I'm a low-income disabled senior, so all my electronic equipment is either a hand-me-down or a yard sale special.

A while back an old friend of mine gave me his old receiver and CD player. These appear to me have once been high end equipment, back in the day.

Trouble is, my friend had left both of them in storage with his brother for a number of years. And while they were at his brother's house, the remote controls got lost.

I'm wondering if you folks could help me select a universal remote control that would work with these components and help me set it up.

I wouldn't need a lot of functionality.

For the CD player, just the four basic commands: "Play," "Pause," "Next Track," and "Previous Track" would probably be all that I would need.

And for the receiver, the volume control, selection of the input (e.g. "Phono," "CD," etc.) and skipping through the FM presets would probably be sufficient.

Does this sound like something that I could accomplish with a budget priced universal remote?

The DCD-1560 uses the Denon IR protocol, device 8, while the DCR-635R uses device 2.

A large number of remotes made by Universal Electronics can control both units, although you will need to program in a 5 digit "EFC" for each command, using the 994 command. (Newer Denon equipment uses different device numbers, and the built in setup codes in most remotes work with the newer equipment.)

For new remotes, probably the RCA RCRP05B, ($15 at Sears, $20 at Best Buy, probably Walgreens, lots of places online) is the best choice. If you go to a retail store, call first to make sure that store has it in stock.
However, you could also use a Comcast DVR remote, or the Atlas series of remotes used by many other cable companies, and quite a few OneForAll remotes, including the URC-8820/10820, and OARC03G/4G/5G.
You should be able to find one of these online for less than $15. If you see a OneForAll other than the ones listed here, post back and I'll tell you if it is suitable.

If you decide to go this direction, I'll post the individual EFCs so you can program the remote.

Thanks 3FG, for all that info!

This is great news! You've really made my day!

I'm afraid, though, that much of what you wrote just went over my head.

Could you point me to a primer, tutorial or FAQ that I could read so I could get a handle on what an EFC is and what to do with it?

In the meantime I'll go shopping for a remote. Since I'm chronically short of cash I think I'll first see if I can score one on FreeCycleSeattle.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out with this,

How much do you wnat to learn?  The main site for UEI remotes is www.hifi-remote.com/forums/.  However, the main reason for  that site is the use of JP1 interface cables to program the remotes from a computer, so it has more info than you probably want to know. 

I used some software tools available there, along with some IR files on this site to find out which signals your equipment uses.  I then used the Lookup Tool (linked at hifi-remote, top of each page) to find candidate setup codes which can be modified manually to send the necessary signals.  You'll do the programming by first assigning a setup code to the Audio device button, and then assigning an EFC to a button for each desired function.  The procedures can vary depending on which remote you get, but here is a genrric version:

Assign setup code 1360 to the Audio device button.
1) Press Setup until two blinks
2) Enter 1360
The remote should blink twice.

Assign an EFC to a button
1) Press Setup until two blinks
2) Enter 994
3) Tap Setup
4) Enter 12345  (just an example for the EFC)
5) Tap Vol+  (another example)
The remote should blink twice.

Thanks, 3FG, for that additional info. Based on what you've posted, I think I should be able to figure out how get a remote working with my stereo.

In the meantime, I've received an offer of a One For All Cinema 7 remote.

Are you able to determine if that will work with my hand-me-down equipment?

A Cinema 7 will work. If it were me, I'd probably want to get a newer design, so that it could also be used with newer equipment (like Blu-Ray players), but for these older Denon units, the Cinema 7 will be fine.

Assuming you get a Cinema 7, you'll want to assign setup code 0003 to the CD device button, and 0004 to the RCV device button. Quite a few of the functions are already assigned to buttons by the factory, but you can add or replace functions by using the 994 command. See instruction 11 in www.hifi-remote.com/manuals/ofa.shtml.   I don't have access to many functions for the DRA-635R, but we can figure out the EFCs for missing functions from similar receivers.  Just post the additional functions you may need.

DRA-635R

Function	EFC	Cinema 7 Button
CD	224	0
FM	222	1
VDP	099	2
VCR	096	4
V-Aux	220	8
Phono	226	9
Tape Monitor	227	Enter/Select
Speaker A	128
Speaker B	126
Multi - Out	063
vol up	159	Vol +
vol down	163	Vol -
mute	156	Mute
power	098	Power
Power On	130
Power Off	192

DCD-1560

1	032	1
2	028	2
3	035	3
4	031	4
5	033	5
6	029	6
7	162	7
8	158	8
9	160	9
0	030
+10	163	Surround
Play	227	Play
Scan <<	220	REW
Scan >>	224	FFWD
Pause	223	Pause
Skip |<<	222	Down
Display	063
Open/Close	098
Time Search	002
Skip >>|	226	Up
Stop	225	Stop
Index	097
Program	159	Prog/Guide
Clear	094
Direct	093
Call	096	Display
Repeat All	099
Repeat 1	000
Repeat A-B	095
Random	128	Prev Ch
Time	092
Auto Space	254
Auto Edit	252
Volume +	161	Vol +
Volume -	157	Vol -

Hi 3FG! You still there?

After some health setbacks and distracting life events, I'm finally feeling well enough to try setting up this One For All Cinema 7 remote so it will work with the Denon CD player and receiver.

I tried your generic first step:

Assign setup code 1360 to the Audio device button.
1) Press Setup until two blinks
2) Enter 1360
The remote should blink twice

I got the double blink on step one, but I didn't get the double blink after entering 1360.

What now?

The Cinema 7 doesn't have 1360, and you need to assign setup code 0003 to the CD device button, and 0004 to the RCV device button.

Assign setup code 0003 to the CD device button.
1) Tap CD
2) Press Setup until two blinks
3) Enter 0003
The remote should blink twice.

Do the same procedure using 0004 and the RCV button.  Once both setup codes have been assigned, experiment with both the receiver and CD player.  Probably the remote will be able to control most functions.  You can add the missing functions with the following

Assign an EFC to for the CD player
As an example, here's how to assign Open/Close to the PIP Swap button.  Post 6 above lists Open/Close as having EFC 098 for the DCD-1560.

1) Tap CD
2) Press Setup until two blinks
3) Enter 994  (2 blinks)
4) Tap Setup
5) Enter 098 
6) Tap Swap
The remote should blink twice.

Amazing! It works!

Many thanks 3FG for sticking with me on this project!

Now I'm going to start rearranging the buttons. This should be fun!

Thanks again!

P.S. One more quick question. I see on your list that "Play" and "Pause" are listed as separate codes. Do you know if there's a way to have a single button on my current remote function as a combined "Play/Pause" button?

If your Cinema 7 is a URC-7800 (and not a URC-7200) then it is possible to make a Play/Pause button. But this requires adding a 6 pin header inside the battery compartment, buying a JP1 interface cable, and installing an "extender"--additions to the firmware in the remote.

First I would check to see what actual response you get from the EFCs. Maybe one of them provides a Play/Pause functionality.

If that doesn't pan out, I would just learn to live with it.

OK, I think "just learn to live with it" will be my motto with this remote.

The process you described sounds like it's way beyond my capabilities.

Thanks again for your diligence in responding to my posts. I really appreciate it.