The Infrared Plug is a small board which can send and receive modulated infrared signals, as commonly used by many remote controls and appliances around the house.

The board uses a CMOS 555-timer chip to generate the 38 KHz carrier frequency, and requires no further adjustments due to the use of 1% precision parts. An on-board transistor controls one or two IR emitter LEDs (≈ 50 mA for one LED, or ≈ 100 mA for two).

The pre-assembled version comes with the SMD-sized 555 chip and support components already soldered onto the board. Two IR emitter LEDs and an IR receiver sensor are also included, for mounting on the board or for connection via short wires. Note that no 6-pin headers are included.

The PCB only variant contains just the board for the Infrared Plug. No parts, no headers.

As connectors you can use a set with 10 male and 10 female 6-pin headers, which makes it easy to connect multiple plugs and JeeNodes in a “standard” way. Or you can solder the board directly in place for more permanent use.

The are freely available.