After spending many hours surfing the net for a way to get my Creative CIMR-100 remote to work with Linux and more specifically amaroK I have decided to write a simple how-to.

First you'll need the lirc package at www.lirc.org . When configuring the lirc package you'll need to configure with --with-driver=creative. I use gentoo so I did LIRC_OPTS="--with-driver=creative" emerge lirc.

Now we will need to configure lirc to use the remote. First you will need the appropriate lircd.conf for the CIMR-100. You can download this configuration from http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/cre ... f.creative , now copy lircd.conf.creative to /etc/lircd.conf. Now you must have serial port support in your kernel, it can be built in or as a module. If you have the support as a module do a 'modprobe 8250' to load the module and bring up your serial ports. It is suggested to put this module in your modules.autoload or whatever file your distro uses for autoloading of modules.

Next we will start the lirc daemon. Running 'lircd --device=/dev/ttyS0 --driver=creative -p 0666' as root should take care of this. If you run into troubles with the lircd try passing the --nodaemon flag to get verbose output, or you may also take a look at /var/log/lircd for any messages. It is also suggested to use an init script to start the lircd and to have it launch again when you reboot.

Finally we can setup IRkick, The KDE Infrared Remote Control Server. Running kcmshell kcmlirc will launch IRkick and allow you to configure it. Selecting Add Action... from the Controller Functions tab will allow you to choose what actions will be executed for the button presses on the remote. Once you have configured what functions you want click Apply and then OK. Now you have a completely remote controlable amaroK, set back and enjoy!

madpenguin8 wrote:

After spending many hours surfing the net for a way to get my Creative CIMR-100 remote to work with Linux and more specifically amaroK I have decided to write a simple how-to.

First you'll need the lirc package at www.lirc.org . When configuring the lirc package you'll need to configure with --with-driver=creative. I use gentoo so I did LIRC_OPTS="--with-driver=creative" emerge lirc.

Now we will need to configure lirc to use the remote. First you will need the appropriate lircd.conf for the CIMR-100. You can download this configuration from http://lirc.sourceforge.net/remotes/cre ... f.creative , now copy lircd.conf.creative to /etc/lircd.conf. Now you must have serial port support in your kernel, it can be built in or as a module. If you have the support as a module do a 'modprobe 8250' to load the module and bring up your serial ports. It is suggested to put this module in your modules.autoload or whatever file your distro uses for autoloading of modules.

Next we will start the lirc daemon. Running 'lircd --device=/dev/ttyS0 --driver=creative -p 0666' as root should take care of this. If you run into troubles with the lircd try passing the --nodaemon flag to get verbose output, or you may also take a look at /var/log/lircd for any messages. It is also suggested to use an init script to start the lircd and to have it launch again when you reboot.

Finally we can setup IRkick, The KDE Infrared Remote Control Server. Running kcmshell kcmlirc will launch IRkick and allow you to configure it. Selecting Add Action... from the Controller Functions tab will allow you to choose what actions will be executed for the button presses on the remote. Once you have configured what functions you want click Apply and then OK. Now you have a completely remote controlable amaroK, set back and enjoy!

On a related note, kernel version 2.6 comes with drivers for some infrared devices. This would save you from having to install the lirc kernel modules. For more info on setting this up look here: http://linux.bytesex.org/v4l2/faq.html#ir

Note that I actually use the lirc modules, but only because it's been set up and working for a while and I believe in the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Luca