Developing Elderly / Dementia Friendly Remote from URC1280

[Parrot]

Hi everyone, first post here (but veteran on other forums so I know what's what).

I've joined because of a specific project: helping an elderly friend on the verge of dementia to continue using TV actively rather than passively! The specific problem is an inability to understand the succession of channels going "up" or "down" - so a standard big-button remote with on/off, volume up/down, and channel up/down wouldn't help.

(Here in the UK it's BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV2...)

An added complication is it's not just a TV - there is a set-top box (PVR) involved providing an easier-to-read interface than the TV itself. I am loath to take the PVR out of the equation because suddenly things would become unfamiliar, but sometimes the TV reverts to tuner instead of HDMI (especially if she presses the wrong button in the existing universal remote - a Harmony 300). So a "solution" will require macros.

I bought a One For All URC1280 with the intention of experimenting with JP1, and with the prospect of using its innards connected to a custom made keypad with big buttons labelled "BBC1", "BBC2" etc... and especially a button marked "FIX" which makes sure the PVR is on and the TV is on HDMI. For nice buttons I have cannibalised a cheap wireless keyboard - which has provided a quantity of buttons with scissor mechanisms, and a redundant Sky box has provided 16 push switches (and a USB WI-FI module!).

The URC1280:



My next step is to explore the facilities of JP1, hence researches lead here. I have downloaded the software and it runs on my Linux system.

As my PC has a motherboard with serial port, I figure I can hook up the JO1 to that rather than obtain a USB to Serial adapter. Gleaning from here: http://www.hifi-remote.com/wiki/index.php/JP1_Cables, the JP1 pin allocations are

1 - VDD
2 - RTS
3 - GND
4 - TXD
5 - NC
6 - RXD

A serial port doesn't have VDD, so is it OK to hook that up to +5V?

Unfortunately the connector on the URC1280 doesn't look the same as illustrated elsewhere. I can see pin 1 identified, but nothing to say whether it is JP1.4 or what. The access hole is differently shaped:



I'll blog progress, which I hope will be useful to somebody.

Am I on the right track so far? Tips please people.

[The Robman]

The URC-1280 is a JP1.4 remote.

I would recommend switching to an FTDI USB cable rather than the serial cable personally, as you can get a cable for under $10 shipped on ebay.
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16360

[Parrot]

The URC-1280 is a JP1.4 remote.

Thanks.

I would recommend switching to an FTDI USB cable rather than the serial cable personally, as you can get a cable for under $10 shipped on ebay.
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16360

Not so straightforward in the UK, and anyway why bother if the serial works? I have the bits to make a cable. Are you saying it won't work?

[The Robman]

Not so straightforward in the UK

Why so, you have ebay there too, right?

and anyway why bother if the serial works? I have the bits to make a cable. Are you saying it won't work?

I'm not saying that, necessarily, it's just that nobody's used a serial cable for at least 10 years or so, so I have no idea if it will work. But no harm in giving it a try.

[Parrot]

Not so straightforward in the UK

Why so, you have ebay there too, right?

Well, the linked items are all US, so I would have to import them. Searching on the UK site comes up with possible options, which don't have your recommendation, and delivery is about a week.

Nonetheless I have ordered one, as a fallback plan.

[The Robman]

Lol, most of the items I linked to are in China, so it's an import regardless, UK or US.

[mdavej]

I'm pretty sure connecting directly to the serial port won't work. Here's the schematics for building an interface that connects to a serial port:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=5958

[3FG]

The Tx line on a motherboard-based serial port will typically conform to the RS-232 standard and output +12V and -12V. It will also expect roughly the same magnitude of voltage swing on the Rx line. Connecting this directly to a remote will probably fry it, and even if it doesn't, the port probably won't recognize the signals on the Rx line.

In general, connecting the VDD pin is optional. If it isn't connected you'll need batteries in the remote in order to talk to it. And, some remotes won't communicate without batteries even if Vdd is connected. So it is better to not connect Vdd to the remote.

A typical USB to serial adapter will swing 0 to +5V or 0 to +3.3V. These work fine with remotes, but ironically don't work with legacy hardware that was designed to the RS-232 standard. At my work, for example, we have an X-ray diffractometer built around 2000 which requires an expensive USB to "real" RS-232 adapter.

[LlF]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TXVRQ7V/
im using this which should arrive fast if you have amazon prime.
there are also ppl selling home made cable maybe u can find one locally, or same continentaly.

[Parrot]

Great, thanks for all replies. I can easily check what voltage my serial port runs at before connecting anything.

Yes, I agree proper RS232 is +/-12V, but modern serial ports tend to be 0V/5V or at least able to receive 0V/5V. But how many commodity PCs have a serial port any more? It just happens mine does (so far, unused!). Actually, I haven't broken it out to an external connector, it's just an IDC connector on the motherboard at the moment.

The cable I have ordered will arrive soon enough, checking out the serial port will take up the time I have available while I'm waiting, without letting the project stall.

Anybody know whether the URC1280 falls into the category "doesn't work with external VDD"?

[Barf]

... modern serial ports tend to be 0V/5V or at least able to receive 0V/5V.

Actually, it is "often" 3.3V, and modern processor boards are not 5V compatible, and can be destroyed by 5V.

[marcel jacques]

Yes, I agree proper RS232 is +/-12V, but modern serial ports tend to be 0V/5V or at least able to receive 0V/5V. But how many commodity PCs have a serial port any more? It just happens mine does (so far, unused!). Actually, I haven't broken it out to an external connector, it's just an IDC connector on the motherboard at the moment.

The cable I have ordered will arrive soon enough, checking out the serial port will take up the time I have available while I'm waiting, without letting the project stall.

If this IDC connector is intended to be connected to a DB9 connector, then it is a standard +/-12 V RS232 port, so don't connect it to your remote as it can be destroyed by 12V and negative voltages !

Anybody know whether the URC1280 falls into the category "doesn't work with external VDD"?

All relatively recent remotes connected via a JP1.x cable dont require external VDD but only 3 signals: RXD, TXD and RTS (and GND of course) but the batteries have to be present.

[marcel jacques]

Hi everyone, first post here (but veteran on other forums so I know what's what).

I've joined because of a specific project: helping an elderly friend on the verge of dementia to continue using TV actively rather than passively! The specific problem is an inability to understand the succession of channels going "up" or "down" - so a standard big-button remote with on/off, volume up/down, and channel up/down wouldn't help.

(Here in the UK it's BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV2...)

An added complication is it's not just a TV - there is a set-top box (PVR) involved providing an easier-to-read interface than the TV itself. I am loath to take the PVR out of the equation because suddenly things would become unfamiliar, but sometimes the TV reverts to tuner instead of HDMI (especially if she presses the wrong button in the existing universal remote - a Harmony 300). So a "solution" will require macros.

My mother (96 years old) has a similar problem with the remote of its Samsung TV.
This remote has a "TV/DTV" button which she relatively often presses unvoluntarily, which gives a snowy screen (no analog channel anymore) and she does not know how to get out of it ...
I gave her a simple universal remote with only CH+/CH- and vol+/vol- but it's not ideal as she is not used to this method of changing channels.

[Parrot]

This remote has a "TV/DTV" button which she relatively often presses unvoluntarily, which gives a snowy screen (no analog channel anymore) and she does not know how to get out of it ...

I guess you could disable that button physically? At least it would solve that particular problem.

My user was on the phone again this morning, because it "didn't work". I went through the rigamarole of making sure the kit was all on (it wasn't) and the TV was looking at the PVR (it might have been), and then worked out she actually had the PVR receiving a station that was not broadcasting right now. Bearing in mind the PVR is set to restore to her favourite 24/7 channel in the middle of the night, the only way it could have got like that is by turning it on then pressing the CH- for too long. I hope I will be able to program JP1 not to send continuous codes!

It seems to me there would be a market if a manufacturer of remotes got on board with a suitable design, preferably with the option for users to configure to their requirements, but that can't totally solve the problem above unless I remove all channels that do not transmit 24/7.

[Parrot]

I'll share a bit more detail of my thinking:

The PVR in question is a Humax HDR-FOX T2 (which came out around 2010, when HD TV was starting in the UK using DVB-T2 encoding on specific broadcast channels - most of the muxes remain DVB-T). I'm part of a community which has hacked the HDR-FOX and we can run our own software, not instead of the Humax firmware (which is a black box) but alongside it.

The remote for a HDR-FOX operates on a user-selectable one of six control channels, but we can intercept the input from the IR receiver and modify it before feeding it into the Humax code.

This means that, while the PVR is operating in (say) channel 1, I can still send codes on (say) channel 6 and act on them in our own software.

What I propose to do is assign RC buttons to specific services. EG: the BBC NEWS channel is 231. This would normally require three button presses "2" "3" "1" and then an optional "OK" (or wait). A macro could send "2" "3" "1" "OK", but with my scheme the RC can send (eg) "9" on channel 6 instead of channel 1, the software on the Humax picks that up and instead of passing it on the firmware to be ignored (wrong channel), it translates it to "2" "3" "1" "OK". (I can also ensure BBC NEWS is always on 231, regardless of where "they" decide to move it, short of stopping transmission altogether.)

So, as long as my macros don't involve the TV (some will), all my custom macro expansion can take place within the PVR instead of the remote.

I could solve a lot of the existing problems with the existing remote that way, except the buttons are still too small.


BTW: I love technical forums. I miss having a team to bounce ideas and problems off, progress is stimulated by having a team rather than working in isolation. Forums make up for that.