Problems with computers and USB JP1 cables

Forum for the discussion of JP1 Interfaces, hardware hacks, etc.

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vickyg2003
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Post by vickyg2003 »

They have the RCA at Meijers too.
mdavej
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Post by mdavej »

Thanks, Vicky. Just added that to the RCA thread. Also spotted at Kmart and Frys.
wejones
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Post by wejones »

Thanks for suggestions re remotes. The Piggly Wiggly caught my eye. I had never heard of a Piggly Wiggly, but I recently read a quote attributed to Chuck Noll, old Steelers coach, who apparently said that you can't just go out and find good cornerbacks at Piggly Wiggly. Never heard of the store. Asked my wife, and she said it was some grocery store chain down south?
Anyway thanks for the suggestions. If I can find one that looks like it might be useful, I'll pick up a new remote to try without the adapter.
The Robman
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Post by The Robman »

We don't have Piggly Wiggly stores here in Chicago, but we have seen them while on vacation in Wisconsin. Otherwise, it is mostly a southern chain with locations in the following states:

Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia

http://www.pigglywiggly.com/store-locations
http://www.shopthepig.com/forms/php/locatestore.php
Rob
www.hifi-remote.com
Please don't PM me with remote questions, post them in the forums so all the experts can help!
wejones
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Post by wejones »

Update.
I went to Wallmart and Lowes, and neither had a remote that was on the JP1 list. Finally went to RS, and they had the RCA 5 device remote, which is a JP-1.3 .

I hooked up the Tommy Tyler cable without the adapter, and it worked, even with my laptop with the flakey USB ports.

So it seems like I'm down to either the little JP1 adapter, which apparently isn't likely, or perhaps bad connections to the remote, or perhaps I'm not understanding something about using the cable with the adapter for the JP1 remotes, such as with respect to putting the remote to sleep by reversing the connector or something. Anyway, I'm still experimenting.

In the meantime though, that cheap little RCA 5 device remote isn't bad for $9. So I guess one option for me is to just use my old JP1 USB interface with another computer, and use the little RCA remote with the new cable.
mdavej
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Post by mdavej »

Glad something is working for you. The RCA is actually 8 device in IR, so don't sell it short. It also has more than twice the memory your 2116 had, and an extender and several advanced features your 2116's don't, like device specific macros and more advanced volume punch-thru that can be different for each device. There's even a fast macro patch you can load, if you don't want to use the extender. And since the device button LEDs show the active device, it serves the same purpose as the LCD on the 2116. Unless you did a lot of manual programming, I don't think you'll miss the LCD.

Now that you have the cable working, just leave all the IR settings as-is and plug in your adapter and old remote and try to download. Don't open any files or change anything beforehand.
wejones
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Post by wejones »

mdavej wrote:...... The RCA is actually 8 device in IR, so don't sell it short. .......
Sorry for being so late in responding to this, but at the time, I only needed 5 devices on that RCA remote.
Anyway, dumb question here, but I'm curious re how you can use 8 devices if there are only 5 buttons to select devices? I was thinking maybe there was a shift button or something to switch between devices, but I don't see one. I assume the AUX/DVR , SAT/CBL , and VCR/DVD must be dual function buttons, but how do you use both functions?
Thanks.
3FG
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Post by 3FG »

In the RCRP05B RDF file, which our tools use to get the description of each remote type, the devices are listed as CBL, TV, DVD, AUD, dev4, dev5, dev6, DVR. To make dev4 active, construct a macro which contains, at a minimum, the virtual button dev4. Then when you call that macro, the device mode will be switched to dev4.

Most buttons can be used to invoke a macro, and furthermore most buttons can be preceded by a tap of Setup to imply a shifted button. In both RMIR and IR, the Macro tab allows you to specify a shifted button as the bound button (the bound button is the one you press to start the macro).

So some users will arrange a macro invoked by <Setup> <DVD> which contains the single button dev4. Of course a useful setup code needs to be defined on the General tab.
wejones
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Post by wejones »

OK, thanks.
I've never tried to do a macro. That will be fun to try.
jchiso
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Post by jchiso »

3FG wrote:... To make dev4 active, construct a macro which contains, at a minimum, the virtual button dev4. Then when you call that macro, the device mode will be switched to dev4. Most buttons can be used to invoke a macro, and furthermore most buttons can be preceded by a tap of Setup to imply a shifted button...
Is there a thread somewhere that outlines how to do this?
The Robman
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Post by The Robman »

jchiso wrote:Is there a thread somewhere that outlines how to do this?
How to do what? Are you asking how to create a macro?
Rob
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Please don't PM me with remote questions, post them in the forums so all the experts can help!
jchiso
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Post by jchiso »

The Robman wrote:
jchiso wrote:Is there a thread somewhere that outlines how to do this?
How to do what? Are you asking how to create a macro?
Well, how to set up and incorporate a virtual device into a configuration ...
wejones
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Post by wejones »

3FG wrote:In the RCRP05B RDF file, which our tools use to get the description of each remote type, the devices are listed as CBL, TV, DVD, AUD, dev4, dev5, dev6, DVR. To make dev4 active, construct a macro which contains, at a minimum, the virtual button dev4. Then when you call that macro, the device mode will be switched to dev4.

Most buttons can be used to invoke a macro, and furthermore most buttons can be preceded by a tap of Setup to imply a shifted button. In both RMIR and IR, the Macro tab allows you to specify a shifted button as the bound button (the bound button is the one you press to start the macro).

So some users will arrange a macro invoked by <Setup> <DVD> which contains the single button dev4. Of course a useful setup code needs to be defined on the General tab.
Thanks.
I got the macro calling the 3 "dev" functions working. Worked great, except that there isn't any blinking light to give you positive reinforcement that you're actually sending something. But it is working fine. Thanks.
I didn't try the "setup" shift thing, but I think I may give that a try too, because the buttons I used for the 3 devices I now need for a couple of the other devices.
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