X10 Community Forum
💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: dave w on October 13, 2016, 04:42:00 PM
-
Hi group!
I have need of a working X10 IR543AH "IR Command Center". It must be the IR543AH which does all 16 House Codes, not the IR543A which can only do one House Code.
Will buy or trade (I have a ton of X10 goodies). PM me if you have one and are not using it.
Thanks!!
-
What do you need it for?
I'm sure I have one (or more) but do not recall whether it was a production model or one where I installed Laser's chip into an IR543A (or maybe both). I was colluding with Laser back then and, IIRC, even did some prerelease testing.
-
What do you need it for?
Hi Dave!
I have a Blumoo (http://www.blumoo.com/) which basically turns your unused smartphone into a universal remote. The smartphone transmits the proper remote code , depending on the TV, sound bar, DVR, VCR , home theater, etc you want to control via Bluetooth to the Blumoo appliance, and the Blumoo acts as an IR blaster.
The Blumoo remote code library has X10 codes, so I need a X10 IR to PLC interface. I would like the interface to handle all 16 HCs which is why I was looking for the IR543AH. My understanding is the IR543A can only retransmit the HC it's dial is set to, the IR543AH update will pass all house codes. But I can work with the IR543A also.
Now don't go hurting yourself rooting through all the boxes in the basement.
Thanks very much for responding!
-
The Blumoo remote code library has X10 codes, so I need a X10 IR to PLC interface. I would like the interface to handle all 16 HCs which is why I was looking for the IR543AH. My understanding is the IR543A can only retransmit the HC it's dial is set to, the IR543AH update will pass all house codes. But I can work with the IR543A also.
It's been a long time since I played with this, dating all the back to the previous century. I believe I generated the Pronto Remote CCF codes that Laser supplied with the IR543AH and I probably published those to RemoteCentral. I know that I translated those codes to the format used by the Omni Remote but don't recall whether I added those to the RemoteCentral repository. My guess is that Blumoo is using the CCF codes. But that's not critical - all that matters is that they spit out the correct IR sequences. IIRC, all but the extended dims used the original X10 codes - the extended dims and all housecodes were the features Laser added. X10 Europe later copied Lasers's design, including the extended dims, for their IR7243AH (?) so that may be the source for Blumoo's codes.
EDIT: That should read IR7243W - I shoulda read the X10 IR Protocol article on my web page. ;D
So, you'll send Bluetooth to your Blumoo which will send IR to the IR543AH which will send PLC to your X10 devices.
I don't like going down to the catacombs when there's a full Super/Hunters moon rising but I'll see what I can find over the next day or so.
-
So, you'll send Bluetooth to your Blumoo which will send IR to the IR543AH which will send PLC to your X10 devices.
I don't like going down to the catacombs when there's a full Super/Hunters moon rising but I'll see what I can find over the next day or so.
Yes. That is how it works. If you have TVs, home theaters, stereos, etc in other rooms, then you need a Blumoo blaster in each of those rooms. The concept is actually an X10 Icon or Nstinct Universal Remote on steroids. What got my attention was the customizable screen and buttons for each piece of equipment you want to control. The Icons I have just are not that configurable.
Thank you very much for your effort! Catacombs are very spooky, especially with full moon. I don't like the spiders.
-
Thank you very much for your effort! Catacombs are very spooky, especially with full moon. I don't like the spiders.
And that's especially the case now that I've learned the little buggers can hear.
http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/animals-ecology/spiders-hearing/ (http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/animals-ecology/spiders-hearing/)
Luckily, before the sunset, I stumbled across one with an IR543AH label along with two with IR543 labels. I suspect I had modified one of the latter with Laser's PIC but, if so, I did not label it in any way.
I have no easy way to test it but have no reason to suspect there is anything wrong with it so I'll let you do the testing.
I'll PM you with other details. It may take longer to find an appropriate shipping container than it did to find the device.
-
I haven't dug into my archives for details on Laser's protocol used by the IR543AH and IR7243W but a quick review of the X10 IR Protocol would indicate that unless the Blumoo X10 Codes are explicitly for the IR543AH or IR7243W you can't control the housecode and you may not be able to control the IR543AH using standard X10 IR.
I see that toasterking posted about both versions to RemoteCentral about 3 years ago so he might be able to shed (visible) light on this.
-
I haven't dug into my archives for details on Laser's protocol used by the IR543AH and IR7243W but a quick review of the X10 IR Protocol would indicate that unless the Blumoo X10 Codes are explicitly for the IR543AH or IR7243W
I just PMed you about this, but the X10 screen on the Blumoo has 16 buttons for house codes and 16 buttons for unit codes along with ON, OFF BRI, DIM, etc. Pretty much like the SmartHome "Maxi Control Linc" when it's keyboard cover is open. No there is nothing from Blumoo that indicates anything other than standard X10 protocol. I think the IR 543AH will work fine.
-
I think the IR 543AH will work fine.
I'm still skeptical. I might be able to conduct some simple tests to resolve things if we don't hear from toasterking. I wrote a Windows application way back then that generated Pronto CCF files for many, many devices and I probably have copies on some HDDs from old PCs that I've saved and installed in USB housings.
While I did not find any codes on RemoteCentral from me, those I found from others were specific to one or the other but not both.
Laser added Preset and Extended Dims. If Blumoo doesn't show these, I think their codes are for the IR543 only. However, given that they do show housecodes (of no use with the IR543) it may mean that the IR7243AH did not include Preset and Extended Dims and that theirs are the codes Blumoo is using.
-
The IR543 protocol is very simple. It only contains a unit code or function code.
https://www.laser.com/dhouston/ir.html (https://www.laser.com/dhouston/ir.html)
The IR543AH protocol is far more complex. It's more like the X10 RF protocol with each transmission including house, unit & function codes.
http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/CM17A_Protocol (http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/CM17A_Protocol)
I don't recall whether Laser's PIC code (actually created for them by a PIC programmer in Canada) retained the ability to handle standard X10 IR codes. If not, and if Blumoo uses the standard codes, the IR543AH will not handle them - you'd be better off with the IR543.
IOW, the IR543 may not work with IR543AH codes and the IR543AH may not work with IR543 codes. This RemoteCentral page indicates they are incompatible.
http://files.remotecentral.com/view/1709-3003-1/x-10_ir7243ah_lighting.html (http://files.remotecentral.com/view/1709-3003-1/x-10_ir7243ah_lighting.html)
And, this post to the X10 forum further confuses things.
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=29529.msg166295#msg166295 (http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=29529.msg166295#msg166295)
CORRECTION: The IR7243AH did copy the IR543AH format. The IR7243W combined standard IR with RF.
Way back whenever, I had a Pronto to which I added a 310MHz RF transmitter. It sent IR & RF simultaneously. It made it fairly easy to control everything and test things before distributing CCF codes, etc. Once I got my current Vizio SmarTV paired with a Lenovo Q190 PC, the Pronto was no longer as handy so I gave it to a nephew.
-
I don't recall whether Laser's PIC code (actually created for them by a PIC programmer in Canada) retained the ability to handle standard X10 IR codes. If not, and if Blumoo uses the standard codes, the IR543AH will not handle them - you'd be better off with the IR543.
Someone with a much younger brain and more recent IR543/IR543AH hands on experience has confirmed that the IR543AH does still handle standard IR so I'll get the IR543AH en route ASAP.
-
I see that I arrived fashionably late just as people were talking about me. :)
The IR543AH definitely accepts the same IR sequences for unit codes and function codes as the IR543; I'm still using my IR543AH that way. I found that the timing for repeated commands was a little different for the IR543AH, at least in the US/60Hz version, and so I had to modify the binary codes for the IR sequence for DIM and BRIGHT a little for my Philips ProntoNEO TSU501 remote to get them to repeat properly. The thing you found on Remote Central was probably the remote config files I uploaded from that experiment. Other than that and adding the new house code sequences, the transition from IR543 to IR543AH was seamless.
dhouston, I wasn't actually aware that there is a way to send the house, unit, and function codes in one IR message. I send them as three separate messages from my TSU501 and it is slower than I would prefer, so I'd like to know how to do this. Do you know where I could find those codes (and the extended dim ones) for the IR543AH? Does the Windows application you wrote create CCF files with those codes attached to buttons?
-
dhouston, I wasn't actually aware that there is a way to send the house, unit, and function codes in one IR message. I send them as three separate messages from my TSU501 and it is slower than I would prefer, so I'd like to know how to do this. Do you know where I could find those codes (and the extended dim ones) for the IR543AH? Does the Windows application you wrote create CCF files with those codes attached to buttons?
That may just be my faulty memory. I was always much more involved with X10 RF and I may have been a bit biased towards that protocol. And, as I mentioned earlier, I had modified my Pronto to send RF and I used that as my major remote, only doing periodic testing of IR related to this or to the Ocelot. In my web page article on the X10 IR protocol, created back then, I wrote...
Both the IR543 and IR543AH receive IR codes, verify that they represent a supported X-10 command, translate the data to the X-10 PLC protocol and transmit the translated command to the powerline. While transmitting to the powerline they cannot receive IR so sequential commands need to be paced to assure the IR543 or IR543AH are again ready to receive IR.
I did a quick dive into my archives but found nothing related to this. It may all have been on a W98 machine that went to the recycler a few years back. I'm sure I kept the HDD but may have later wiped it for use with a Linux distro - they got bigger over the years, requiring bigger HDDs. Do you still have the files that Laser supplied? If not, I'm still in contact with Kwong Li. But, it has been so long that he may not have records either. Home Automation was actually a sideline that his wife supervised and ran out of their garage. His main business was doing IT work for major companies all over Britain (and even Hong Kong).
It's interesting that you and dave w are doing sort of the same thing, sending RF/Bluetooth to a device that then retransmits as IR.
-
Do you still have the files that Laser supplied?
I do, but I don't recall any combined house/unit/function command messages being in those example files. I will check them again to make sure. The "read me" file shows these command formats, with no mention of the ability to combine them into one message:
Pronto Transmission Patterns
============================
HOUSE:
1 H1 H2 H3 H4 /H1 /H2 /H3 /H4
UNIT:
1 U1 U2 U3 U4 0 /U1 /U2 /U3 /U4 1
FUNCTION:
1 F1 F2 F3 F4 1 /F1 /F2 /F3 /F4 0
EXTENDED_CMD:
1 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 0 /C1 /C2 /C3 /C4 /C5 /C6 /C7 /C8 1
EXTENDED_DATA:
1 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 1 /D1 /D2 /D3 /D4 /D5 /D6 /D7 /D8 0
It also says:
Both the house code and unit code may also reside in the same button
thereby creating a button for a specific X-10 module.
So it seems to suggest using a feature of the Pronto remote (adding multiple commands to one button) to send two separate messages rather than some mechanism of their protocol for combining them into one message.
It shows the command format as:
The 40KHz IR house code signal format is as follows:
0x00A5 0x0096 Lead-in
(4-burst pair) House code, standard X-10 coding. eg. A=0110, B=1110
(4-burst pair) House code compliment
0x01C2 0x0096 Inter-message code
0x00A5 0x0096 Lead-in
(4-burst pair) House code
(4-burst pair) House code compliment
0x01C2 0x0E10 Lead-out
I suppose it might be possible to insert another inter-message code, lead-in, and another entirely different code before the lead-out, but the "read me" doesn't explicitly state that this is acceptable.
It's interesting that you and dave w are doing sort of the same thing, sending RF/Bluetooth to a device that then retransmits as IR.
In my case, it's because of the remote I am using. The only RF messages that the TSU501 can transmit are IR messages encapsulated in RF, requiring a Philips RF extender (RF-to-IR device) to receive and retransmit them and necessitating that the destination device be one that accepts IR. And of course the reason that I am using the RF option at all is for whole-house coverage without line-of-sight access to the receiver. I could just use an X10 RF remote and avoid this silliness, but I don't wanna; I'd need 2 remotes then! :)
-
dhouston, that "read me" file also mentions your code generator program:
Another great Windows program for generating large numbers of IR and RF hex
strings, including Extended Commands, is CodeGen http://www.laser.com/dhouston/codegen.htm
The page no longer appears to be on your web site. This page also has a broken link to that same page:
https://www.laser.com/dhouston/pronto.html (https://www.laser.com/dhouston/pronto.html)
-
It also says:
Both the house code and unit code may also reside in the same button
thereby creating a button for a specific X-10 module.
So it seems to suggest using a feature of the Pronto remote (adding multiple commands to one button) to send two separate messages rather than some mechanism of their protocol for combining them into one message.
That may be what I'm remembering. I had a TS-1000 and, later, a TSU-3000 (if my memory isn't too foggy).
I'll look again, tomorrow for CodeGen. I had put it on RemoteCentral but found so many people posting, and claiming credit for, codes it generated that I took it down.
The webpage that Laser currently hosts is a trimmed down, and static, archive. I asked them to host it after the Wayback Machine had problems when someone grabbed the davehouston.org domain name. One of the attorneys involved in taking down Gawker is one David Houston (no relation) from down Texas way.
-
I found the Philips Pronto TS1000 & TSU3000 manuals online. They did allow you to create macros and assign them to a button (onscreen) so that may be what my feeble memory banks are recalling. Sorry for the confusion.
-
I found the Philips Pronto TS1000 & TSU3000 manuals online. They did allow you to create macros and assign them to a button (onscreen) so that may be what my feeble memory banks are recalling. Sorry for the confusion.
You could assign macros to onscreen buttons or hard buttons actually, or even link both kinds of buttons to the same macro. Or even set up a hard button that changes the display of onscreen buttons. I think the main problem with the Pronto remotes was that they were a little too advanced for much of their target market and never were able to refine their software enough to reduce that barrier to entry. It disappointed me greatly to see development of the Pronto line cease.
The confusion over the IR543AH protocol features is not a problem. You just got me a little excited; that is all. ;)
-
Also, dhouston, I really enjoyed your new signature.
-
You could assign macros to onscreen buttons or hard buttons actually, or even link both kinds of buttons to the same macro. Or even set up a hard button that changes the display of onscreen buttons. I think the main problem with the Pronto remotes was that they were a little too advanced for much of their target market and never were able to refine their software enough to reduce that barrier to entry. It disappointed me greatly to see development of the Pronto line cease.
I, also, liked the Pronto despite its price. But, I have lost the use of my left hand and am now losing feeling in my right hand so the bulkiness of their remotes became a major problem for me. There is a current thread on the Basic4Arduino forums about sending IR with the ESP8266 so the cost of a device that can receive WiFi and send IR has dropped a bit...
https://www.itead.cc/psf-b85.html (https://www.itead.cc/psf-b85.html)
while most smartphones can now do much of what the Pronto did. And then there's...
https://www.ray.co/ (https://www.ray.co/)
with more features for less money than the Pronto.
For macros, if you are able to insert delays, you should be able to create buttons that include house, unit and function. The PICs used in the IR543AH do not multitask so they cannot receive/process IR while they are sending PLC.
-
Also, dhouston, I really enjoyed your new signature.
That's indirectly a result of this thread. I did a search of the old Usenet comp.home.automation newsgroup to see when I first mentioned CodeGen or the IR543AH and found a post from 2000 where I mentioned converting some CCF files to the format used by the OmniRemote. I used a similar signature back then which I'd forgotten. So, after a bit of editing, I am now recycling it, as well.
-
dhouston, that "read me" file also mentions your code generator program:
Another great Windows program for generating large numbers of IR and RF hex
strings, including Extended Commands, is CodeGen http://www.laser.com/dhouston/codegen.htm
The page no longer appears to be on your web site. This page also has a broken link to that same page:
https://www.laser.com/dhouston/pronto.html (https://www.laser.com/dhouston/pronto.html)
The Pronto file jogged my memory a bit. While most of its links are now dead-ends, I may have archived some of the documentation. I may even find some details in the BX24-AHT docs as it could also send/receive RF and IR.
Before shutting down my webpage I downloaded all of the files that were on it. I may find some of the now missing docs by rummaging through that ZIP.
-
I've emailed the Ray Partners Program asking if there's a developers API|SDK|Protocol that I (or younger developers) might use to talk to the $2 ESP8285 (ESP8266 based) to do things like we want to do here but for folks without a Pronto.
https://www.ray.co/pro (https://www.ray.co/pro)
Specifically, I'd like to add support for...
https://www.itead.cc/psf-b85.html (https://www.itead.cc/psf-b85.html)
https://www.itead.cc/smart-home/slampher.html (https://www.itead.cc/smart-home/slampher.html)
Gus Dattilo is currently exploring adding a WiFi link to the XTB-232. I'm sending him a link to the PSF-B85 which might make things simpler.
-
And then there's...
https://www.ray.co/ (https://www.ray.co/)
with more features for less money than the Pronto.
I haven't used one, but my initial impression is that this device wouldn't really compete in the same class with the Pronto or my TSU501 and it's designed to solve different problems.
- It's neat that it can use WiFi and provides more than unidirectional control, but I don't generally need this.
- It seems to focus on bringing the TV program guide to the remote, while I prefer to watch mainly shows already recorded on my DVR. I don't really see the benefit of having an interface on 2 different displays anyway. Besides, I use my TSU501 to control many more important things than the TV!
- It has a huge touch display and barely any hard buttons. The main reason I use the TSU501 is for its nice balance of programmable hard buttons and customizable touch screen. I assign my most frequently used functions to hard buttons because I prefer not to look away from the TV or other equipment to use the remote, and that aesthetic is lost with the Ray. I even have an onscreen button that toggles the D-pad between menu navigation and playback controls for the DVR. To be fair, I don't think that is possible with most universal remotes.
- It can replicate other remotes as long as they are in its database in the sky, but it looks like options for customization are limited. You can add custom buttons and learn IR commands from another remote, but it doesn't appear that one can create macros and attach them to any button, and I don't see any mention of a way to create on-remote menu screens like I have on my TSU501. I would rather create every screen and button manually and learn the codes from the other remote individually if it means I am able to customize the interface and behavior!
- I also haven't found an answer to the burning question: What happens to the remote when the database in the sky evaporates?
This device has great potential and I'm sure it is already useful to many people, but I'd much rather have an updated Pronto.
I think that the WiFi component has a lot of untapped potential. For those with a HA PC, it would be neat to have an interface to control macros created in other automation software from the remote, possibly with feedback on the remote screen. Were PCs not so unpopular these days, I could see more of a market for that sort of thing. But once you get to that level, with the right software and a WiFi-to-IR or Bluetooth-to-IR bridge, an old iPod Touch could be used as the remote.
-
Before shutting down my webpage I downloaded all of the files that were on it. I may find some of the now missing docs by rummaging through that ZIP.
Don't let me stop you, but I was mainly hoping to find the secret to the combined house/unit/function IR messages that appear to be a non-feature. ;)
-
I've emailed the Ray Partners Program asking if there's a developers API|SDK|Protocol that I (or younger developers) might use to talk to the $2 ESP8285 (ESP8266 based)...
That sounds fun, but are you sure you're starting in the right place? Trying to add more hardware and code to a platform that is already more purpose-designed and locked down than an iPhone seems like, well, more of a challenge than it needs to be. :) After seeing the demos and reading a bit, it also may be a little off-target for the market they are trying to corner with this product. The Ray doesn't appear to cater nearly as well to the geeks who like to tweak their setups endlessly.
-
This device has great potential and I'm sure it is already useful to many people, but I'd much rather have an updated Pronto.
I think >*<
With ubiquitous smartphones and tablets running an essentially open OS like Android (Ray uses Android), it's tough to justify the price of the Pronto.
I loved my Pronto and could use it with the BX24-AHT 15+ years ago to do what you're doing and what dave w wants to do. I'd still be using it were I physically able but would probably opt for something like Blumoo today.
-
There is a current thread on the Basic4Arduino forums about sending IR with the ESP8266 so the cost of a device that can receive WiFi and send IR has dropped a bit...
Espressif (make ESP8266) has finally started shipping its ESP32 chip which adds Bluetooth to WiFi and dual processors. It can make projects like this easier and cheaper (and make Blumoo obsolete).
-
I loved my Pronto and could use it with the BX24-AHT 15+ years ago to do what you're doing and what dave w wants to do. I'd still be using it were I physically able but would probably opt for something like Blumoo today.
Although I have not experimented yet, Blumoo can supposedly take verbal commands. I know some other remotes claimed to respond to voice commands, but the fact that they are no longer on the market makes me wonder how effective voice command worked. With todays smart TVs connected to the internet, saying: "find Big Bang Theory" to a remote with poor voice recognition, may just get you to a big bang...as your wife walks in the room. :'
-
I think that the WiFi component has a lot of untapped potential. For those with a HA PC, it would be neat to have an interface to control macros created in other automation software from the remote, possibly with feedback on the remote screen.
I use a Lenovo Q190 PC (with built-in WiFi) on one of my TV HDMI ports. I control the PC with a wireless KB and find it works better for streaming/browsing than the TVs buiit-in smarts.
With things like the Onion Omega2 Plus and the ESP32 with WiFi, Bluetooth and adequate computing power, I could create onscreen menus that I could use with my KB to control IR controlled devices like the TV itself, a VCR on another HDMI port, a window A/C unit, even X10 IR543 by sending WiFi to the Omega2+ or ESP32 and having them repeat it as IR.
http://hackerboards.com/5-dollar-linux-equipped-omega2-iot-module-launches-on-kickstarter/ (http://hackerboards.com/5-dollar-linux-equipped-omega2-iot-module-launches-on-kickstarter/)
http://esp32.net/ (http://esp32.net/)
-
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread of a search for an IR543AH, which is an old X10 controller that receives IR signals from a TV universal remote, and if, X10 PLC will place them on the homes power lines. The IR543A which tranceives only the house code it's HS dial is set to did not meet my needs. Thanks to forum members dhouston and tuicemen I was able to locate the "AH" model which transceives all 16 House Codes. My quest was spurned by a product called Blumoo. A universal TV remote control app for IPhone and Android cell phones, and a Bluetooth connected hardware IR blaster, which controls all the IR driven junk in a room, such as a home theater room. The IR543AH is something of a rare bird and I really appreciate the help from the X10 forum member, dhouston for helping me find one.
I am still in the early stages of setting up Blumoo, but I like it more than the more conventional "universal remotes" such as the Harmony, Pronto, or X10 Icon and Nstinct, in that the screen is 100% configurable. All buttons are nameable, movable, and can have macros attached. Blumoo apparently has, at least a portion of the old X10 Wireless remote control code library, hence Blumoo has X10 codes along with about every other TV IR remote control code for the past decade or two.
I'm thinking Authinx might consider bringing back the IR543AH. But not before the ancicipated X10 WiFi module!! :)%
-
This device has great potential and I'm sure it is already useful to many people, but I'd much rather have an updated Pronto.
I think >*<
I agree. It seemed to only appeal to a small user base while it was being manufactured and sold. It had an impressive feature set and was unique in many ways but the learning curve turned potential users off, and I don't think they ever conquered that issue. It would need to be a very different product to compete with current offerings. I realize that I am in the minority when I say that, despite the rough edges, it was a nearly perfect product for my needs and in many ways still is.
-
[...] I was able to locate the "AH" model which transceives all 16 House Codes.
Congratulations on finding one!
This is what the IR543 should have been from the beginning. At one point before I discovered the "AH" modification, I had three Philips RFX6500 RF-to-IR extenders, each set to a different ID, each modified not to blast ambient IR out of its window, and each with an emitter taped to a different one of three IR543 units, each of which was set to a different house code. By the time I decided I wanted to make a fourth house code addressable by my remote, I had had enough of this setup and eventually found the "AH" kit, which is much easier to deal with!
-
[...] I was able to locate the "AH" model which transceives all 16 House Codes.
Congratulations on finding one!
Toasterking, my apologies! I forgot that you provided pertinent information on the capabilities of the IR543AH, which was instrumental in the search. Did not meant to leave you out.
Thank you very much for your help!
-
Toasterking, my apologies!
No offense was taken. I'm glad I could help.
-
While it offers zero details, I did stumble across one link for CodeGenPro that still works.
https://www.laser.com/dhouston/cgp.html (https://www.laser.com/dhouston/cgp.html)
-
Thanks anyway, Dave. This looks to be a complex program that you must have put an awful lot of work into to have then lost!
-
I have one of these...
http://www.levitonproducts.com/Catalog/Model_HCPRF.htm?PID=1208 (http://www.levitonproducts.com/Catalog/Model_HCPRF.htm?PID=1208)
which I used with the Pronto I converted to RF...
https://www.laser.com/dhouston/pronto.html (https://www.laser.com/dhouston/pronto.html)
so I never really needed the IR543AH.
However, this thread (and another current one) have disturbed the cobwebs in my brain so, while it would require the cooperation of Jon Rhees (who designed the USB-UIRT), it would be fairly easy to modify a USB-UIRT to send/receive RF in addition to IR.
-
This looks to be a complex program that you must have put an awful lot of work into to have then lost!
I suspect CodeGenPro and Wave2CCF (created CCF codes from RF & IR codes captured as .wav files) were victims of some housecleaning a few years back. I got rid of a PC & CRT monitor I had used with 95/98/2000 and also pitched a bunch of 5-1/4 & 3-1/2 inch floppy discs.
Now, reading the ESP32 datasheet, I wish I had saved CodeGenPro and Wave2CCF as this new WiFi/BT chip has IR built in. The datasheet (Section 4.14) mentions eight IR send/receive channels and says it supports various IR Protocols. This is very preliminary but it looks like this $7 $3.50 chip might turn any WiFi/BT-capable smartphone/tablet into a truly universal remote.
https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-files/3269/esp32_datasheet_en_0.pdf (https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-files/3269/esp32_datasheet_en_0.pdf)
The 162 page ESP32 Technical Reference Manual provides a bit more detail.
http://www.espressif.com/en/support/download/overview?keys=&field_type_tid%5B%5D=13 (http://www.espressif.com/en/support/download/overview?keys=&field_type_tid%5B%5D=13)
The ESP32 would make a great front-end for the CM11A, XTB-232 and other controllers (even TTL) linking to them via USB, Serial, TTL, WiFi or Bluetooth with X10 and AV RF & IR transmitters & receivers as inexpensive add-ons.
-
Laser found an archived copy of CodeGen.ZIP which they sent me.
Unfortunately, I cannot install it on any of my current machines (W7 & W10). I get a message that SetUp.EXE will not run under this version of Windows. I kept the HDD from my XP machine (installed in a USB housing but not bootable) and it has no CodeGen files so I suspect I created CodeGen (and zipped it with WinZip) on a W98 or W2000 machine.
If anyone has an active version of W98 or W2000, I can send them the ZIP file. It might also install under XP if someone wants to try.
Do any of the Harmony (or other IR-capable) Hubs allow you to import CCF files?
BTW, I found a new Pronto TS1000 plus docking station on eBay for less than $50. I've yet to play with it so don't know whether or not it's operable. If so, and if someone can unzip/install CodeGen, it might prove useful.
-
Awesome, dhouston! I'd love to try out CodeGen!
I get a message that SetUp.EXE will not run under this version of Windows.
That usually (though not always) means that the installer is a 16-bit executable and you're trying to run it on a 64-bit OS, which has no VM support for running 16-bit code. These usually still work on modern 32-bit variants of Windows. If it's an old InstallShield-based installer, there exist drop-in 32-bit engine files to allow some 16-bit installers to work in 32-bit mode on a 64-bit OS (though the sane thing to do if you intend to keep distributing it, which you probably don't care much about at this point, is to repackage it with a more modern installer engine). It was common for 32-bit apps to be distributed with a 16-bit installer engine well into the 32-bit era to provide backward compatibility. It's still popular for applications to be distributed with a 32-bit installer also. I deal with this often in my job.
At any rate, I already have VMs set up running both Win98SE and WinXP so I don't expect that it will be a problem for me! I have a TSU6000 and TSU501, though I'm more interested in using the TSU501. The TSU501 needs its codes formatted differently as its configuration format is quite different, but that part is my problem. :)
-
The XP HDD has a WinZip directory but that version of WinZip doesn't want to run under W7. I tried the trial version of the latest WinZip but either it or I don't seem to know which end is up - it only sees about 5% of the folders and files under W10.
Send me a PM with your email and I'll send you the ZIP file. I don't recall whether it included documentation so, even if you can install it, you may be flying blind.
-
PM sent. I have no expectations, so I won't be disappointed. :) I'm not sure if this program even does anything that I want/need at this point, but it looks like it would be fun to play with. I will report back with what I find. Thanks!
-
The ZIP is en route. Good luck with it.
If you can install it, I'd like to have it repackaged so that I can install it on one of my current systems. It and my new TS1000 might be useful with the ESP32's infrared features.
-
Hi Dave, I'm new to this forum. I'm currently working on implementing some RF modules in my home automation project. I was reading your write up over at laser and first of all I want to thank you for such great information over there. I was also interested in your program Codegen, however, I noticed that there was no download link. After further searching I came to the conclusion that it is not in the wild. Would you care to share it with me? I'm not able to PM you as I am still a newbie. It would be most appreciated.
Thank You