JP1 Remotes

[Jerbo]

Hi -- got into this JP1 stuff about 3 years ago and now I have forgotten everything. I just got a bunch of new stuff and want to use discrete codes and my original remote has most of them.

I have the extender 15_2104ex1_8. I don't know how to deactivate it!

What I want to do is restore the LEARNING function of my 15-2104 to learn some new codes, then incorporate them into my upgrade files, re-write some macros and keymoves, and then re-load the extender.

Since the extender (when active) is not compatible with learning, how to deactivate? If I remove the batteries, and when I put them back in if I do NOT hit the Power key (which is the activate key on default device TV), will I be able to learn signals using the green "P" key like before I uploaded the extender?

[mdavej]

Yes, that's exactly how you deactivate it and restore learning.

[Jerbo]

thank you! I'm so overwhelmed right now -- I learned all this stuff once and I know I can do it again, just looking for some shortcuts to save me some time and I think I got confused with all the various deactivation methods I was seeing upon glancing through the forum topics (depending on which different extender one uses, different remotes, different versions, etc).

Slowly but surely I'll get there ... thanks again.

[vickyg2003]

[Jerbo]

do you have any tips to help smooth the "2nd time through" learning curve?

[Jerbo]

In response to my earlier post, I was able to learn signals on my RS 15-2104 after taking out the batteries thus de-activating the extender.

SO HOW DO I UPLOAD THEM FROM THE REMOTE?

When I go into IR.exe and upload from the remote, it still sees the extender and thus has "[N/A]" for learning. I know this because even if I open a fresh IR.exe and then go File -> New -> Select remote type and I choose RS 15-2104, whenever I hit the "upload from remote" it always changes to "15-2104 Extender 1". This is what is in the title bar.

What am I missing? I am really starting over -- is there a way to factory reset this remote and clear EVERYTHING out of the EEPROM, including the extender?? (I can put it back later, presumably).

Or, if the extender needs to stay in memory, how can I temporarily enable an upload of learned functions?

Please help. Thanks!

[The Robman]

After you do the battery trick to deactivate the extender, you should do a 981 reset on the remote too as this will reset the signature of the remote which in turn will make IR.exe use the right RDF so you can see the learned signals.

As you've already learned some signals, to save you from having to re-learn them all, you could try fixing the signature manually.

To do this, go to the raw data panel in IR. The first two bytes of data are a checksum, so skip those. The next 8 bytes of data are the signature in hex format. The normal sig is R6H0R6H0 and the extender sig is R6H0R6x1.

So, change the data in the first row of the "08" column to 48 and the data in the "09" column to 30 then save the file. Then re-open the file and let IR.exe fix the checksum for you, now you should be able to see the learns.

If you have more learning to do, you should delete the learned signals from the IR.exe panel and then re-load the data into the remote. The main purpose here is to get the reset signature back into the remote. Alternatively, you could just do a 981 reset before doing the next batch of learning.

When you're done, just reload the extender IR file and re-activate, and you should be back in business.
_________________
Rob
www.hifi-remote.com
Please don't PM me with remote questions, post them in the forums so all the experts can help!

[vickyg2003]

[Jerbo]

thank you, Robman. This is exactly the info I needed. Going forward, I will remember to do the 981 reset prior to re-learning.

Just curious -- when I read the JP1 Extender's threads (mainly the extender for beginners and Extender FAQ thread sticky's), I did see information about "deactivating" the extender (mainly just remove batteries), but I didn't really see much about the process of switching back the signature file to the original which would enable uploading learned signals via IR. It seems to me that a lot of people would want to do this (maybe not, but I'm big on using discrete advanced codes in my macros and find that the easiest way to create an upgrade file with them is to simply learn them...).

So I am just wondering if future users might benefit from putting something about the 981 reset into the JP1 extender sticky threads in the section where it talks about de-activation? I was easily able to find your thread about the 981 reset (Thanks!)... but didn't know if that was the "right" thing to be doing until reading your post above. Just a thought.

THanks again Robman. You are the last 3 letters of your name!
Jeremy

[Jerbo]

thanks Vickyg --

This is helpful. (I was wishing i had created my own "notes" when I did this the first time around. This does help me to focus on certain areas and then use the forums to get deeper into some topics).

this forum is great, and I am much indebted to all the JP1 afficionados who are willing to help out, even though I am sure you all have answered the same questions literally hundreds of times.

thank you !!

[vickyg2003]

The 981 is resets the signature automatically. We used to routinely say remove the batteries and do a 981, BUT the new stay active extenders for the JP1.3 remotes don't work that way. With those you need to hit a deactivate key.

So now it requires knowledge of the remote model in order to figure out how to deactivate an extender.

If we ad the bit about manually changing the signature, it will just get a lot of people in trouble.
_________________
Remember to provide feedback to let us know how the problem was solved and share your upgrades.

Tip: When creating an upgrade, always include ALL functions from the oem remote, even if you never plan on assigning them to a button. Complete function lists makes an upgrade more helpful to others.

[Jerbo]

understood. I was not suggesting adding the part about manually reconfiguring the signature, since the same thing can be accomplished with the 981 reset.

I think my point was that there are really 2 steps (regardless of remote or JP1 type) --

1. deactivate the extender (either remove batteries and hit a key OR punch in the deactivate key for your extender)

2. reset the remote to achieve the original factory settings which will re-enable learning, etc. That is the 981 reset and I fully realize that different remotes go about it in different ways, as evidenced by the MFR RESET forum topic.

I was simply offering the opinion that I found it very easy to accomplish step #1, but then I wasn't sure what to do when it came to getting my learned signals back into IR. I didn't want to "delete" the code and protocol for the extender in IR (since I read this is a big no-no), and while I came across the 981 reset thread I wasn't sure if that was appropriate for remotes with extenders in the EEPROM. Robman confirmed that was an acceptable way to do what I wanted, and I am guessing most people who want to deactivate their extender want to do other things besides just deactivating the extender. So, I thought it might be helpful to put some documentation about that in the JP1 extender sticky's.

If not, that's cool. As i said before, everyone on these forums are so helpful and so responsive, I got an answer to my question in about 12 hours (and that was overnight!), so either way. I was just making a suggestion. THanks again

[vickyg2003]

Didn't mean to pooh-pooh your idea, its simply that there can be more to it than this, as with the odd-ball JP1.2 Comcast extender.
_________________
Remember to provide feedback to let us know how the problem was solved and share your upgrades.

Tip: When creating an upgrade, always include ALL functions from the oem remote, even if you never plan on assigning them to a button. Complete function lists makes an upgrade more helpful to others.

[3FG]

Jerbo,
If I remember correctly, most JP1.3 extenders work differently compared to JP1 extenders, and the 2 steps you outline won't work. Really, it is necessary (in my opinion) to use the instructions for the particular extender in use, rather than trying use a generic approach.

[mathdon]