JP1 Remotes

[Miller14STL]

I discovered I have a One-For-All URC-6131B00 which has a JP1 connector:





I'm assuming this has to have EE added to make it usuable, right? Seems like it might be more trouble than its worth for a first foray into JP1 remotes, right?

I have another that if I recall stopped working. It's an RCA Universal Custom 8:



I'm capable of hardware and software hacking, I'm an Software Engineer with and Electrical Engineering degree.

I have a Harmony remote for my main TV room, but my bedroom has a DirecTV DVR, Sony Digial Player, Insignia Blu-Ray, Sound Bar and Vizio TV.

So even if I got the OneForAll Working, it would be tough to find codes for some of these devices and it cannot learn as it doesn't have a IR receiver.

Is the RCA RCRP05Bpretty easy to get started with?

How about the URC WR7 . Does it offer more functionality?

If you were to buy a new remote, which one would you buy and why? Price Range isn't the biggest factor. If it's worth it, it's worth it, right?

Thanks in advance

[tranx]

Hi Miller14STL.

see 'What is the best Jp1 remote?' thread:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=594

and the remote chart for specs:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/wiki/index.php?title=RemoteChart

RCRP05B is a great remote with DIM and DSM macros without an extender, and even without using JP1, see the user manual at OFA. It has plenty of buttons but they are rather small. Insignia 67100 is functionally much the same and has fewer but larger buttons.

See the URC WR7 manual for comparison but (only?) "...Power On or the System Off buttons can be programmed for MacroPower control" and don't think it can do JP1.

Re. "..which one would you buy and why?"
Have just ordered URC R40, for a change, but already use Insignia and Harmony 650 for 5/8 devices, and H655 with 'sound' and 'picture' buttons and 15 devices but non-colour screen.

Normally would not bother with any remote like R40 which did not carry hard buttons for devices (as well as the set of four coloured buttons, red, green, yellow, blue) and also its screen needs to be lighted, by pressing any button, before the buttons alongside it can function. However that can be worked around by having the devices only refer to each other and not tied to the 'Main' screen. Would like to try it now the v1.9 firmware has cured its propensity to forget learned commands. Does not have input and power state tracking and the extensive database of the Harmonys, but is relatively simple and robust, with extra strong IR power. Does not need PC for configuration but does have macro editing on screen, and also has 'favorite' channels.

If allowed only one it would be the Harmony 650 for its excellent database, colour screen, and easy flexible programming with PC and v7.7.0 software. Motion sensing is excellent and labelling on the screen reveals obscure commands so I don't have to refer to my memo chart, as I do with Insignia I like the three dedicated device buttons rather than a touch screen and hunting for devices on the screen, and it can adopt more than its standard five devices from another harmony account (e.g. 15 devices from H655) and easily does power state and input tracking.

For JP1 the Insignia 67100 is my own favourite because it is small and well made and has plenty of memory and nice buttons, learning, and native DSMs. Haven't found the need to tackle the extender yet for toad togs or extra room for commands.

Regards
Chris

[Miller14STL]

Thanks for the info. Especially the RemoteChart link in the wiki. I was searching for something like that. I found something last night that had all of those in a drop-down, but nothing like the Wiki page where it compares and contrasts the funcitonality.

I ordered the RCRP05B because it was $15 on Amazon. I love the "hackability" factor of the JP1 interface so even if it fits the bill out of the box for my upstairs setup, I'll still probably play around with it to learn something about JP1 so I can consider replacing my Harmony.

Being an embedded software engineer, not getting exactly what I want is even more frustrating as I start to design the right algorithm in my head with no ability to "fix" it in the device.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions one I get a usable remote and can start playing around with it.

Cheers.

[The Robman]

If your URC-6131 really has a 6-pin JP1 connector (rather than just 6 empty holes) this tends to imply that someone sent it to UEI for an upgrade at some point and the unit that was returned has the necessary parts for JP1, so this remote should be ready to go.

If it really just has the 6 empty holes, then all it needs is a 2k EEPROM chip (eg, 24C16) and a 6-pin header. With your electronic skills those should be really easy to add. Personally, I have added the parts to many hundreds of this model of remote as I used to sell them. More info here:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2590

The RCA RCU810 is another great remote, if you can get yours working. It already has the EEPROM chip, it just needs the 6-pin connector. There's a beginner's guide to adding the 6-pin here:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/RCU810/

Keep in mind though that both the URC-6131 and the RCU810 are traditional "JP1 (EEPROM)" remotes and therefore require a JP1 (EEPROM) cable or adapter.

Any new remotes that you might buy, like the RCA RCRP05B will be JP1.x or JP2 remotes and will therefore need a JP1.x (Flash) cable.
_________________
Rob
www.hifi-remote.com
Please don't PM me with remote questions, post them in the forums so all the experts can help!

[Miller14STL]

Thanks Rob. It's exactly one with only holes with the word JP1 off to the side.

That's what made me do a Google search and find this place. Rather than locating an EE part to solder on that one, I ordered the RCRP05B and got that yesterday.

I rewired a SparkFun FT232RL Breakout board and made a J1.x cable for it. I only had a 2x4 connector, but it fits within the cavity of the RCA remote offset by a pin.

I have IR talking to it, but I'm going to wait to do anything programming-wise until after I have played around with the stock settings and understand its limitations and the potential benefits of moving to an extender.

Is saving the IR file all that is needed to "backup" a remote? It's 5K worth of data, so I'm guessing that's the entire FLASH?

It's a shame that I"m going on vacation for two weeks starting this Friday. It will probably be a while before I can really start hacking with this thing.

I'll have to take a look at the JP1 cable and see what kind of differences it has for the serial connection as opposed to the JP1.x cable. I just know the RCU810 was damaged (LCD?) and decomissioned over 8 years ago. I kept it in a box to potentially salvage or scavange parts.

I'll have to take a look at it and see if I can get it going. It was nice and big and was hard to lose in the couch cushions.