How to do IR?

[ergodic]

I could use a little advice on RF signalling to the ISY.

 

I'm trying to rid myself of the little X10 keypads which I use purely to signal via RF. Since I have an ISY IR unit, RF IR seemed the logical way to go (I find the SH RemoteLincs functionally, esthetically and budget-challenged.) I should also say I only really need the RF control for the ISY/Insteon -- we're not really audiophiles and we have other solutions for remoteitis that work fine.

 

So I ordered up one of the RFS200 kits - a Universal Remote RF20 and an RF-to-IR pickup. My first mistake was putting it inside my structured cabling cabinet where it began happily jibbering away from all the RF noise in there. Obiously not a lot of error band information on this guy. Moving the pickup out a few feet from the cabinet mostly got rid of the noise triggers (not totally). But then I discovered that pressing a key on the RF20 remote sometimes generates several IR codes in the ISY, sometimes one, sometimes none. Not always in a predicable way either. The pattern seems to vary somewhat depending on how long the key is pressed.

 

It looks to be good moment to take a step back and ask the brain trust if there's a better (translate reliable) solution to this. I'll confess I'm not terribly enthusiastic about spending a grand on a couple of Harmony remotes and receiver, but if that works and it's the only reliable solution then that what I'll do.

 

Any recommendations would really be appreciated.

[MikeB]

I'm not familiar with the RF20. Is it PC programmable? If so, and you are running ISY firmware 2.7.1 and greater, you should be able to load our CCF file into their application which gives you 40 pre-defined codes. Please see this thread for more info:

http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=2438

 

If it's not PC programmable, what kind of device are you setting the remote up as? You might want to try a Philips TV or VCR device.

[ergodic]

Thanks for the reply.

 

The RF20 is - I sort of gather - the old-line standard for programmable remotes from Universal Remote. (The new one is the Digital R50 with the nice color screen.)

 

It is not PC-programmable, but all of the buttons and labels seem to be fully configurable and/or trainable on the device. At least provided you have the patience of Mother Teresa and the fingers of a safecracker. Here is the product page:

 

http://www.universalremote.com/product_ ... p?model=98

 

My main concern is reliability - do you know if there is an RF-to-IR remote solution that has some degree of noise and error rejection? This thing would be fine, but it seems to indiscriminately demodulate anything in it's passband and present it as IR. Is that true of the Harmonys also? A non-RF IR blaster would be very difficult to implement in this house.

 

I'll try the Philips codes and see if it helps.

[MikeB]

Hi -

 

Sorry, don't have any technical details to share comparing various RF to IR bridges.