I am trying to spec a tuner with discrete codes for a customer that has an old Niles ZR8630 and an RTI remote. I am thinking of the Marantz ST7001, my sales rep says the Sirius SRH2000. Both of these tuners are $400 retail plus an antenna, I am hoping to find a cheaper solution.

Any ideas?

i am using this one plugged into the back of a Marantz SR5004.  I'm controlling it via RS232 though the Marantz.  It also has a direct IR connection, and it's own RS232 connection.  

 [Link: shop.sirius.com]

Have to agree here. I used to use a seperate tuner for Sirius and it was not great for control features. I switched to one of those SCH units from radio shack that plugs into the back of Sirius ready receivers and it works perfectly. In addition, there is less equpment to control since your using your receiver commands. Saving some space in the rack is also nice, and at 40 bucks is not a bad deal.

OK i like the tuner you linked above. But can i use it by itself or must I link it to an AVR? I am just planning on using the analog audio out to the Niles ZR8630 and then an IR input for control, then just power and antenna right?

 it will work stand alone.  it has direct ir or rs232 control.  there is a slider switch on the back of it to select the control source.  there is an F connector for the antenna, so you don't have to deal with SMA or SMB connectors.

Great, any distys that sell this product?

The IR is goofy on this, it uses a stereo 1/8" and the tip is power or something weird like that. I was not able to make the IR work. If anyone has gotten it to work, please post how it was done. I was also told that the RS-232 would only work with a two way system. Good luck.

rti has a two way driver for this unit. but you are correct must be two way. I remember either here or IP someone actually got it to work.

Great, I just quoted it to the customer and he wants it. Now it sounds like a PITA waiting to happen. I am going to use IR from a Niles ZR8630, I prefer to use the input on the back instead of a damn emitter. Any tips?

Hopfully the documents include a pinout.

I think the confusion is because there are 2 different SCH models (and actually 2 different packaging versions of the SCH1) and they do not have the same capabilities. The SRH2000 or the SCH2P are the only sirius units that will work using standard 2 conductor IR. The add on modules (SCH1) only work as an add on to an AVR or as a second zone on the SRH2000. The SCH2 is a 1/2 width 1sp rack mount unit (and does have an f connector for antenna and the sliding switch for control options) and was recently updated to work with standard IR control systems but has no video output, only a front panel numeric display. the SRH2000 has video out as well as industry standard IR input and RS232 and is also rack mountable. As was stated above, the RS232 only works in 2 way but the new RTI driver works extremely well on these units. Both the SCH2P and the SRH2000 units are available through A**D.

I can't believe it...

Last week I ordered the SCH2P from A&^D, got the job scheduled, went there today, did the install, activated the tuner all is well except it won't respond to any commands. I tried several codes and did some general troubleshooting to no avail.

The SCH2P doesn't come with a remote, which is fine because it is a CI product that is designed to be integrated. It also doesn't have an IR receiver on the front panel so I cannot try sending standalone codes from a programmed remote or try to slap an emitter on the front.

In order to program the codes into the Niles ZR8630 I must "learn" them via an RTI remote that I programmed with the codes in the database, then I downloaded the proper codes from sirius.com and copied the hex data into my own IR library and still nothing.

I called Sirius and the tech support guy sounded like he was smoking pot and eating lunch while I was trying to trobleshoot the problem. Everytime I asked a question he just started reading the maual word for word. Then I called Niles and tech support said it sounds like this device is "unlearnable" and probably won't work. Apperantly the old ZR4630/8630 won't work with some devices and Niles doesn't care because it is discontinued product.

So any suggestions? Different tuner maybe?

 I have two of them installed on a boat that I can play with tomorrow.  I will see if I can figure anything out for you.  I feel bad for suggesting it to you if the IR is such a pain the the ass.  

The IR input is funky do a search you can't just use a standard 1/8" mono to mono cable. I bet it can learn the codes it uses the same IR codes all the units use.

The tuner included an IR adapter, It has a 1/8 TRS (stereo) jack on one end and a TS (mono) on the other. The manual says this adapter accepts industry standard IR input signals.

The manual also says that it uses the same codes as most other Sirius tuners, but like said before, I tried three sets with no response.

The Niles support guy said they have used the Polk Audio tuner with the ZR8630 and it works fine. Anybody know if it uses the same codes as most other Sirius tuners?

 Ok, I tested out the codes below using a Nevo Q50 and the channel up and down commands worked fine.  I wasnt able to test the rest of the codes since the tuner wasnt activated yet.  

To wire the tuner for ir control, I used the supplied 1/8" stereo to mono adapter, plugged into an 1/8" mono cable that I stole from a URC PSX2 ipod dock.  i plugged the other end of the mono cable into my Nevoconnect.    (don't forget to slide the control switch to the proper position on the back of the tuner)

I also learned some of the commands from one nevo remote to another and the channel up and down commands both still worked.   

Here are the codes that I used: