X10 Community Forum

🎭Entertainment => Problems and Troubleshooting => Topic started by: suesloan on May 19, 2009, 12:18:38 PM

Title: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 19, 2009, 12:18:38 PM
Hooked up sender to cable box with red/white/yellow connectors. Also IR attached to cable box in the right place on the front, I am pretty sure it is right. Video is excellent upstairs where I connected the TV with the coax connector. Aimed antennas in general direcion of each other (on different floors). Two problems:

1. Audio is low. I turned up the audio on the TV to the max with no effect. I turned up the audio on the cable pretty high downstairs. No change upstairs.

2. The 5-in-1 remote works downstairs with the cable box. It works upstairs with the TV. It does not work the cable box from upstairs location.  The light on the remote blinks when I push buttons to change channels, but nothing happens. Should the red light on the "receiver" blink or something too?

I will try any suggestions you can offer to me. Thanks, Sue

Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: HA Dave on May 19, 2009, 03:55:38 PM
1. Audio is low. I turned up the audio on the TV to the max with no effect. I turned up the audio on the cable pretty high downstairs. No change upstairs.

It could be the digital/analog setting from the cable box... you can check the audio by connecting a VCR or DVD player instead of the cable box. It's generally best to do a test setup with everything in arms reach... then move the hardware to different floors.. when that's is possible.

2. The 5-in-1 remote works downstairs with the cable box. It works upstairs with the TV. It does not work the cable box from upstairs location.  The light on the remote blinks when I push buttons to change channels, but nothing happens. Should the red light on the "receiver" blink or something too?

Positioning those little IR emitters is important. Look through the red plastic using a flashlight to make sure you've found the correct location.

I've been using the Video sender/receiver units for some time... and with great results. Keep us in the loop.. so we know you get this working right.
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 19, 2009, 04:33:27 PM
I have a VCR/DVD player connected to that cable box and when I use it the audio is fine. I did look at the IR on the cable box with a flashlight and fastened the little black emitter right on top of it. I will recheck things tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply! Sue
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: HA Dave on May 19, 2009, 04:35:19 PM
I have a VCR/DVD player connected to that cable box and when I use it the audio is fine.

Does that mean... the VCR/DVD player sends the audio to the upstairs OK? If so... check the cable box setting to make sure they aren't set to digital or optical or something.
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 19, 2009, 06:01:25 PM
No, I have not moved the sender to the VCR/DVD player. That one is very hard to reach the back of because of where it sits on a shelf above the TV. I rarely even turn that device on, so I would prefer to leave it out of the loop. I will try some things in the AM when I am fresh. Sue
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 20, 2009, 08:09:40 AM
I put both "emitters" on the front of the cable box where I see the IR receiver under the red plastic this AM. This was recommended by your 800-number tech support. I tried them horizontally and vertically side-by-side. I have moved them so much that the sticky side is getting less sticky! Remote control still does not work.

I do not see any switches on the cable box for analog/digital, so I cannot try that out. There is a plug labeled "Digital Audio Out" but I did not connect anything to that. I have a "Scientific Atlanta Explorer 4200", FYI.

Other than having to go downstairs to switch channels I am pretty happy to at least get all the channels now with the stupid $6.50 a month additional cable box.

Any more ideas?
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: HA Dave on May 20, 2009, 09:13:23 AM
I put both "emitters" on the front of the cable box where I see the IR receiver under the red plastic this AM. This was recommended by your 800-number tech support. I tried them horizontally and vertically side-by-side. I have moved them so much that the sticky side is getting less sticky! Remote control still does not work.

I do not see any switches on the cable box for analog/digital, so I cannot try that out. There is a plug labeled "Digital Audio Out" but I did not connect anything to that. I have a "Scientific Atlanta Explorer 4200", FYI.


I didn't mean the settings would be changed by a switch... settings are often changed via the remote. You may have an older cable box.

Other than having to go downstairs to switch channels I am pretty happy to at least get all the channels now with the stupid $6.50 a month additional cable box.

Any more ideas?


"Other than having to go downstairs to switch channels I am pretty happy".... Does that mean your now receiving sound? You said the 5 N 1 remote won't remotely change channels... will the remote that came with the cable box? Does the 5 N 1 have new batteries?
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 20, 2009, 09:37:47 AM
>>"Other than having to go downstairs to switch channels I am pretty happy".... Does that mean your now receiving sound? You said the 5 N 1 remote won't remotely change channels... will the remote that came with the cable box? Does the 5 N 1 have new batteries?<<

I have sound but with the TV sound at max, the sound coming out is at about 25-30% of what I would expect it to be.

The remote will change channels when at the cable box location, but not at the receiver TV location. I put new batteries in it yesterday AM when I first opened the box that it came in.

Sue
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 24, 2009, 12:14:54 PM
I was dusting today and found the "emitter" cable not connected to the video sender. Now the remote works upstairs too. I thought I rechecked all the connections already! Sorry!

And today I find the sound is not terrible impacted by my new wireless camera security system either. It is not any louder, but the static is not too bad. I hear a click in the TV when I switch cameras, but it does not appear the video sender is interfering with the camera pictures much. Perhaps a little more static, but bearable.

Sue
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on May 25, 2009, 11:09:28 AM
Now that the X10 remote works, I find that I can raise the volume of the audio using it upstairs. It is a separate "audio slider" from the one on the TV.

And today there doe snot appear to be any interference in the video from my X10 camera system, even though they supposedly both use the 2.4 ghz range. I did put the cameras on A and the video sender on D but that did not work yesterday. Today, it may be the reason they are not interfering with each other.

Sue
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on August 11, 2009, 02:13:06 PM
OK, I was in Florida for a while, and now I am back.

The audio on the upstairs TV at max is still very low. I turned up the audio on the cable box downstairs but it does not seem to change the audio level on the upstairs TV at all.

Any suggestions at this point? I can barely hear the TV over the A/C.

Sue
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: Knightrider on August 11, 2009, 10:47:31 PM
I had a low audio problem with my DJ rig on Saturday. Turns out that someone had shut the lid on my equipment case over the RCA cable.  New cable fixed the problem.
Title: Re: New VK82A user - low audio, remote no workie
Post by: suesloan on August 12, 2009, 07:34:35 AM
I upped the audio by switching from the coax to the RCA cables between the receiver and upstairs TV. With the TV Audio slider on max, it is probably 40-50% louder than before.

So I guess it is OK for now. I will go back to working on the surveillance camera system! One of the motion detectors goes off every few hours with noone in the house!

Sue