I have a very strange problem to report. I've gone through all of the troubleshooting with the techs at URC and nothing seems to work. Hoping that someone can shed some light on the subject...

I have 4 devices, one of which is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3100HD cable box. For each of the other three devices, RF codes transmit PERFECTLY to the MRF-250. For that pesky fourth device (the cable box), the RF DOES NOT TRANSMIT. No matter what. As soon as I put the device on "RF Only" in the MX-3000 editor, the codes do not transmit. The MRF-250 doesn't even seem to receive the codes!

No matter what I do, new file, file with only 1 device, move MRF-250, nothing seems to work. I placed the MRF in another room and there was no change. Any thoughts anyone? This is doubly problematic since I'm a custom installer and can't in good conscience sell these until I can get the first one to work.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Tripp-

What code are you using for the cable box? Does that code control the SA cable box if you set the MX-3000 to IR? If you haven't already done so, you might try learning commands from the cable box remote to the MX-3000, then see if the MRF-250 responds to them.

Mike
www.SurfRemoteControl.com

could be a defective MRF or the code switch is not set properly

You could sub one of the other MRF's to check

Did you try removing the antenna? I was having a similar problem with a Rotel preamp, as soon as I removed the antenna it worked perfectly.

Well, unfortunately, I've tried learning codes from the cable remote to the MX-3000. No luck. And yes, when set to IR ONLY or IR & RF, the codes work fine (provided I'm pointing the remote at the cable box).

I wouldn't be averse to removing the antenna if people think that might work, but if the antenna were the problem, wouldn't it affect ALL devices? 3 out of 4 work now...just the cable box has problems. I've tried multiple ID numbers (including 0). Nothing.

Does the status light on the MRF-250 light up at all when you send it a command for the cable box?

Unfortunately not. When I set to RF ONLY, the status light does not light up. When I set to IR & RF, it lights every time. Very odd.

Perhaps your problem is similar to the Russound CAV6.6 systems IR issue. Scientific Atlanta cable boxes are sensitive to the carrier frequencies of IR signals. When remote repeaters are used, generally all devices except the SA cable box work with the repeated IR signal. The Cable box, however, must have the remote directed to it. I don't know the details, but apparently, there are two carrier frequencies used in the IR world, and the SA boxes look for one (the higher carrier freqency) and treat the other as interferance. When this occurs, both carriers are ignored -- along with the code you send. Russound CAV 6.6 systems have a filter workaround available which eliminates the lower carrier frequency and thus fixes the problem.

I called URC and long story short, they are aware of the problem. RF Only for some devices does NOT work. Note, IR or RF+IR does work as reported. Their software engineer is working on a solution and it will be available with the next Live Update. When it will be available they couldn't tell me.

This message was edited by CelticCross on 07/21/04 11:30.

In fact, I believe that the Russound problem is VERY similar, if not the exact same thing. This IR workaround that you mentioned, do you know where I can find it? Is there a place on the web with instructions for this workaround or might you be able to describe it? Greatly appreciated, thanks.

I had the same RF problems with my S.A. Cable box ..... Go to the WEB and install the update to your editor ( Version 1.11.116 )
It fixed my RF problem.

Just so that anyone else who reads this gets an update, here is what happened - and yes, the problem appears to be fixed. It turned out that it was a two-step process. First, Ed over at Universal said that this issue was one of the major fixes in version .116 which was released last week (as noted by DomC). HOWEVER, it seems that the earlier remotes have a DIFFERENT OPERATING SYSTEM (and the screen was not as good, but not related to this, obviously). That different operating system somehow does not allow the problem to be fixed by the update. So the second step in the process was to send back the remotes that we had purchased before the new hardware was released. So, after receiving my new remotes today (with the new, better screen and improved operating system), I have tested the Scientific Atlanta cable boxes and they all seem to work!

For anyone other than me following this thread, I hope this helps.