This script allows you to use an infrared remote without LIRC. Tested on Xiaomi Mi-router 3 (firmware Padavan) with Xenta SE340D PC Remote Control.
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xhda/ir2k/master/ir2k.py && wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xhda/ir2k/master/keys.cfg
opkg update
opkg install alsa-utils madplay-alsa curl python
modprobe snd-usb-audio
modprobe usbhid
modprobe evdev
modprobe usbserial
opkg update
opkg install shairport-sync-mini netatalk
mkdir -p /etc/storage/airplay/
cp shair.conf /etc/storage/airplay/shairport-sync.conf
route add -net 224.0.0.0 netmask 224.0.0.0 br0
/opt/bin/shairport-sync -d -a AirPi
python ir2k.py -r --cfg /path/keys.cfg
python ir2k.py -d > /dev/null 2>&1 &
#OR
python ir2k.py -d --cfg /path/keys.cfg > /dev/null 2>&1 &