file available to others

# by sending it to

#

# this config file was automatically generated

# using lirc-0.9.0-pre1(default) on Sun Jan 19 10:13:19 2014

#

# contributed by

#

# brand:                      KEYES

# model no. of remote control:

# devices being controlled by this remote:

#

begin remote

  name  KEYES

  bits           16

  flags SPACE_ENC|CONST_LENGTH

  eps            30

  aeps          100

  header       9281  4484

  one           622  1657

  zero          622   513

  ptrail        622

  repeat       9241  2236

  pre_data_bits   16

  pre_data       0xFF

  gap          109259

  toggle_bit_mask 0x0

      begin codes

          KEY_VOLUMEUP                   0x629D

          KEY_VOLUMEDOWN                 0xA857

          KEY_PREVIOUSSONG                 0x22DD

          KEY_NEXTSONG             0xC23D

          KEY_PAUSE                 0x02FD

          KEY_1                    0x6897

          KEY_2                    0x9867

          KEY_3                    0xB04F

          KEY_4                    0x30CF

          KEY_5                    0x18E7

          KEY_6                    0x7A85

          KEY_7                    0x10EF

          KEY_8                    0x38C7

          KEY_9                    0x5AA5

          KEY_0                    0x4AB5

          KEY_SHUFFLE         0x42BD

          KEY_NUMERIC_POUND        0x52AD

      end codes

end remote

#########################################################################

Make sure you have saved and closed the above file. 

To make sure the changes have been picked up by LIRC, stop and restart LIRC

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc stop

sudo /etc/init.d/lirc start

type irw

then enter

Point the remote at the sensor, press a button and it should say on screen what that button is programmed to do.

ctrl & c to exit.

We want it to run on boot, so need to add irexec into startup.sh

nano /opt/musicbox/startup.sh

and add almost near the end

sudo -u root irexec -d

Decide what each key will do.

This is where you decide what each key will do.

To assign what the keys actually run you need a new config file so
You will see all the operations are done using mpc a full list of options is here
nano /root/.lircrc

 then copy and paste all the text between the lines.
-------------------------------------------------------
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_PAUSE
        config = mpc toggle
end
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_NEXTSONG
        config = mpc next
end
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_PREVIOUSSONG
        config = mpc prev
end
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_NUMERIC_POUND
        config = shutdown –h now
end
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_SHUFFLE
        config = mpc shuffle
end
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_VOLUMEUP
        config = mpc volume +10
end
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_VOLUMEDOWN
        config = mpc volume -10
end
# insert your playlist name between the " " 
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_1
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end
# insert your playlist name between the " " 
begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_2
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_3
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_4
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_5
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_6
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_7
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_8
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_9
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_0
        config = mpc stop; mpc clear; mpc load "Your playlist here";mpc play;
end

------------------------------------------------------

Copy between the lines and paste into the .lircrc file.
Ctrl&x  y & enter to save and exit
Reboot system to pick up all changes – it might take a while esp if it’s still scanning for new music.

Sudo Reboot

I have 10 playlists on the remote - as I can't remember which is which I have done some recordings of the playlist name, stored them as mp3's in a folder called 'talky', assigned them using .licrc. 
Now when I press button 1 it says 'All my tracks', button 2 'This Weeks Specials' Button 3 'Films and shows'. Pressing the button again plays that playlist otherwise move on to one I want. Therefore button 1 looks like this in .licrc


begin
        prog = irexec
        button = KEY_1
        config = mpc clear; mplayer ~/talky/everything.mp3;
        config = mpc load "All my Tracks";mpc shuffle;mpc play;

end

Good luck - I hope it worked
################################################################################

This is a full config including a list of all the codes you can use with the remote

# Please make this file available to others
# by sending it to
#
# this config file was automatically generated
# using lirc-0.9.0-pre1(default) on Sun Jan 19 10:13:19 2014
#
# contributed by
#
# brand:                      KEYES
# model no. of remote control:
# devices being controlled by this remote:
#

begin remote

  name  KEYES
  bits           16
  flags SPACE_ENC|CONST_LENGTH
  eps            30
  aeps          100

  header       9281  4484
  one           622  1657
  zero          622   513
  ptrail        622
  repeat       9241  2236
  pre_data_bits   16
  pre_data       0xFF
  gap          109259
  toggle_bit_mask 0x0

      begin codes
          KEY_VOLUMEUP                   0x629D
          KEY_VOLUMEDOWN                 0xA857
          KEY_PREVIOUSSONG                 0x22DD
          KEY_NEXTSONG             0xC23D
          KEY_PAUSE                 0x02FD
          KEY_1                    0x6897
          KEY_2                    0x9867
          KEY_3                    0xB04F
          KEY_4                    0x30CF
          KEY_5                    0x18E7
          KEY_6                    0x7A85
          KEY_7                    0x10EF
          KEY_8                    0x38C7
          KEY_9                    0x5AA5
          KEY_0                    0x4AB5
          KEY_SHUFFLE         0x42BD
          KEY_NUMERIC_POUND        0x52AD
      end codes

end remote

KEY_0
KEY_102ND
KEY_1
KEY_2
KEY_3
KEY_4
KEY_5
KEY_6
KEY_7
KEY_8
KEY_9
KEY_A
KEY_AB
KEY_ADDRESSBOOK
KEY_AGAIN
KEY_ALTERASE
KEY_ANGLE
KEY_APOSTROPHE
KEY_ARCHIVE
KEY_AUDIO
KEY_AUX
KEY_B
KEY_BACK
KEY_BACKSLASH
KEY_BACKSPACE
KEY_BASSBOOST
KEY_BATTERY
KEY_BLUE
KEY_BLUETOOTH
KEY_BOOKMARKS
KEY_BREAK
KEY_BRIGHTNESS_CYCLE
KEY_BRIGHTNESSDOWN
KEY_BRIGHTNESSUP
KEY_BRIGHTNESS_ZERO
KEY_BRL_DOT10
KEY_BRL_DOT1
KEY_BRL_DOT2
KEY_BRL_DOT3
KEY_BRL_DOT4
KEY_BRL_DOT5
KEY_BRL_DOT6
KEY_BRL_DOT7
KEY_BRL_DOT8
KEY_BRL_DOT9
KEY_C
KEY_CALC
KEY_CALENDAR
KEY_CAMERA
KEY_CANCEL
KEY_CAPSLOCK
KEY_CD
KEY_CHANNEL
KEY_CHANNELDOWN
KEY_CHANNELUP
KEY_CHAT
KEY_CLEAR
KEY_CLOSE
KEY_CLOSECD
KEY_COFFEE
KEY_COMMA
KEY_COMPOSE
KEY_COMPUTER
KEY_CONFIG
KEY_CONNECT
KEY_CONTEXT_MENU
KEY_COPY
KEY_CUT
KEY_CYCLEWINDOWS
KEY_D
KEY_DASHBOARD
KEY_DATABASE
KEY_DEL_EOL
KEY_DEL_EOS
KEY_DELETE
KEY_DELETEFILE
KEY_DEL_LINE
KEY_DIGITS
KEY_DIRECTION
KEY_DIRECTORY
KEY_DISPLAY_OFF
KEY_DISPLAYTOGGLE
KEY_DOCUMENTS
KEY_DOLLAR
KEY_DOT
KEY_DOWN
KEY_DVD
KEY_E
KEY_EDIT
KEY_EDITOR
KEY_EJECTCD
KEY_EJECTCLOSECD
KEY_EMAIL
KEY_END
KEY_ENTER
KEY_EPG
KEY_EQUAL
KEY_ESC
KEY_EURO
KEY_EXIT
KEY_F10
KEY_F11
KEY_F12
KEY_F13
KEY_F14
KEY_F15
KEY_F1
KEY_F16
KEY_F17
KEY_F18
KEY_F19
KEY_F20
KEY_F21
KEY_F22
KEY_F23
KEY_F24
KEY_F2
KEY_F
KEY_F3
KEY_F4
KEY_F5
KEY_F6
KEY_F7
KEY_F8
KEY_F9
KEY_FASTFORWARD
KEY_FAVORITES
KEY_FILE
KEY_FINANCE
KEY_FIND
KEY_FIRST
KEY_FN
KEY_FN_1
KEY_FN_2
KEY_FN_B
KEY_FN_D
KEY_FN_E
KEY_FN_ESC
KEY_FN_F
KEY_FN_F10
KEY_FN_F1
KEY_FN_F11
KEY_FN_F12
KEY_FN_F2
KEY_FN_F3
KEY_FN_F4
KEY_FN_F5
KEY_FN_F6
KEY_FN_F7
KEY_FN_F8
KEY_FN_F9
KEY_FN_S
KEY_FORWARD
KEY_FORWARDMAIL
KEY_FRAMEBACK
KEY_FRAMEFORWARD
KEY_FRONT
KEY_G
KEY_GAMES
KEY_GOTO
KEY_GRAPHICSEDITOR
KEY_GRAVE
KEY_GREEN
KEY_H
KEY_HANGEUL
KEY_HANJA
KEY_HELP
KEY_HENKAN
KEY_HIRAGANA
KEY_HOME
KEY_HOMEPAGE
KEY_HP
KEY_I
KEY_INFO
KEY_INSERT
KEY_INS_LINE
KEY_ISO
KEY_J
KEY_K
KEY_KATAKANA
KEY_KATAKANAHIRAGANA
KEY_KBDILLUMDOWN
KEY_KBDILLUMTOGGLE
KEY_KBDILLUMUP
KEY_KEYBOARD
KEY_KP0
KEY_KP1
KEY_KP2
KEY_KP3
KEY_KP4
KEY_KP5
KEY_KP6
KEY_KP7
KEY_KP8
KEY_KP9
KEY_KPASTERISK
KEY_KPCOMMA
KEY_KPDOT
KEY_KPENTER
KEY_KPEQUAL
KEY_KPJPCOMMA
KEY_KPLEFTPAREN
KEY_KPMINUS
KEY_KPPLUS
KEY_KPPLUSMINUS
KEY_KPRIGHTPAREN
KEY_KPSLASH
KEY_L
KEY_LANGUAGE
KEY_LAST
KEY_LEFT
KEY_LEFTALT
KEY_LEFTBRACE
KEY_LEFTCTRL
KEY_LEFTMETA
KEY_LEFTSHIFT
KEY_LINEFEED
KEY_LIST
KEY_LOGOFF
KEY_M
KEY_MACRO
KEY_MAIL
KEY_MAX
KEY_MEDIA
KEY_MEDIA_REPEAT
KEY_MEMO
KEY_MENU
KEY_MESSENGER
KEY_MHP
KEY_MINUS
KEY_MODE
KEY_MOVE
KEY_MP3
KEY_MSDOS
KEY_MUHENKAN
KEY_MUTE
KEY_N
KEY_NEW
KEY_NEWS
KEY_NEXT
KEY_NEXTSONG
KEY_NUMERIC_0
KEY_NUMERIC_1
KEY_NUMERIC_2
KEY_NUMERIC_3
KEY_NUMERIC_4
KEY_NUMERIC_5
KEY_NUMERIC_6
KEY_NUMERIC_7
KEY_NUMERIC_8
KEY_NUMERIC_9
KEY_NUMERIC_POUND
KEY_NUMERIC_STAR
KEY_NUMLOCK
KEY_O
KEY_OK
KEY_OPEN
KEY_OPTION
KEY_P
KEY_PAGEDOWN
KEY_PAGEUP
KEY_PASTE
KEY_PAUSE
KEY_PAUSECD
KEY_PC
KEY_PHONE
KEY_PLAY
KEY_PLAYCD
KEY_PLAYER
KEY_PLAYPAUSE
KEY_POWER
KEY_POWER2
KEY_PRESENTATION
KEY_PREVIOUS
KEY_PREVIOUSSONG
KEY_PRINT
KEY_PROG1
KEY_PROG2
KEY_PROG3
KEY_PROG4
KEY_PROGRAM
KEY_PROPS
KEY_PVR
KEY_Q
KEY_QUESTION
KEY_R
KEY_RADIO
KEY_RECORD
KEY_RED
KEY_REDO
KEY_REFRESH
KEY_REPLY
KEY_RESERVED
KEY_RESTART
KEY_REWIND
KEY_RFKILL
KEY_RIGHT
KEY_RIGHTALT
KEY_RIGHTBRACE
KEY_RIGHTCTRL
KEY_RIGHTMETA
KEY_RIGHTSHIFT
KEY_RO
KEY_S
KEY_SAT
KEY_SAT2
KEY_SAVE
KEY_SCALE
KEY_SCREEN
KEY_SCROLLDOWN
KEY_SCROLLLOCK
KEY_SCROLLUP
KEY_SEARCH
KEY_SELECT
KEY_SEMICOLON
KEY_SEND
KEY_SENDFILE
KEY_SETUP
KEY_SHOP
KEY_SHUFFLE
KEY_SLASH
KEY_SLEEP
KEY_SLOW
KEY_SOUND
KEY_SPACE
KEY_SPELLCHECK
KEY_SPORT
KEY_SPREADSHEET
KEY_STOP
KEY_STOPCD
KEY_SUBTITLE
KEY_SUSPEND
KEY_SWITCHVIDEOMODE
KEY_SYSRQ
KEY_T
KEY_TAB
KEY_TAPE
KEY_TEEN
KEY_TEXT
KEY_TIME
KEY_TITLE
KEY_TUNER
KEY_TV
KEY_TV2
KEY_TWEN
KEY_U
KEY_UNDO
KEY_UNKNOWN
KEY_UP
KEY_UWB
KEY_V
KEY_VCR
KEY_VCR2
KEY_VENDOR
KEY_VIDEO
KEY_VIDEO_NEXT
KEY_VIDEOPHONE
KEY_VIDEO_PREV
KEY_VOICEMAIL
KEY_VOLUMEDOWN
KEY_VOLUMEUP
KEY_W
KEY_WAKEUP
KEY_WIMAX
KEY_WLAN
KEY_WORDPROCESSOR
KEY_WWW
KEY_X
KEY_XFER
KEY_Y
KEY_YELLOW
KEY_YEN
KEY_Z
KEY_ZENKAKUHANKAKU
KEY_ZOOM
KEY_ZOOMIN
KEY_ZOOMOUT
KEY_ZOOMRESET
BTN_0
BTN_1
BTN_2
BTN_3
BTN_4
BTN_5
BTN_6
BTN_7
BTN_8
BTN_9
BTN_A
BTN_B
BTN_BACK
BTN_BASE
BTN_BASE2
BTN_BASE3
BTN_BASE4
BTN_BASE5
BTN_BASE6
BTN_C
BTN_DEAD
BTN_DIGI
BTN_EXTRA
BTN_FORWARD
BTN_GAMEPAD
BTN_GEAR_DOWN
BTN_GEAR_UP
BTN_JOYSTICK
BTN_LEFT
BTN_MIDDLE
BTN_MISC
BTN_MODE
BTN_MOUSE
BTN_PINKIE
BTN_RIGHT
BTN_SELECT
BTN_SIDE
BTN_START
BTN_STYLUS
BTN_STYLUS2
BTN_TASK
BTN_THUMB
BTN_THUMB2
BTN_THUMBL
BTN_THUMBR
BTN_TL
BTN_TL2
BTN_TOOL_AIRBRUSH
BTN_TOOL_BRUSH
BTN_TOOL_DOUBLETAP
BTN_TOOL_FINGER
BTN_TOOL_LENS
BTN_TOOL_MOUSE
BTN_TOOL_PEN
BTN_TOOL_PENCIL
BTN_TOOL_QUADTAP
BTN_TOOL_RUBBER
BTN_TOOL_TRIPLETAP
BTN_TOP
BTN_TOP2
BTN_TOUCH
BTN_TR
BTN_TR2
BTN_TRIGGER
BTN_WHEEL
BTN_X
BTN_Y
BTN_Z