JP1 Remotes

underquark wrote:Use the built-in Panasonic codes for the TVs - there's your negative upgrade.

I do. It uses 0250, but through KM because I needed better button mapping than UEI idea. And yes, I did catch Capn Trips' post, but haven't sifted through it enough yet to see all the thinking. I wanna know how he got rid of DSM, 'cause it's a lifeline for me Will snoop more.

The Robman wrote:If you're using an extender, why not program a macro on a button that will select the TV #2 volume, and a macro on another button that selects the receivers volume.

The problem is, TV#2 doesn't exist as a device, or, more precicely, it's invisible to the remote since it shares the TV/0250 setup with TV#1.
But I think you're on to something perhaps more elegant than my solution. Do you mean to have 2 macros, one being existing DEV_AUDIO;SET_VOLUME_KEYS;DEV_CANCEL (used in several device macros) and another, just DEV_TV;SET_VOLUME_KEYS

ElizabethD wrote:The problem is, TV#2 doesn't exist as a device, or, more precicely, it's invisible to the remote since it shares the TV/0250 setup with TV#1.

But I think you're on to something perhaps more elegant than my solution. Do you mean to have 2 macros, one being existing DEV_AUDIO;SET_VOLUME_KEYS;DEV_CANCEL (used in several device macros) and another, just DEV_TV;SET_VOLUME_KEYS

Exactly, I'm assuming that when you are sitting in front of TV #2, TV #1 cannot "see" the IR signals from the remote, so when you start using the TV/0250 volume controls it will only work TV #2.

The Robman wrote:Exactly, I'm assuming that when you are sitting in front of TV #2, TV #1 cannot "see" the IR signals from the remote, so when you start using the TV/0250 volume controls it will only work TV #2.

Good, I might make a toggle keymove based on that idea. You just saved me 3 bytes as of yesterday!!
What d'ya mean sit in front of TV#2. When you do kitchen and beer duty for the rest during PBS news you don't sit, you chop

Chapter 2. RF annoyances. How do you put RF things 'in front of' gear, when I have air in front of gear stacked one on top of another. I once attached that little IR dongle that came with HTPro using tape to hang near the stuff, but the cat thought it was a mouse to bang about so it sits in a drawer.

We'd like RF to reach two sets of gear roughly 40' apart from anywhere. Not at the same time of course. Hence the middle of the room position for the RF box. But its sideways transmission isn't so hot. Actually the only remote that can easily reach end to end is C7. 8910 has no chance, hence safe to use with TV#2 at all times. And what is IR blasters? Some amplifying gadgets?

ElizabethD wrote:And what is IR blasters?

that little IR dongle that came with HTPro

ElizabethD wrote:How do you put RF things 'in front of' gear, when I have air in front of gear stacked one on top of another?

That's always the challenge. Do you have any small end tables over to the side of the room that you could put it on? Or maybe some surround sound speakers? If you have a coffee table in front of the couch, maybe you could put it on the lower shelf of the coffee table. Without knowing the layout of your room, I can't really say.

ElizabethD wrote: We'd like RF to reach two sets of gear roughly 40' apart from anywhere. Not at the same time of course. Hence the middle of the room position for the RF box. But its sideways transmission isn't so hot.

It sounds like what you need is a SECOND RF/IR blaster. Might I suggest a Marketplace posting, or other new post asking some member of this forum to sell you an otherwise unused RF/IR blaster?

I would imagine there are DOZENS of people out there with 2117s, 9910s, or HT Pros (or other UEI remotes with an RF extender) where the remote itself has failed for whatever reason (baby, coffee, dog, steam roller) but have the RF/IR blaster sitting in a drawer with no useful purpose in life.

I'm pretty sure they all operate on the same RF frequency, so it should be no problem.

Capn Trips wrote:It sounds like what you need is a SECOND RF/IR blaster. Might I suggest a Marketplace posting, or other new post asking some member of this forum to sell you an otherwise unused RF/IR blaster?

You can only plug in one IR blaster at a time, so what you would use instead is a "dual head" IR blaster. I know they sell them at http://www.replaytv.us under "ReplayTV Accessories", but you might be able to find a better price elsewhere. I suppose you could also use a "Y" cable to connect 2 blasters to the one socket.

Something like this any use? Instead of remote sending an RF signal, it takes an IR, converts it to RF and then sends. Advantage is that it only does this when you're pointing the remote at it.

The Robman wrote:

Capn Trips wrote:It sounds like what you need is a SECOND RF/IR blaster. Might I suggest a Marketplace posting, or other new post asking some member of this forum to sell you an otherwise unused RF/IR blaster?

You can only plug in one IR blaster at a time

Perhaps my terminology, she not being so goot.

You certainly CAN plug in as many of the RF receivers (that thing that plugs into a wall outlet and has an antenna sticking out of it?) as you want, which will subsequently emit an IR signal as you want, and ALL of them will be activated by the same RF signal emanating from the HTPro. I've been calling THAT the "IR blaster". It seems that additional "dongles" (as they are now referred to in this thread) are not what is required. One RF receiver is required near one end of the room, and another near the OTHER end of the room, hence my suggestion to get a spare.

So what is the RF receiver that plugs into a wall socket, and receives RF and transmits IR in three directions, and MAY have a separate corded IR transmitter (which is apparently the "IR blaster", I guess) plugged into it called?

They call that the "IR/RF Command Centre" in the HT PRO manual which doesn't seem very helpful given that it doesn't actually command anything, only takes an RF signal and re-distributes it as IR.

Thank you - OK, then let me edit my previous recommendation:

Capn Trips wrote:

ElizabethD wrote: We'd like RF to reach two sets of gear roughly 40' apart from anywhere. Not at the same time of course. Hence the middle of the room position for the RF box. But its sideways transmission isn't so hot.

It sounds like what you need is a SECOND "IR/RF Command Centre". Might I suggest a Marketplace posting, or other new post asking some member of this forum to sell you an otherwise unused "IR/RF Command Centre"?

I would imagine there are DOZENS of people out there with 2117s, 9910s, or HT Pros (or other UEI remotes with an RF extender) where the remote itself has failed for whatever reason (baby, coffee, dog, steam roller) but have the "IR/RF Command Centre" sitting in a drawer with no useful purpose in life.

I'm pretty sure they all operate on the same RF frequency, so it should be no problem.

Yup, the little wire thing is what we call the "IR Blaster". We also use this term over in the ReplayTV forums where we have a little wire thing that plugs into the ReplayTV unit itself so it can control a cable box or SAT box.

The official term for the bigger piece is "command center" though I often refer to it as the "base unit", which I think is a little more accurate than "command center" for the reasons that UQ stated.

ElizabethD wrote:When you do kitchen and beer duty for the rest during PBS news you don't sit, you chop

I once attached that little IR dongle that came with HTPro using tape to hang near the stuff, but the cat thought it was a mouse to bang about so it sits in a drawer.

Buy one of these, plug it into your TV in the kitchen, lock the kitchen door and install a cat flap (remote-controlled, of course, to stop it chewing on your dongle) and pass beer through the flap. I figure the fridge is also in the kitchen so you could charge a fair premium on the beer and recoup the cost of your DVD recorder (which is probably half the UK price across the pond).

Can I get one of those PBS News things in the UK? - because when I watch the regular news channels that we get here they don't come with the beer.

Volume control - working well, thank you Rob. I didn't do a toggle, but a DKP for TV#2, single press to revert back to the old standard audio-to-receiver setup.

RF - I shall henceforth use the correct words that Capn Trips so neatly collected from this entire thread. BTW the official name for the IR blaster is "Signal extension cord". With perfect hindsight, I suspect I should have found the answers in the Hardware forum and it sort of is in the manual Thank you all. You guys have a knack for simple solutions and neat explanations. I began looking at the cool links you gave me, and then remembered that I have a second HTPro from that $7 deal, not yet used, so now two base stations are in place. One points at system#1, but its IR blaster points at system#2 from high up (that Y-blaster is interesting). HTPro can now reach everything from corners all around as well as from other rooms unless a cinderblock wall is in a path. All RFbase-to-equipment distances exceed the specs.

Probably a final question: If the base unit transmits only IR, then any thought of using one base as a RF-relay to another is pointless, right? Just a curiosity item.

Underquark, well, we get BBC news on PBS and public radio. So I'd think BBC should carry PBS for you. Tell'm. And what height would you suggest the cat flap be - cat height or people height?
Your file link seems to point to Rob's.

Rob, People forget to design houses with the needs of the remote in mind. Use of the coffee tables not possible. Too much stuff & books & chips accumulates and cords are a problem. Home-made speakers aren't a good place, because the cones point up in some. Others, with the exception of one subwoofer, are 60degrees off horizontal.

ElizabethD wrote:Probably a final question: If the base unit transmits only IR, then any thought of using one base as a RF-relay to another is pointless, right? Just a curiosity item.

If you were to buy a "stand alone" RF extender (like the Powermids that RS used to sell), you could aim the base unit at a Powermid and use it to extend the RF range.

Well, to resurrect an old discussion:

Earlier in this thread, many (OK, several) moons ago, I was taken to task for referring to the RF/IR base station (the one with the antenna that plugs into the AC power supply) as an IR blaster, and soundly berated - at GREAT expense to my self-esteem - for incorrect use of terminology (I got better )

Now I have found a source of no less authority and prestige than UEI itself to say precisely what I said.

From their web page:

IR Blaster. Looking for versatility? And capability? Well, UEI’s IR Blaster provides you with a custom package of our database of IR codes – the largest and most efficient database of codes in the industry. Plus, you have the freedom to define the interface to the IR Blaster – specified to your unique needs.

It’s flexible, too – the IR Blaster can be used with most consumer electronic platforms. So it can operate any device you develop – from VCRs to receivers to personal video recorders (PVRs), plus everything in between.

Here’s how it works: your master controller sends the command… then our IR Blaster chip sends a control signal to the home entertainment equipment. An optional IR LED dongle is also available to send Infrared data from our microcontroller direct to your system.

So the "base station" IS INDEED the "IR Blaster" whilst the commonly misnomenclatured "IR blaster" is in fact the optional "IR LED dongle".

Vindication is sweet!

(Who me? Hold a grudge? Heck NO!)