The FTDIX driver is a MODE2 driver which is only capable of transmission. It uses the bitbang mode of an FTDI USB-to-serial chip such as the FT230X. It has been tested with transmitters based on the the FT230X series of FTDI chips but in theory it should work with most FTDI USB chips. Note: Due to bugs in the clock of the FT232R this driver will not work with IR blasters based on that chip and you should used the ftdi driver instead.
You can build your own FT230X based IR transmitters by purchasing an FTDI UMFT201XB and attaching an IR diode or you can purchase a ready-built one from irblaster.info. Be sure to ask specifically for the FT230X based devices to avoid getting one based on the FT232R.
lirc also includes another driver for FTDI devices called ftdi.
Use ftdi if | Use ftdix if |
---|---|
You need to be able to receive IR signals | You only need transmit functionality |
Your IR hardware is based on the FT232R chip | Your IR hardware is based on the FT230X chip or any other FTDI chip which doesn't have a buggy bitbang clock |
Your can cope with missed keypresses or your hardware is tolerant of inaccurate and inconsistent IR carrier timing and pulse lengths | You need high reliability and timing precision |
By default, it searches for an usb device with vendor:product matching 0x0403:0x6015. This can be changed using the device argument which is a comma-separated string of key=value assignments. The available keys are:
The driver has support for listing available devices using e. g., using mode2 -l