ATT U-verse with an RF-IR extender on URC-6820

rickgtx · Post by **rickgtx** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:05 am

Any thoughts on why the RF-IR extender does not work with ATT U-verse?

I have a Next Generation Remote Control Extender RF to IR extender discussed briefly here:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10779

It works fine on 5 other devices, but not with the ATT U-verse STB (Motorola VIP 1200). I use the Motorola_VIP1200.txt from the device upgrade section. The 3 other ATT U-verse upgrades do not work in my URC-6820. Two complain the protocol is not compatible with the 6820.

The Motorola_VIP1200.txt is the only one I have that has an upgrade protocol 0 = 01 73 (S3C80) Nokia32 on my HCS08 device. Is S3S80 vs HCS08 a problem?

I find the URC-6820 perfect with the Remote Control Extender. It has two batteries you can swap with the Extender unit recharger. It is my only JP1.2 device the other 3 are JP1 and have 4 batteries. I have not great success with them transmitting the RF signal.

TIA, Rick

Post by **vickyg2003** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:57 am

If its not working you should capture the signals at the emitter end and figure out what's being lost. It could be as simple as placement of the ir emitter, or it could be that the signal you are trying to convert is too complex. I've been meaning to get one of these myself. Thanks for reminding me.

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:31 pm

Just to be clear, does the upgrade work using IR only? If not, we need to find a working upgrade first. If the upgrade doesn't work at all, and the 6820 is learning, could you learn a few signals and post your IR file?

Also I've read that some remotes work better if the nextgen transmitter/battery is on a particular side. You may want to try swapping sides to see if that helps.

rickgtx · Post by **rickgtx** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:13 am

The remote works fine with the IR signal on every STB I have. However, it does not seem to send RF. I can see the "flying saucer" light up when it controls the other devices (TV,DVD,VCR) near the ATT U-verse box, but not when I send the ATT signals from the 6820.

From what I read on the Web, success with this RF-IR extender with ATT-uverse has been hit and miss. No one reports success with the U-verse remote itself. ATT offers a RF U-verse remote now for $50 that might solve my problem.

Update: I tried to learn the ATT U-verse signals from the flying saucer emitter with my URC-8910 and it just gave the timed out "ERROR".
However, I notice something strange that makes me think some IR signals are being produced. The IR from a remote that has the transmitter is affected by the flying saucer emitter. You have to get real close to the STB in the room with the flying saucer emitter for the remote to work. Unplug the flying saucer emitter - no problem. Same on the ATT remote or URC 6820 only with the ATT U-verse STB.

Hmm... An IR dampening field... I wonder if the CIA knows about this

rickgtx · Post by **rickgtx** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 5:59 am

I fixed this a while back, but thought I post the answer if anyone has the same problem.

It seems some Sharp LCD TV's emit IR as part of the automatic brightness. This interferes with Motorola VIP 1200 STB that ATT Uverse uses. A simple 3x5 card shielding the STB IR receiver from the TV fixes it.

jimdunn · Post by **jimdunn** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:09 am

Yes - we saw that kind of problem here recently, with a different TV and a Dish box.

It took us quite a while, there, to stop just looking for errors in macros and programming, and think "outside the square"...

Looks like this kind of "IR conflict" is not quite as rare as I thought it was.