Silicon Chip Online - Using Infrared Devices With Your PC

Talk about infrared communications is fine but how do you actually install an infrared link so that you can communicate with the growing range of IR-enabled gadgets?

If your motherboard has an IR data connector (and most do), you’re already half-way there. All you have to do is plug an IR link device into it, enable IR support in your system BIOS and then install the drivers when the new device is detected during the boot procedure.

If you’re running Windows 95, this will install a "Generic IR Serial Port" in the Ports section of Device Manager. This supports both the DirectIR and IrDA standards. When you reboot the system, you will see an "Infrared Monitor" icon in the System Tray (bottom, right of Taskbar) and, by double-clicking this, you can set up various options as shown in Figs.1-3.

Fig.1: double-clicking the IR icon in the System Tray brings up this box, which shows the available IR devices.

Fig.2: the Options tab lets you enable/disable IR communications and install software for Plug & Play IR devices.

Fig.3: the Preferences dialog lets you choose to play sounds each time an IR device comes within range.

Fig.4: the IR icon as it appears in the System Tray.

Later Windows versions (Windows 98/98SE Windows Me and Windows 2000) operate differently when it comes to infrared. On these systems, the infrared port is stored under "Network adapters" and virtual infrared COM and LPT ports are stored under the Ports section. These systems support the IrDA mode only (unless hacked - see "Mobile Magic").

And that’s really all there is to it. As soon as you bring an IR-enabled gadget (eg, a mouse or a mobile phone) close to the IR link, the two will automatically start communicating.