Creative Labs Infra (PC-DVD) Remote - URC 8811 not learning?

[Steveo369]

Hello, another question for the experts here... I've got the following remote:
http://tekgems.com/Products/creative-mu ... imr100.htm for which I'm trying to learn a few functions for with my URC 8811.

The 8811 is kind of flaky about learning the signal from the Creative Remote. Sometimes it will register learning a signal with the correct double LED flash, sometimes not.

I will admit, the Creative probably has a weak battery (It's a dime-sized button lithium battery and at least a year old.) Although the receiver seems to receive signals from the remote without problem. It's never had very good range though, something I was hoping to solve by programming the 8811 with codes

Anyway, when it does learn a signal, it doesn't properly reproduce that signal for the serial RS232 receiver to recognize it.

Here's a sample of what I'm getting from IR when reading the learned signals.:

"1" Button:
Frequency 0
Sent once Key is pressed:
+20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -107778 +20 -131070

"2" Button
Frequency 36697
Sent once Key is pressed:
+80 -99200 +80 -107730 +80 -107730 +54 -131016

"3" Button
Frequency 0
Sent once Key is pressed:
+20 -107780 +20 -43366 +20 -107780 +20 -107780 +20 -107780 +20 -107780 +20 -107780 +20 -107780 +20 -107780 +20 -131070

"Play" Button
Old Panasonic 6 63 FF or FD or FE 181 or 165 or 189
SONY23 0 0 25 98 or 99 206 or 198

"Pause" Button:
Sony8 253

Here's what I see in the Learned Signals portion of the Summary file from IR. Yes, all signals were learned from the same remote.

LEARNED SIGNALS:
# Device Button Key Protocol Device SubDevice OBC Hex Cmd EFC Misc Note
1 AUX 1 Unknown 0 KHz Signal
2 AUX 2 Unknown 36.697 KHz Signal
3 AUX 3 Unknown 0 KHz Signal
4 AUX 4 Unknown 37.037 KHz Signal
5 AUX 5 Unknown 36.866 KHz Signal
6 AUX 6 Unknown 37.037 KHz Signal
7 AUX Play Old Panasonic 6 63 FF or FD or FE 181 or 165 or 189
SONY23 0 0 25 98 or 99 206 or 198
8 AUX Stop Unknown 37.209 KHz Signal
9 AUX Pause Sony8 253


This one seems a little strange. I'm guessing maybe the IR frequency of this remote is out of the range of the learning ability of the 8811 or something? I'll probably try to pick up a new battery for the original remote tomorrow and see if that changes anything. Is this one going to be an impossible one?

Anyone have familiarity with this remote?

There seems to be nothing on the official Creative Website regarding this piece of equipment. It originally shipped with a Creative-specific copy of RemoteSelector...
(http://www.remoteselector.com/index.html)

[johnsfine]

All the learns where you gave details, except the Play button are cases where the original remote IR signal wasn't strong enough to be learned. Usually that is because of the original remote battery. But mayde changing the distance or angle for learning would help.

From the Play signal, or maybe from one of the ones where you didn't give as much detail, an expert could deduce the correct signals. We would need the .ir file containing those learned signal, rather than just the output from IR's attempt to decode them.

Post that .ir file in the diagnosis folder and its URL back here, if you want that help.

[zaphod7501]

I learned all the commands for that remote and created a RemoteMaster file that I use daily with no problems. Sorry , I don't run Excel at this time.

BTW , Girder has support for these remotes. I picked up a bunch of these for $6 each a while back.

[Steveo369]

Thanks Zaphod (steve) I'll check out the RM file. I had looked through the device codes for an upgrade, but not the RM files. I've not quite got to adopting the learning curve for using RM. It's time for me to check it out. RM didn't like running on my machine the first go-round, but it appears to be working now.

I also tried running Girder with this remote a few months ago, but couldn't seem to find info on setup routines (I don't really like the Promixis ownership for Girder - finding things on the site isn't all that easy, and it's no longer free). Any pointers/tips on configuring Girder with this remote?

I mainly use it for Winamp, and the provided RemoteSelector Software seems to work adequately, but I might find other uses for the remote with expanded functionality...


John: Thanks for your input. I'll be stopping by RS today to pick up a new button battery for the handset, though it appears it may not be required if the RM file zaphod posted works.

-Steveo

[johnsfine]

I'll be stopping by RS today to pick up a new button battery for the handset, though it appears it may not be required if the RM file zaphod posted works.

If you plan to use the 8811 instead of the original remote, why do you need a new battery. I don't think there's much doubt that Steve's upgrade is what you needed.

If you have too much trouble with RM, I can copy the data from RM over to a KM upgrade for you. But it sounds like you won't have trouble with RM.

[zaphod7501]

I'll have to get back to you on the Girder config. Other PC and other locations. I agree about Proximis. I had a paid version but am using an older version. I needed to automate some tasks which I couldn't do with the free version. I have a gml file somewhere but I'm in the middle of something right now. I'll probably move this to a PM later unless someone else is interested in configuring this remote.

[Steveo369]

Zaphod:
THANKS! The Creative RM upgrade worked perfectly. No hurry, and very little need to get me any Girder info, so put it at the bottom of your priority list or lower. With the built in software, I really only need the ability to start Winamp and play/nav the all music playlist.

John: Yeah, I didn't have to buy a battery. Picked one up "just in case". A whole three bucks. Haven't opened it yet. Maybe I'll take it back.

At first I thought RM was going to really bother me, as I couldn't get some buttons to work. Turns out I had forgotten to clear all of the (badly) learned signals from IR prior to upload and kept re-uploading the bad signals. Heh.

So after owning my cable a week, my 8811 now controls all of my components individually. It's time to start researching more advanced moves/macros/extenders and all of the other delicious tidbits I've found in these forums/sites while browsing and searching.
Thanks again everyone, I'll probably ask more questions soon. I'll try to make sure they're in the n00b forum from now on!

[bluerider]

I've uploaded the RM file into my 15-1994 and it works ok, but it's not as responsive as the original remote.....misses fast button presses, will only register a keypress if the button is held down for about 1 second....
Is it working 100% for you guys?
It's not my 15-1994 since it works fine with all my other gear and it's not girder's fault since it works fine with the original credit card remote.
I'm thinking the IR frequency is just a bit off since learned signals show around 37380 Hz and the RM file shows that it's 38100 Hz.

[The Robman]

It sounds like you still have the original remote and that you've been able to learn the signals using your 15-1994, is that correct? Do the learned signals work as well as the originals? If so, please post an IR file containing the learned signals in the Diagnosis Area (and then post a link to it here, or nobody will look at it) and I'll try comparing the learned signals to the ones generated by that upgrade.

[bluerider]

Thanks for the quick reply.

The learned signals don't work as well as the original - same problems with responsiveness. The learned signals are similar to the original poster's, and there are quite a few buttons on the original remote that give errors when trying to learn. Any ideas?

[The Robman]

Thanks for the quick reply.

The learned signals don't work as well as the original - same problems with responsiveness. The learned signals are similar to the original poster's, and there are quite a few buttons on the original remote that give errors when trying to learn. Any ideas?

None of the previous posters in this thread loaded their IR files with the learned signals, so I don't know what they look like. That's why I asked to see your file.

[bluerider]

Hi Rob,

Here's the link to IR file:

https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=2266

Thanks!

[johnsfine]

I will admit, the Creative probably has a weak battery (It's a dime-sized button lithium battery and at least a year old.)

Weak is an understatement.

Your file has 5 learns. The STOP function is a learn of NEC:33.172:180 from an original remote with very weak batteries. The other four are total failures to learn, due to very weak batteries. There is no useful information content in those four.

We can easily reconstruct a clean version of the STOP command, but for other functions, I guess we'll need to look elsewhere for the OBC numbers.

[johnsfine]

I reread the thread a bit more carefully, so now I have a better idea what you're trying to accomplish.

I've uploaded the RM file into my 15-1994 and it works ok, but it's not as responsive as the original remote.....misses fast button presses, will only register a keypress if the button is held down for about 1 second....
Is it working 100% for you guys?
It's not my 15-1994 since it works fine with all my other gear and it's not girder's fault since it works fine with the original credit card remote.
I'm thinking the IR frequency is just a bit off since learned signals show around 37380 Hz and the RM file shows that it's 38100 Hz.

The frequency is definitely NOT the problem. I'm not certain what the problem is, but I think it is girder.

Let me make sure I understand what you've done:

You trained girder to understand these signals using a credit card remote that produces rotten signals due to marginal battery power.

You used an upgrade to generate perfect versions of the same signals, but girder has trouble recognising them.

You tried learning the bad signals from the orginal remote to the JP1 remote. But learning remotes can't come close to reproducing bad signals.

Why don't you retrain the Girder with decent signals?

[bluerider]

It was a different poster that had a weak battery. All my batteries are fresh. Girder responds the same with learned signals or the upgrade file. If I train Girder with the original remote it works ok. The main problem is getting my 15-1994 to reproduce those codes.