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Using a Voice-Activated Switch to Control My TV Remote Mute Button

Ralphy27

Jul 18, 2017
3
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
3
Hi Everyone!

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to use a voice activated switch to trigger the Mute button on a TV remote control?
I'm not talking about auto-sensing the commercials and muting the sound, just using my voice be able to mute/unmute the audio when it hears my command.

I work from home, and usually have CNN on all the time. If I hear one more pharmaceutical commercial I think my head is going to explode!

I found this voice activated switch which looks like it might work, just don't know how to have it toggle the Mute function on my TV.

https://enablingdevices.com/catalog...und-activated-switches/sound-activated-switch

I'm an IT/Repair person, and have decent wiring and soldering skills.

Many thanks in advance for any help!

Ralph
 

Braeden Hamson

Feb 18, 2016
240
Joined
Feb 18, 2016
Messages
240
This sounds like a good project for an arduino. So, you can connect a microphone to the arduino. A circuit like this one will run the microphone pretty well.

http://www.circuitdiagramworld.com/uploads/allimg/201411/Op-Amp-Microphone-Pre-Amp.gif

Or a plug and play solution.

Adafruit Mic


I'm not quite good enough at arduinos to write the code but the function would be basic. It might be something like.


Code:
if PinVoltage > TriggerVoltage { \\when first clap detected
    for (5 seconds)
     if PinVoltage > TriggerVoltage { \\Waiting for second clap
        MuteButtonPinVoltage = 3v \\Applies power to mute
      }
 }



(You could attach a potentiometer for sound sensitivity.) When it detected the voltage spike it would apply a voltage pulse to a universal remote's mute button. This would be done by soldering a wire onto the trace, and another to the remotes negative terminal. You could eliminate the remote if you could figure out how to read the remotes signal pulses. It's possible they're listed somewhere? But a universal remote would be easiest. You could also trim off any superfluous buttons if you're concerned with packaging.
 
Last edited:

kellys_eye

Jun 25, 2010
6,514
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
6,514
Tune to a different channel.... I mean....CNN???? c'mon.......:p
 

Ralphy27

Jul 18, 2017
3
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
3
This sounds like a good project for an arduino. So, you can connect a microphone to the arduino. A circuit like this one will run the microphone pretty well.

http://www.circuitdiagramworld.com/uploads/allimg/201411/Op-Amp-Microphone-Pre-Amp.gif

Or a plug and play solution.

Adafruit Mic


I'm not quite good enough at arduinos to write the code but the function would be basic. It might be something like.


Code:
if PinVoltage > TriggerVoltage { \\when first clap detected
    for (5 seconds)
     if PinVoltage > TriggerVoltage { \\Waiting for second clap
        MuteButtonPinVoltage = 3v \\Applies power to mute
      }
 }



(You could attach a potentiometer for sound sensitivity.) When it detected the voltage spike it would apply a voltage pulse to a universal remote's mute button. This would be done by soldering a wire onto the trace, and another to the remotes negative terminal. You could eliminate the remote if you could figure out how to read the remotes signal pulses. It's possible they're listed somewhere? But a universal remote would be easiest. You could also trim off any superfluous buttons if you're concerned with packaging.


Thanks, Braeden! I'll look in to it.
 

kellys_eye

Jun 25, 2010
6,514
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
6,514
Even your bog-standard 'clap switch' could do the job if you wired the output across the mute button!

Should be fairly simple to discover the IR code for the mute on/off signals and wire a serial EPROM to output the relevant string on receipt of a 'clap' or other sound-activated signal.

Check eBay for sound-activated switches. I bet the Chinese distributors do them 10-for-a-buck :D
 

Irv

Jun 7, 2017
112
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
112
One possibility, if you don't want to hack into a remote control, would involve an Arduino, an infrared sensor, infrared emitter, and a electret microphone. Most of those things come in the generic "builder" kits you see everywhere (Amazon, particularly).
Use the IR sensor to record the "mute" signal from your TV remote control, then program the Arduino to emit the same signal whever it hears a loud "Shaddup!" from you :)
Could either make it turn back on after 30 or 60 seconds, or wait for another loud sound before it toggles back on.
This will cost a bit more, but you'll have all sort of other things you could build as well. I suggest facial recognition to mute all newscasters. Life will be better without "Dan Blather".
 
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