How to increase infared range?

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Oscarpop

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I have a garmin 5012 which I keep at the helm.

This has a tv out to a 18 led monitor at the chart table.

I also have a garmin infa red mouse.

The problem is that apparently you need line of sight for the mouse to work. Thus it doesn't work when I'm sat at the chart table.

So I have a very expensive paper weight.

Any ideas to boost the signal passively ?
You can buy ir boosters but I don't think they work with mice.
 
Oscarpop said:
I have a garmin 5012 which I keep at the helm.

This has a tv out to a 18 led monitor at the chart table.

I also have a garmin infa red mouse.

The problem is that apparently you need line of sight for the mouse to work. Thus it doesn't work when I'm sat at the chart table.

So I have a very expensive paper weight.

Any ideas to boost the signal passively ?
You can buy ir boosters but I don't think they work with mice.
Click to expand...

IR is line of sight only; it doesn't go round corners at all. Boosting the power won't help if you don't have line of sight. I suppose you might be able to use an electronic device to receive and re-transmit the IR to get it round a corner, but I don't know of an such device that is routinely available. Otherwise, a mirror might work!
 
Are you sure that your mouse uses infra red to communicate? I would have thought that line of sight would be very limited, even over short distances. After all, your hand could easily block the light.

Optical mice use red, possibly infra red, light to detect movement. If they are wireless then they normally use radio to connect to their base unit.

If your mouse's receiver is connected to the system by USB then you may be able to find another wireless mouse with better range.
 
Right, I may have made an arse of this.

It says it is an RF mouse .

So i guess its wireless not infared.

Can anyone confirm how this pesky thing works , so I can work out how to get it to work on my boat.
 
normally(?) rf mouse's have to be paired up with the device - a bit a Bluetooth partnering.

There is usually a reset button (probably underneath) that that you have to press with a ball point pen etc.

Press this, and it should seek to establish a pairing with the device (I think!) - if you don't know the correct number try '0000'.
 
alteredoutlook said:
normally(?) rf mouse's have to be paired up with the device - a bit a Bluetooth partnering...
Click to expand...

I did wonder about the IR thing, although I did own an IR mouse about 20 years ago. Very old technology that didn't work very well.

RF mice rarely use BT. Although it is possible, it is more expensive to implement. I do have a BT mouse: it is a PITA!

Does the Garmin have a dongle for the mouse, or is it internal? If the latter, you are probably scuppered.
 
No dongle. It just works by updating the software using an SD card. Thus the hardware must already be able to recieve.
 
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