Linux Infrared HOWTO

Werner Heuser

Linux Mobile Edition  Edition

Version 3.7

TuxMobil

Berlin

$Date: 2005/10/08 14:29:43 $

The Infrared-HOWTO provides an introduction to Linux and infrared devices and how to use the software provided by the Linux/IrDA project. This package uses IrDA(TM) compliant standards. IrDA(TM) is an industrial standard for infrared wireless communication, and most laptops made after January 1996 are equipped with an IrDA(TM) compliant infrared transceiver. Infrared ports let you communicate with printers, modems, fax machines, LANs, and other laptops or PDAs. Speed ranges from 2400bps to 4Mbps.

The Linux/IrDA stack supports IrLAP, IrLMP, IrIAS, IrIAP, IrLPT, IrCOMM, IrOBEX, and IrLAN. Several of the protocols are implemented as both clients and servers. There is also support for multiple IrLAP connections, via several IrDA(TM) devices at once. The Linux/IrDA project started at the end of 1997 and experienced some major rewrites since then. Please don't expect every feature working straight yet. As far as I know Linux/IrDA is the only open source IrDA implementation available.

Remote Control (RC) via infrared is the aim of the Linux Infrared Remote Control - LIRC project, and also described in this HOWTO.


Table of Contents
Preface
1. About the Document
2. Status of the Document
3. About the Author
I. IrDA
1. About the Linux/IrDA Project
2. Getting Started
3. Specific Connections and IrDA - Protocols
4. Hardware Supported by Linux/IrDA
5. Advanced Topics
II. Infrared Remote Control
6. Introduction
7. Linux Infrared Remote Control - LIRC
8. Lego Mindstorm
9. Serial Infrared Remote Controller
10. Infrared Tools for the COREL Netwinder PC
11. ir
12. irmctl
13. IRManager
14. irXxD
15. XR3
16. IR File Chooser
17. IControl
18. jlirc
19. lircemu
20. tonto
21. Infrared Remote Control ./. IrDA
III. Appendix
A. Credits
B. Revision History
C. Serial Infrared Port Sniffers
D. Infrared Light and Eye Safety
E. Copyrights, Disclaimer, Trademarks
List of Figures
5-1. IrDA Stack