How to Customize Your Mac Mini's IR Receiver for Non-Apple Remote Controls

Using a non-Apple remote control for you Mac Mini can be tricky. However, this feat just involves the use of ingenuity. You can make very few changes to the metal shielding on the inside of your Mac Mini by doing a little bit of soldering. Even if you are just a beginner, you will be able to do the modification very easily.

Once you are finished doing the changes, you can now use other remotes aside from the remote provided by Apple. In fact, the one who made this tutorial used a remote for Microsoft Media Center.

Most of you would agree when I say that the Mac Mini makes a powerful HTPC's preferably the new 9400 models since they are silent, powerful and requires minimal power. Moreover, the Mac Mini is small enough to fit in any tight places.

I own a Mac Mini and placed it under the television. However, what was bothersome was the Microsoft receiver at the tip of the Mac Mini. The Microsoft receiver did not bother me but the fact that the Mac Mini has a built in receiver but is next to useless.

Before owning a Mac Mini, I have a huge Silverstone case and it made me happy since I can tweak as much as I want to fit the receiver inside the case. However, since the Mac Mini is so small, I cannot even do some modifications to make the receiver fit inside.

I then consulted some online forums and found out that I can use other media remote control kit that highly matches with the Microsoft. This remote kit is called the Hauppauge Media Center Remote Control Kit Model 335 and I found one on E-bay for a very cheap price (AU $35) that also includes shipping fees.

However, when I got the receiver, it disappointed me since it does not look anywhere like the reviews on the website nor did it look similar on E-bay. I find it better due to its small size.

It worked well with the VMC and I find the multi-tap for the alpha keys to be highly compatible as well.

What I did is that I first took the wires out from the receiver by taking off the screw at the back of the unit. Once the case was removed, you can then pull out the USB cable. The IR receiver is the black object on the left of the receiver. The other end is the LED.

I removed both from the metal case by desoldering them. Now, grab a 2- to 3-strand 10cm long IDE cable and solder the LED and IR on one of the ends of the cable. The other end is soldered back to the circuit board.

The USB plug can fit into one of the vents at the back of the Mac Mini. To do this, you need to use the existing USB cables. The only problem is that the wires can appear too thick. But if you can find a USB cable that isn't thick, then that might just do the trick. On the other hand, the black cables are both ground so you need to check for shorts otherwise you will get an electrical shock.

You can slide the Mac Mini now using a plastic tool which is simply two credit cards a fish slice. The thing here is to make the opening in the Mac Mini bigger so that the fish-slice can be easily slipped easily.

When the two credit cards are in, then sliding the fish-slice in can be a breeze without damaging the case. Once you have popped the case, look for current IR receiver on the Mac Mini which is located on the right. Take it off.

Once you took the receiver from your Mac Mini, you can do simple modification on the case. First, take out the DVD and the rest of the assembly. This allows you to view the vents at the end of the case of the Mac Mini.

Inside the Mac Mini, you will see a thin strip that cuts the vent holes in half. If you will look at them closely, you will find that the USB cable will not fit through it well. To remedy this, trim the sides as much as you want but do it neatly. Make sure that you do not do the far left ones but the middle ones instead otherwise, the assembly will be difficult to put back on again. This should fit the USB cable to the vent now.

Put the circuit board back on under the edge of the DVD drive. Adhere the circuit boar by means of an insulating tape then connect the IR receiver precisely in the proper location. This is very tricky since the Mac Mini's window is tiny.

The IR receivers should be put back on the circuit board. To do this, use an old credit card and cut it to a compatible size of the receiver. Melt some holes in the circuit board since this is where the IR receiver will be glued on to.

Regarding the LED light, you can put them at the bottom of the case by securing them using a glue gun. In any case, you do not need this feature on your Mac Mini so it is okay to put them in a place where nobody can see them.

After the modification was made, the reception was reduced slightly but your Mac Mini looks clean now.

If everything is set, you can assemble the unit back again. Since this kind of modification can be quiet addictive, it is important to take note that it should only be considered by people who are irritated with the presence of the black box on top of their Mac Mini.

However, if you do not want to modify your Mac Mini, then you can just loop the IDE cable through the lock hole provided by Kingston and solder it on the circuit board of the receiver. Do not worry though, the process is very reversible. All you need to do is to desolder it if you are going to use it.

By doing modifications on your Mac Mini, you are ensuring that your Mac Mini has a clean look and can work well with other non-Apple remotes. All you need to do is to follow the guidelines that I have mentioned above and you are on your way to optimizing how your Mac Mini works.

"How To: Get a built-in Mac Mini IR Receiver to work properly" XpMediaCentre
Jakob Griffith, "Mac Mini - getting a little more useful" HackADay