Well I had a pleasant and unexpected surprise! Just for the heck of it I decided to try to IR raw learn my short "Menu;Ok;OK" macro to get to my Charter Cable Fav guide list. I had programed the macro in the RCA. It worked well, albeit slowly, so I figured it probably would not raw learn. It works perfectly from the H900!
My luck would only go so far though, it definitely would not learn "Menu, ok, down, down, down, ok". We'll see how that will do as an extended fast macro when I get my cable.
H900 Marcos/Newbie's 1st Extender with RCA & Atlas
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H900 is not a bad remote! The RCA's buttons may seem a bit small after that and, when I looked, its extender seemed to reserve 2k for learning, so the space for macros etc. soon ran out. The more recent URC 6440 has a better feel, much more memory, and the extender for it has interesting mix of extra features. Incidentally it comes with a USB lead with which latest versions of RMIR can use and there is an excellent Manual in the v1.0 download, which would be of interest to give another angle on extender functions too. https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... e_id=12773
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vickyg2003
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mdavej is correct. He was kind enough to provide info for me over at AVS forums, to get some shorter macros in my current H900 that does't have that capability out of the box. I really like the RF blaster feature of this remote that allows it to work not only through an AV componet cabinet, but from different rooms as well. It's overall feature set is great in my view, as well as nice ergonomics. I like all the standard hard buttons and the flexibility what you can do with soft buttons. No doubt not being macro capable is a drawback.
My short term goal is to get a few macros in my H900. Eventually I will be getting another Home Theater system for a different house. I have an older Harmony One I believe it is, that does most if not all the things my H900 does, but it's limited to IR. I don't like the current Harmony models as much due to cost, features I don't need and in some cases lack of conventional buttons and relying on smartphone apps. I was planning to use my older remote for my new system is the IR is adequate. However, learning what I have here, I may go a different direction. I am grateful for the support from all of you. To the uninitiated (me), JP1 is a fascinating subject I never even knew existed.
My short term goal is to get a few macros in my H900. Eventually I will be getting another Home Theater system for a different house. I have an older Harmony One I believe it is, that does most if not all the things my H900 does, but it's limited to IR. I don't like the current Harmony models as much due to cost, features I don't need and in some cases lack of conventional buttons and relying on smartphone apps. I was planning to use my older remote for my new system is the IR is adequate. However, learning what I have here, I may go a different direction. I am grateful for the support from all of you. To the uninitiated (me), JP1 is a fascinating subject I never even knew existed.
For the record, the Xsight Touch is pretty much identical to your 900 (RF, same buttons, multi-room, same ergonomics, hard/soft button flexibility) except that it actually CAN do macros of any length and is about 20% of the price. That's what Xnappo has been trying to say. IMO, it's much simpler than going through all of this effort and expense just to work around a limitation of the 900 which may not even work.
It has been discontinued for a while. I have no idea about Mac support. I assume if you can get RMIR to work with your RCA, it will work with Xsight too.sti491 wrote:It looks like a good alternative for sure. I'll consider it for my next system. Some on-line selling site's indicate "discontinued item". Is it still a current item? Any issues you know of using a MacBook?
problem connecting RCA remote to RM (to MacBook Pro)
I got my cable from eBay. My cable pins are colored blue, black, red, white, green and yellow.
I carefully tried both of the two alternative color wire to pin connections in the post below that mdavej recommended. I did this using tweezers and a magnifying glass to be sure I had it correctly connected. So I was sliding one pin connector on one pin at a time. In both alternatives, two pins (different ones) were left unconnected.
After connecting the pins, I opened RM, plugged the usb into my MacBook Pro. The USB black translucent plug blinked green one time.
Then in RM, I went to "remotes" then clicked on "Download from remote", so I could save the remote file before loading the extender.
In both cases I get a window that says, "No remotes found".
So I am assuming my pin connection is wrong, or maybe there is some issue not having the right driver installed for the remote, or the cord (?), on my Macbook? All other aspects of the RM program seem to work fine on the Mac.
Any suggestions what I should try next?
These are the 2 alternative connections I tried:
Revwillie
Joined: 04 Aug 2003
Posts: 39
PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:23 am Post subject: Re: Color cross chart for the $10 Fleabay Cable noted above Reply with quote
nejpski wrote:
Wire Number \ USE \ OLD COLOR \ NEW COLOR
[1] Ground \ Black \ BLACK
[2] CTS \ Brown \ BLUE (Not connected)
[3] VCC \ Red \ RED (Not connected) 5V
[4] TXD \ Orange \ GREEN
[5] RXD \ Yellow \ WHITE
[6] RTS \ Green \ YELLOW
I'm sorry nejpski, but I found that a little confusing (I'm old, but talk to me like I'm five...)
The JP1.3 pinout by color is:
[1] Empty
[2] Yellow (Yellow)
[3] Black(Black)
[4] Green(Green)
[5] Empty
[6] White(White)
I carefully tried both of the two alternative color wire to pin connections in the post below that mdavej recommended. I did this using tweezers and a magnifying glass to be sure I had it correctly connected. So I was sliding one pin connector on one pin at a time. In both alternatives, two pins (different ones) were left unconnected.
After connecting the pins, I opened RM, plugged the usb into my MacBook Pro. The USB black translucent plug blinked green one time.
Then in RM, I went to "remotes" then clicked on "Download from remote", so I could save the remote file before loading the extender.
In both cases I get a window that says, "No remotes found".
So I am assuming my pin connection is wrong, or maybe there is some issue not having the right driver installed for the remote, or the cord (?), on my Macbook? All other aspects of the RM program seem to work fine on the Mac.
Any suggestions what I should try next?
These are the 2 alternative connections I tried:
Revwillie
Joined: 04 Aug 2003
Posts: 39
PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:23 am Post subject: Re: Color cross chart for the $10 Fleabay Cable noted above Reply with quote
nejpski wrote:
Wire Number \ USE \ OLD COLOR \ NEW COLOR
[1] Ground \ Black \ BLACK
[2] CTS \ Brown \ BLUE (Not connected)
[3] VCC \ Red \ RED (Not connected) 5V
[4] TXD \ Orange \ GREEN
[5] RXD \ Yellow \ WHITE
[6] RTS \ Green \ YELLOW
I'm sorry nejpski, but I found that a little confusing (I'm old, but talk to me like I'm five...)
The JP1.3 pinout by color is:
[1] Empty
[2] Yellow (Yellow)
[3] Black(Black)
[4] Green(Green)
[5] Empty
[6] White(White)
Read this post. Then, if it still isn't clear how to hook up your cable, post a link to the info on your particular cable.
The bottom pinout should work with that cable. In RMIR, set the Remote - Interface type to JP1.x.
Pins on the RCA are:
5 3 1
6 4 2
Also see this, since you are on a Mac:
https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15872
Pins on the RCA are:
5 3 1
6 4 2
Also see this, since you are on a Mac:
https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15872
Thanks guys. MdaveJ, "In RMIR, set the Remote - Interface type to JP1.x. "
The options I have under Remoter/interface dropdown are, Auto-detect, CommHID..., and JPS....
Under CommHID... I get 3 choices for "selecting the desired port". Auto detect, Hid, and Other. With "Other" I can enter text. Should I type in "JP1.x" there?
I can see the pin number fine on the PCB. Just hoping the wire colors are correct on that second post. I'm going to try typing in JP1.x and see what happens.
UPDATE: I tried it and no joy. From reading the links provided I think the Apple FTDI drivers for Yosemite need to be replaced with other drivers. Not sure I am ready for that level of altering my MacBook that I don't want to screw up. If anyone has a version of that "for Dummies" I may give it a go, but need to get my courage up. Bummer.
UPDATE 2: rereading attachment links I see there is a newer version of RM I can download that may fix this. I'll try that.
The options I have under Remoter/interface dropdown are, Auto-detect, CommHID..., and JPS....
Under CommHID... I get 3 choices for "selecting the desired port". Auto detect, Hid, and Other. With "Other" I can enter text. Should I type in "JP1.x" there?
I can see the pin number fine on the PCB. Just hoping the wire colors are correct on that second post. I'm going to try typing in JP1.x and see what happens.
UPDATE: I tried it and no joy. From reading the links provided I think the Apple FTDI drivers for Yosemite need to be replaced with other drivers. Not sure I am ready for that level of altering my MacBook that I don't want to screw up. If anyone has a version of that "for Dummies" I may give it a go, but need to get my courage up. Bummer.
UPDATE 2: rereading attachment links I see there is a newer version of RM I can download that may fix this. I'll try that.
OK, I take all my prior RM folders and move them to the trash can. Download the latest version of RM that is supposed to resolve this problem, among other improvements.
I hit "download remote" and it appears to be working.... then, bam!.... error message that essentially says:
"Error downloading from remote" This may well be the result of a bug in the RMIR software.Please do a raw download as follows. Close RM, re-open, click "Raw Download". Download it, save it to the default file name and post it in the JP1 software forum for the experts to examine.
The raw download produces a spreadsheet-like file I can scroll down. Every cell that I can see has "00" in it. When I attempt to download and save it I do not see any file name, nor can I tell where it went, partly because I don't know the file name.
Not sure what to do next. Maybe I'll post a link to this thread in the software forum....
UPDATE: Here is that post - https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewt ... 732#p117732
I hit "download remote" and it appears to be working.... then, bam!.... error message that essentially says:
"Error downloading from remote" This may well be the result of a bug in the RMIR software.Please do a raw download as follows. Close RM, re-open, click "Raw Download". Download it, save it to the default file name and post it in the JP1 software forum for the experts to examine.
The raw download produces a spreadsheet-like file I can scroll down. Every cell that I can see has "00" in it. When I attempt to download and save it I do not see any file name, nor can I tell where it went, partly because I don't know the file name.
Not sure what to do next. Maybe I'll post a link to this thread in the software forum....
UPDATE: Here is that post - https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewt ... 732#p117732