Cheap full function remote - source

[crawfish]

not sure why my discussion got hijacked to talk about programming JP1 and working some key bounce toggle issue. Am I blind, because the RCA RCRP05B does not seem to show this problem on my remote. Believe it must be what CRAWFISH mentioned, that you need a microsoft branded IR reciever, or an HP IR reciver (mine) to get this all working.

CRAWFISH - can you reference a purchase source for this IR reciever? and does it have a blaster with it also? how mcuh do they cost?

Sorry, no. I just trolled eBay until one turned up. Microsoft used to sell a kit with MCE remote, receiver, and a couple of IR bugs that plugged into the receiver for controlling cable boxes. I bought one new when I first got into Media Center, and I wish I had bought a few spares. The Microsoft receiver is also wonderfully non-directional. The only bad feature is that it picks up stray IR and blinks its red LED even when it's not receiving a legit signal. It blinks pretty much continuously when my new plasma TV is on, but I toned that down with LightDims. BTW, that's a product I highly recommend for anyone bothered by LEDs.

[barnabas1969]

Crawfish, thanks for the tip on LightDims. Great idea.

I had the same problem with the blinking LED on my IR receiver when I bought a plasma TV. If you can relocate your IR receiver to a place where it doesn't get any direct or reflected light from the plasma panel, you can solve the problem with the IR receiver. I moved my IR receiver up on top of my center channel speaker, which is mounted above the TV.

[crawfish]

Crawfish, thanks for the tip on LightDims. Great idea.

I had the same problem with the blinking LED on my IR receiver when I bought a plasma TV. If you can relocate your IR receiver to a place where it doesn't get any direct or reflected light from the plasma panel, you can solve the problem with the IR receiver. I moved my IR receiver up on top of my center channel speaker, which is mounted above the TV.

I think my Panasonic ST60 must be a radiation beast, or maybe the room is smaller so reflections are worse. Anyway, it does it with the TV at the back of my AnthroCart and the receiver on the lower recessed shelf, arranged like this, viewed from the side:

Code: Select all

           TV
==============
             |
             |
      IR     |
     =========

It's really not a problem, and I don't think I can do anything about it anyway. I don't see it at all anymore, and the PC has never acted on any of this stray IR. It doesn't interfere with the remote.

[barnabas1969]

Crawfish, thanks for the tip on LightDims. Great idea.

I had the same problem with the blinking LED on my IR receiver when I bought a plasma TV. If you can relocate your IR receiver to a place where it doesn't get any direct or reflected light from the plasma panel, you can solve the problem with the IR receiver. I moved my IR receiver up on top of my center channel speaker, which is mounted above the TV.

I think my Panasonic ST60 must be a radiation beast, or maybe the room is smaller so reflections are worse. Anyway, it does it with the TV at the back of my AnthroCart and the receiver on the lower recessed shelf, arranged like this, viewed from the side:

Code: Select all

           TV
==============
             |
             |
      IR     |
     =========

It's really not a problem, and I don't think I can do anything about it anyway. I don't see it at all anymore, and the PC has never acted on any of this stray IR. It doesn't interfere with the remote.

Fluorescent lights will affect the IR receiver too. But if it's not affecting the operation of the remote, I guess it doesn't matter. Mine was affecting the operation of the remote.

[offroad]

Continuing my OP discussion. Found that the Harmony Logictech 300 remote can be bought in amazon for $30. So it can use the Harmony software to load the code sets for any remote via USB. It's an alternative to JP1 programming software system.

For now sticking with the $15 RCA remote. But will investigate the $40 remote for harmony someone mentioned.

[offroad]

Tried to use a cheap $7 saxony winxp mouse remote (bought on amazon) on my computer running win7. It worked. Barely. Started having problems with the driver for the IR getting all flaky and really poorly effecting my win7 htpc. Sent it back to try a different mouse remote controlled by IR.

[offroad]

Trz916 - will now try out the mouse remote you bought. Can you give feedback on what you found? I will also be testing the Saxony MCE win7 remote for $15 on amazon. Need to find an IR remote that can be mapped to a programmable IR remote.

[mdavej]

Offroad,

We have complete JP1 upgrades for trz916's saxony remote, including all mouse functionality that will work perfectly on your RCA. Just load both Ortek upgrades from here:

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... cat_id=156

Ortek/Adesso and it's clones like Saxony and Hama are excellent WMC remotes. They use Ortek protocol rather than MCE, so be aware of that when trying to use an Ortek dongle with a universal remote.

I don't know what you mean by your last sentence about mapping to a programmable IR remote, can you clarify?

[tzr916]

The "mouse remote" that I got works great imo. It does all wmc controls/features perfectly. I wouldn't know anything about trying to remap any of it's functions. AFAIK the buttons themselves cannot be re-programmed for AVR volume or Tv power etc. But learning the IR output from it to a learning remote was easy for me.

[offroad]

Mdavej - where can I get a JP1 cable that is fast shipping and cheap and good?

[mdavej]

It's tough to meet all 3 requirements. For cheap and good, I'd go for the $9 one below. A few JP1ers have apparently bought from that vendor without issue. It comes from China, so it will take a few weeks. You could search for similar FTDI cables and see if you can find any US sellers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330809610323

We should probably continue JP1 related discussions over at hifi-remote.com. All the expert users, developers, software, files and technical details are over there.

[barnabas1969]

Mdavej - where can I get a JP1 cable that is fast shipping and cheap and good?

Old engineering saying: We can make it fast, good, and cheap. Pick two.

[staknhalo]

Old engineering saying: We can make it fast, good, and cheap. Pick two.

*or I am really not someone who should be correcting others on phrasing lol

[crawfish]

For the JP1 cable, I recommend "constructing" the one Tommy Tyler describes here. It took me about 5 minutes to change out the header so it will fit the JP1 remote's interface port, with no soldering or other skill required:

Build Your Own USB JP1.2/3 Flash Interface

It works perfectly in a Windows XP VM (VMWare Player), with no additional driver required, though drivers are available from FTDI for later Windows versions, including Windows 7 x64. Avoid the cable from diygadget.com; based on two samples a couple of years ago, their cable is poorly constructed and unreliable.

[offroad]

I ordered the cable parts from MOUSER for $25 with shipping. Was torn because for $5 more I could buy the four device harmony 300 remote with cable. But read about my learning RCA remote being able to control 8 devices for $10 (has JP1 connection). Figure that I might get a couple RCA remotes for friends and family, and the RCA buttons might last longer, but can be replaced cheaply.

[offroad]

Reviews on harmony 300 say they do not last long, and at $30 for a replacement, it seems a poor choice to invest time into. Hope the JP1 cable and RCA learning remote at $35 combined cost is the best path to take.

Now just need to find a cost effective IR USB CABLE with a blaster.

[staknhalo]

I've had 1 Logitech Harmony 300 for something like 3 years. I got it shortly after they were released. Picked up a second one a little while back .They've been working fine for me

[Doctor Feelgood]

After trying more than my fair share of remotes, this one is my favorite - by far:

http://amzn.com/B001KC08A4

Fully programmable, fully backlit, fast response time, feels heavy duty, and it can do macros. Excellent to finally have the MCE "Stop" command and TV power off command get sent in one step since the rest of the family couldn't remember to do both. Not a true MCE "gree button" remote, but probably beter for my use since no one knows what a green button is supposed to do, but they can understand that pressing "menu" takes you back to the main menu.

It doesn't have an IR receiver, but I had a bunch of Rosewill units that came with their remotes that go on sale for next to nothing on occasion - and I really like the range, look, and performance of those.

[offroad]

Dr feel good. - looked at that remote. It can be good. But noticed no JP1 available. My next step requirement is that I can back up all codes for a remote, so I can buy a replacement remote and restore it instantly. But have to admit those red backlight keys look nice.

[mdavej]

The URC WR7 above is an excellent remote, and very popular. Although it lacks any JP1 capabilities, it has a lot of great features for the price, as Doctor Feelgood mentioned. One feature many may not be aware of is long key press macros on the device buttons. For example, to have the TV button switch to TV mode on a short press and run your WatchTV macro on a long press, simply make the first macro step a Pause.

As for cheap harmony 200s and 300s, they're a fine solution as well, but quite limited (only one activity macro, no sequences, fewer hard buttons, etc.). They're very easy to program and work well with very simple systems.

Offroad, I almost forgot, when you get your cable and start programming, there is one small change you have to make to the RDF file for the Ortek upgrade to work on the RCA. When you get to that point you'll understand what I'm talking about. You need to change "01ED" in the Protocols section of the RDF to "01ED:uei".