Hello Everyone out there I need some help. Like you all I am an up and coming custom home theater installer I unfortunitly have to do everything from design to installation I am now getting to the level where I have to know about custom remotes. I am pretty gd with the mx800 but I need to learn about HEX codes. Do I get a speciel remote from radio shack to program remote with the hex codes also just hung a zenith plasma the direction says to plug my remote into the plasma what type of remote do i plug in? then where do i get hex codes for remotes discrete etc. please help
thanks james

i don't want to be rude but before you take on jobs like this which you are saying is over your head you should work for a company where you can learn these skills. i get jobs like this all the time where i have to fix other peoples mistakes and it gives this industry a very bad impression.do us all a favor, refer your client to a real a/v company

wow u r RUDE, listen guy I have done some pretty nice installs. I came from a car audio backround I dont have to prove myself to any one! YOU Dont Know everything. I dont Know everything and let me tell you I AM a real AV company that has pleased alot of clients. I am also am 28 years old and own my own house in Santa Barbara bought it with $ from a so called AV Company. Another thing; I am picking this remote programing stuff really fast. I will figure it out with or with out you. These application are easy to use. Universal browsers makes it easy to grab discrete codes which are avalable through this site. AUDIO IN NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. I JUST WANT TO FURTHER EXPAND THIS PATICULAR EDUCATION. THIS RELM IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. GET A LIFE YOU ARE A Insulting PRICK I would appreciate an appology JAMES

I do not believe radio shack has any kind of remote that will learn hex?
You will need a pronto or RTI Type remote to learn hex, but these remotes already have enormous IR library’s available and I am sure your Hitachi is in there somewhere. Further, I do not know of any remote that plugs into any type or kind of plasma directly, your are probably reading in the manual about the RS-232 interface, that can be used optionally to control the plasma. You will need one of the more expensive remotes to do this wherein an interface will be needed so that the remote can communicate via rs232. I would start by reading some of the reviews of the different remotes that are discussed on this site. [Link: remotecentral.com] and then move on to this page [Link: remotecentral.com]


Good Luck.

Wow, somebody has a temper. I seriously doubt you bought a house in Santa Barbara soely from the money from your AV business when you are asking the questions you ask. You are asking very basic, beginner questions. I have no problem with the questions, but be honest about your skill level. If you made enough money at that skill level to buy a house out there then I need to move! Anyways...Be honest, lose the temper tantrums, and...for God's sake....learn to spell!

i have been in this business for 10 years now and i have learned everything from crestron programming to retro-fit prewire. I did open up my own business after learning all i could and i never would have if i never worked for the companys that i did.So don't try to be a show-off i wasn't. But if you want to go there, forget it, you couldn't imagine the jobs that i've been involved with and how much they cost.

I'm sorry I have to agree. If you have been involved with big jobs it sure wasn't in the design end.
And if it was then I guess your customers will learn
to shop better next time.
I'm all for helping anyone who needs it but you come
across like we should all be taking classes from you.
But I was able to program hex long before I was in this
industry as long as you have been.
I guess I haven't run into jobs big enough that I never needed hex code.
By the way RS 323 is not a Radio Shack part number.

I apologize to all for my question, spelling and temper. Maybe I will think twice before going to a forum and ask a question. Unfortunately I don’t want to and had the chance to work for someone else in home audio. I came from car audio then from car I went right to home. I paid money for a school provide by my distributor but felt that hands on is better. I wish I could work for someone else but I would be putting myself back time wise. I can hire someone that knows all about hex codes etc (I just want to know every aspect possible). I am not going after jobs that require Crestron systems there are a lot of profitable jobs that is just basic home theater, video and surround. I just wanted expand my knowledge The Zenith plasma directions said hook up your remote and you can get these discrete codes probably is a rs232 but who knows. So once again I apologize. I wish I did not enter a forum that had so many attitudes. MCnasty guy yes I did buy my house from my company NO help from mommy. I work really hard. Good luck to all thank you for your knowledge. James

In our company we have a saying about new installers.
For a while they think they invented Audio/Video Custom work.
Then as they progress they get to the point where "They
realize how little they know" Once you get to that point you are a expert and in the same boat with the rest of us.
Never tell people how good you are.......... if you are good they'll know it and if your not you look bad.
Hex codes are a series of numbers you can cut an paste in higher end remotes that allow you to ( If you know the format) see and sometimes edit to get cleaner and sometimes discrete codes. Because your entering the hex code it is a cleaner code then trying to learn it.
RS232 is a computer protocol that allows you to send commands right (on a serial cable to the unit being controlled) These codes or commands change per model, manufacturer and sometimes I think day of the week.
You can plug your laptop into the DB9 plug on the unit and send commands from Hyper terminal to the Plasma or whatever, once you have them working Then you can write them into your program ( Crestron, AMX, any control capible or RS232 out.)

everything (digital)in electronics works with 1 and 0 or on and off. but writing in binary is tedious so they grouped 4 bit together to mmake a word and that word becomes represented by one character in hex

0000=0, 1000=8, 1111=f ..... so realistically HEX code does not mean anything to anyone until it is qualified, since it is just a way of represenig something.

for intance a lot of OEM remotes might say pause is 1,2A and that would mean that the code send is that of device 1 and the button code is 2A but for it to mean anything you need to know what 1 and 2A mean.

a Pronto Hex code looks like

0000 0088 0014 0009 0010 0050 0010 0011 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0270 0010 0050 0010 0010 0010 001f 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 001f 0020 0e5a 0010 0050 0010 0010 0010 001f 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0010 0020 001f 0020 0e5a

and the 0010, 001f=00020 and 0050 represent in hex how long the Pronto should be doing (sending IR or not) something.

Actually, RS232 is a computer/communications interface. This was originally used (many years ago, in the 70s) for communications to external devices such as modems, printers ...etc.

A DB9 is a smaller version of the original DB25. The DB9 only has 9 pins, hence the 9 in DB9, and typically uses less than 9 pins for communications to various devices. While this interface can support many different protocols/commands the usage of the pins on this interface is clearly defined by the RS232 standard (i.e. Tx, RX, Gnd ...etc.). Original distance limitations of the RS232 was 25ft.

A newer interface type that you may also see in your travels is a RS485.

My 2 cents

can't we all just get along?
Sped30 You did come off pretty obnoxious. Why reply if your not gonna help? And furthermore what are you mad about? "fixing other peoples mistakes" What, you fix for free? If you get paid don't bitch. Plus doesn't that just make you even more GOD like when you come in and fix bad A/V companies mistakes? (Here comes Sped to save the day!!! Yeah!!!! Thank god for sped and his vast knowledge, yea!!!!! Honey we are saved. It's sped, yea!!!!!) A few people on this forum do believe they are above all, yet thank goodness that a greater number are helpful for example RTI installer and everyone else who handled this guys question positively.
I would like to say thanks to all those responsible in helping this industry grow so that we all can get those big jobs we can't even imagine.
Peace

That sounds good in theory, but the problem is that the client has a pretty steep learning curve in learning just how God-like you are, and the client always feels that they have to strew the path with dollars way before they get any results.

Fixing another's mistakes is its own problem because you come in with the client already feeling that audio/video installers -- meaning you -- have caused a problem. On top of that, if the thing really IS messed up, you end up having to learn how the previous installer thought -- or just how and in what way he didn't -- before you can make any progress.

I have helped clients avoid problems by telling them that I know a man who charges $78 and hour to fix free satellite installs, and it is about a fourth of his living (that was before DreckTV got its act together). I am currently battling to solve a problem with a Denon's Zone 2 blown amp. 75% of the problem is that the client took the unit to the repair station, asked why the amp would blow, and the repairman said "probably installation."

Wait -- am I off the subject?

One thing I noted in passing is someone's sense of humor or perhaps sincere comment about RS 323 not being a Radio Shack remote. This cracks me up because I still think it is unclear for us to write RS when we mean Radio Shack. RS 323 is undoubtedly a typo for RS232, but that was a funny comment.

Incidentally, if you ARE doing the work "hands-on" to learn it, then you should be up front with your customer about this, and you should charge something like 50% of your regular rate, or carefully track how much time you spent actually working instead of learning. The best way to learn, hands-on, is to have someone else in the organization whose hands can stop yours if you are about to do something wrong or waste time.

Thanks for the input. I can see where people thought I meant Radio shack for the rs in 232 I understand that rs 232 is a protocol and does not stand for radio shack. All I know is that I heard that Radio shack makes a remote that you can physically put in the hex code for a discrete ir command then the remote will shoot out this command. Is this true or false other then that. If I am learning something and it takes me four hours I only charge for reasonable time worked. Thanks everyone for there mature responses. This is a fast moving industry and keeping on top of things can be really hard. Sharing knowledge can make one guys day a lot easier.

The MX800 is capable of importing Pronto hex, through the "Universal Browser" feature. First, you need to create a .ccf Pronto file with the hex. You do not need a Pronto to do this, though they are handy, just a copy of Pronto Edit software will do. The Pronto and Theater Master forums on this site will be of some help should you need them.

jcmitch