How to check the TV remote control for functionality

Until recently, to change the channel on the TV or turn down the volume, you had to get up from the couch and walk across the room. Children were often used for these purposes, reluctantly looking up from their activities to press the button. Today, the need for this has disappeared, and remote control of almost all devices in the house has firmly entered our lives, making it even more convenient and comfortable.

How to check if the remote control is working

The remote control is a small device equipped with an infrared LED, a transmitter and a keyboard. Designed to control various electronic devices from a distance. In order for it to work, it needs a power source and a functional “filling” consisting of special microcircuits. Among them there must be a transmitter that sends a signal to the receiver. You also need a working LED, through which the signal is sent to the device. If, by pressing the buttons, you cannot get a response from the receiving gadget, many begin to suspect that the remote control is broken. But before you start repairing, you need to find out the cause of the breakdown.

Important! If your remote control has stopped working, the first thing you need to do is check whether the device you are trying to control is connected to a 220V network.

The remote control works in tandem with a device equipped with a receiver that picks up only the frequency that the remote control transmits. If for some reason the gadget does not receive a signal, then the remote control may seem broken, although in fact it is not. To make sure that the problem is really in the remote control, you need to follow the following instructions:

1. Make sure that the receiving device is plugged into the outlet.
2. Make sure there is voltage at the outlets. Knocked out plugs or maintenance work on the line often indicate a lack of voltage in the network.
3. Check the functionality of the device itself by turning it on directly from the control panel. If the check shows that everything is in order, we proceed to testing the remote control itself. To do this, you need to know what most often causes the little assistant to malfunction.
4. The first thing to check is the power source. Perhaps the batteries in the remote control are simply dead and by simply changing them, you will restore its functionality.
5. The next step is to check the functionality of the LED and transmitter.

Advice! Even if you recently changed the batteries in the remote control, this does not guarantee their serviceability. It is not uncommon for completely new power supplies to not produce the declared voltage. Ideally, having an ordinary voltmeter, you can measure the voltage in the batteries - it should be at least 1.5V for alkaline batteries and 1.2V for rechargeable batteries.

How to check for an infrared signal

The IR signal coming from the remote control can be checked using any digital video or photo camera; even the simplest camera from a mobile phone will do. Its lens is capable of capturing a much wider color spectrum than the human eye.By directing an imaginary beam emanating from the remote control to the camera lens and pressing the remote control button, you can see a pale purple glow in the LED area. If there is no light, the device does not work. Low glow intensity may indicate low battery charge.

Important! Some modern smartphones, such as the iPhone 4s, have special light filters that can filter out the infrared spectrum of light and not display it on the screen. That is, the simpler your lens, the better suited it is for testing the remote control for performance.

When checking in this way, you need to know for sure that your remote control works by transmitting an infrared signal. Although IR remote controls are the overwhelming majority today, scientific and technological progress does not stand still, and remote control/device pairs that “communicate” using a radio signal are already being produced.

How to determine what is broken in the remote control

LEDs used in remote control systems, as a rule, rarely fail, but this still happens sometimes. If the LED does not work, then you will not be able to see the glow using the camera lens. In this case, you can use a regular radio to check the functionality of the remote control. To do this, you need to set the receiver to a frequency free from AM radio stations, and bring the remote control to the receiver and simply press the buttons on its keyboard. If there is a signal, the radio receiver will emit a characteristic crackling sound when you press a button on the remote control. Of course, there are special devices for checking infrared signals, which are used for professional purposes to repair and configure complex devices. However, their use at home is not advisable.

If testing the remote control for operability gives negative results, then its repair should be carried out by a specialist. Due to the fairly low price of the remote control and the high cost of qualified repair work, it is economically profitable to buy a new signal transmission device at a distance that is suitable for your gadget. But if the remote control is working properly, but the device still does not respond to the signal, the likely cause of the breakdown is the receiver. In this case, you should contact a household appliance repair specialist.