[chbot] Arlec PC189HA - IR Enhancement

[Richard Jones]

What follows is what I would have liked to have shown at this evening's
meeting. What I describe could be very dangerous, so follow at your own
risk and only if you know what you are doing.

Bunnings sell a wifi controlled smart socket for about $21 which contains a
TYWE2S module which is ESP8266 compatible. The TYWE2S module has 5 spare
GPIO lines just waiting to be used for projects. The model I have is
PC189HA which has been superseded by PC190HA which I believe is very
similar.

I added an infra-red LED with a transistor driver to allow IR remote
control of devices like Air conditioners, TV and so on. The software I use
is open source Tasmota available as a binary download and is readily
configured using the Tasmota documentation. The PC189HA can be re-flashed
over wifi using Tuya convert, but the PC190HA requires a serial connection.
For initial testing I flashed the binary into a NodeMCU module to
experiment with receiving the IR commands from the original remote, and for
testing the IR driver. For final testing in the PC189HA I drove the unit
from a 5V supply, as the internal PSU is not isolated from the mains
supply. The hardest part of the project was opening the case secured by two
three-wing screws.

Link to photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/yNe4aGuGRQuzbvh49

Link to Tasmota Project: https://tasmota.github.io/docs/

Cheers

Richard Jones
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