JP1 Remotes

Wow....
you are early bird
Thanks
Because I'm in Taiwan
I won't buy a 9.95 one with 20 buck shipping charge.
I had sent a email to MCM for shipping problem. Hope they will reply.
I think I can start learning JP1 with this great deal.

Hey Maniac,
I can ship any of the remotes that I carry to Taiwan for $9 via Global Priority Mail (which takes about 4 days). In certain cases, if it's one of the smaller remotes and you're not also getting a JP1 cable, I can ship it for just $5.

For example, I could ship a URC-8811 by itself for a total of $24, or packaged with a JP1 cable for $43. I do also have "JP1 modified" RCU810s available, but my price is $30 each, so I'm guessing that's too rich for your blood.

Thanks Rob
Yes, good guess, I'm a phd student support by NSC scholarship.
So I have to modified RCU810B by myself.
Maybe I can buy more on MCM and resale them on eBay here cover shipping cost.

The new MCM sale flyer has the RCU810 on sale for $8.95!
The sale runs through Sept 10.
Item number 58-8890. Cat. Source Code VE0804.
They still show $9.95 online.
Save another dollar!

One (or at least I) could find an excuse to get near the $25 min purchase, if even to buy parts for the JP1 interface.

But from the negative things I've read here and elsewhere, is it even worth the ~$15 shipped?

Some of the reviews I read (amazon?) mentioned the possibility of actual software bugs, like the clock resetting. Does anyone know of these problems and can they be circumvented/corrected with JP1?

I've never used one of these remotes, but --sorry to be redundant--it seems like a backlit remote w/an LCD display would have to be *really* awful to not be worth $20. Is it that bad?

Thanks for responses!

difi wrote: Some of the reviews I read (amazon?) mentioned the possibility of actual software bugs, like the clock resetting. Does anyone know of these problems and can they be circumvented/corrected with JP1?

It's not a software bug. It's a hardware problem. There seems to be a range of severity among units from "no problem at all" through "only the most direct work around fixes it" (see below). Mail order tends to mess up one common strategy for dealing with the problem: bring it back to the store to swap it until you get one without the problem.

If you add the JP1 connector, then the best solotion is to get an extra plug similar to the remote end of a JP1 cable, and wire together a specific two of the pins in that plug and leave that on the JP1 connector inside the battery compartment whenever you're not using JP1. (I forget which two pins, but it's mentioned in a couple other threads here).

To the best of my understanding, the problem is noise on the microprocessor's reset pin, which is floating (same as in most other JP1 remotes, which don't have the problem). The JP1 cable connects that pin so IR.EXE can assert reset when it wants to. The extra connector would force that pin to the deasserted state so noise can't randomly assert it.

I haven't heard any explanation why a floating reset pin in every other JP1 model is reliable and doesn't randomly assert, but the same floating pin is unreliable in an RCU810 and needs to be connected.

difi wrote:can they be circumvented/corrected with JP1?

The RCU810 also has software defects that can be corrected via JP1.

IIRC, you can't define KeyMoves without JP1.

Most setup codes in the RCU810 send a command as part of device selection. In some setup codes that's quite convenient and does a half way job of what in other models we go to significant effort to accomplish with macros on device keys. In other setup codes it's a poorly chosen command and makes the remote practically unusable. With a JP1 upgrade you can change the command or eliminate it. With the extender (free software installed via JP1) you can take full control of the whole topic.

I forget the other software flaws of RCU-810 when used without JP1.

difi wrote:One (or at least I) could find an excuse to get near the $25 min purchase, if even to buy parts for the JP1 interface.

But from the negative things I've read here and elsewhere, is it even worth the ~$15 shipped?

Some of the reviews I read (amazon?) mentioned the possibility of actual software bugs, like the clock resetting. Does anyone know of these problems and can they be circumvented/corrected with JP1?

I've never used one of these remotes, but --sorry to be redundant--it seems like a backlit remote w/an LCD display would have to be *really* awful to not be worth $20. Is it that bad?

Thanks for responses!

Well, I bought mine long before I even heard of JP1, mainly because literally every single component I had at the time was an RCA (TV, VCR, Tuner, and DVD player. Can you say affordable? ) so it worked great. I liked the shape of it and the button layout, so when I upgraded my whole system to all Panasonic (plasma, DVD, HDTV OTA reciever, etc) I was pretty relieved when I found out I could use JP1 to reprogram it.

The only problem I've ever had was the stupid clock, and it IS stupid. I mean, does anyone really use the Sleep function on ANY remote? That's the only thing the clock is used for, so I really didn't care as everything else has worked perfectly. Funny thing, the new one I'm using in the bedroom has kept time for over a week now, so maybe they aren't all bad.

I’ve had one of these remotes for several years. I have never had the clock re-set problem.

I didn’t like the remote, and was thinking of trashing it, until I added the jp1.

Once I programmed it the way I wanted it through jp1, my opinion changed completely. I bought a couple more last year, and a couple more last month. Now I have them all over the house, and I love them. Everyone has an easy time understanding how to use them.

In other words, without jp1, I wouldn’t want to own this remote.

With jp1, it does everything I need (and more) and is a steal at the $10.69 ea. (shipped) I paid for the last two.

Now they are a dollar cheaper!

If you end up with one with the clock reset problem, it is easily fixed with a small jumper between pins 1 and 5. I think I read about that little trick in the thread that john mentioned. And you don't need anything fancy. Any scrap of wire that will fit in the compartment will do. I added one to my remote ages ago and haven't had a clock reset since.

WOW........
Ordered from MCM
Shipping charge is USD$50.25 to here Taiwan
Oh.......what can I say..............

anyway, I'm JP1 remote owner now.

Ouch! Just FYI, I can ship remotes to Taiwan for $9.