JP1 Remotes

Hi there, firstly thanks for a great forum.

Basically... I'm stuck! Is there any way to map functions/macros to the *device keys* on my remote control? I have spent a long while searching but I think I must have missed the crucial info.

I have a OneForAll URC-7652(B01) and I want to make it function like the remote for my home cinema receiver (Pioneer VSX-D710S). So, when I press a device button, e.g. DVD, I want to send out the signal to switch my receiver over to DVD input and, simultaneously, put the remote into DVD control mode.

I have successfully downloaded all the software and the latest RDFs and have managed to upload to my remote. (using IR2WAV as I don't have a JP1 cable)

However, any macros mapped to device keys don't seem to work. If I try to do the same thing using a KeyMove, this doesn't have any effect either. I CAN get shifted device keys to work, but this is a pain and involves three key presses, one to put the device into DVD mode, then SHIFT, then DVD again.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need to use an extender, perhaps? (I briefly tried to create an extender in IR.exe, but the only available one was a general for the URC7620/7652 and when I tried to transfer it my remote stopped responding to the WAV file. Is this a limitation of transferring using WAV files? )

Any help that you can give me would be much appreciated, thanks.

In general , you can only program the device keys if you use an extender, which increases the flexibility of the remote but is a bit more complicated in getting going.

I'd recommend that as a new user, you place those macros on other keys for the time being, make them work, get used to the tools and then you tackle the installation and operation of the extenders. They're not THAT hard to understand, but trying to do everything in one step introduces so much that you often can't figure out what you're doing wrong.

-bill

unclemiltie wrote:place those macros on other keys for the time being, make them work, get used to the tools and then you tackle the installation and operation of the extenders.

Hi Bill

Thanks for the quick reply, I'm ready! I'm ready! I have spent about ten hours on the tools now and have all my macros working properly, I really do feel confident enough to move on to the extender, if that's what it's going to take. Do I HAVE to buy a jp1 cable or can I install an extender via WAV? As I mentioned, the RDF for the 7560/7562 (one file for both) doesn't seem to get accepted by the handset using WAV.

Any idea where can I find more info about mapping the device keys using an extender? Or will it simply just "work" if I map them having loaded an extender RDF into ir.exe ?

Most extenders have a "signature" different from the correct signature for the remote. We did that on purpose because:
1) When loaded by jp1 cable the remote doesn't care if the signature is wrong.
2) When read back by jp1 cable the unique signature lets IR.exe detect that the extender was used and associate the data with the correct rdf file.

But when loading by wav file, the signature must be correct or the wav file won't load.

In the past, some people have patched extender files to use the non extender signature so the extender can be loaded by wav file. I forget which things you would need to patch (obviously the name of the rdf file, but also the install data for the extender or directly patch the raw data in the .ir file).

johnsfine wrote:In the past, some people have patched extender files to use the non extender signature so the extender can be loaded by wav file.

Thanks, John. I'm a bit poor right now so I'd rather not buy a JP1 cable unless I absolutely have to! I'll do a bit of searching around to try and figure out how to patch the extender file.. ..I imagine it will be the .ir file that needs changing before exporting to wav.

C

Gah! I feel like such a newbie! I've searched the forum about patching WAV or IR files to change the signature ("patch signature wav") , I found 2 references, but no actual instructions!

Does anybody have any more info on how to do it?

Carlos

If you have a parallel port on your computer and an electronics store nearby, and have any kind of mechanical/soldering skills, you can MAKE a parallel cable for under $5us. The instructions are on this site on how to do it.

Jumping through hoops to patch IR files and WAV upgrading is way too much work and a cable makes this trivial.

-bill

How poor is "poor"? If it would help you, I can sell you a JP1 cable for $15 plus $5 shipping to the UK (US dollars).

The Robman wrote:If it would help you, I can sell you a JP1 cable

Thanks Rob, much appreciated but I eventually gave in this afternoon and bought myself one! Now I just have to wait impatiently for it to be shipped to England!

I tried to resist, but there's something so satisfying about having a remote configured so that it's "just right"...

Thanks again for all your help - I can't wait to start playing with the extender.

C