Software
The RedRat SDK
The RedRat SDK is intended to help the development of both commercial and non-commercial applications on Windows platforms using RedRat products. It supports both the irNetBox and RedRat3.
The core of the SDK is a .NET assembly (dll), however a COM interface is provided for use by other development languages/environments.
Prerequisites
  • The .NET Framework 2.0 and development environment (SDK, VisualStudio .NET or other).
  • The RedRat SDK V2.30 download here.
  • RedRat hardware. This is actually optional, but only minimal testing will be possible without hardware.
SDK Installation
Unpack the SDK in a temporary directory, and start setup.exe. The setup process does the following:
  • Installs the RedRat.dll (plus DriverWrapper.dll) in the Global Assembly Cache.
  • Adds appropriate registry entries to support COM interoperability.
  • Places a type library and the above dlls in the RedRat/SDK directory under Program Files.
  • Copies documentation into the SDK directory.
Using the SDK
.NET Applications: Reference the file RedRat.dll from your .NET project, or copy it into your project directory tree. A Visual Studio .NET solution contaning sample C# code may help get you started. It includes:
  • TestRemote: Shows how to use RedRat functionality for control of A/V equipment by the computer.
  • SignalDecoder: Demonstrates using the RedRat3 for the control of PC applications by a remote control.
  • CustomSignal: Create your own IR signal which can then be output by a RedRat.
  • RR_CLI: A simple RedRat command line utility.
  • irNetBoxApp: A demonstration GUI application that uses the irNetBox.
The RedRat .NET API and how to use it is described in detail in a PDF document.

VC++6 Applications: A COM interface onto the .NET API is provided to support the development of VC++6 applications using the RedRat3. To help application developers, the following is available:
  • A PDF document on how to use the COM API.
  • A VC++6 project with the demo code referenced in the COM API document.
With VB6: To use the SDK from VB6 check "RedRat IR Remote Control I/O" in References in the project. A code sample and the VB6 project should help getting started.
Using Delphi: Many thanks to Paul Winfield (paul.winfield @ totalise.co.uk) for providing sample Delphi code.
RedRat Reset
Included in the SDK is a small program called RedRatReset. Start this program before you start your development work, and if you encounter an unexpected program termination that causes the RedRat3 to hang, use RedRatReset to reset the device and USB comms. This should release your application to terminate completely. See the readme file for more details.
Distributing Applications
The RedRat SDK can be freely distributed with any applications in which it is used.
If you would prefer to not to distribute the complete SDK, then the RedRat Runtime can be used instead. The core code is identical to the SDK with equivalent version number, but it does not create entries in the user's Programs menu and does not install the documentation. The RedRat runtime V2.30 can be downloaded here.
Help and Support with the SDK
Any queries or feedback resulting from use of the API, please mail us.
SDK Change History
SDK developments and fixes are listed here.