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[bittyblueeyes]

I am having problems trying to figure this out...  

I have all of my home theatre stuff in a cabinet for child-proofing purposes. The cabinet in question is in between the living room and the kitchen, facing the kitchen. So its not even possible to have glass doors. The TV is mounted on the wall. Anything on top of the cabinet is going to get accessed by my two year old... So I cant have ANYTHING on top. She is old enough to push a chair up to it and climb up. (Oh terrible twos, how I hate thee...)

I bought an Nstinct remote to control everything, so that I only had to worry about keeping track of one remote, instead of three...

The TV and the Wii work, because the Wii has that convenient little IR extender already built in. However, the Video player we have is IR, and only works in direct line of sight... So I literally have to stand in the kitchen, with the cabinet open, using the remote, while my daughter isnt looking...

I was thinking about getting one of those powermid things... But I noticed that there are two pieces to it... One that goes inside the cabinet, and one that goes wherever you want to point the remote... The only thing is, Im having a problem trying to think of a safe, visible place to put the receiver...

But the Nstinct remote is RF, right? Would it work without the receiver piece?

There is literally no closets or cupboards or any place in our house that she can't get to, but still has an electrical outlet...  

[Brian H]

The IR34A Nstinct remote has the ability to send Rf commands to the RE549 Wireless Receiver/IR Emitter part of the PowerMid Kit.
For a time X10 was selling the remote and throwing in a RE549 in a weekly deal.
The remotes manual should give you details on how to use the Rf command to the RE549.

You may want to download the PM5900 Kits manuals and see how the RE549 has to be placed in the cabinet, to get the IR beam into the device you want to control.
http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Remote_Sender_%28PowerMID%29

There was also a optional RX569 IR Emitter cable you could plug into the RE549 and tape it to the device in question.

Unfortunately I have seen the PowerMid Kit and individual parts on a Discontinued List.

[bittyblueeyes]

Is there anything that will just extend the IR 2-3' into the cabinet, without buying a whole "control your TV from the other side of town" kit?
I only want to control it from the couch... Everything I am looking at seems like overkill...

[Brian H]

I don't know of anything like that.
Maybe others may have some thoughts on the probelm.

[dave w]

On a double post I said the same thing to blue eyes. You would need a IR pick-up, an amplifier, and an IR blaster, which is likely to cost as much as the Powermid.

A few years ago I remember seeing a gizmo you would lay or strap your remote into. It had five or so IR LEDs on the front, so would bump the remote output to a much stronger IR signal. I don't think it is on the market anymore. It was big and kluggie.

[jbrandon]

HotLink Pro will get your IR inside the cabinet, all you will have outside is a small (1/8x1/2”) the cabinet.  There is also a green led for feedback if you desire.  http://www.amazon.com/Link-Remote-Control-Booster-System/dp/B00023JJV6

[bittyblueeyes]

Thanks for the help everyone!

I found an RE549 on ebay... x10 discontinues everything fun

I've noticed that everything thats recommended/has good reviews gets discontinued... Kind of a weird way to do business...
A lot of the solutions that Ive found on this forum refer to things that are discontinued... Its mildly frustrating.

This product will fix your problems, but too bad... you can't get it anymore.  NYAH NYAH!
"Buy this other product for ten times the price, but everyone hates it and 187 people say it doesn't work!" 

... they need a sarcasm font.