I have all URC remotes and RF base stations in my home systems, (a number of MX-850's, a few KP-900s') and with the recent addition of my CBIII I was a bit frustrated that I could not find an easy solution to convert IR to Theta's discreet RS232 control codes.
So what did I do- Well, I created a "universal device driver in a box", which is just plug and play. It is about the size of a deck of cards, has an IR receiver window on front and IR input jack on back, and an RS232 output. With the black box, you can use your custom remote to activate ANY of the CB's discreet commands.
I built a general set of IR RC5 codes and put them in a CCF file, 80 commands so far, and each IR code maps to a discreet RS232 code inside the black box, which is sent to the Theta Casablanca. Baud rate of the black box is 115200,8,n,1 - Which will match the CB's fastest baud rate.
Works fantastic- I use my URC editor software's 'universal browser' to open the CCF file with the individual IR codes. I drag / drop or copy / paste the code I want into my URC remote, such as power on / power off, volume, surround modes, speaker levels, etc. This should work the same for RTI and Pronto.
My URC sends commands via RF to a 350RF base station, which then sends the IR to my black box via 1/8" jack input. The black box receives the IR command and sends the matching RS232 command to the Theta.
Easy peazy- This was not easy to set up as a "plug and play" package, but now that it is done, I wanted to let other know that there is an option available. I have 80 of the most common CB commands mapped already, which should cover 99% of needs. I will work on adding the remaining 40 commands and the cool thing is the box can be 'field upgraded' , where I just send you a file to upload to thew box and and a new CCF with the extra IR codes.
I have yet to see any new RS232 control codes introduced with the CB HD upgrade, but if any are added by Theta, they can be field upgraded to the black box.
Anyway, shoot me a message here if anyone is interested in obtaining one. Comes with black box, RS232 cable, RS232 male / male adapter, power supply, CCF files (IR ciodes), basic setup instructions. You can send IR from your remote directly to the front of the black box, or, use an RF remote to have your base station send the IR to the black box via emitter bug or IR jack input.
-Kurt
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