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Teardown Tuesday: Smart Remote Control

May 10, 2016 by Alex Udanis

What's inside a smart universal remote control?

What's inside a smart universal remote control?

Tired of having a handful of remotes to control your home entertainment system? AnyMote Home is here to fix that. AnyMote Home is a universal remote control that pairs to your smartphone over Bluetooth. Using the AnyMote app or an Amazon Echo, you're able to control all sorts of devices— from TVs to some air conditioners!

 

The AnyMote Home and companion app 

 

Physical Power Switch

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The hard on/off slide switch 

 

A rarity on many modern electronics, the AnyMote uses a physical power switch to disconnect the two AA batteries from the rest of the electronics. This is a small SPDT toggle switch that is held in place with two self-tapping/plastic screws. Stamped into the metal body of the switch is “TOY”.

Voltage Regulator

 

The block diagram of the TI SOC with the voltage regulator circled 

 

This product doesn’t employ a typical discrete voltage regulator that is found on many electronics. Instead, the remote uses the 1.8-V on-chip voltage regulator that is found on the TI SOC. The voltage to the SOC is directly Vbat that is filtered through several capacitors. The SOC can run from 2V to 3.6V which is in the range that two alkaline batteries can provide. To increase the voltage stability to the SOC there is a 16V 220uf electrolytic capacitor on the supply line.

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The 220uF 16V capacitor to stabilize the battery voltage

 

IR Receiver

 

IR Receiver on the Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The Vishay IR receiver on the remote control 

 

The AnyMote app has many IR commands pre-installed, but if it does not have your device, this remote control has the ability to learn the IR codes of other remotes. To obtain this ability, the AnyMote Home uses a Vishay IR Receiver Module (PDF). Inside of this epoxy package, there is a visible light filter, pin diode, and preamplifier. This receiver is available in several options, including preset carrier frequencies. This IR receiver is compatible with most remote control schemes.

Bluetooth Module

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The TI CC2541 Bluetooth-enabled SOC 

 

The sole IC located in this AnyMote Home is a TI Bluetooth SOC. The TI CC2541 controls all of the operations of this product. This SOC handles the voltage regulation internally, all Bluetooth functionality, manages the low-power mode, and indirectly runs the IR LEDs.

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The Bluetooth trace antenna  

 

Mounted in one of the corners of the circuit board is a small trace antenna. This antenna is used to send and receive the 2.4GHz signal. This antenna allows the AnyMote to have a Bluetooth range of 200 feet.  

IR Emitters

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

All four IR emitters on the smart remote's PCB 

 

The AnyMote uses four IR LEDs to transmit the remote commands to a TV or other IR receivers. These 3mm IR LEDs are laid out 90 degrees apart on the circuit board.  

 

IR Emitter on the Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The IR emitter and MOSFET on the AnyMote 

 

Since the SOC can not directly drive the high-power IR LEDs that are used for transmitting IR light, four MOSFETs are used to control the LEDs. The AnyMote uses four IRLML2502 (PDF) from International Rectifier. These are N-Channel MOSFET with an SOT-23-3 footprint.  

Logo Illuminator

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The AnyMote Home with its back-lit logo 

 

The AnyMote has a logo on the top of it that emits a cool white light in an elegant fashion when the remote is turned on, during pairing, or when it's in use. This light module uses two surface-mount LEDs and an etched piece of clear plastic to diffuse the light.

 

Smart Bluetooth Remote Control - Photo By: Alex Udanis

The LED backlight module for the AnyMote 

 

Conclusion

The AnyMote is a powerful remote that can be used in place of many others. The companion app has many remote controls pre-programmed and the ability to learn other IR commands. The design of the AnyMote Home is a relatively simple and efficient one that achieves what it is was designed for. 

A big thank you to Color Tiger for sending us this remote and making this teardown possible! 

Thanks for looking at this week's Teardown Tuesday!  

Stop by next Tuesday for another teardown! We're always looking for new things to teardown, so if you have any suggestions or would like to contribute an item for a future Teardown Tuesday, click here for my email address.

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2 Comments
  • S
    shelbeysays May 12, 2016

    I noticed that these circuit boards are yellow versus the traditional green. Is there a reason for this? Love the small details in the photography.

    Like. Reply
    • Tobytronic Cat February 14, 2019
      I know this is an oldish article, but after reading nearly all of the 'Teardown-Tuesday' articles and waiting for a response to this question, I came across this: https://www.ourpcb.com/pcb-color-code.html Completely different to the answer to the reason I would have given. Straight from the horses mouth, so to speak. We really do live in a marvelous era of remarkable technological 'things' :-)
      Like. Reply