Inteset INT-422: some basic questions to get me going

[sirjp1]

I got an Inteset INT-422, a JP1 cable and have it all working on my computer (at least I can download and upload using RMIR). All thanks to mdavej

Now a few basic questions:

- Under General/Device Buttons I see in this order: dev1, A, dev3, D, C, B, dev7, dev8. How can I assign the extra 4 dev1,3,7,8 to the hard ABCD buttons on the remote, using Shift-ABCD? I'm not sure where to go in the software to do it.

- Is it possible to reset the remote via the software? The equivalent of a 981 code. It would save me the trouble of unplugging the cable as the remote buttons don't seem to work while the cable is connected to the computer.

- Is this the correct procedure for customizing a device upgrade for my remote? Find the device upgrade file (this is challenging, some tips are appreciated), open it in RM, customize the buttons, save the file, go to RMIR, Devices, open the saved device upgrade file.

- I'm wondering why RM and RMIR are not in the same application. It would be useful to work on a device and just tell it to send it to the remote Devices (or send it to RMIR at least). Or is there a simple way to do it without going through the steps of saving the file, opening it in RMIR, etc.?

- I did a factory image restore of my remote using this file. After the restore, it seems that the device buttons are locked, you can't assign new codes to them via the remote. Took me a while to figure out why the remote didn't like any device codes anymore. It seems that a 977 reset/restore unlocks the buttons. Of course, I can unlock them via the software too. Is this normal behavior after a factory image restore?

Thank you and it's exciting to play with my first JP1 (I come from a Harmony remote background).

[gfb107]

RMIR and RM and in fact a single application. Most people have no reason to use RM in standalone mode.

Once you've loaded a device upgrade file into RMIR, and you save your remote's complete configuration as a .RMIR file, you never need to use the device upgrade file again.

To load a device upgrade file into RMIR, go to the Device tab, click New, then use the "Open" button at the bottom.

The content of the device upgrade is essentially copied into the RMIR file, so the RMIR files is self contained. All the comments and even the unassigned functions are preserved.

You can then modify the device upgrade directly from RMIR's Device tab.
To do that, use the Edit actions in the button bar and in the right-click context menu, or simply double-click in the Device Type or Setup Code columns.

If you need to export your modified device upgrade to a .RMDU file, you click the "Save as" button at the bottom of the Device Uprade Editor.

[sirjp1]

I see, thanks for the explanation.

Does the Device Type of an upgrade mean anything? I sometimes see upgrade files for Blu-ray players that have the Device Type set to Cable or SAT. Should these be corrected or are they set like that for a reason?

[mdavej]

Device type isn't important in this remote when you program with RM. You can change it if you want, but it won't really make any difference. Device type would enable certain groups of keys on older remotes. For example TV wouldn't have playback keys, but DVD would. In newer remotes, all types use all keys. So Device Type is used more for categorizing setup codes. Since setup codes are arbitrary in RM, we don't need this or the key group filtering.

- Under General/Device Buttons I see in this order: dev1, A, dev3, D, C, B, dev7, dev8. How can I assign the extra 4 dev1,3,7,8 to the hard ABCD buttons on the remote, using Shift-ABCD? I'm not sure where to go in the software to do it.

To access dev8, for example, put a macro on your button of choice with just the setp "dev8". When you press that button it will be in dev8 mode.

- Is it possible to reset the remote via the software? The equivalent of a 981 code. It would save me the trouble of unplugging the cable as the remote buttons don't seem to work while the cable is connected to the computer.

No. You must unplug to use. It might be sufficient to just unpug the USB side.

- Is this the correct procedure for customizing a device upgrade for my remote? Find the device upgrade file (this is challenging, some tips are appreciated), open it in RM, customize the buttons, save the file, go to RMIR, Devices, open the saved device upgrade file.

- I'm wondering why RM and RMIR are not in the same application. It would be useful to work on a device and just tell it to send it to the remote Devices (or send it to RMIR at least). Or is there a simple way to do it without going through the steps of saving the file, opening it in RMIR, etc.?

Greg (the original author of RM) covered this. But I'll add that I like to save my upgrades both in the RMIR file and as separate files for portability to other remotes.

- I did a factory image restore of my remote using this file. After the restore, it seems that the device buttons are locked, you can't assign new codes to them via the remote. Took me a while to figure out why the remote didn't like any device codes anymore. It seems that a 977 reset/restore unlocks the buttons. Of course, I can unlock them via the software too. Is this normal behavior after a factory image restore?

This could be an error in our RDF (Remote Definition File), overwriting those code lock bits by mistake. I'll have to look into it.

One more thing you may not realize. Whenever you download, it replaces the entire RAM (so to speak) of your remote, overwriting any manual changes you may have made. So you should get in the habit of either using the software exclusively or at least uploading your manual changes before making any further changes in RM.

[sirjp1]

Device type isn't important in this remote when you program with RM. You can change it if you want, but it won't really make any difference. Device type would enable certain groups of keys on older remotes. For example TV wouldn't have playback keys, but DVD would. In newer remotes, all types use all keys. So Device Type is used more for categorizing setup codes. Since setup codes are arbitrary in RM, we don't need this or the key group filtering.

Thanks for clarifying. Out of curiosity, in RM I see 4-digit device codes. I understand the first digit in a 5-digit code is the device type. Is there a list somewhere what the digits mean, e.g. 0=SAT/Cable, 1=TV, 2=DVD, 3=Audio, etc.? Does it depend on the remote model or are they consistent across remotes?

- Under General/Device Buttons I see in this order: dev1, A, dev3, D, C, B, dev7, dev8. How can I assign the extra 4 dev1,3,7,8 to the hard ABCD buttons on the remote, using Shift-ABCD? I'm not sure where to go in the software to do it.

To access dev8, for example, put a macro on your button of choice with just the setp "dev8". When you press that button it will be in dev8 mode.

So in theory I could map dev8 to Shift-D, correct? The ABCD buttons on the Inteset seem to be better than in other remotes, they allow macros.

- Is it possible to reset the remote via the software? The equivalent of a 981 code. It would save me the trouble of unplugging the cable as the remote buttons don't seem to work while the cable is connected to the computer.

No. You must unplug to use. It might be sufficient to just unpug the USB side.

Yes, unplugging the USB side works and a lot easier than the discrete tiny wires at the other end. I'm curious what "Blast upper memory", "write 0", "write FF" do and whether they are equivalent to a reset, I don't want to just try them and brick the remote

- Is this the correct procedure for customizing a device upgrade for my remote? Find the device upgrade file (this is challenging, some tips are appreciated), open it in RM, customize the buttons, save the file, go to RMIR, Devices, open the saved device upgrade file.

- I'm wondering why RM and RMIR are not in the same application. It would be useful to work on a device and just tell it to send it to the remote Devices (or send it to RMIR at least). Or is there a simple way to do it without going through the steps of saving the file, opening it in RMIR, etc.?

Greg (the original author of RM) covered this. But I'll add that I like to save my upgrades both in the RMIR file and as separate files for portability to other remotes.

I'm thinking the same thing, save the upgrades so I can share them with others.

- I did a factory image restore of my remote using this file. After the restore, it seems that the device buttons are locked, you can't assign new codes to them via the remote. Took me a while to figure out why the remote didn't like any device codes anymore. It seems that a 977 reset/restore unlocks the buttons. Of course, I can unlock them via the software too. Is this normal behavior after a factory image restore?

This could be an error in our RDF (Remote Definition File), overwriting those code lock bits by mistake. I'll have to look into it.

If you want me to try anything please let me know, now that I have the cable I'd like to make sure that we have good files for this remote type. It seems like a very nice remote, cheap enough, so it should become popular in no time.

One more thing you may not realize. Whenever you download, it replaces the entire RAM (so to speak) of your remote, overwriting any manual changes you may have made. So you should get in the habit of either using the software exclusively or at least uploading your manual changes before making any further changes in RM.

I'm not sure I fully understand this. I think you are referring to upload/download the opposite way than I think of it To me upload = send from the computer to the remote, download = get what's on the remote into RM. I think what you mean is that if I make any changes to the setup via the remote itself, I should always make sure I get all the data from the remote to the computer (RM).

[mdavej]

Thanks for clarifying. Out of curiosity, in RM I see 4-digit device codes. I understand the first digit in a 5-digit code is the device type. Is there a list somewhere what the digits mean, e.g. 0=SAT/Cable, 1=TV, 2=DVD, 3=Audio, etc.? Does it depend on the remote model or are they consistent across remotes?

Yes, that pretty much it: 0, 1, 2, 3 only. There are some exceptions in some of the newer models.

So in theory I could map dev8 to Shift-D, correct? The ABCD buttons on the Inteset seem to be better than in other remotes, they allow macros.

Yes, that will work fine.

Yes, unplugging the USB side works and a lot easier than the discrete tiny wires at the other end. I'm curious what "Blast upper memory", "write 0", "write FF" do and whether they are equivalent to a reset, I don't want to just try them and brick the remote

Unless your remote is essentially bricked, I wouldn't go that far. Blasting does more than a 981 and should only be used as a last resort.

I'm not sure I fully understand this. I think you are referring to upload/download the opposite way than I think of it To me upload = send from the computer to the remote, download = get what's on the remote into RM. I think what you mean is that if I make any changes to the setup via the remote itself, I should always make sure I get all the data from the remote to the computer (RM).

Yes, I miss-spoke. I often use some other software that uses the opposite.

But, on second thought, even this is not a good practice since downloading from will wipe out all your descriptions and comments. Probably best to download to a new file and transfer changes to your working file manually.

[unclemiltie]

There have been reports of JP1.3 remotes getting into an undocumented programming mode for the internal Samsung processor and wiping things out. It's long been suspected that this was because of noise on the JP1.3 port. It's only happened a few times but your comments "unplugging the tiny wires" made me think that you might be unplugging the wires one at a time instead of a block of all 6 at the same time. Definitely dangerous.

I'd never unplug on the USB side either by the way since those interfaces may very well put noise on the line.

[mdavej]

If you want me to try anything please let me know, now that I have the cable I'd like to make sure that we have good files for this remote type. It seems like a very nice remote, cheap enough, so it should become popular in no time.

Actually, there is something I'd like you to try. I'd like to confirm the code lock bits are pointing to the right places. So do this test:

In RMIR, turn all code lock bits off but one. Test and see that code lock works for that one and not the others. Then turn that one off and make sure it works.

[sirjp1]

Thanks for clarifying. Out of curiosity, in RM I see 4-digit device codes. I understand the first digit in a 5-digit code is the device type. Is there a list somewhere what the digits mean, e.g. 0=SAT/Cable, 1=TV, 2=DVD, 3=Audio, etc.? Does it depend on the remote model or are they consistent across remotes?

Yes, that pretty much it: 0, 1, 2, 3 only. There are some exceptions in some of the newer models.

Any way for RM to show them as numbers rather than by name to make it easier to see the 5-digit setup code?

But, on second thought, even this is not a good practice since downloading from will wipe out all your descriptions and comments. Probably best to download to a new file and transfer changes to your working file manually.

Good point. The lesson is: use RM only, keep (versioned) saved files, in case you need to go back to one that worked better.

[sirjp1]

If you want me to try anything please let me know, now that I have the cable I'd like to make sure that we have good files for this remote type. It seems like a very nice remote, cheap enough, so it should become popular in no time.

Actually, there is something I'd like you to try. I'd like to confirm the code lock bits are pointing to the right places. So do this test:

In RMIR, turn all code lock bits off but one. Test and see that code lock works for that one and not the others. Then turn that one off and make sure it works.

I loaded the your factory image file and it shows that Setup Code Lock is On by default for the ABCD devices, but Off for dev1,3,7,8. This makes sense.

I also tried setting ABC to Off and leaving D to On and uploaded the image to the remote. Unplugged the remote, yes I can change the setup code for ABC, but not for D. Good. Then I hooked up the remote again, set D to Off in RM, uploaded the firmware again, unplugged, tried to now set a code for D and it also worked. So the bits seem to work OK.

The only problem I can see is that your factory image file sets ABCD lock to On. Not a big deal and not sure you need to fix it if that's what the factory image truly is. Perhaps just add a comment to your file in the download area so people are aware they need to unlock them or do a 977 after restoring the image.

In general I guess I'd want to lock the setup codes when I'm done configuring the remote so nobody resets them by accident, though even if they do, not a big deal, I can always restore from a backup file or save a config (986) that can be restored with 977.

[sirjp1]

There have been reports of JP1.3 remotes getting into an undocumented programming mode for the internal Samsung processor and wiping things out. It's long been suspected that this was because of noise on the JP1.3 port. It's only happened a few times but your comments "unplugging the tiny wires" made me think that you might be unplugging the wires one at a time instead of a block of all 6 at the same time. Definitely dangerous.

I'd never unplug on the USB side either by the way since those interfaces may very well put noise on the line.

I have a FTDI cable that comes with 6 discrete wires, using only 4 of them. What should I do? Pull on all 4 at the same time? So far I've only unplugged the USB connector from the computer. Bad idea?

[unclemiltie]

I can't say. I don't think anyone has ever really figured out how the remotes get messed up.


But you may want to consider taking a battery out before you pull the plugs. The cable doesn't power the remote so that might help.

[pH7_jp1]

I have a FTDI cable that comes with 6 discrete wires, using only 4 of them. What should I do? Pull on all 4 at the same time? So far I've only unplugged the USB connector from the computer. Bad idea?

What I did was to use heatshrink tubing over 6 connectors, leaving the wire out of 2 of them. You could, of course, replace the ends with a single 2x3 header, as described in: Build a JP1.x/JP2 cable using an FTDI Serial Converter Cable

[sirjp1]

I have a FTDI cable that comes with 6 discrete wires, using only 4 of them. What should I do? Pull on all 4 at the same time? So far I've only unplugged the USB connector from the computer. Bad idea?

What I did was to use heatshrink tubing over 6 connectors, leaving the wire out of 2 of them. You could, of course, replace the ends with a single 2x3 header, as described in: Build a JP1.x/JP2 cable using an FTDI Serial Converter Cable

I was thinking about doing something, but I think I may want to use the cable as a JTAG cable for Wi-Fi routers where the pin assignment can be different, so it's good that the pins are discrete. If it works well I should just buy another cable.

[3FG]

The most important point is to never attach any wire to pin 5 of the 6 pin connector. Manipulating pin 5 can put the Samsung micro into "Tool Mode".

For disconnecting, my recommendation is to remove the RTS line first, then the TXD line (referred to the FTDI chip), then RXD, and finally ground. I don't actually think the disconnect sequence is important, because the standard practice of using a header still generates an indeterminate sequence of disconnection from the pins. Even 1 mSec is a very long time on the time scale of a microcontroller.