8910 extender 1 macro hold time problem

pogo · Post by **pogo** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 6:24 pm

I bought my wife an LCD TV for the kitchen for Christmas and am having trouble with the upgrad I built for it. I distribute video from four PVR's throughout the house modulated on four UHF channels. To make it easy for her, I've created macros on all of the remotes in the house which will tune to the appropriate channel and select the device on that channel. This TV is the first one that I can't get this to work on. It appears to be a hold time problem. Normal channel select using the number keys works fine, but trying to enter the channel numbers in the marcro doesn't. If I put a simple macro on a pressable key to simply send the channel numbers it doesn't work, however if I hold the key I always get the last digit of the channel (last command of the macro). The readme for the extender says there are several things you can do if you have a hold time problem. What would they be? I've uploaded the ir file to the diagnosis area in the event that it's really just something much simpler, but these same macros work with every other TV in the house.

www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload.php?ac ... le_id=2707

greenough1 · Post by **greenough1** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 9:38 pm

Admittedly I've not looked at your IR file, but here's what I'd do. Use the pause protocol (special protocol tab I believe). You might have to check the docs on this one to translate between the hex values and the time it pauses. i'd insert pauses between digits that are pretty long. the macros apparently sending digits too fast since you can get the last one by holding.

Try that while you wait for a more informed reply

Best,
jeff

chas6000 · Post by **chas6000** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 10:02 pm

i also have an 8910 and i was told that the 'default' pause protocol in the extender_1 is too fast. and someone (sorry - dont remember who) was good enough to modify one and post it for me to copy and substitute and it has worked great since. if you search for posts by me and replies you will quickly find it. hope this helps.

chas6000 · Post by **chas6000** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 10:05 pm

it was Nils - thanks again Nils!

see this thread...

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewt ... highlight=

Try replacing the PAUSE device upgrade and protocol with these and see if this helps.

DEVICE UPGRADE (Copy and paste the following bolded text to replace the existing MISC/1104)

Upgrade code 0 = 0C 50 (TV/1104)
FB 00 01
End

PROTOCOL UPGRADE (Copy and paste the following bolded text to replace the existing 01 FB protocol)

Upgrade protocol 0 = 01 FB (S3C80)
00 00 01 E4 03 C2 C6 C0 00 00 0A FE 1A FC 2A FA
AF
End
_________________
Nils

chas6000 · Post by **chas6000** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 10:27 pm

see this thread...

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewt ... highlight=

pogo · Post by **pogo** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:37 pm

greenough1 wrote: i'd insert pauses between digits that are pretty long. the macros apparently sending digits too fast since you can get the last one by holding.

Thanks Jeff, for the quick response. I didn't mention it, but I had already tried pauses -- just because it was easy. The problem appears clearly to be a hold time (i.e. command duration) issue and not a timing issue. I believe the reason that the last digit works is that it's the last command of the macro and holding the key causes it be sent until the key is released. Chas6000, I will file Nils' modified pause protocol for future reference. You never know what might come in handy.

Capn Trips · Post by **Capn Trips** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:16 am

Its apparent that your TV requires the actual signal to be sent for a longer period of time before it recognizes it and reacts. That makes it a duration problem. This is usually a problem with the protocol itself. A few questions you should ask yourself before embarking on a solution.

(1) Are you using an upgraded protocol for this TV? If you are, it may be simplest to ask one of the experts to tweak it to extend the duration (I just looked at your file, and I see it uses the built-in protocol 00 E8 ) Even with a built-in protocol, it's possible to get one of the experts to tweak a protocol upgrade to extend the duration. The down side is you're waiting for and relying on an expert to do this for you.

(2) If you have sufficient upgrade space, you can do this all on your own without the help (and attendant time delays) of an expert. You replace your current TV upgrade with a SECOND upgrade for your TV using the Device Combiner protocol. You will require the protocol ID (00 E8 ) and the fixed data (1F 1F 1F) from your current TV upgrade. Although the primary purpose of this protocol is to allow you to combine multiple devices in a single device upgrade, a side benefit of it is that it allows you to set the duration of your signals. Select "Device Combiner" in KM and read the Protocol Help to see how you implement it.

I have frequently used it when (particularly in macros) the duration of certain signals has been insufficient, (JVC CD changer, Dish Network, Scientific Atlanta SAT boxes) and it works well. It eats up quite a bit of upgrade memory, however, but if you get the desired end result, who cares? You should have sufficient memory, although 141 bytes is marginal for this plan, but you have special protocols and devices you are not using and can delete. I just deleted the unused Pause and DSM devices and protocols and you would have 195 bytes of upgrade space - PLENTY for Device Combiner.

Capn Trips · Post by **Capn Trips** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:03 am

In fact, HERE is the device combiner KM file for your TV, retaining your button mappings, and HERE is the updated IR file, replacing your TV upgrade with the DC upgrade.

Give it a try and see what happens.

I have somewhat arbitrarily set the duration at 3, which you should tweak as necessary. Your mileage may vary.