Remote Control Any Holiday Decoration (A RTPlayground2 Project)

Here's a really easy way to use pretty much any infrared remote control to activate an animated holiday decoration that you can pick up at any party store. If the holiday decoration has a Try Me button or a Press Here button, this method should work. Since all we are going to do is detect the infrared light from a remote control and not actually decode it, you can pretty much use any button on the control to start/stop the animated decoration.

An animated holiday decoration with a Try Me or Press Here button (available at most chain drugstores or party stores)

RTPlayground2 Inventor's Kit (make your own with my instructable or purchase it from Reach and Teach)

Wire cutter/wire stripper

IR control (pretty much any will do, a universal remote will work)

The "Try Me" switch is usually attached to the box that the animated decoration is shipped, so it is pretty easy to get to. For animated stuffed animals, like the one I'm working with in this instructable, the switch is located in one of the feet of the animal so you need to make a small slit in the fabric to get to the switch. Either way, just cut of the switch and strip the two wires attached to the animated decoration.

If desired, you can make this connection a bit more finished looking by crimping a square post tin crimp pins to each wire and covering the connections with a small piece of shrink tubing. Anyway, that's what I did on mine.

I'm assuming you've already put fresh batteries into the animated decoration and turned the power switch on. If everything is working, briefly shorting the two pieces of wire together should get the animated decoration to start playing. Briefly shorting the two pieces of wire again should get it to stop.

The LCA710 solid state relay board makes it super easy to replace any low voltage switch with a digitally controlled switch. If desired, more detailed instructions can be found in Step 1 of the instructable Computer Controlled Tinkering w/o Writing Code. But basically, all you need to do is alligator clip pad A0 of the Circuit Playground Express to the Digital Control Input (colored red) of the solid state relay board and alligator clip any Gnd pad of the Circuit Playground Express to Digital Ground (colored black) of the solid state relay board. Attach the two wires from the animated decoration to the Switch outputs (colored green) on the solid state relay board.

RTPlayground2 Pgm 1 responds to both an IR remote control and loud sounds.

All you need to do is point any IR remote control at the Circuit Playground Express and press most any button and the animated decoration should activate. Do this again and it should turn off. Let me know in the comments if you build this and post a photo of any fun things you have found to control.