JP1 newbie problems

Mark Pierson · Post by **Mark Pierson** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 6:49 pm

jens wrote:(no eeprom, but it could be integrated on the processor)

If there's no EEPROM and no space for it (labeled U2?), then the remote is likely NOT a JP1 remote. If the EEPROM is integrated with the CPU, then it's likely a JP1.1 or JP1.2 remote (which we don't support yet).

Post by **The Robman** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 8:09 pm

Btw jens, just in case you're wondering how come we all get nice quote boxes when we quote other peoples messages, it's because we're using the QUOTE button...

I've gone back and edited all of your previous posts to make them more readable, but try to use the QUOTE button in future. Thanks.

jens · Post by **jens** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 8:30 pm

Mark Pierson wrote:
jens wrote:(no eeprom, but it could be integrated on the processor)
If there's no EEPROM and no space for it (labeled U2?), then the remote is likely NOT a JP1 remote. If the EEPROM is integrated with the CPU, then it's likely a JP1.1 or JP1.2 remote (which we don't support yet).

No, there is no U2, EEPROM or space for one

.... bummer

The Robman wrote:Btw jens, just in case you're wondering how come we all get nice quote boxes when we quote other peoples messages, it's because we're using the QUOTE button...

I've gone back and edited all of your previous posts to make them more readable, but try to use the QUOTE button in future. Thanks.

testing out the 'quote button' ...

Thanks for fixing my posts.

underquark · Post by **underquark** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:33 am

jens wrote:testing out the 'quote button' ...
Thanks for fixing my posts.

Just remember not to overdo it

jens · Post by **jens** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 2:45 pm

Just a followup note ....

I purchased an RCA810 remote, installed header pins and all is working first try !
Now I just have to dive in and learn how to program this thing.

Thanks to you all for the assistance. Based on the RCA810 working, I am thinking that the Atlas 5 control was in fact JP1.1 or JP1.2.

Jens

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:34 pm

jens wrote:I purchased an RCA810 remote, installed header pins and all is working first try !

Did you follow the instructions for installing the pins into the RCU810? Especially the part about not letting the pins stick through so that they can mess up the button sheet?

jens · Post by **jens** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 5:04 pm

The Robman wrote:
jens wrote:I purchased an RCA810 remote, installed header pins and all is working first try !
Did you follow the instructions for installing the pins into the RCU810? Especially the part about not letting the pins stick through so that they can mess up the button sheet?

No, didn't look for specific instructions. The pins don't stick thru as it is obvious that this will screw up the works (especially the keys right next to the pins).

Jens

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 5:14 pm

jens wrote:No, didn't look for specific instructions. The pins don't stick thru as it is obvious that this will screw up the works (especially the keys right next to the pins).

What did you do to prevent the pins from sticking through? If you just used solder, there's a very good chance that you will push the pins through sometime when you connect the cable.

jens · Post by **jens** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:46 pm

The Robman wrote:
jens wrote:No, didn't look for specific instructions. The pins don't stick thru as it is obvious that this will screw up the works (especially the keys right next to the pins).
What did you do to prevent the pins from sticking through? If you just used solder, there's a very good chance that you will push the pins through sometime when you connect the cable.

Highly unlikely - if I remember correctly, the holes are through-plated and unless I decide to use a sledge hammer to make sure the IDC header is attached solidly, nothing will move. Installation pressure for the connector is probably 1/2 pound or less (and that is distributed over 6 pins)

Jens

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:18 pm

If the pins are soldered in in the regular way, the black plastic part of the 6-pin rests up against the PCB itself, so you won't push them through, but in that case the pins would be sticking through and interfering with the buttons.

If you held the 6-pin so just the tips of the pins were showing through the other side of the holes and then you used a tiny amount of solder to make electrical contact, the solder won't be providing much support for the pins themselves. That's why I always put down some hot glue first to act as a buffer.

jens · Post by **jens** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 12:20 am

The Robman wrote:If the pins are soldered in in the regular way, the black plastic part of the 6-pin rests up against the PCB itself, so you won't push them through, but in that case the pins would be sticking through and interfering with the buttons.

If you held the 6-pin so just the tips of the pins were showing through the other side of the holes and then you used a tiny amount of solder to make electrical contact, the solder won't be providing much support for the pins themselves. That's why I always put down some hot glue first to act as a buffer.

First, the black plastic only does a tiny amount to prevent pins from pushing thru. In my case, because I used a recycled set of pins, I had to cut them off pretty close to the black plastic. A quick push on the pins while holding the plastic then restored enough pin behind the plastic at the expense of the free length of the pins. There is still plenty pin left to make contact. I set the pins so that the very tip just protruded and did a quick solder on all the pins. This in itself would be fairly weak if the pins and lands were tin coated but with gold coated items even this produces a good connection. I followed this quick solder run with another run that heated the assembly enough to suck the solder blob into the thru-hole. This reduced the height of the solder blob to a small hill without anything protruding and gives a huge amount of support to the pin. Short of ripping out the thru-plating, the pins will not move. I should also point out that the pins are square which gives plenty of room for solder to wick up.

I am now in the process of setting up the remote to the various devices. Seems that my Harmon/Cardon home theatre unit isn't happy with any of the device codes in the system memory. Although I have taken a preliminary image of the remote content, I will have to fix this issue first before I start messing with custom programing.

BTW, I would say it takes between 50 and 100 grams of weight to push the programming connector on. Push thru is not an issue in this particular setup. If the holes were not plated, I would have used epoxy on between the black plastic holding the pins and the board.

Jens

Post by **The Robman** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 9:28 am

It sounds like you're pretty confident in what you're doing and don't need my help, so I'll back off. Enjoy.

jens · Post by **jens** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:21 pm

The Robman wrote:It sounds like you're pretty confident in what you're doing and don't need my help, so I'll back off. Enjoy.

First, thanks very much for your help and for going the extra mile in your efforts to help.
I do have an electronics background so hardware stuff is fairly straight forward to me. Although I also have a bit of software background, this is where the real challenge lies for me with this JP1 stuff (that and reading error messages properly

)

Jens