I have exactly the same problem as Dan.

Bill sent me a High Gain Ant. and the reception is a little bit beter, but still a lot of problems.
I live in an open area close to the mountains and not in the middle of a big city.
I try eveything on positioning.
The reception is very bad. The IRF-6 works sometimes, sometimes no.
With the high Gain Ant. is better but just 13 or 15 feet.
There is a lot of null areas. As soosn as I move further to another room, it does not work at all.

I do not have any complain with the remote, I program every thing since the first moment, I learn all the IR from my remotes without one single issue, I copy IR code from Pronto, etc.
The support from Bill is wonderfull, but the IRF-6 does not work in my house. Or it works just sometimes and depend on the direction and position of the remote.

I need some help here,
I guess I have RF noise.
Dan or other people: how did you resolve the problem?

Jose,

Sorry for the slow reply I am still traveling. Hears what I think would be good trouble shooting, to get this sorted out. First does the performance of your second T2 math that of your first. Or is it about the same?

If the answer is about the same, then let me test an IRF-6, including antenna so I know the range. I will make sure this unit performs equal to my reference unit. Then I will ship it to you to see how it performs. This will eliminate the IRF-6 as your problem and then leaves noise as most likely problem. I don't think you could get 2 bad T2's? Wont be able to get this done until tomorrow night as I will be spending my day in airports

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com

Bill,

Both T2, the first one and second have exactly the same problem with the IRF-6.
Test my first T2 with a new IRF-6, and let me know if works.

Thanks, Bill
I reallly hope we can find the solution, because I need the IRF-6 to communicate with Rs-232 with three systems.

Jose,

Just finished testing a few IRF-6's there is little variation in reception ability. I get at least 50 feet from each of the three I tested but with one I got about 60. This is the one I will be shipping you today. I also plan to start playing with the Terk and the FM booster solutions to see what performance gains I get. I will report back on how this goes. In the mean time you should have your IRF-6 in 2 or 3 days.

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com

All-
Let me start by saying that I'm not a T2 owner, but I was just browsing the thread to get some info. I'm a happy Pronto owner, but always curious as to what else is out there.

One thing I've learned over the years is that RF is just not 100% reliable. In the average home, there is so much radio noise, that it's really asking a lot for a remote to be as accurate via RF as it would be via infrared, which is often a much less "noisy" spectrum. Yes, IR must have line of sight, etc, etc. and I'm not trying to promote IR over RF, but I would guess that the problem being experienced is just one of those noisy situations that isn't the fault of any remote.

In my case, I tried several RF solutions from X-10 Powermids, to remote extenders, to RF remotes, etc. I found the only thing that worked was IR in combination with a Xantech hard wired repeater system. Again, not trying to rain on any parades, just offering my two cents.

i have also had problems with rf reliability and the t2. i purchased a high-gain antenna and hooked it up perpendicular to the supplied antenna. it helped a bit, but i still have dead spots just a few feet away.

note that i previously used a marantz rc2000 with their rf-2 and i never once had a problem.

when somebody figures this out, please come to my house and have a beer on me.

Michael, what is the "rf-2" that you used with your Marantz RC2K? Thanks.

Marantz makes an IR to RF converter that clips onto their remote. It's rather nice. I had a few extras, but I've sold them all.

Michael

I am assuming that the rf antenna is lengthwise in the T2. Since the inclination of the remote is horizontal or close to that in operation, should not the recieveing antenna also be in the same plane (i.e., horizontal)? I understand the manual says ~six feet up and vertical, but I get increased range with the IRF-6 antenna, high gain or not, in the same plane, at the same height.

Rob

I have taken my T2 apart to see if I can add something inside the remote!
I think that the rf output of the remote is the problem not the irf-6.
I have tried the high gain(c.b.) ant and get the same results as the low gain.
I have had some systems that have had 3 to 5 antennas and still the rf is not reliable.(in a room the is 15x25)
It is a shame we are all scratching our heads to make this work the way it is advertised!$1,000.00

Having had similar RF issues I purchased the high gain antenna. I took an ethernet T connector and attached to the top of the mounting bracket (to the male barrell connector). The original antenna now extends in the up and down plane. The high gain antenna is positioned left to right.

Works great!

Steve

I have tried installing this remote in 2 downtown locations in Chicago. I was almost on top of the antenna (5 feet away) and it was iffy at best. If I pointed the remote at the antenna, it would pick up 80% of the time. But then I put it behind my back and shot it thru my body and it didn't pick up the RF at all. I know I programmed the remote right (made the defaults go to RF). Even if I was on top of the antenna and pointed the remote away from the antenna, I still had iffy response at best. I was wishing this remote would be our savior. I guess we better look for another. Great idea and great software program. Easy to program...bad reception.

I wish there were a magic answer for this problem. I have sold some high gains with the original on a tee perpendicular to the original and it helped a lot, but only if your IRF-6 was already working fairly well with occasional intermittent problems. I have recommended the Terk FM Pro to folks, that it did nothing for. There is a lister here that swears by the FM Pro. I had absolutely no problems out of the box with my personal one and love the RF. There is customer who has detailed his problems on this forum that I sent (2)T2's and (2) IRF-6's and a high gain antenna with absolutely no improvement in his poor reception. This same system when returned worked perfectly at my location. He finally traded it in for a Crestron and has no problems. I love this remote but have started warning potential customers that in 20% of the installations customers are having problems and that they may end up returning the IRF-6. This is a fantastic remote, I just wish that it was switched over to a frequency that worked 100% of the time, it's a shame but still the best remote going for the 80%.

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com

what high gain antenna did you use and where can I buy one

Try taking the cover off the IRF 6 it more than triples a Lexicon's range.