Hey everyone, I wanted to share my recent project where I built a MQTT-based IR remote control system using an ESP8266 module. It’s been a really fun and educational experience, and I’d love to hear your thoughts or tips! Background I’ve been trying to integrate more smart devices into my living room, but a lot of my older electronics don’t have built-in smart features. So, I decided to create a system that could control them using infrared signals, all managed through MQTT for seamless integration with my home automation setup. The Setup I used an ESP8266 module (specifically the ESP01) as the brain of the system. For the IR receiver, I connected a TSOP sensor to GPIO-0, and for the IR transmitter, I connected an LED to GPIO-3. I also added some pull-up resistors and a simple transistor amplifier to boost the IR signal. The Code The code I wrote allows the ESP8266 to both receive and transmit IR signals. It uses the MQTT protocol to publish received IR codes to specific topics and subscribe to topics that send IR codes back to the devices. For example, when my TV remote sends an IR signal, it gets captured and published to esp8266/02/receiver/NEC/32, which I can then use in rules or scenes. Challenges & Solutions One thing I struggled with was ensuring the GPIO pins were stable, especially GPIO-0. I found that using a pull-up resistor and enabling the TX-only mode on GPIO-3 helped a lot. I also had to experiment with different IR codes and make sure they were compatible with my devices. Future Plans I’m really happy with how this project turned out, but there are a few things I’d like to improve. I plan to migrate the code to use the Homie framework for better device management and OTA updates. I also want to add support for more IR codecs to control additional devices. Final Thoughts This project has been a great way to combine hardware hacking with MQTT and home automation. It’s amazing how much control I can now have over my older devices! If anyone has questions or suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Happy hacking! 