JP1 Remotes

[vickyg2003]

[sti491]

Thank you. So do I open the .rdf file, or .hex from RM, to load it on the remote?

First timer Newbie here... and I am just playing with RM right now. I have my remote, but the cable has not delivered yet. Just trying to learn as much as I can before hand.

[vickyg2003]

You put the Extenders RDF in the same folder as the basic set of RDFs
You downloaded and save an image from your remote.
You select install extender from the File Menu.
Then you navigate to the hex file you downloaded for your extender.
Its all pretty simple, but its important to read and understand the directions just as you are doing.

Good Luck!

[sti491]

Thank you. Since I don't have my cable yet, I followed your instructions starting with my model remote file from RM. I had added several very simple macros to that file, and my device codes, then saved it, before adding the extender.

Interesting to see memory increase, the new device button macros after adding the extender using the Hex file, and that my original macros were still there at the end of the list. But, the device codes I added in the general tab, that were there before extending, were zeroed out after extending.

Looking forward to getting my cable!

[sti491]

Reading the extender ReadME, it refers to the extender activation as, "To activate, press the TV/OK key".

Those are two separate keys. Does that mean to press both keys at the same time, or in sequence? It says there will be 4 flashes to indicate activation so I could just do trial & error, but it might be nice to know if someone might comment. Convention and semantics of JP1 are interesting for a Newbie!

Also, if I have macro's loaded in the remote before I activate the extender, after activation will they just automatically run much faster?

[mdavej]

That means OK in TV mode (press TV first). If your macros aren't wiped out, then yes they would run faster. I think everything gets wiped out though.

[sti491]

Continuing to read through the Extender ReadMe, it provides sort of a Macro Tutorial for RM. Is there a better place a novice can go to for a more thorough RM Marcro tutorial?

Am I interpreting the macro protocol correctly with the following statements for a very simple macro that gets to My Charter Cable Favorites Guide?

A (yellow) Menu;Ok;Ok

My assumption: Pressing the yellow color button, this macro will run whatever device is selected before the marco is run, and after the macro runs it stays set to that original device (?)

A (yellow) Dev_CBL;Menu;Ok;Ok

My assumption: This macro will switch to CBL from wherever you are, say in TV, run the Macro for CBL buttons, then return the remote back to controlling the TV, or whatever device it was set to begin with (?)

[mdavej]

This is one of the more difficult concepts to understand about the extender. There aren't really device modes anymore, only key group mappings. There are also device specific and global macros. For your purposes, what you've said is correct for a global macro (on the macro tab of RMIR).

[sti491]

Hooray... I making cognitive progress! So what it is dong is pointing to the TV device button, which is really just a marco with extender activated, then my macro runs, so it really never changed the device to belong with. It just ran two macros; 1) the TV macro 2.) then mine.

[vickyg2003]

Here is a video on using the extenders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6MASuckRDg

Here is an extender broken down, although it has a different style of device selection than UncleMilties remote.
http://getzweb.net/jp1/howto/simplesetup/
_________________
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.

[sti491]

Thank you!

[vickyg2003]

Before you know it, you might just find yourself abandoning that Harmony to embrace JP1 remotes! These remotes really are addictive.

[sti491]

Two of the features mdavej mentioned this extender adds to the RCA are:
- Conditional branching and flags
- State tracking

From what I have read, I am interpreting this to be something along the lines of an “If (it’s in this state)… then (do this)”. If (it’s in a different state)… then (do something else)”

1. So my first question is, am I on the right track, what do these two features actually mean?

2. A macro I want to create is to blank the screen on my Vizio M502I-B1 TV, keeping the audio and all the other functions as is before running the macro. This is for listening to a TV smart app like iHeart Radio or Pandora, when I don’t need the graphics on the screen those apps generate, and it save on hours the LCD panel is on to prolong it’s lifespan, as sometimes I have music on a long time… my last Samsung died after 5 short years!

So this macro is operating the TV’s Menu features. After pressing the menu button, the menu starts at the top the first time you use it (after turning the TV on). “Picture” is the first menu selection. Next down is “Audio”, next down is “Timers”, which is the one I need to select to get to the next menu that will eventually get me to “blanking the screen”. There are eight menu items on this first menu.

The “blank screen” menu item is the fourth and last item on the second menu list screen.

So the first time you run this macro, if the top menu item is highlighted when you open it with the “menu” command, the macro looks like this: Dev_TV;Menu;Down;Down;Ok;Down;Down;Down;Ok

But the second time I run the macro (say, immediately after I ran it the first time), In the first menu list the top item, “Picture” will not be highlighted. The last item I selected will be highlighted instead. In this case it will be the third item down “Timers”.

So to blank the screen this time, it takes this: Dev_TV;Menu;Ok;Down;Down;Down;Ok

Now of course, if in-between these two commands I had gone to someplace else on the first menu, like to “System” which is further down past “Timers”, neither of these macros would work to blank the screen, as the macro essentially starts from the wrong place for either to get to the second menu list “blank screen” selection.

So in my mind, I need a macro that says, “IF the first menu list is highlighted at the top, THEN do the following things to select “blank screen” at the end of the second menu list.”….or “IF the seventh down menu list is highlighted at the top, THEN do the following things to select “blank screen” at the end of the second menu list.”

It appears that the first menu list is always highlighted wherever I went to last. And it appears the second menu list always starts at the top, regardless what I did last. So the only “IF…THEN” logic I need in my marco is to determine what first menu list item is highlighted to start with.

I realize this is a long post, but hopefully I captured my objective. To experts out there, thanks in advance if you can explain in “novice JP1 terms”, how I can write a macro for my specific extended remote to do this.

[mdavej]

These two features are both via the Toadtog Special Protocol. It give you 8 bits to store information and make decisions. Tracking the menu position as you have described may be possible with Toadtog bits, but I'll have to think about it. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking turn on TV, reset all bits. Run macro, and if no bits are set, do final down, ok, set the first bit. On the next run, it will see the first bit is set and know to do an additional down, then ok, then set 2nd bit. Continue in this fashion until the final choice is reached, then reset all bits.

Here's an example of similar logic using Toadtogs:
http://hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13158

[sti491]

Thanks for giving this some thought.

So, when I think "bits", I think of zeros and ones. That's probably more basic than the way you mean it. Hmmm, maybe I am thinking "Bites" ? When you say "bit", do you mean one "command", as it a "step" or "bit" of macro?

I think you are right, the logical shortest approach is to reset the first menu list so the top item is always highlighted and selected, rather than figure out where it is and go from there.

... and my original thinking remains, that is, to IR learn this one button marco from the RCA to my H900.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.