JP1 Remotes

Hi -- I'm a long-ago JP1 user and I remember getting some unbelievable assistance/support in these forums and so in my current situation, being at my wits end, I thought I would see what you might know about the following situation:

I just upgraded my cable to Comcast Xfinity X1. I have put the box into "IR Mode". I have an old Comcast remote that works this box with code 01982 (XMP protocol). I also have this "device upgrade" loaded into a Jp1 remote (Radio Shack 15-2104, buttons sticking, not actively used in my home theater setup) and it controls the X1 box just fine.

Here's the kicker - I want to control this box from another room. I have a Powermid RF extender that works great for all my other devices (I also have some Home Theater Master RF learning remote controls from URC. It's impossible to learn the XMP protocol to these remotes but I love the RF capability of these remotes; MX-600 & MX-800). ALTHOUGH I HAVE A WORKING CODE IN MY JP1 REMOTE (AND OLD COMCAST REMOTE TOO, MODEL UEI 1167), I CANNOT CONTROL THE BOX USING THE RF EXTENDER. (The RF extender works fine with all my other devices so it's not a failure of the RF itself).

I did some research at Remote Central forums and learned that there is another URC code set for RF (again, not trying to control the box itself via RF, just trying to use RF to get the IR signal through the walls to an RF base station which re-converts the signal to IR and blasts it at the X1 box). This code set is URC 202 for Comcast Xfinity devices. I think this is the code set I need. But I have no way to get it (my MXEditor software that came with the URC remote is non-live updatable).

I was hoping that somebody might have created a device upgrade file on these JP1 forums for this scenario. I could then get the hex codes from it and manually load those into my MXEditor software and create my own device upgrade. But so far, no luck. Couldn't find anything by searching these forums either.

Do any of you experts have any suggestions for me? Ever heard of there being a different code set that is needed when the IR signal is going through an RF base station vs. straight IR? The whole thing is terribly confusing and i'm trying to figure out what my options are. I'm all for going back to my Jp1 remote as a cheap alternative, but at the end of the day I need a working code when using the RF extender and I currently do not have that (but don't understand why the 01982 code works just fine when i'm direct line of sight).

Thanks for reading and any thoughts you might have.

I don't have any answers for you, but I do have some idea of what the problem is.

Normally, IR signals have 2 "burst pairs" that they use to form a binary signal, plus a few more for leadin and leadout pairs. The XMP signal on the other hand, uses 16 pairs to form a hexadecimal signal, plus a few more for leadin and leadout pairs. It's almost impossible to learn an XMP signal using a JP1 learning remote, for example, because a JP1 remote can only learn about 10 pairs, which is not enough.

I don't know what the programming in your RF extender box looks like, but I suspect that it too is having a problem with the number of pairs that the XMP signal uses.

Hi Rob -

Thanks for the quick reply. That actually makes sense -- it's hard enough to get the XMP protocol into the remote; it makes sense that the RF base station would have a hard time with it as well. I might be out of options at this point; I guess my wife will have to get used to not being able to control the X1 box from the bedroom (I know they have companion boxes but I don't want to pay another $10/month for functionality we previously had for free. You get what you pay for!). Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated.

You're urcuser from remote central right?

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mb ... ,last#last


I have Frankensteined remote here, its orion model of mx-850, with keypad from mx-800 remote. I can load it with Comcast code 195 which labeled Xfinity IR only, and code 202 which is labeled as Xfinity RF only. Once you have this, you could upload it to your mx-editor, save it, edit it, download to orion remote, or your own mx-800. As for the RF basestation, I have also mrf300 or mrf350 available.

Hi Edmund, yes you found me! I am buying what you're selling as I've been racking my brain trying to figure out a solution

I acknowledge too that trying to force-feed the RF signal through the MRF100 base station (which is what I had with my previous MX-600 setup) also could be the problem. So I'm interested in both your Orion 850 (preloaded with both code sets as you suggest) and your MRF 300/350 (I don't know what the difference is between the two). Given this development I would likely use both the MX-800 and the 850 with the same base station so let me know whether the MRF300 or the 350 would be better.

Why don't you send me a PM and I'm sure we can work out the details. You were the one who offered up the valuable advice on RC for which I'm thankful so I'm glad to pay a fair price.

Thanks for reaching out!