Broken Remote

[GrymReaper]

First and foremost, thanks in advance for any response/help that you can provide.

5 years ago, my wife an I purchased a Christmas tree with a rotating base. The base has a sensor that you plug into the bottom of the base and is controlled by a remote. Last year the remote did not work. I opened up the remote and noticed that one of the bulbs that sends the signal to the sensor was very loose; most likely from the result of being in a basement for 11 out of 12 months of the year. I was able to re-solder the metal to the board in the remote and it worked fine. This year the solder has popped out and ripped the green plating from the board rendering it totally useless. On the bright side, my mother in law purchased the same tree with the same remote. Luckily for me, the remote uses the same codes for my base. Probably all remotes use the same codes.

I have heard of universal training/learning remotes but 1) I have no idea if my remote is IR or LED or something else, 2) I can only find training remotes that appear to be all in ones for home theaters etc, and 3) I am totally uninformed about how you can actually "train" the remote. Do you point the old remote at the new one and turn on a "learn" feature to the remote?

Anyway, if this is something that I can use, can anyone provide a bit more info on these remotes and whether or not I can get a cheap one (<$10) to operate the on/off of Lights, Music, and Rotation.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

P.S. My tree is currently spinning with the lights on because if we unplug it, Santa will come to a tree that does not go on and my 3-year old will be very sad.

:φ

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Unless that hole is of a plated thru variety used as a via, you should have no problem scraping away some of the resist from the trace leading to the hole and soldering a hefty, like 24 AWG wire along the trace to where the original hole was. Bend the wire into a circle.

If it works, then secure the LED and whaever else that likes to get loose with some sensor safe RTV found in an auto parts store.

 

[jtourangeau]

new remote

on the subject of a new remote"if you cant fix your old one".if its an "ir" the remote that sends out a frequency as in your tv... if you hit the power button on your remote to shut it off, your feq is the same as if you turn it on.on every remote there is a code that corisponds with a frequency .some remotes are 3# digit codes some remotes are 5# digit codes...and so on.it dont nessisarly matter on the brand of tv/device,but more on the remote itself and the freq. that it will put out.not the power or bells and whistles.but the ease of use will be more important to you and mostly ...keep the recipt...and go to the next one till you get it.it could take a while since most univer. remotes can store around 1000 codes,or freq.as long as you have the "book" that comes w/the remote,and have an understanding how to "shoot" diff "codes" at the device,you have a good chance....after 2 er 3 remotes and 4000 diff codes.you may get it on the first try....although sony is usually 001 or 0001/0002....try 0003? goodluck jt,,,,,,

 

[DerStrom8]

I have one of those universal "learning remotes" for my bedroom (sound system, tv, dvd player, radio, etc). The great thing about the learning remotes is that you don't have to use the buttons on the remote for the same function for which they are labeled. For example, my learning remote did not have an "eject" button (useful for the dvd player). So, instead, I found a button that I wasn't using for anything else ("exit", in this case) and programmed that to eject. To do this, my remote requires me to press and hold the "set" button until the LED indicator blinks on, then press the button that I want to use (i.e. "exit"), point the old remote at it and hold down the "eject" button on the old remote until the indicator goes off, and then press "set" again. If you can get a hold of one of these remotes, you can also program in the "codes" for your tv, dvd player, etc., so that you can control your christmas tree, along with anything else in the room that uses a remote.
Sorry if this sounds really complicated. If you have any more questions, just ask and I will try to answer them
Good luck!
Der Strom

 

[GrymReaper]

I have one of those universal "learning remotes" for my bedroom (sound system, tv, dvd player, radio, etc). The great thing about the learning remotes is that you don't have to use the buttons on the remote for the same function for which they are labeled. For example, my learning remote did not have an "eject" button (useful for the dvd player). So, instead, I found a button that I wasn't using for anything else ("exit", in this case) and programmed that to eject. To do this, my remote requires me to press and hold the "set" button until the LED indicator blinks on, then press the button that I want to use (i.e. "exit"), point the old remote at it and hold down the "eject" button on the old remote until the indicator goes off, and then press "set" again. If you can get a hold of one of these remotes, you can also program in the "codes" for your tv, dvd player, etc., so that you can control your christmas tree, along with anything else in the room that uses a remote.
Sorry if this sounds really complicated. If you have any more questions, just ask and I will try to answer them
Good luck!
Der Strom

Yeah, I understand the remote for the most part, my concern in paying $50 bucks for a remote to turn a tree lol

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Learning remotes can be had for about $15.