Main Content

Homemade TV B-Gone

Make a remote to turn off any TV with an Arduino and some simple electronics!

In this tutorial we’re going to make an Arduino TV B-Gone and it’s super simple. If you’re not familiar with a TV B-Gone, it’s a device that uses a small micro-controller to send the IR off codes for every TV make and model on the planet. This is a super handy little device to have around as it just turns the TV off. No looking for the right remote. The TV B-Gone is also handy for venues like sports bars and the like. At the end of the night you just hold up the TV B-Gone and turn off every TV in the venue. No hunting for the remotes. And it doesn’t matter which brand. One TV B-Gone and all the TVs turn off. These are also sometimes called TV killers or a TV kill switch.

In our project, we’re going to use an Arduino Uno to replicate the functionality of a TV B-Gone using an IR transmitter and button. You could of course use an even smaller Arduino to build this project, such as an Arduino Nano if you planned to put it into a permanent case.

Make an Arduino TV B-Gone: Wiring It Up
The first thing we need to do is wire the Arduino based TV B-Gone up. Follow the wiring diagram below. In the diagram below we are using a standalone IR LED. If your IR LED is on a module from an Arduino kit it may have three pins. This is because one of the pins on these modules already includes the current limiting resistor. In that case, you will not need to use an additional resistor in your setup.”

Link to article