JP1 Remotes

I have a couple of questions

I have a 2117 remote, I have built a jp1 cable and have used ir.exe and sort of played around with km.exe?

1. What are phantom keys?

2. I see shift box in ir.exe in the macro tab. Is the program key the shift button? Are there actually more keys I can use that isn't documented in the owners manual?

thanks for all the help, Doug

just4fn wrote:I have a couple of questions

I have a 2117 remote, I have built a jp1 cable and have used ir.exe and sort of played around with km.exe?

1. What are phantom keys?

2. I see shift box in ir.exe in the macro tab. Is the program key the shift button? Are there actually more keys I can use that isn't documented in the owners manual?

thanks for all the help, Doug

I know these answers! Yeah!
ok, phantom keys you setup not to press yourself but to include in macros you create. and the shift key is the program key!

oh, also.. you can put macros and keymoves on any key pretty much except for the device keys (DVD, TV, AUX, etc) .. this last restriction can be overcome using an extender, which is the most fun you can have without procreating

I downloaded the extender today. I dont quite know what to do with it yet, it's just sitting there right now on my c drive with no place to go. Will there be all the documentation be there for a 2 day beginner to use it.? You said phantom keys are not ones you press yourself but to include in macros. What does that mean? Can you give me an example of what I would assign to a phantom key?

A good example of something to put in a phantom would be a discrete code. For example you're TV might have discrete on and off codes, plus ways to select discrete video modes. If you want to turn your TV on you would just press the power button (if your TV wasn't already on). It's no big deal to turn on one device in a macro, but if you want to turn on a bunch and you use the regular power command (a toggle) then most likely one device will be missed. You have to figure out which device it is and power it on (switching devices on your remote in the process). Not a big deal if you're technically savvy, but if your setup is complicated it will probably be too hard for a babysitter to figure out.

Discrete codes solve all of this. A discrete on code will turn your device on if it's off and will do nothing if the device is already on. You don't need that code on a button, but it's perfect to put in a macro.

just4fn wrote:I downloaded the extender today.

Many people just jump right in with the extender first. If you want to take baby steps, start with creating or downloading upgrades for all your devices, assigning functions to the keys you want them to be on, and get the remote as close to what you want it to do as possible. If you find that there is no other way to make your setup perfect unless you are able to put macros on the device keys, this would be a good time to roll up your sleeves, crack open a cold one, and unzip the extender. (hmmm, that somehow sounds so .. dirty )

I would suggest that you get more comfortable with JP1 and what it can do before jumping into using the extender. (It's the old "walk before you run" advice).

Another JP1 "gimmie" for the 15-2117 is that it lets you program macros to the device buttons, with or without an extender.

I have a couple of questions.

How many phanom keys are there? I am starting to run out. I have used all of the phantom keys 1-5 and shift-phantom 1-5. Can I use other key like
xs_phantom1 etc.

If I cant what are xs_phantom etc keys used for?

Whatever you are putting on phantom1-5 and Shift-phantom1-5 can
also be put on XS_phantom1-5.

You can also use other unused keys for your purporses in whatever
scheme makes sense to you.

In some extenders you can define a second shift key, or you can define two presses of the first shift key to be second shift. Then you can have a third meaning on each key (just like most scientific calculators have two or more shift keys to give multiple meanings to keys).

Whether or not you use an extender's second shift ability, if IR will let you define XS of phantom keys (and the phantom keycodes are less than $40, which the 15-2116 phantoms are) you can use XS of phantoms as extra phantom codes.

You also could edit the RDF to add more phantoms. In a quick look at the 15-2116 RDF it looks like $3C through $3F are available as four more phantoms.