I am another newbie to the programmable remote control arena. I have an MX-500 and am looking for some discrete codes for an Onkyo HT-R500 Receiver, Sony KV-36FS17 TV, JVC XV-FA900BK DVD Player, and a Dish Network (Echo Star) 301 Receiver (which I beleive is manufactured by JVC). I want to be able to train my MX-500 to turn on all these devices using Macros but not turn them off if they are already on and vice versa(which I believe is the function of a discrete code but please correct my ignorance if I am wrong).

I would like to be able to switch to different modes such as changing from watching TV to playing a DVD to listening to the radio, etc... with one push of the button. I have partially achieved this but in order to get everything to work properly I have to turn everything off and then push the macro button I assigned to put everything in the "watching TV mode". I can do it manually but it requires many button presses and waiding through different screens to get the receiver, TV, Sat, etc... all in the right mode. Whew! I am getting finger fatigued.

My wife called me today and wanted me to try to walk her through how to change from listening to music to watching TV without having to turn everything off. I couldn't do it from memory because it required waiding through to many screens to get there and I couldn't remember them all without looking at the remote.

I am sure all of you know the frustration I am experiencing. I thought I would be happy with being able to just get rid of all the other remotes. But NO..... I can see now that I won't be satisfied until I get my cake and I get to eat it too.

I also suppose I am going to need either a one for all remote and the JP1 cable or the IR-Clone when they start shipping again. Is there any way to get there from here without either of these two devices?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

No, there isn't. The only way to get discrete commands is to learn them from another remote that has them or use IRClone. In the meantime, you could try the "Channel Up" command on your TV to see if that changes it to the same input every time (usually "Antenna A" or something similar) and use that as a starting point for input switching in your macro.

Mike
www.SurfRemote.com

I guess the key to all of these remotes is the software. No software... No discrete codes and no programing of buttons with any codes other then learned codes. Unless another remote already has these features. Do I have it right?

Mitch57, I also have an MX500 and an Onkyo receiver. It's not clear to me if the model you listed (HT-R500) is the same as my TX-SR500 (one might be part of a speaker package, and the other separate, but otherwise they might be identical, but to be honest I'm not sure).

Anyway, I ran into a power discrete issue which you might want to read about in the following Discrete Hunter thread:

[Link: remotecentral.com]

Though I was able to obtain 1 of 2 discrete power commands, in the end I decided to solve my discrete power command problem by always leaving the receiver on.

Oh, and BTW, I use a RS remote which I picked up on clearance recently to learn most of my commands to my MX500 using 'Advance Codes'. Haven't needed JP1 or IRClone yet (and I've completed my setup) though both look pretty cool.

BEK

Which Radio Shack remote did you get and how much was it? What was the model number? The HT-R500 and the TX-SR500 are essentially the same receiver with the exception that the HT-R500 has a bit more power, but the controls are essentially the same. I beleive that Onkyo only uses a standby/power off discrete code but no discrete power on. Boo! Hoo! When will these manufacturers get their act together in this wide spread issue?

I got the RS 15-2104 on clearance a few months back for $10. Don't know if you can still find it, but worth a shot. Make sure you get a remote which does advanced codes, unless you are planning to get into JP1 (so far, I have been able to do what I want just using advanced codes for learning to my MX500). You should explore the OFA forum on this site and http://www.hifi-remote.com to make sure you get a remote which does advanced codes or whatever else you want it for.

Yeah, these lower end Onkyo receivers (which otherwise are fine for me) don't seem to have a discrete POWER-ON capability. I can't imagine why they did that. However, on the bright side, my solution of always leaving my receiver on has advantages too: I've heard many people say that is better for the receiver anyway, and plus it means that when I turn my system on I get sound immediately and don't have to wait for the receiver to "warm up". Thus, in the end, the lack of this feature hasn't bothered me as much as I thought it would when I first discovered it.

BEK

I agree completely and my main audio receiver is on 24/7/365. It actually uses very little electricity when not in use, so don't let that stop you! Just make sure to give the receiver plenty of room above the air vents so it can breathe and stay relatively cool.

David
www.BlueDo.com