Which Remote?

[mj1856]

Oh, by the way - I was half-way serious about the painting buttons thing. Has anyone tried this before? What kind of paint would work well without rubbing off easily?

-Matt

[johnsfine]

I'll check the IR emitter. It's just on two folded pins like an LED, right? So I should be able to bend it out a few millimeters.

I thought we were talking about a urc-7800, which has two IR emitters (one does learning and emitting and one emitting only), and has recessed plastic around each emitter, so each emitter is less likely to have the angle problems than the newer models, plus having two further reduces the chances of angle problems. My urc-6800 was very good at range and spread of signal compared to newer UEI remotes.

Anyway, if you can bend those leads without breaking either the lead to LED or lead to PCB connection, and you don't care that they're slightly more exposed to bumping things, then it probably will improve the effective spread of the signal some. On other models I think it is an important fix and well worth doing.

[jon_armstrong]

On the range/reliability issue, you might check your batteries. I know the only remote that I remember having to change batteries in had started to get weak. It particularly missed in macro's and that stands to reason since lot of signals are being sent close together.

Also, if your Kenwood receiver is a TOAD then you might checkout what state it comes back to if you unplug it and wait a few minutes and plug it back in. If it always comes back to On or Off (but not randomly to either On or Off), you could use an x10 Appliance module (there is apparently a quiet one at SmartHome) discussed in another thread or if you only use your receiver with the TV (or some other component with discrete On and Off) you could use a current sensing power strip like this one.

If the receiver always comes back On, then to turn it On is to issue an x10 On command to the appliance module (or discrete On to the device that triggers the current sensor.) If it always comes back to Off, then the same as above but add a Power toggle command. Off would simply be the x10 or discrete Off command.

When you go to the extender, you may have to put delays between the commands (or execute other IR commands to unrelated gear), but I can't imagine using a remote now that didn't execute macros that fast.

[mj1856]

It is the 7800 with the two emitters. Sorry for the confusion. I haven't had a chance to try bending them out out or the extender yet - I'm hoping to get some time this weekend.

I have replaced batteries with no noticable change, so that's not the problem here, but thanks.

The idea about putting the receiver on a X10 or other switching power strip is excellent. I hadn't thought of that at all. I'm almost certain that it always powers up in an "off" state, so there's the discreete mode I need. Thanks!

-Matt

[mj1856]

Well, I tried installing the 7800 extender. I downloaded the "extender 2" from the jp1 yahoo group. Is there a newer version somewhere? Because it had some pretty serious problems.

At first, I thought all was well. It seemed to be working. I read the docs carefully and re-desiged my macros to use the m,p,t,v indexes properly. I was using it for a while and then it started acting funny.

It would just lock up completely - and the LED would either stay on no matter what until I pulled a battery, or it would go off and never come back on. Sometimes, it would go on, but flicker when I pressed a macro key. Sometimes some macros would work, and sometimes none would work.

It just seemed too unstable, so I reloaded my un-extended backup and all is fine again. I do wish I could get it working though - I would love the faster macros. And the indexes have some great benefits in the way that I use the remote. Specifically, it would mean that I can get rid of the use of the shift key for normal operations.

No luck on discrete power. My receiver, dvd, and vcr don't support it. I started playing with toadtog on the extender, but then the crashes started.

So is there some newer or alternate version I should try?

---

Oh, and I also tried bringing the IR emmitters forward, but they're soldered on in such a way that there's no way to bend them. I'd have to unsolder them to move them at all.

Thanks,
Matt

[johnsfine]

You could post your eeprom image with the extender installed to the diagnosis folder and maybe someone will spot the error.

I don't believe that extender is inherently unstable. Any extender would act the way you describe if you've made one of a number of configuration errors, such as a KeyMove using a nonexistent setup code or a device upgrade using a nonexistent protocol.

Extenders that have HT-like operation (as this one does) in remotes (such as the 7800) that don't store HT settings in eeprom, also would have that problem for the operation error of not selecting one of the device modes. I believe the readme explains that you must have a macro or macros that assign every key set to some value and you must execute such macros after activating the extender before transmitting IR signals using those keys.

[jon_armstrong]

Many DVD's and some VCR's turn On from Off with the Play or Eject command. If so a macro for Play|Stop=On and Play|Power Toggle=Off.

[Capn Trips]

I think that the root problem you are tying to solve is this inconsistent reception problem without aiming properly.

I think it may actually be both. The tv's ir receiver is on the opposite side of the rest of the equpiment stack, and it does take awhile for the macro to run completely.

I think if you can get reliable IR reception ToadTog would probably work fine. With unreliable reception, I agree with everything you said.

Ok, well then I'll focus on the reception issues first before I start playing with toadtog. Thank you so much for your advice.

-Matt

Might I respectfully suggest the Radio Shack 15-2117 remote to help alleviate your "intermittent reception" problems (or the OFA 9910). These JP1 remotes have an RF/IR blaster that you can position to ensure all of your gear receives the signal, and I'm not sure with the 9910, but the 2117 additionally has a separate wired IR emitter that you can position right in front of your TV's IR receiver.

Both of these are very well supported with extenders.

[chas6000]

the 9910 also comes with this additional 'dangle'? IR emitter ...

[mj1856]

You could post your eeprom image with the extender installed to the diagnosis folder and maybe someone will spot the error.

Ok - I've posted two configurations to the diagnostic area. I couldn't get either to work:

mj1856_7800ext1.txt
This has the extender installed, all my macros switched over to use the correct indexes, and a few key-moves that I had in my old configuration

mj1856_7800ext2.txt
This has everything that the first one has, but also uses the phantom keys to flip a toadtog bit. The idea here is that switching to cable turns the bit one way, switching to dvd turns it the other. Then my macros that control the tv's aspect ratio (L1-L4) can test the bit to know what mode to return the remote to after switching modes on the tv.

On both sets, I've assigned the Cable, DVD< VCR, and Aux buttons to switch modes on the tv & receiver and leave the remote in the correct state. Power is also reassigned to toggle the power on the tv and receiver. (I figure if I'm going to use DVD or VCR, I'll get up to put in a disc or tape anyway)

If anyone can tell me why neither of these work properly, I'd appreciate it very much.

Thanks,
Matt

[xnappo]

Back to the original subject, I personally think that the UEI HTPro (http://www.surfremotecontrol.com/Mercha ... de=URC9811) is the best remote currently available. This is the same remote as the URC 9910 but with a much better paint job on the front and the rubberized finish on the back. Of course this is a remote for people who want lots of buttons! I particularly like:

- Track foward and back buttons
- Commecial skip button for PVR (guest friendly)
- 7 macro keys
- GREAT extender

Regards,
xnappo

[The Robman]

Welcome back from hibernation Chris