MCE USB Receiver overly sensitive?

kelcher789 · Post by **kelcher789** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:00 pm

I've been a JP1 user for s few years now, and I've rarely come across a problem that I can't solve by searching these forums, but this time I'm stumped.

I recently added a Microsoft MCE Receiver, Model 1040 (the one that comes with the Model 1039 remote) to a HTPC that I used to use with a Snapstream Firefly Mini receiver in conjunction with my 15-2117 (Extender 2 installed) without issue. I changed over to the MCE receiver because I now dual boot between XBMC Live (underlying Ubuntu OS) and Windows running Beyond TV Link, and the MCE receiver works great with little customization. The remote that came with the receiver works great in both environments.

I first tried my 15-2117 with the "Microsoft Model 1039 Media Centre" device upgrade from the files section. With the receiver pointing directly at my sitting position and no obstructions (about 6 feet away), the performance is pretty bad. It seems that a lot of my key presses aren't registering. It doesn't seem to be a toggle bit issue because I can sometimes get in 4 or 5 key presses in a row, then the next 4 or 5 won't register. It seems pretty random.

I tried the 5 other MCE device upgrades listed under the misc files section, but they were no better (some didn't work at all). Wondering if it was my 15-2117 itself, I tried using an old Replay TV 5000 remote. It performed a little better but was still far from acceptable.

Oh, before I forget, I'm using the latest versions of IR and RM.

Well, through trial and error, I discovered that it's almost like the signal that the receiver is getting from my JP1 remotes is too strong. I found that I can walk away from my TV, all the way across the room and into my kitchen, and while pointing my remote at the set get *almost* perfect performance. I can, while sitting in my normal spot, cover the front of my 15-2117 with my hand (not the palm, but with my fingers closed in front of it) and get *almost* perfect performance. I can set the receiver behind my set, out of view pointing towards the ceiling, and get *almost* perfect performance.

Right now, I have my receiver with two layers of white drawing paper taped over the front of it, sitting at an odd angle (not pointing directly at me, but about 45 degrees to my left) in it's normal place, and that seems to give me the best results, but still not perfect. The occasional button press doesn't get registered, maybe one out of ten.

Has anyone else had this issue with these MCE receivers? Is this a known problem? I searched but didn't find anyone else describing what I see. I would assume that I'm not setting something up right in the software, but then why would it work so much better with a reduced signal?

If anyone can shed some light, I'd be most appreciative.

Thanks for your time!

kelcher

Post by **The Robman** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:35 pm

Post a link to the upgrade that you're using and I'll take a look at it. I'm guessing that it uses a protocol upgrade so it might be possible to tweak the protocol code to send a weaker signal.

kelcher789 · Post by **kelcher789** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:59 pm

Thank you Robman for taking a look at this. This is the upgrade that gives me the most success:

https://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=5532

As far as I can tell, it just uses the MCE protocol that's built into RM.

One thing that I forgot to mention previously was that I also tried just making a quick little upgrade on my own for test purposes using the built in MCE protocol, using the default Device and OEM2 values of 4 and 15 respectively, and the OBCs for Up, Down, Left, Right, and Select. Using this on an otherwise empty 15-2117 resulted in the same bad performance.

kelcher

kelcher789 · Post by **kelcher789** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:22 pm

One more thing that I just discovered. Up until now, I have only been testing this setup with the Windows/Beyond TV side of things. I assumed that things would be identical in XBMC, but that isn't the case. It seems to be even more unresponsive. While backing away from the TV still helps with keys being missed, it's not nearly as responsive as with Windows. There's also an amount of lag between when I press a button and the response (when there is one) that isn't there in Windows.

Note that the original 1039 remote is very snappy in XBMC.

*sigh*

kelcher