Escape function to wake up computer from standby...

jonpcar · Post by **jonpcar** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 10:51 pm

I am using an infared keyboard with a PC that is (pretty much) dedicated to SAGE TV. I am allowing the PC to go to standby mode and so need an "ESCAPE" key to wake it up when I want to use it for viewing recorded videos.

Is there a simpler way than adding an ACER keyboard device to my remote to get the single ir sequence that I need for the escape key? The special protocol required for the ACER keyboard is quite large for the 8910 extender than I am using. I have added the keyboard as a device (and it works) but am worried that with further upgrades and planned enhancements to my theater system, I will run out of memory on the remote.

Thanks.

edited...to change "sleep mode" to "standby mode"

jonpcar · Post by **jonpcar** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:46 pm

Well, I had a bigger problem with this then I thought I would...when I added the ACER keyboard and its special protocol, it correctly set up one of my devices to emulate the keyboard ir commands. This allowed me to generate the escape key I needed to wakeup my home theater computer.

BUT, it made one of my other devices (TIVO) stop working entirely. It took me a long time to figure out that the ACER keyboard and my TIVO devices actually share the same protocol ID (01 11). Now, I don't know exactly what this means but I changed the ACER protocol ID in the protocols file (in the RM directory) to PID="01 13" and when I reloaded the RM outputs into IR and tried it, the conflict disappeared. Now both devices (keyboard and TIVO) work ok.

I suspect that these two devices TIVO & Acer keyboard shouldn't share the same protocol ID in the protocol file???

On a different note (in case any of the experts read this)...is it possible to light up the backlight on a 9910 through macros? It doesn't seem like there is a way currently but could a special protocol be written that triggers it?

Post by **vickyg2003** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:51 am

I suspect that these two devices TIVO & Acer keyboard shouldn't share the same protocol ID in the protocol file???

Yes, the remote looks for a protocol that is specified in a device. If your device uses a custom protocol, the custom protocol could cause another device to stop working if the protocol id duplicates another one that is in use. This applies to custom devices AND built in device codes.

The protocol takes the device data and formats it into a signal following a set of rules. Each protocol has unique rules. So if the wrong protocol is used the signal will not be formatted properly and your equipment won't recognize it.

A custom protocol will override a built in protocol as well as another custom protocol.

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:41 am

$01 11 is the official Tivo protocol. The Acer protocol is homemade and whoever made it just happened to randomly pick an id that's already in use.

As you have a learning remote, could you learn the ESCAPE button from your Acer keyboard (and then verify that the learned button works) and post the IR file which contains it. I might be able to make a new custom protocol for you that just sends the ESCAPE button.

jonpcar · Post by **jonpcar** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:10 am

Vicky & Rob...Thanks for the replies! They make me feel a bit better that my "kludge" may actually work and not create other hidden issues that I haven't found yet.

Rob, I did post an IR file with the learned escape key. It is here:

https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=5840

That would be awesome if a "smaller"

protocol could be created for the escape key sequence. It seems that others may have this same kind of issue where a single ir code may needed for a particular home automation task. I did 'briefly' peruse the assembly code files and thought about how one my create one, but found myself in-way-over-my-head pretty quickly. Rob, if you get the chance to create one I would jump on the opportunity to test it out! I will be gone for a few days on a trip but will be back early next week.

Also, below is the text from the learned key as it shows up in IR...don't know if it is helpful at all.

Protocol: AK-0001111110110-00000010-1110-11111101-1
Dev :15
Sub-Device:3
OBC: 64
Hex Cmd: 03
EFC: 026

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:50 am

You loaded your extender file, I need the original file.

jonpcar · Post by **jonpcar** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 11:50 am

Sorry about that...I forgot that when I was playing around with my original file the other day, I realized I hadn't saved it (2 years ago) with its original signature...I had saved it as one with a CPT0CPx1 signature. So, I fudged its loading by renaming one of the nonextended RDF files to one with the CPT0CPx1 signature. Of course it worked for me but I forgot that others won't have this bogus file in their RDF area.

Anyway, not knowing how to fix/change this signature, I opened up one of my 'spare' 8910s and downloaded its original configuration so it has the correct signature (CPT0CPT0) and relearned the signal. I replaced the file in the previous link with it so it should work now.

I hope that does it but I am still learning this stuff so I could have messed up something else.

Sorry for that trouble..

https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=5840

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:54 pm

Here, give this a try. The escape code is on the POWER button...

Upgrade Code 0 = 8F D0 (Video Acc/2000) Acer KB Escape (KM v9.13)
FF 00 11 A8 00 20 8A 22 80 A0 88
End

Upgrade Protocol 0 = 01 FF (S3C8+) Acer KB Escape
43 89 71 8B 0D 07 08 08 00 CF 00 00 00 00 00 BB
00 00 8D 01 46
End

jonpcar · Post by **jonpcar** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:40 am

Rob...I will be able to try it on Tuesday when I get back. It looks so simple but I know there is a wealth of knowledge and experience that backs it up.

Solutions to most all JP1 issues can be found through searches of this forum because of all the answers and help that you and the other JP1 experts have fielded in this forum over the years. Thanks again!

jonpcar · Post by **jonpcar** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:40 am

Rob, the new "escape" device works like a charm, and....it saves almost 50 bytes in the upgrade space compared to the ACER keyboard protocol! Thanks a bunch! Someday I am going to have to try to figure out exactly what's going on in those few bytes of code.

Post by **The Robman** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:49 am

The normal executor has to allow for the true structure of the signals so that it can generate all of the possible command codes that it is likely to receive. This signal uses 4 burst pairs and the IR engine is not programmed to handle more than 2 burst pairs, so the executor needs custom assembler code to generate the correct signal.

As you needed just the one button, I split the signal into ON and OFF half-pairs, which let me generate the signal using the IR engine. If I were to use this version of the protocol for the whole device, while the executor code would be smaller, the main upgrade would be bigger because I would need to use 3 or 4 bytes of code per button.