Hi,

I am going to setup a Xantech IR repeater system to allow me to control my components behind the closed doors of a wall unit.

Here is my question: do I have to encorporate some kind of switch so that when the doors are OPEN, the Xantech system will be interrupted? The problem I see is that with the doors OPEN, the components will get the IR signal directly from the remote, and also through the IR repeater.

I'm sure this is a common design issue, and I'd be curious to hear the "accepted" solution.

Thanks

I don't use any repeaters, but if you use stick on emitters, my guess would be that the best solution is to make sure that they cover the whole receiver on the equipment (or possibly use some black electricians tape. My worry with a switch are twofold
1) you forgot to turn it off, and things get out of sych
2) worst, you forget to turn it on and spend hours looking for the problem

I guess I should have been a bit more specific when I was talking about a switch. I meant a pin switch / door switch. Similar to what is used in a car -- you open the door and the lights turn on (except in this case it would be -- open the door and the IR repeater system is disabled).

As for the black tape -- while it would work, it's not the most "pretty" solution. Most of my gear is Yamaha and it all has "IR in" capability -- so I can plug directly into the back of the equipment without using the emitters.

You might also want to read THIS thread, posted on 04/23/02 21:12.53 in this forum:
"Hardwired IR control versus IR emitters"
It should muddy up the water and have you thoroughly mired in indecision.

Black tape IS yucky, but you might try cutting pieces of matte-black contact paper to exactly cover your IR reciever windows. (??) If you block them at all.

I usually hate any extra whizbangs, but in your instance I think a disconnect/disable IR switch is a capital idea. If you tape the IR windows up then you're dead in the water if your IR repeating system goes down. With the switched IR you just open the cabinet doors until the IR system can be repaired.

At one point (for another purpose) I had thought of concealing a pin switch inside one of those magnetic cabinet latches so that when the telescopic part of the latch was bottomed out the switch would be in the open position. Since this would be a non-stock item you'd want to make up two so that you wouldn't be running around if it failed.

I have seen security switches built into hinges to detect/alert if sensitive cabinets are opened.

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What if one of your cabinet doors "just happened" (by design) to block your IR repeater's pickup when they were fully opened up?? It eliminates one more point of failure, and it's clean.
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According to Yamaha if all the equipment was made to do so you can "daisy-chain" their equipment together with as many as six devices. The manual for the RX-V1 shows a diagram. This means that you'd only have to see the IR receiver window of one (1) Yam device and the commands would be broadcast throughout the "network" to the other Yam devices. In perfect world the DVD player for instance, would just "ignore" any broadcast commands not specifically made for it.

Why did I bore you with daisy-chain trivia you probably already know ? Just to make the point that you might only have to link your repeater network to one of your Yamaha components, and then to all of your non-Yamaha pieces. Might save you on connecting blocks and stick on emitters.

BTW- After popular suggestion I opened up one of my older (out of warranty) pieces and mounted my emitter inside and it works great. There was enough room for it off to the side so the original receiver window still works. Exploratory micro-surgery is scheduled for the other victims.

Good Luck

-I read the above thread. Incase you didn't know already, some IR ports on the back of equipment is designed to take a raw IR signal. Others are designed for a protocol specific to the manufacturer (not necessarily the same as the IR signals they use). Xantech has an interface device for the companies that use a special protocol. In my case, my Yamaha gear will take a direct IR signal. Anything else that I have I will put an emitter inside the case as you mentioned.

-Regarding taping of the IR windows: the problem is that a lot of gear hides the IR window inside the main display window. It would be nearly impossible to completely cover it without covering the actual display.

-As for blocking the IR pickup when the doors are open: the doors will open, and then slide back into the sides of the cabinet--this doesn't give me any way to hide the IR pickup (but it makes for a nice cabinet).


The cabinet is currently under construction. I'll update when I get everything setup. I'm surprised I haven't heard from someone doing this already--IR repeater systems inside a cabinet must be fairly common.

Just a quick idea for your "disconnect switch". Use a small N.C. door/window alarm contact and wire it in series with either the data or power lead from your IR repeater. When you open the door, the contacts will open and voila! No IR repeater! There's a wide variety of contacts available in different colors and configurations. Easy to do!

David

You can cover the IR receiver window in most cases, with an opaque plastic cover available from xantech.

Good idea from David Dryden on the alarm switch.

From what I'm gathering MOST manufacturers design their equipment to handle only their own codes. The most obvious reason to do this is so you'll want to integrate THEIR components. From reading I gather this has been a speed-bump for system integration which is why the HAVI standard is somewhat welcomed. I say somewhat because not everyone's on board which means there will still be variance among equipment.

I'm aware of the Xantech translator, among others. I'm still deciding exactly what to do because I'm using a complete Audioaccess system with 6 keypads. I purchased it as a showroom demo - it was just too affordable to pass up.

I'm installing all my equipment in a 2 bay Oak cabinet that has Middle Atlantic rack rail installed in each bay, just behind the doors. Above the doors are 3 recessed curio shelfs so the whole thing looks like a built in china cabinet you might see in older homes. I'm tying (trying) it all together with matching base moulding and casing on adjacent doors so hopefully it looks like: "I meant to do that" (quote from PeeWee's Big Adventure) Access to the back of the equipment will be through a closet in my mudroom.

In other words I'm doing a cabinet also, and will end up with some sort of repeating system in addition to functionality provided by the IR receivers on my Keypads. I'm just waiting until my equipment is in place before I start choosing whizbangs. Systems like Crestron were out of the question price wise for me so I'll have to patch it together. (improvise, adapt, overcome)

David
You do not need a switch. It will work fine with the door open or closed. Using a remote sensor (dinky link,Remote eye) does not limit you to using that IR. sensor only. The IR. port in the back does not deactivate the front sensor.

zinon,
i think you misunderstood the original post. i am building a cabinet that will have oak doors covering the components. i would still like to be able to control the components with the doors closed *in the same room*. The problem with this is that with the doors open, the components will receive a signal from the front sensor AND the rear IR port at the same time. This can cause erratic behaviour and I want to avoid that.


david dryden,
I love the idea of a magnetic alarm switch. I hadn't even thought of it. (I kept thinking about pin switches.) Thanks!

Along similar lines, I've used a door alarm contact to activate equipment lighting. Works great for those dark install areas.

David

I really doubt that you will have a problem with this. The speed light and electricity travels in relation to each other are pretty close well, about half, but you would probably have to have hundreds of thousands of feet of cable to get any type of delay in the emitter path.

Actually I have come across this problem when using a Xantech repeating system with a sony satellite reciever.

Are you sure it wasn't sunlight entering the cabinet, that reeks havoc on IR.

Once the light was in my eyes and I hit the wrong button on the remote.