Can I Create a Remote-Controlled TV With Electronics?

[iggybaseball]

I have little experience with electronics so I was wondering if this idea was feasible. If so, I'll know that I'm on the right path; any suggestions are welcomed. I would like do a simple project for myself. It basically goes like this:
I want to take a remote control for a tv, and where the power button is, I want to attach a small circuit that will pick up radio waves. Then I want to create a simple transmitter that will allow me to press a button, which will send a radiowave to the remote control and act as if it was me pressing the button. As a result the tv turns on. Is my logic valid? Any links that could help with researching this? Thank you.

 

[berkeman]

You can do what you want with RF, but there are several limitations and problems for your home-brew application. Would maybe using a laser pointer to hit the remote and turn on the TV do the same thing for you? If it would, then you wouldn't have to worry about stuff like an RF link's reliability, interference that keeps it from working, interference that turns your TV on and off when you don't want it to, you interfering with your neighbors who listen to off-the-air TV and radio, you interfering with police and fire frequencies, the pesky FCC, etc.

If you have your heart set on RF, then the unlicensed 2.4GHz ISM band is probably the safest to use. Except for all the WiFi stuff and the microwave oven noise there... You can also do an unlicensed RF transmitter in the FM radio band, but the power has to be kept really low (like the wireless microphone kits you get at radio shack), and you'll have to work a bit to dodge the local FM radio stations.