Overall Design

The project is comprised of a main base unit that directly controls the audio equipment and satellite control panels that connect to it. The base unit uses IR signals to control the audio equipment, avoiding any need to modify the user’s existing system. This allows any make or model component to be controlled by the system, so long as it can be controlled by IR signals and its IR codes are available. The individual satellite control panels connect to the base unit through simple wiring. Each control panel has a keypad and LCD display. Using the keypad, the user is able to select from many different audio input devices. Standard user commands are available such as play, pause, stop, forward, and reverse. The command availability depends upon the chosen audio source. The LCD panel provides the user with visible feedback about what device is currently selected and what command is currently being entered. The device provides an interface to Winamp using the UART. This allows the user to control Winamp like a standard audio device. It also provides feedback to the user by printing and scrolling the title of the current track to the satellite LCD panels.