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Hunting for EFCs for Spectrum 210 Cable box

 
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Ed



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 262
Location: Ft. Worth, TX

                    
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 10:47 am    Post subject: Hunting for EFCs for Spectrum 210 Cable box Reply with quote

Hi all,

I'm configuring a URC-7880 remote for my daughter. She has Spectrum cable TV and a model 210 cable box. The only Spectrum upgrade I've found in the file section here is for the 201-T box, and it doesn't work with her 210 box.

I found by stepping through the remote's setup procedure that its built-in setup code 1376 operates the most important functions of the box. I could stop there and just use that built-in code, but my urge to tinker is getting the best of me. I don't have the original remote that came with the box; my daughter's dog chewed it up. Really. Hence, I can't learn the signals from it. So, I turned to the Lookup Tool.

I performed a search by Setup Code, selected device type Cable, and entered the Setup ID of 1376. When I tried to select a remote, I noticed that the URC-7880 was not one of the choices, so I picked the RCA RCRP05B because I happen to have one of those remotes. That led me to at least the start of an upgrade.

It looks like the protocol for this setup code (GI Cable) has only 256 possible EFCs (I'm a bit out of my depth, so I'm not sure of this), so I'm thinking that I'll put together several RMIR files and try all 256 OBCs, from 0 to 255, to see what happens when I fire each one at the box.

It will take me some time to do this, so before I do it, I thought I'd seek the guidance of the group. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
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mdavej
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I personally find it faster to just enter the codes directly on the remote. When you tap Setup then one of the 5-digit EFCs (00000-00255), the command is sent. Once you get a rhythm going, it takes about 15 minutes to go through them all. You can speed up the process a little by skipping all the known commands.

For me, it takes longer to build several RMIR files and map all the buttons. The only exception is devices where I do the same code search many times, like my Roku. I'll do a full search every few months because new commands get added with nearly every firmware update.

Having said that, 1376 has been around forever, so you're unlikely to find anything new.

Here's one of many upgrades that match 1376, basically any Motorola cable box upgrade:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload.php?action=file&file_id=25655
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Ed



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 262
Location: Ft. Worth, TX

                    
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mdavej wrote:
I personally find it faster to just enter the codes directly on the remote. When you tap Setup then one of the 5-digit EFCs (00000-00255), the command is sent. Once you get a rhythm going, it takes about 15 minutes to go through them all. You can speed up the process a little by skipping all the known commands.

For me, it takes longer to build several RMIR files and map all the buttons. The only exception is devices where I do the same code search many times, like my Roku. I'll do a full search every few months because new commands get added with nearly every firmware update.


Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep that in mind if I actually carry out the "hunt".

Quote:
Having said that, 1376 has been around forever, so you're unlikely to find anything new.


I kind of figured that. I have a picture of her OEM remote, and there are several buttons on it for which I can find no obvious corresponding EFCs among the various Motorola codes. These include Back, Options, Search, and DVR. So, I wasn't really looking for something "new"; rather, I was looking for stuff that was on her original remote. I thought and exhaustive "hunt" would be the best way to find those functions.

I think I'll browse a few more of the Motorola upgrades to see if I can find anything that looks like these codes and build them into an upgrade based on what you've suggested or the upgrade I built from the Lookup tool. Maybe I'll get lucky and find what I'm looking for quickly that way.
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mdavej
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Those are probably:

Back 00080
Options 00032
Search 00082?
DVR 00175
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Ed



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 262
Location: Ft. Worth, TX

                    
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mdavej wrote:
Those are probably:

Back 00080
Options 00032
Search 00082?
DVR 00175


Thanks! I'll try these and post my results back here. I'll also post my upgrade when I finish it.
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The Robman
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't usually disagree with Dave, but I do here, I think it's much easier to use upgrades to go EFC hunting. The way I do it is to use Excel to generate a page with all OBCs from 0 to 255 and use formula to give them names like "OBC 0" and "OBC 1" etc. Then I remove all the ones that are already known. Then I first up RMIR and create an upgrade with as many of these OBC functions as I can assign to buttons in a single device upgrade, and I assign that to the first device button. Then repeat with the next batch on the next device button. Given that most remotes have at least 6 device buttons and 30-40 regular buttons, you can usually create one RMIR file that covers all the missing OBC codes. Then it's just a case of loading it up to your remote and casually trying all the buttons in each device mode.
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Ed



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 262
Location: Ft. Worth, TX

                    
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Robman wrote:
The way I do it is to use Excel to generate a page with all OBCs from 0 to 255 and use formula to give them names like "OBC 0" and "OBC 1" etc. Then I remove all the ones that are already known. Then I first up RMIR and create an upgrade with as many of these OBC functions as I can assign to buttons in a single device upgrade, and I assign that to the first device button. Then repeat with the next batch on the next device button. Given that most remotes have at least 6 device buttons and 30-40 regular buttons, you can usually create one RMIR file that covers all the missing OBC codes. Then it's just a case of loading it up to your remote and casually trying all the buttons in each device mode.


This is exactly what I had in mind, and what I was planning to do when Dave provided possible codes for the missing functions I was looking for. My plan now is to try the codes Dave suggested and then evaluate where I stand. If I"m still missing codes, I will go hunting as you describe.

It occurs to me that some remote functions depend on the device being in a certain "state" when the function is executed; e.g., "Prev ch" has no effect if there is no previous channel, and "Exit" has no effect if there isn't a menu displayed, etc. Do you have any advice on what state to put the device -- a cable box in this case -- in to facilitate a good hunting experience?

Thanks for the help!
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The Robman
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, so that's one of the reasons why I prefer the method I described, because you are going to have to try many buttons more than once. What I would do is have the device on and in a mode where you would generally expect buttons to work and run the main tests. If you're looking for a DISCRETE ON code, you will have to turn the device off and test them all again. If you think there are other codes that exist that will only work in certain modes, you will need to put the device into a mode where they will work and try all the codes again.

It does become a "brain dead" operation, you just have the device on, maybe you're watching a show or something, and you just mindlessly go through all the buttons till you see something happen, then you go back and confirm which button it was by trying it again, and you also have to interpret the result because, just because the button switched you to "channel 3", for example, doesn't necessarily mean that it's a discrete code for ch3, you will need to press it again to see what it does next, maybe it's a toggle between antenna mode and aux mode, or something like that.
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Ed



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 262
Location: Ft. Worth, TX

                    
PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi all,

I checked the codes mdavej supplied on the Spectrum cable box. Here is what I found:

Back is actually 00076, the same code as previous channel. This function backs up one level in a menu, where "Exit" completely backs out of the menu

I could not find a code for "Options". I can keep looking, but I don't think its needed. My daughter doesn't seem to care, and I wouldn't know I found it if I did, because I don't know what it's supposed to do.

Search and DVR are as mdavej reported, 00082 and 00175 respectively.

All other codes are the same as those published with the 1376 setup code.

I was all set to fire 256 codes at the box, but I got busy with other things, and my daughter seemed to have all the codes she needed.

Thanks for the help!
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The Robman
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Options should be easy to test as it probably brings up some sort of on-screen menu.
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Ed



Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 262
Location: Ft. Worth, TX

                    
PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Robman wrote:
Options should be easy to test as it probably brings up some sort of on-screen menu.


Next time I'm up at my daughter's house, my tinkering urge may get to me and I'll try to figure out the code for options. I tried 00032 several times with the Spectrum box in various states, including watching live TV, and there was no response.
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