DEACTIVATION QUESTION

[Jerbo]

ok, I understand now. thanks for the clarification.

let me just say, the reason why I made my request (to put instructions in a sticky), was because the instructions for MY extender do not say anything about how to actually deactivate the signature file of the extender in the EEPROM after you inactivate it. The instructions DO tell me how to inactivate it (remove batteries).

Maybe most extender users don't need to do what I wanted to do, which was to deactivate the extender, learn some new signals, then upload those learned signals into IR. In that light, I personally found it confusing and not intuitive that, besides inactivating the extender (which enabled me to physically learn the new signals), but to get them back into IR, I needed to replace the signature file in the remote... which a 981 reset did the trick.

So, I thought others could benefit from that kind of enlightenment. I agree that the BEST place for this would be in the instructions for the particular extender one is using. However, my experience with just the one extender, left me clueless in this regard.

Just want to reiterate that i am very grateful for all the help i have received on these forums. I have had a couple of issues as I am getting back into JP1 for the 1st time in 3 years. My original JP1 setup (with an extender) was so flawless that I had no need to constantly tweak, and I haven't gotten any new devices in the last 3 years (that is what happens when you start having babies, I guess. All that disposable income goes towards other things....
So, as I am getting back into it, I have had questions, but I have used these forums liberally and am very thankful for all the help I have received. Thanks

[The Robman]

Just to make sure everything's totally clear, for people finding this thread in the future, there are two types of extender...

1) those for older EEPROM style remotes, and
2) those for newer FLASH style remotes (ie, JP1.x remotes).

For EEPROM remotes, removing the batteries and doing a 981 reset is a universal way to reset the remote. Another alternative is to save a non-extended IR file and reload it into the remote.
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For FLASH remotes, you will have to follow the instructions that came with the extender as these extenders need to be manually de-activated. A 981 reset won't do it, nor will loading a non-extended IR file.

[vickyg2003]

For FLASH remotes, you will have to follow the instructions that came with the extender as these extenders need to be manually de-activated. A 981 reset won't do it, nor will loading a non-extended IR file.

In some of the Flash remotes, loading a non-extended IR file can get you into an error state that can be difficult to recover from, without help from the extender writer.

[Capn Trips]

I was away and incommunicado for 10 days so did not jump into this discussion at the time, but had you read the Extender FAQ Sticky post, this very thing (deactivation) is discussed. I quote:

(8) "My remote's locked up and I can't do a reset!" or "Deactivating the Extender"
One of the "features" of most extenders is that they disable the "long-press-to-access-setup-mode" functioning of the "setup" (or "magic" or green "P") button. So if you need to reset your remote, due to whatever reason, you cannot access this function with the extender activated. To deactivate the extender, you have to remove a battery and press any button momentarily. When you reinstall the battery, the extender .ir file will still be loaded in the EEPROM, but the extender will not be activated, and you should be able to access the setup functions. Usually, the only useful function is the MFR reset (which erases your entire EEPROM), since stuff like Keymoves and Learning are all in different portions of the EEPROM in the extended remote than in the unextended, so any other function is likely to have mixed results, at best.

NOTE: Some new extenders (e.g. the Atlas URC-1055 (JP1.3 version) and 1056) have a new style extender that does NOT deactivate upon battery replacement, but requires a separate deactivation keypress. As always, read the readme for your specific extender.

If there is a way to make this clearer, please provide me a suggestion.

[Jerbo]

Hey cap'n --

In fact I had read that very sticky, so I was under the impression that removing the battery would get me back to normal -- which it did on the remote (i.e. I learned some new signals just fine).

Where I got confused, and I guess you can call it my lack of experience in the JP1 world (I hadn't touched anything JP1 in 3 years at the time), was when I attempted to import my learned signals in IR.exe. Because the signature in the remote was that of the extender, not the basic remote, I couldn't get the new learns uploaded to IR.

I just didn't understand that I needed to do MORE than taking the battery out. Since the remote acted like it had been reset, I didn't realize I also had to do a factory reset (981 reset). It just wasn't clear to me.

Since I was confused with what was occurring when I tried to upload my learns into IR.exe, the statement that you put in red, didn't really mean anything to me. I didn't realize that my entire EEPROM needed to be erased (again, it was a signature issue, but this wasn't intuitive enough to me).

at the end of the day, Rob, Vicky, and mdavej helped me figure it out, and I now I can say that I understand the difference. They convinced me that no documentation needs to be updated. I just needed to understand a little better how the remote interacts with IR.exe and there were really 2 different things going on. One was deactivating the extender in terms of remote use (no problem there). The other was actually putting the signature file of the remote back to the non-extended version, and this latter area is where I was clueless and reading the sticky didn't clarify it for me.

[Capn Trips]

So you are saying that the suggestion to do an MFR reset is somewhat vague, correct? I'll try to re-write that section to indicate that after de-activating, not only is the MFR reset the only "useful" function available, but that it is indeed what you SHOULD do before attempting any other long-press setup operations (like learning).

[Capn Trips]

OK. I've edited FAQ 8 with a Note taht hopefully makes this clearer to the reader.

Comments?

[Jerbo]

OK. I've edited FAQ 8 with a Note taht hopefully makes this clearer to the reader.

Comments?

Beautiful. When I read that, I know that removing a battery is not enough, and I also like that you clearly said MFR Reset since there is an entire thread devoted to that topic (as if "long press of setup followed by 981 on non-LCD remotes" isn't clear enough, which it is). I just like when things tie together, so I think you've done a nice job with that. Personally speaking, your language "this will reset the remote signature" is all the memory jog I will ever need... since the basic instructions for setting up IR reference the particular signature file related to your remote. So again, I think you have made it clear as day. Thanks capn!