There's a discussion about a truly custom situation going on at [Link: remotecentral.com]. The URC RFTX-1 was recommended, so I went to the URC site to look into what it does.

I looked on the open site as well as on the dealer's site and did not find the instructions.

*I cannot find the instructions for this product. Where are they?

*At [Link: universalremote.com], there are two illustrations of the product. Is the information different for the two different links?

There are no instructions to speak of. This is simply an IR to RF translator. It has a switch on it to go between 418mhz and 433 mhz. It uses a tip-ring-ring-sleeve cable to power it (5v) and send the IR signal.

This piece is used on specific 3.5mm ports on some URC base stations for URC 1-way lighting control only. Their inwall keypads can support lighting as do the iPad and iPhone apps but those devices do not have the RF transmitter in them like their Complete Control wand remote counterparts do.

Also, the only radios in the Total Control wand remotes are Zigbee or Wifi so this device is added to a MRX-10 or MRX-1 base to transmit RF control to the URC lighting devices.

Potentially this could be used to receive an IR signal and send it out RF to a receiver from URC like the lights or a RFX-250 antenna. You would need to build a custom solution (ie breadboard with minijack and 5v) to power the transmitter and give it a signal.

"simply" always means needed details are missing.


Tip-ring-ring-sleeve. Hmmm. I take it the cable comes with the RFTX-1 and there are flag labels or something on the cable to identify how the wires are to be connected.

I thought it would receive an IR signal, not send one.

Sensor outputs use tip, ring and sleeve. How do you get that input into this RFTX with its four conductor connector? Are there two jacks? I dunno, let's look at the instructions....


That must be explained in the instructions of all of those lighting products, since this has no instructions.


And if someone buys it and it doesn't come with the cable or instructions as to what is what, they'll have to come back here and ask again.


Custom solutions depend on having documentation on the original product, or, of course, researching them. Research should not be necessary just to find out how the thing should be applied.

It is part of the professional line, to be installed by professionals. Professionals go to professional trainings where professional trainers teach the future professionals on what everything is and how it works. So, no instructions included.

Not sure why you would think a RF sending antenna would receive IR. Not really sure why you'd think ANY antenna would receive an IR signal.

My bad, it's tip ring sleeve.  It's a pink plug which matches the pink jack on a MRZ260, MRX1 and MRX10.  I measured +6.5 volts across ring to sleeve, sleeve is the ground, when plugged into the back of a MRX10.  I also measured about +.5 volts tip to sleeve when no signal is present.



Now why do I think it takes in IR and outputs RF?  Because I can take a URC lighting code, put it on a button, set that button to output IR from the remote and teach that code to another URC remote.  I believe that the URC/Lutron lighting codes are just IR codes translated to RF by the remote or RFTX1.

Don't get to hung up on this thing being too professional.  You just plug it in.


 

A, an antenna is just an arrangement of one or more metal pieces, and this is not just an antenna.  Its mini jack input could conceivably be considered to be "receiving" an IR signal.  That's why I asked

B, this:


Which Lowhz explained nicely in Post 5.


The guy to whom you're recommending it is not going to use it by just plugging it in -- he's going off-book and using it for something else. He won't have a pink jack on his equipment so he needs to know more about it. Thanks for the voltage measurements. That's something, anyway.