If anyone cares, I built and created a raspberry pi that will enable a user to use any (most) infrared remote controls (i.e. TV, DVD, URC, etc.). These can be spare ones that are just lying around the house doing nothing but collecting dust. For me, I use it to toggle (light) switches around the house. It has any functionality that can be provided by the Maker API.
I built the Raspberry Pi using a 3B+ (you can use a 4B if you like). It costs around $50. I also purchased an IR Receiver that connects to the GPIO pins. It cost about $6. It's very easy to create.
The software I wrote runs as a service and listens for any IR specific commands. Based on those IR commands it will fire-off a URL to the Maker API.
If there are several people that are interested in using this, I'll be happy to take some time to create the detailed documentation on what to buy, how to build it. I can also provide the image to download and install on the Pi.
I don't really won't to spend the time doing this if there aren't enough people interested. It supports most remotes and all of the IR codes associated with the keys.
Let me know.
