URC-6131 : Swap device setup codes with a macro, do-able?

[mdwheaton]

Hello all,

I am a newbie and just have to say KUDOS to all the gods of JP1 in this forum.

I have been doing a fair amount of reading and experimenting and have a pretty good hold on the basics of JP1, IR, and RM.

I did some pretty thorough searching of this forum to find an answer to this, but maybe I'm not searching with the correct terminology.

Here's what I'm TRYING to do, and not getting very far with it.

Code: Select all

===========================================================
In the FAMILY room, I have the following equipment :
===========================================================
1. Zenith Home Theater in a Box :
     Built into the device :
       * DVD unit
       * VCR unit
       * Tuner unit
2. DishNetwork 510 PVR
===========================================================
In the DEN, I have the following equipment :
===========================================================
1. Sylvania VCR/DVD combo :
     Built into the device :
       * DVD unit
       * VCR unit
2. DishNetwork 522 PVR
3. JVC Tuner
===========================================================
On my URC-6131 I have created the following UPGRADES :
===========================================================
Code  Device Type                     For Room
----  ------------------------------  --------
2020  CBL/SAT (DishNetwork 510)       FAMILY
2020  AUD (Zenith Tuner)              FAMILY
2020  VCR (Zenith VCR)                FAMILY
2021  DVD (Zenith DVD)                FAMILY

2040  CBL/SAT (DishNetwork 522)       DEN
2040  AUD (JVC Tuner)                 DEN
2040  VCR (Sylvania VCR)              DEN
2041  DVD (Sylvania DVD)              DEN
===========================================================

What I would like to achive is to be able to execute a macro to switch all the device keys to the FAMILY room setup codes, and another macro to switch all the device keys to the DEN room setup codes.

Something like Shift-1 to switch to FAMILY, and Shift-2 to switch to DEN.

Is this do-able with, or without the extender ?

If so, any pointers on a simple macro to switch one device key from one setup code to another ?

Thanks all for your feedback.

[The Robman]

Yes it is, but it would be tricky to explain how, send me your IR.exe file and I'll try modifying it. However, if you have any keymoves programmed, these will remain pointing to the old setup codes when they get switched.

[mdwheaton]

Hi Rob,

As requested, here's my IR file.

Full 6131 IR Setup

The actual device codes differ a bit from my example scenario from my original post, but you'll see those in the IR file that I've uploaded.

As you can see, I do have a good number of keymoves, so unless I can successfully create a number of combined protocols, then switching device setup codes might not be such a good idea in any case.

I'm not a KM master, and have exclusively used RM to this point.
Below, are all the RM configurations used for this setup.

DEN room devices
DishNetwork DishPlayer 522
JVC Receiver
Sylvania DVD from the DVD/VCR Combo
Sylvania VCR from the DVD/VCR Combo

FAMILY room devices
DishNetwork DishPlayer 510
Zenith Home Theater VCR Device
Zenith Home Theater Tuner Device
Zenith Home Theater DVD Device

If I'm trying to do too much, then the easiest thing is to just buy another remote from you or just use my 8810 in the den.
If I use the 8810 in the den, I would like to configure the "SELECT" key to activate the DVR menu after being pressed for 2+ seconds. Can you point me in the right direction for that one as well ?

Thanks Rob, and excellent work on the 6131 mod.

[The Robman]

Well, personally, I think the best idea is to have a dedicated remote for each room, that way you have total freedom to set it up however you want, with keymoves and whatever. Plus, the remote will always be in the right place. With a shared remote, I bet there are going to be times when you sit down to watch TV and then realize that the remote is in the other room, and what about when you want to watch TV in one room and someone else wants to watch TV in the other room?

If you do want to persue using the one remote for both rooms, it can be done. I've looked at your keymoves and fortunately, they're all for buttons that are included in the various device modes (ie, you're not programming the 3 PIP buttons), so you could use the device combiner to replicate your setup without keymoves. I can't use RM during the day (as I don't have the authority to install Java on my PC at work) so I can't do the DC stuff for you. If you create a new IR file using the DC with no keymoves, I'll set it up so you can switch from room to room.

If you would be using keymoves for the other room, you'll need to use the DC for that also.

I notice that you use the same setup code number (2000 or 2020) for several different upgrades. Personally, I think this is very confusing. I would recommend that you use a unique setup code for each upgrade. For example, you could use CBL/2000, VCR/2001, DVD/2002 and AUD/2003 for the one room, and CBL/2020, VCR/2021, DVD/2022 and AUD/2023 for the other room.

[mdwheaton]

I can't use RM during the day (as I don't have the authority to install Java on my PC at work) so I can't do the DC stuff for you.

Ok, this is where I start getting cornfused . I've been reading about device combining but almost all of what I found specifically deals with KM, not RM.

Am I missing a dialog somewhere in RM ? The only device "combining" is from the dropdown select list, like "NEC1 2 Device", etc.

I found none in that list that would help me.

For example, my Sylvania DVD/VCR combo uses the Emerson protocol for the VCR and the NEC1 protocol for the DVD.

I think it would be cleaner to be able to use a combined protocol to avoid keymoves. Is there a straight forward process for that, or is it not worth the trouble and complexity ?

Maybe it's not as easy as I first thought, or I'm not finding the right dialog in RM.

Incidentally, the version of RM I have is 0.96a.

I *believe* that is the most recent ?

[The Robman]

I've never used the DC in RM, and it's only just been implemented, so I can't say what you would do, but I would assume it's in the readme or other documentation that comes with RM.

In KM it is indeed one of the protocols in the drop down list.