IR Issues

[simfreak]

Im losing my mind on this one so bare with me:

Setup
3 PVR150's
1 HVR1800

IR - USB UIRT

Problem;
After installing the hvr, the 1 card that the Happauge IR baster was working in stopped; So i ended up going out and getting a USB UIRT.
First problem came in with one of my recivers (a viewsat ultra) after about 2 hours, i finally got it to reliably work;
Moving on to the next recivers, A Dish network DISH322, i have not yet been able to get the IRT to send a complete sucsessful command.
I have been able to use IRhelper to capture the codes from the remote (though i painfully found out that i have to launch that application before sage starts, otherwise it doesnt accept the signal from it);
I have been able to 'learn' and the 'update' the codes in SAGE.
(though for some reason the 2 codes are coming out different);

In sage when all is said and done i go to change channels, the IRT blinks and the reciver does nothing; 'sometime' every now an again, the dish reciver will pick up on 1 digit of the channel, but its not always the same number and its not always the same seq number (ie if the channel is 123, sometime its will register just the one, sometimes just the 2 etc);

I have tried adjusting the channel and input delays in sage, no go.
Im pretty much at a loss on what to do so any help would be great.

[steven017]

Hey simfreak,

I may be oversimplifying this, but could this be a problem with the position of you USB-UIRT? I'm bouncing the signal off the glass in my TV stand to all my devices. I had to place it in the right position so that it always works.

Have you tried putting the USB-UIRT right in front of the IR receiver on one of the devices you are trying to control and then tried to send a command?

If it works like that, you need to move it to a position where it can 'hit' those receivers.

UPDATE:
I reread your post and I'm wondering how you changed the input delay. Have you tried adjusting them in your IR file? I'm not 100% sure, but you might have a bit more control and luck this way. I could be wrong. When I set my box up, I edited the IR file manually to change the timing. I was have some trouble too, and editing the file helped work it out. Basically, you would change the last two numbers on the first line, which I believe are delays in milliseconds. As always, backup the file before you change it. You will also need to restart SageTV I believe for the change to take effect.

Here's a link to the start of some posts in a thread that seem related:

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...0&postcount=61


Good luck and hope this helps.

Steve

[simfreak]

Thanks for the reply;

Its not a distance thing, any closer to the IR reciver and i would have to take the case apart

And i tired from different angles and distances to make sure i was hitting it right. (basically i just went into the channel setup for that turner an kept hitting 'view' on different channels causing the ir to send signals.)

For the IR delay; you can set it under setup>Source setup> click on the tuner > click on tuner control > remote control options;
There you have delay between codes, and delay between channel changes;

Those settings are present in the .IR file (or so it looks); I thought maybe by adjusting those it would give the reciver time to process the codes, but it had no effect;

I have tried editing the code file directly, but didnt seem to work. I know for sure that it worked with the happauge pvr 150 IR blaster and the ir config program. But thats not an option with the hvr in there.

[steven017]

Well, here's the question then. Have you been able to test your codes to see that they all work?

If you did not or have not been able to, perhaps some of your IR codes are incorrect. I know it may sound unlikely, but when I was learning my codes, I had trouble with one of my remotes. It was a pain to try to learn codes with and often I would end up with the wrong code. It wasn't even close.

I'm not familiar with IRhelper, so the following is based on what I do know works.

It's probably not optimal, but you could install EventGhost, install its usb-uirt plugin, and use it to learn your codes. You don't have to do anything with it really, just learn the codes, test them (there is a test button), and then copy and paste them into your IR file as necessary.

If you do this, you should be able to ensure that you can change channels using your USB-uirt and that your remote codes are correct.

Again, this is probably not optimal, but it would eliminate that one potential variable--you will know your remote codes do actually work.

The fact that you can see a visible sign that codes are being sent, even though not all of them, still seems to me like its related to either the duration of the signal, the time in between, or some other variable. In the thread I posted above, they mention setting a repeat code in the IR file. Have you tried that? It's a long shot, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to try. From my own experience, I didn't need it for codes for my sat box. But when I set my remote up to control my surround sound system, I had to set the number of repeats pretty high for my system to receive the signal.

One last thing, and I know it's obvious, but have you made sure you're set up to use a three digit channel number in your IR file? If you are not, I suppose that could be the problem. For example, if it's set to 1 and you trasmit three digits (eg. 123), I think it sends the digits as three separate sequences, not one, ie. 1 then 2 then 3, not 123. So, if you set it to 3, it sends 3 digits as 1 sequence, ie., 123.

Steve

[simfreak]

There is one thing i noticed about the .IR file, and thats in the first line it doesnt look like it picked up the freq of the remote;

Here's the first line of the Dish reciver,
DISH322 0 0 3 200 70

heres the one for the viewsat
StubDevice 38000 400 3 75 50 ok

Im guessing the firs number after the name is the remote freq; not sure about the second number; 3rd is channel digits, 4th input delay, 5th channel change delay and last comfim code;

Im not at home to try this, but if i remember correctly, the IRhelper program recived the code at somthing like 56k (or there in about); so im wondering if its just that easy, where all i have to do is put that in; Im not at home to try this, but if anyone else out there has an idea on this; i would appriciate a comment.

[steven017]

Hey simfreak,

I don't know about the frequency.

But, your the last two numbers (75 and 50--this is in milliseconds, so these are really fast) look pretty low to me. You said you tried changing them to increase the delay. What did you change them too? In my setup, the defaults were 600 and 800, I think. Now, I've actually INCREASED them.

If you haven't done so, I would try pumping them up to say, 600 and 800 or 800 and 1000, just as a test to see if it works. If it does, you can adjust them downwards in increments until you get it the way you like.

Steve

[simfreak]

Just wanted to say that it turns out that it was the freq setting missing from the IR file that was preventing it from working. After adjusting the file to read 56000, it worked flawlessly (even with the low settings);

So for those out there that may run into the same problems here is what i have learned.

1. IR helper doesnt work when sage is running, so stop the service before trying to use it.
2. Make sure that you hold the remote steady and dont move it when learning codes (i learned on the viewsat that it will result in incomplete codes);
3. Appearantly DISH322 uses a 56k remote freq, so make sure you get the uirt with the 56k sensor if you have this reciverm, mine must have come with it with out asking, cause it worked
4. If the codes are right but sage isnt working, check to make sure that it found the remote frequency. In IRhelper it will tell you when you go to learn a code, what freq it is coming in on, make sure that accuratly reflects the settings in the sage IR file.

All is good now; my mind can rest soundly now

[steven017]

Awesome simfreak. Great to hear its working.

Steve