PrecIR/hardware/esl_blaster

ESL Blaster

USB IR transmitter firmware and hardware design files.

Sometimes available for purchase on Tindie.

Installation

For Linux and Windows 7 you might have to download the STM32 VCP driver. Windows 8 and up should install the correct driver automatically.

The device will simply appear as a Virtual COM Port. As there's no real COM Port interface, speed and data format doesn't matter.

Firmware update

Short the two solder pads on the back:

Plug the device in and use dfu-util-0.9-win64 with FWxx\Release\program.bat to update the firmware.

Don't forget to disconnect the pads once done.

• FW01: Basic functionality
• FW02: PP16 high speed protocol support, more storage for remote mode frames (14 instead of 8)

Using a non-rechargeable (CR2032) battery

Disconnect the two solder pads next to the push-button to disable the charging circuit:

Protocol info

This is the top-level serial protocol info to communicate with the ESL Blaster, not the ESL IR protocol itself.

Commands are a single character (byte):

• ?: Ask for ID string. Replies with ESLBlasterXY. X is the hardware revision (B), Y is the firmware version minus 1 (currently 0 or 1).
• L: Load frame data. Format: LsdrRx.... s: frame size in bytes. d: delay between repeats. r: repeat count low byte. R: repeat count high byte. x: frame data...
  • In FW02, the highest bit of R is used to indicate PP16 transmission. Repeat max count is therefore reduced to 32767 instead of 65535.
• T: Transmit loaded frame. Returns K when done.
• S: Emergency stop. Stops any IR transmit operation.
• W: Start user flash write sequence. Send 1024 bytes in 128 byte blocks, wait for K (ok) or N (error) reply after each block, and one last reply for program ok/fail.
• R: Read user flash (starts at 0x8007C00). Replies with 512 bytes.