My MX-3000, which was manufactured in late 2004, has a broken USB port. I believe this is generally referred to as a mini-USB port and is proprietary to URC. The remote still works fine but I can no longer download configurations into the remote.
I'm planning on getting a new remote in the near future (probably right after CEDIA-waiting for new product announcements including a possible two-way MX-5000). It could be an updated MX-3000, in conjunction with an MSC-400, to take advantage of the narrowband technology or I might go to RTI. I've been very happy with the MX-3000 with the exception of the RF performance which, while using an MRF-300, is very finicky and spotty at best. I've tried all the tricks like various placements, ferrite cores, etc. but I can never get it to be bulletproof. (i.e. every push of a button results in the underlying command(s) being received properly by the pertinent equipment). Is this an unrealistic expectation? Do those of you using the MX-3000 along with either the MSC-400 or MRF-350 get flawless RF performance? Should I just switch to RTI if I want bulletproof RF?
Eventually I'm going to have to get the USB port on my current MX-3000 fixed, however, I'd rather not send it back to URC for repair until I have a replacement. Two of the four prongs on the port appear to be partially broken off and I'm wondering if I can improvise a temporary workaround. I've taken a standard USB cable and cut off the end which normally goes into a USB device such as a printer. I found four wires (black, red, white and green) inside. The white and green wires were wrapped around each other. I'm wondering if I can try to manually attach these wires to the defective USB port where all four prongs are still visible even though two are partially broken. Does anyone have any idea how to assign the wires?
Lastly, I'm wondering what kind of USB port is on the newer versions of the MX-3000. I believe it's now a standard USB port like the kind you might find on a printer. Can someone confirm? A standard USB port seems like a better solution as the mini USB port on my MX-3000 does seem kind of fragile while standard USB ports don't seem to have this problem.
