JP1 Remotes

OK, excellent. Thanks much for all that info, mk!

Based on that, I think my plan of attack will work out perfectly with regard to supporting these remotes.

Bill

I dug a little deeper into the history of this remote.

It seems that the remote was originally made by universal for One For All. The pictured remote that nobody can buy was universal's original design. I think that when Audiovox took over One For All they scrapped the original design so they could sell basically the same remote under 2 brands.

I am not sure if all of the above is fact, but it seems to be the case.

-mk

Thanks for the update, mk....

I've removed my OARP05S image and map file from the set I'll be distributing. I'll retain it in my own set of files, in the unlikely case the mysterious, unseen-in-the-wild variant of this remote ever pops up somewhere, but based on everything said in this thread, I don't think there's any need to have it in the master set now and adding it might only confuse someone.

Talking about the RCA RCRP05B:

unclemiltie wrote: Definitely JP1.3, read the remote and signature is 31793179

If someone gets the OFA version can you verify that this has the same signature?

I never saw anyone reply to UncleMiltie's query. I'd really like to know the answer to this, so that I can adjust the RDF for the '31793179' (RCA RCRP05B signature) accordingly. Anyone with the OARP05S, please advise... does it report the '31793179' signature? (If you don't have a valid RDF, just use the 'jp1xtest.exe' utility from Tommy Tyler's TestGroup.ZIP file and it will report the signature without need of an RDF.)

Bill

Bill, here are my results from jp1xtest.exe when run on the OARP05S....

Oh good, same signature, now we can only hope that means they are the same internally with regards to setup codes and protocols. UEI has used the same signature on remotes that were different before.

Ellen wrote:Bill, here are my results from jp1xtest.exe when run on the OARP05S....

Excellent! Many thanks for running the test, Ellen!

vickyg2003 wrote:Oh good, same signature, now we can only hope that means they are the same internally with regards to setup codes and protocols. UEI has used the same signature on remotes that were different before.

This is certainly true (e.g. the Radio Shack 15-13x series). For now, however, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I think it's safe to assume that these remotes function identically. They have the same signature, same flash memory address/size, and (unlike the RS 15-13x series) the exact same physical appearance (minus the cosmetic upper case coloring difference). If we find out that they're not truly carbon-copies, which I'm sure we would soon enough, we can certainly deal with that then.

Thanks again, Ellen!

Bill

Me, I'm still crossing my fingers in hopes of seeing an extender released.

I'm reasonably fond of my RCRP05B, and would happily run out and buy extras to keep for spares or to use in other rooms in the house. The only thing stopping me is that, without either PushDev/PopDev or the ability to assign macros to the device keys, I still have to fall back to my aging RCU-810 for the home theater power on/off activity macros.

Without an extender you can still put all your activities on shifted device keys, and your master power-off on shift-power.

wow, I bricked one of these remotes. Actually, I bricked a 2nd remote, but one came back to life and the other is still bricked.

I plugged the connector the wrong way, tried to download using ir.exe and the remote got bricked. I tried another remote and that one stopped working altogether also.

So at that point I had 2 remotes not working. I turned the connector around and downloaded and the remote started working again. But I can't get the other remote to work. It is completely dead at this point.

-mk

mdavej wrote:Without an extender you can still put all your activities on shifted device keys, and your master power-off on shift-power.

Well, don't I feel sheepish...

This was exactly what I had tried to do. But I foolishly treated the extra unmapped keys in the RDF as phantom keys when I set up my keymoves/macros. Turns out, this was absolutely incorrect. Moved my discretes to the macro/shift-macro buttons instead, and things magically started working.

(Could've sworn I'd tried that at one point too. But clearly, I was doubly mistaken. Thanks for pointing out my brain fart.)

I'm still missing ToadTog functionality for my SciAtl DVR, so I can't declare complete victory just yet. But this should make things much more pleasant for the time being.

mikek wrote:wow, I bricked one of these remotes.

If you haven't already tried this, I would suggest you remove the batteries for about 30 seconds then re-install them. Then do a '981' reset. This is also known as a "manufacturer's reset" since it restores the flash memory to the 'factory default' condition. In case you don't know the procedure:

1. Press and hold 'Setup' -- 2 flashes
2. Press '9','8','1' -- 4 flashes

Then try to communicate with the remote, e.g. with the 'IR.exe' "Check Interface..." feature or, more simply, with the 'jp1xtest.exe' utility that comes with Tommy Tyler's TestGroup.ZIP file.

In fact, make sure your batteries are fresh since weak batteries are often the source of mysterious problems, even though it may not be the case here.

Please let us know how this turns out.

Bill

" The only thing stopping me is that, without either PushDev/PopDev or the ability to assign macros to the device keys"

You can't assign macros to device keys?? Isn't this a step backwards?
(Not a problem on the Atlas)

If you haven't already tried this, I would suggest you remove the batteries for about 30 seconds then re-install them. Then do a '981' reset. This is also known as a "manufacturer's reset" since it restores the flash memory to the 'factory default' condition. In case you don't know the procedure:

I'd add to this that you need to push a button while the batteries are out to make sure that the thingy(capacitor?) that holds the charge is completely discharged prior to doing a 981.

vickyg2003 wrote:

WagonMaster wrote:(...) I would suggest you remove the batteries for about 30 seconds (...)

I'd add to this that you need to push a button while the batteries are out to make sure that the thingy(capacitor?) that holds the charge is completely discharged prior to doing a 981.

Actually, the residual charge in any capacitor(s) is the reason for the suggestion of a 30-second removal (i.e. as opposed to a simple disconnect/re-connect). But Vicky's suggestion doesn't hurt a bit either and will tend to accomplish the same purpose even quicker.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier.... If you have a small connector on the JP1 end of your cable, it can be easy to shift the position left or right by 1 pin -- I've done it many times in dim light and wondered why my remote wouldn't communicate with the PC until I looked more closely. I don't think anyone has permanently bricked a JP1.2/JP1.3 remote by flipping the connector upside-down as you've done, but maybe there are unforeseen consequences if you were upside-down and off by 1 pin as I describe. Hopefully not... I suspect we can get your remote functional again with a little effort.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

Bill

WagonMaster wrote:

vickyg2003 wrote:

WagonMaster wrote:(...) I would suggest you remove the batteries for about 30 seconds (...)

I'd add to this that you need to push a button while the batteries are out to make sure that the thingy(capacitor?) that holds the charge is completely discharged prior to doing a 981.

Actually, the residual charge in any capacitor(s) is the reason for the suggestion of a 30-second removal (i.e. as opposed to a simple disconnect/re-connect). But Vicky's suggestion doesn't hurt a bit either and will tend to accomplish the same purpose even quicker.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier.... If you have a small connector on the JP1 end of your cable, it can be easy to shift the position left or right by 1 pin -- I've done it many times in dim light and wondered why my remote wouldn't communicate with the PC until I looked more closely. I don't think anyone has permanently bricked a JP1.2/JP1.3 remote by flipping the connector upside-down as you've done, but maybe there are unforeseen consequences if you were upside-down and off by 1 pin as I describe. Hopefully not... I suspect we can get your remote functional again with a little effort.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

Bill

Thanks for the replies, but this remote is completely dead at this point. No buttons work so I can't do a reset.

There is also not any room to miss the connector by a pin. I checked it out and that can't be done.

Of course it is not the batteries.

Flipping the connector and temporarily killing the remote is repeatable. When I flip the connector and do a download on my other remote it bricks the remote--no buttons work at all. This is after I unplug the connector and try to use the remote. When I flip the connector the correct way and download the remote comes back to life. It just won't come back to life on the completely dead remote.

Any other ideas?

-mk