I bet I know...one IR port carries all the signals to control a piece of gear...the other emitter has a logic switch downstream of the port which only sends POWER. This is one method for creating discrete on and off (the logic switch could current sense for example).

If I've guessed the intellectual property please don't shoot me :)

RobZ

PS: dual emitters stuck to the front would work, but on a cable box (which typically has no discrete power) two emitters can look pretty clugy

Why not just use this then:



Must be a pretty complicated piece of intellectual hardware if you had to ask us for help.

haha... ejfiii wins the thread

You idiot!

LOL!

What simoneals? You need a smiley to face to know when someone is joking?

Please don't follow any of the good (and some not so good) advice in this thread until the reasons for the two ports are clear to everybody, or people have told you how to do this with one port. This seems bizarre indeed.

The reason for multiple ports is to route signals to different devices. What could the reason be for routing some signals to a device through one port and some through another?

Well....maybe i do. I guess in my 17 years of AV (14 doing specifically custom) i have seen too many numbskulls with no idea charging for thier lack of brain cells. I'd love to tell you all about a few of them but might get my ass sued.

Simon.

Well then hang out here a little longer and get to know some of the regular members. Especially before you start badmouthing me or the others. I'm pretty sure you haven't seen any of my company's work.

Not badmouthing you at all, or the others, just making a reference to some dimwits i have actually met who would more than likely actually make the sugestion you did in all seriousness

This is twice now i have insulted someone here without trying. I will put it down to the difference between Aussie and US culture again. ( i'm assuming you are US based)

Simon.

Thanks to all of the people who have actually offered help and soulution ideas. ROB Z =smart man.

I hope that no one ever takes anything on these boards personal. This industry takes all types, from the techy who knows what diode to use here are there, to the person who comes up with an idea to make a customer's system more entertaining, which might happen to need the diode the techy knows about Isn't that what it is all about, entertaining the customer? We are all just trying to entertain our customers!

It seems diodes are the solution. Anyone know specifically what to use? Any help would be appreciated.

Simply use two emmitters with the mouse pieces taken off ( the two halves can carefully be separated with a knife) to expose the "bulbs" and place both into one of the stick on emitter hoods that Xantech and AMX are selling. Simple, neat, no diodes, if one goes bad it can be easily replaced without hassle, no electrical interactivity issues, yada, yada.

For diodes, use a standard low-power rectifier: a 1N4001, or 1N4002, or 1N4003, etc. The difference among these is that the higher numbered ones will put up with higher voltages in the reverse direction. All of them can deal with a high enough reverse voltage to do for you, but you might find the higher voltage ones in stock and the lowers not; just use any one of them.

The other approach is to use a slightly lower power diode (still, you will not come anywhere near the amount of current this can handle), called a signal diode; 1N914 and 1N4148 are typical numbers.

And, of course, any cross-reference equivalent will work.