And that was a completely BS answer. Like I mentioned before (and anyone who thinks about it knows), you can get full back lighting on remotes as cheap as $20. There is NO cost issue. The issue was someone in development was just stupid - plain & simple.

One of my friends worked for an electronics company in the late-'70s/early-'80s and he would occasionally go to China or Korea to meet with the source for items that were imported. The response at the time, to the question "How much to add/remove a feature?", was "Thirty-seven cents".

This is what happens when people who aren't end-users design things- bad decisions are made and nobody catches it until it's too late.

This can bite anyone, too. URC had a processor that had 2.5mm emitter connectors instead of 3.5mm connectors. The sample sailed through testing and was approved. It didn't occur to anyone to plug an old IR emitter into it, and I guess whoever checked out the samples was not geeky enough to just plain notice that the plugs were the wrong diameter. I believe they "fixed" this by making 2.5mm to 3.5mm adaptors available.

Too bad they never fixed the fact said base station (mrf250) would pick up interference like Casey picking up ladies of the night in N'Orleans French Quarter

Any idea if you have the same problems if the hub is hardwired instead of using WiFi?

I remember all of the hate for those and URC had nothing to do with it- the adapters have been available for decades, but adapters add to the chances of failure. Unfortunately, Harmony's new hub has 2.5mm jacks and I have already made the point well known that if they want the CI chain to use it in any kind of large numbers, they need to change that.

It works, though.

I asked- he said it should just reconnect as soon as the router goes back to normal.

Another thing to know before anyone wastes a bunch of time with codes for devices- if the typical "go to the latest code set" is done the same way as in TCP or CCP, it's not gonna work because whoever set up the database put the new codes at the top of the list, not at the bottom. Fortunately, the make/model can be searched, or the actual make and model can be entered.

Also, delays are allowed in increments from .1 to .99 seconds. I guess whole numbers are too taxing, or something.

Thanks for identifying the model -- I didn't remember what it was. I came to the conclusion that the damn thing was designed with no RF chokes (probably would have been ferrites -- they stop ingress) or bypass capacitors (they short RF to ground) on the LED outputs and maybe on the power connection too. Truly a cluster all around.

Designed in one country, used in another- what could possibly go wrong?

What COULD go wrong? Lots and lots of stuff. But lots and lots of stuff hasn't been made wrong. That URC product is the only one I can think of with such a double whammy!

Equipment has been made like this for at least forty years. When Kenwood, Pioneer and Marantz were already major brands in the early 70s, the first two made overseas, Marantz made the shift from local design and manufacturing to local specification and approval of gear made overseas. Marantz switched from manufacturing in the San Fernando Valley to manufacturing by Standard Radio, which Marantz bought and renamed MJI -- Marantz Japan Inc.

As for issues that HAVE occurred, there's Integra: [Link: remotecentral.com]. And when I started in audio sales in late 1970, one of the first ICs to be put into use was failing left and right. It was made by Fairchild in the US. Failure of electronic products is NOT limited to products made overseas!

If Ernie is into answering rhetorical questions today, I am in.


Which is the other side of the street?

:)

Imagine a World without hypothetical situations.....

If that were the case, we couldn't. But I'm sure that's the answer you were looking for.

And don't forget this:





Somewhere this idea is attributed to George Bernard Shaw, with whom I amuse myself by calling him G. "Bernie" Shaw.