I have what I thought was a pretty simple need -- we have a ceiling fan from Reiker that has a heater in it and comes with a remote to set the temperature. We would like to turn the fan on at a set time every morning, but the remote is RF.

My research brought me here where i searched the forums and found numerous posts of people looking for a remote that would learn RF and being told that it is not possible. But I didn't find any explanation -- can someone point to a post that might explain why this is not possible? I believe it -- I am just curious.

RF remotes are similar to garage door openers. They either use multiple signals/ multiple RF fequencies for security reasons or their frequency is beyond typical IR remotes. All IR remotes cannot reach their frequencies and therefore cannot be learned/duplicated.

Most RF frequencies within US based remotes, use somewhere between 418mhz-433 mhz.

Dave

1) unlike IR all RF is regulated.

2) RF interference can cause issues (think Phones, radio systems, garage doors.....)

3) RF is all around us, so even if the gouvernment allowed it, learning would be relatively hard

that doesn't really explain why it can't be learned. and if you have some little remote sending an RF frequency how is your universal going to interfere with your phone, garage door etc if the original one doesn't, as wouldn't the universal be sending the exact same command?

sorry to butt in but i've wondered this myself.

The learninbg issue is that the learning remote might be picking up at the same time a few radio stations, your phone, your wireless network...... How is it supposed to know what is the stuff it is supposed to learn?

The bigger issue is that in order for that learning remote to send the same RF it also needs to transmit that RF so it needs to be recognized in the same range as that other device. It needs to be certified by the government for all the transmission ranges it will do. Some of which are proprietary (i.e. the rights to that range are owned by Bose, your fan company.....)

The technology is there - just look at the learning garage door openers (Homelink).

But the biggest problem is that all RF is heavily regulated. Every RF transmitting device needs to be tested, certified, etc., for its specific frequency and use... in the end it comes down to a matter of money - it would cost too much to implement for the few RF devices that are out there.