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[roger1818]

I purchased an Infrared Mini Controller
(IR543) the other day to use with my One-
For-All 8017.  Over all I am really pleased
with it!  It will send separate address and
function commands so you can control
modules in groups.  So far I have only been
able to control units 1-10 (if I type two
digits, it treats it as two units) but I
have an E-mail in to One-For-All to ask if
there is a way to control units 11-16.

My main problem though is the IR543 stops
responding to RF commands when the TV is on
(the buttons on it still work if I remember
correctly).  I have tried moving it further
from the TV (about 2 feet), plugging my TV
into a noise filter and plugging the IR543
into a different outlet (on the same
circuit mind you).  There are other test I
still want to try, but I was wondering if
this is a known problem and if anyone has a
solution for it.

Optimally I want to keep it somewhat close
to my other electronics so that I am
pointing the remote in the same direction
for everything.

[X10 Pro]

Roger H: If the buttons on the IR543 still
work to control modules, I don't think
filtering or different outlets will make a
difference. More likely the TV is creating
some interference with IR reception. Can you
move the IR543 farther from the TV?

[Danny Rego]

I had to install a phase coupler (about $20
from smarthome.com) before my mini-ir
receivere worked perfectly.

It worked perfectly until the new version
of the activehome software...but that's
another story.

[roger1818]

I briefly experimented with it last night.
I moved it further from the TV and it
worked properly.  I then moved it back to
the previous place I had it (about 2 feet
away) and it still worked properly.  I
didn't have time to play with it more than
that.  I will do some more playing tonight.

One thing I forgot to mention in my
original message is that when I was having
problems, the LED on the IR543 would turn
on when I pressed a button and would stay
on (it normally turns off as soon as you
release the button).  When I turned the TV
off, the LED would immediately turn off and
everything would work again.

Danny: I don’t think it is a phase coupler
issue (I have one of those) since it works
when I press one of the buttons on the
IR543.  It was only the IR commands that
would stop working.

[X10 Pro]

Roger: That LED was staying on after you
stopped pressing a button on the remote,
right? (Just want to make sure it's not the
button on the IR543 itself.) Assuming so, it
sounds like when that happens that it still
thinks it's getting IR coming in. I don't
know why the TV would cause that. Is this new
behavior for your IR543?

[murphy]

Try the following buttons:

11 RWD
12 PLAY
13 FWD
14 RECORD
15 STOP
16 PAUSE

[Brian H]

Sounds like the IR Detector in the IR543 was
seeing some interferance from the tv. Maybe
from the screen itself. Moving it away from
the screen seems to have helped. Maybe you
can move it around as you send commands and
see if there is a place where it has the LED
on after the button is released.

[roger1818]

X10 Pro: Yes, the LED was staying on after
I stopped pressing a button on the remote.
As for if it is new behavior for my IR543,
it only arrived on Wednesday so it has
always been like this (I guess). ;-)

I did some more experimenting tonight.
When I got home from work, it worked just
fine, but after watching TV for a while (I
guess about an hour) the problem returned.
When I moved the IR543 further from my TV,
it starting working again and when I moved
it back, it immediately stopped working
properly.  I tried creating a Faraday cage
by wrapping it in aluminum foil (obviously
leaving the front open and it completely
stopped working while it was wrapped.
After I turned the TV off for about an hour
it started working normally again (with the
TV on), so it seems to only be a problem
when the TV is warm.

One other thing I did notice is that the
LED will eventually turn off on its own
(after 5 or 10 seconds).  If you wait for
the LED to turn off before pressing the
next button, you can successfully send a
command (ex 5–wait–ON will turn on lamp 5
and 5–wait–6–wait–ON will turn on both
lamps 5 and 6).

Due to lack of shelf space up until now I
have had it standing on its side.  I have
now moved it onto a shelf where it can sit
flat and I will see if that fixes the
problem.

[roger1818]

Murphy:

Thanks for the suggestion.  Unfortunately
on my URC 8017 those buttons are punched
through to the VCR.  I looked through the
manual to see if I could disable that, but
couldn’t find a way to do that.  This
remote is really cool though in that you
can assign any key to a huge list of IR
commands for your device make and model.
You just need to get the list of Advanced
Codes for your device from One-For-All.

Brian H:

That is what I figure.  The problem is I
optimally want to keep my IR543 as close to
my TV and stereo as possible.  I will have
to play around until I find a location that
works well.  I don’t have problems with any
of the IR receivers on any of my stereo
components which makes me wonder if there
is something wrong with my IR543.

[roger1818]

It seems to be working well so far with it
sitting flat.  It might have acted up once
or twice, but it didn’t repeat itself so I
am not sure if it was.

I received a list of Advanced codes for my
remote from One for All and I can now use
all control all units with it.  One strange
thing is in the list of codes they sent me
was a bunch of alarm codes.  Could I really
disarm an alarm with my remote and an
IR543?  If so, it makes me wonder how
secure an X10 alarm system would be.

[Brian H]

The security consoles arm and disarm with an
RF signal or the button on the console
itself. I don't think an X10 Line Signal can
arm or disarm the consoles. At least not the
X10 ones or R.S. 49-1000