Apple IR USB Header

[Hilbe]

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I saw some posts about buying an Apple IR receiver from a MBP and putting a USB connector on the end. I'm going to try soldering on a USB header onto mine so I can hook it directly up to my motherboard. That way the IR receiver be internal/hidden away for the most part. I'm going to make sure just the "eye" is visible to the outside of my case.

Anyone else do the USB header mod?

 

[Hilbe]

I got the parts ordered today, so hopefully within a week I'll do my build. I'm going to solder and heat shrink my connections too. Excited

IR Receiver ($35.65):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0573960952

USB Header ($6.98):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0728147681

Total: $42.63

 

[Hilbe]

My project is complete. I have a IR hidden in my case with the IR going directly into a USB header on my motherboard. The IR is very sensitive apparently, I have the receiver tucked behind a plate with a grill next to it.

This project was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I will upload my photos shortly.

 

[Hilbe]

1. Remove the black USB header connector from one end of the cable. I used a tiny flat head screw driver to gently lift up on the black plastic clips on each wire. You can see below I'm 3/5 of the way.

2. Remove the white Apple IR connector. Use a similar motion as used on the USB header connector. Once they are both off you should have wires as seen below.

3. Insert the Apple IR wires inside the connectors on the USB header cable. The connectors are small enough that they will slide in a bit into the larger USB connectors. Connect as follows: Red -> Red, Yellow -> White, Green -> Green, Black -> Small Black.

Note: You will have 1 extra black wire on the USB cable. In the original connector it is the last black wire and much thicker than the rest on my cable (red, white, green, small black, large black). The large black one was not needed, so set it off to the side or later cut it off when you prove your wiring works.

4. Secure wiring and test it out. I put a little drip of solder on each of the connections to make sure they would stay together. Once I had verified it worked by plugging into my motherboard, I used heat shrink tubing on each wire to cover the connections up.

I also used larger heat shrink tubing to hide the bundle of wires.

5. Final installation. Plug into your motherboard and secure to some place with external visibility. I chose to put mine inside the grill portion of the case and secure with electrical tape. Even without a real good line of sight due to my case being funky, I am able to use mine without issues.

6. Use it! Mine showed up in System Profiler as seen below. Works perfectly with the white Apple remote I borrowed from my iMac.

 

[jpa]

woooow!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah!!!

 

[rich]

oo nice! pretty expensive for a little IR reciever, but worth it if it acts like a real Mac's

so is there a little hole on the front of your case for a line or sight? i cant see the grill when the case is closed.

 

[Hilbe]

oo nice! pretty expensive for a little IR reciever, but worth it if it acts like a real Mac's

so is there a little hole on the front of your case for a line or sight? i cant see the grill when the case is closed.

Not really. The fan area is covered by the front plate. The grill area is the cut out to the right of the IR. It is about 10 inches tall by 1 inch wide and is a sideways vent for the case fans.

Here is a side view of the case. You can see the cutout for the vent.

 

[tonymacx86]

Nice job with this project!

Goes pretty well with the CustoMac Mini!

 

[zionic]

Is the purpose of this to use it with an apple remote? Sorry if I'm completely stupid.

Otherwise, this is awesome. Gonna have to add it to mine maybe!

 

[Hilbe]

Is the purpose of this to use it with an apple remote? Sorry if I'm completely stupid.

Otherwise, this is awesome. Gonna have to add it to mine maybe!

Yes. This is the Apple IR, so your Hackintosh will use the Apple remotes like a champ (no 3rd party software required). Plug-n-play FTW.

When I build a Hack Mini for my HTPC, I will definitely be making another one.