- sluggish remote control - 5 Updates
- I direct wired Plug and Play LEDs, is this bad? - 2 Updates
| "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>: Sep 17 08:36PM +0200 On 2022-09-16 07:06, micky wrote: > that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid > has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that > does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay. I have one remote⁽¹⁾ that had buttons that would not work, or I had to press hard, and wiggle them. When I opened the thing, many buttons were humid inside. I never found where that came from, and doesn't happen to any other remote. I cleaned/dried them, close the case, work for a month or two, then repeat. In the end, I had to glue small pieces of aluminum foil in the inner surface of the buttons so that they would make contact. Problem now is, some of the foil pieces fall down, and the button will not work at all. The tiny foil can also short some other contact instead. Someone made a program running on the computer that would connect via LAN and emulate the remote, so that's what I use most of the time now. Except for powering it up, that needs the remote. I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did work. My guess is that the device had hung. (1) Gigaset M740 AV -- Cheers, Carlos. |
| dplatt@coop.radagast.org (Dave Platt): Sep 17 11:45AM -0700 In article <3806e8b2-213e-4c3d-80bf-979f608c1b1en@googlegroups.com>, >it depends on what the light means. It could mean signal detection or it could mean code readable. >What if you take your remote directly to your DVDR? If it responds immediately, the DVDR and the hand unit are good and the powermid is bad. If >the DVDR doesn't respond immediately, the powermid is good and the hand unit or DVDR is bad. Those IR -> RF -> IR PowerMod relay devices are... well, rather evil, IMO. The design has a couple of limitations / vulnerabilities: (1) The IR receiver isn't very selective - it response to pulsed/modulated IR having a broad range of modulating frequencies. This is necessary in order to allow the device to work with a broad range of IR remotes, but it means that the IR receiver can be "swamped" by IR noise from other devices. In particular, some compact-fluorescent and LED lights seem to put out a bunch of modulated IR, and this can interfere with the detection of IR from a remote control. Worse, it can cause the IR receiver to start sending gibberish "remote control" signals via RF. (2) The RF receiver at the far end isn't very selective, either. As I recall it's tuned to a frequency in the 433 MHz ISM band, and the band-pass is pretty wide. As a result, RF noise in this band (even "hash" from computers, etc.) can cause the receiver to "think" it's seeing input from the IR module, and it will start spewing out meaningless IR pulses from its IR-transmitter dongles. The combination of these two design weaknesses means that a PowerMid setup has a tendency to spew meaningless IR pulses into the A/V components at the receiving end. This can prevent proper repeating of IR from a remote control in another room, and it can also interfere with the proper detection of commands from an IR remote in the main viewing room. Observe the PowerMid repeater "pyramid" for a while, when you know that nobody's using the system. If you see the "activity" light flicker, you have interference problems. |
| micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>: Sep 17 06:08PM -0400 In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 17 Sep 2022 11:45:10 -0700, >ohg...@gmail.com <ohger1s@gmail.com> wrote: >>There is a *tiny* window where a digital signal is usable and when it isn't. If the powermid is flashing, it does mean it detected an IR signal >>yes, and it certainly can also mean the signal is gibberish from the remote, but I can tell you in over 50 years in consumer electronics, I can't 50 years is a long time. I've been watching tv for 50+ years but I don't think that counts as much. And some of that time the remote used tuning "forks" instead of IR. >>IOW, if they transmitted IR, they were generally good. Could the powermid being seeing a signal too weak to reliably get the code read? I guess, >>it depends on what the light means. It could mean signal detection or it could mean code readable. >>What if you take your remote directly to your DVDR? Excellent idea. It's upstairs and sometime the food will get cold, but still, I will do that next time. (Unless I forget, which will probably happen the first couple times. IOW it will take a while to get back to you all.) > work with a broad range of IR remotes, but it means that the IR > receiver can be "swamped" by IR noise from other devices. In > particular, some compact-fluorescent and LED lights seem to put Well, I do have a lamp with an LED bulb in it in the kitchen where all this tv stuff occurs. And sometimes it's on and sometimes it 's off, so I will pay attention, and turn it off when there is a problem. > receiver to "think" it's seeing input from the IR module, > and it will start spewing out meaningless IR pulses from > its IR-transmitter dongles. There's nothing much in the bedroom... wait. The ceiling fixture has compact fluiorescents, and while they shouldn't be on when I'm downstairs, maybe sometimes thay are. >repeating of IR from a remote control in another room, and it can >also interfere with the proper detection of commands from an >IR remote in the main viewing room. It's good to know about these problems, so I won't change the batteries when t hey are not the problem. The remote is wrapped up in plastic to keep it clean when I'm eating, so that's even a bigger r eason, plus I don't want to waste batteries. If it's the powermid, that's not great but I can live with it. At first I used to use, it might have been called Cricket. It had ssome little green animal as the logo and the transmitter was much smaller. It clipped on the end of the remote, and the receiver could go in the other end of the bedroom and shine all across the room. That worked well for a few years. I forget the eventual problem was. For the powermid receiver I bought a wire with 3 beads at the end, but I only use one, for the DVDR. I still have things to play on the VCR, maybe eventually. >Observe the PowerMid repeater "pyramid" for a while, when you >know that nobody's using the system. If you see the "activity" >light flicker, you have interference problems. Okay |
| micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>: Sep 17 06:16PM -0400 In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 17 Sep 2022 20:36:37 +0200, "Carlos >humid inside. I never found where that came from, and doesn't happen to >any other remote. I cleaned/dried them, close the case, work for a month >or two, then repeat. I have a clock radio in which all the controls are buttons, and 6 sliders. The buttons don't get humidity but dirt. I took the think apart and cleaned them and it was good for about 3 years. The next time I cleaned them it was only good for year. There might have been a 3rd time. Since then I learned about DeOxit and bought some, but haven't had the time to do it again. So all I have is the FM button that turns it on, with some effort, and the volume slider. If there is a power failure long enough to forget the station, it's a real challenge to enter 88.1. which is now the only station I listen to. >surface of the buttons so that they would make contact. Problem now is, >some of the foil pieces fall down, and the button will not work at all. >The tiny foil can also short some other contact instead. I didnt' think of that. And I guess it doesn't work that well! In my case very little space between the two contacts. When I bought a tv 2 years ago, I bought a second remote right away. >Someone made a program running on the computer that would connect via >LAN and emulate the remote, so that's what I use most of the time now. >Except for powering it up, that needs the remote. I only have one smart tv. I'm glad I got it but I don't use it much. The others are at least 20 years old. >the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet it did not >react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did work. My guess >is that the device had hung. Glad it's working. I don't think that applies to me. |
| Peter <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com>: Sep 18 10:44AM -0400 On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote: > the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet it did not > react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did work. My guess > is that the device had hung. I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote. The batteries were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries. Cleaned it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved. |
| Jeroni Paul <JERONI.PAUL@terra.es>: Sep 17 07:00PM -0700 Adrian Caspersz wrote: > is made as a short circuit - so that the LED tube can be used as a plug > and play for a florescent tube if the starter (and ballast) is also > replaced with a short. Some led tubes are designed to work with a magnetic ballast in circuit so they do not need rewiring. I consider that a safe approach since the tombstones are the same, a normal flurescent tube could be installed in the future. I have never seen a magnetic ballast fail. |
| Ralph Mowery <rmowery42@charter.net>: Sep 18 10:05AM -0400 In article <04d821b3-e5f9-44dd-b218-618957b69918n@googlegroups.com>, JERONI.PAUL@terra.es says... > > and play for a florescent tube if the starter (and ballast) is also > > replaced with a short. > Some led tubes are designed to work with a magnetic ballast in circuit so they do not need rewiring. I consider that a safe approach since the tombstones are the same, a normal flurescent tube could be installed in the future. I have never seen a magnetic ballast fail. I have seen lots of them fail. However this in buildings that have hundreds if not thousands of them. Replaced lots of them over the years. The LED replacements did not come ito use before I retired. The elecrtronics were not in use for too many years before I retired so can not coment on their lifetime. At home when the tubes went out I replaced them with direct wired LEDs. |
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