I needed a few parts to deal with 15-20 year old cable boxes in a new home and a small service provider (no small companion boxes a la comcast). On the way, I stopped at the hardware and happened to run into this guy...
[Link: menards.com] Having sold Xantech IR systems for hundreds back in the day, I was pleasantly surprised that it actually worked. It took me like five minutes to stop looking for the power/connection piece lol.
