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Topic:
IR543 problems with sunlight
This thread has 24 replies. Displaying posts 16 through 25.
Post 16 made on Tuesday June 10, 2003 at 16:42
Bruce61
Long Time Member
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April 2003
21
ONEAC:
Thanks for the codes; I have a Home Theatre Master MX-500. I also have a RS remote that I can program with the codes you've provided. I can then learn the keys. However, there must be an easier way!
OP | Post 17 made on Tuesday June 10, 2003 at 19:08
BEK
Long Time Member
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March 2003
40
Equium, thanks for your response above that your new IR543 is working well for you.

As for my IR543 problems, they **seem** to have gone away (and perhaps weren't IR543 problems after all). I haven't posted this fact for a few days since I figured I'd just jinx myself by doing so right away. [Of course, now that I'm writing this, I'm sure the problems will reappear soon! ;-)]

Before I describe what I did which *appears* to have fixed things for me, I would caution that based on my (limited) x10 experiences so far, I'm not confident that my change is real reason things are suddenly better (just like I wouldn't necessarily believe that kicking an appliance to fix a problem is the right solution just because it seemed to work once).

With the above caveats in mind, what I did was adjusted the "sensitivity" setting on my PCS wall switches. I had previously twice changed the sensitivity setting of my PCS wall switches in attempts to enable them to better "hear" the IR543 signals. Of course I only did this when I was having problems. Both times the change seemed to solve the problem, only to have the problems reappear the next day. Well, SO FAR (!!) the third try at this seems to have been the charm, as my IR543 has worked well with my switches for about 5 days now. My PCS switches are now set to be as sensitive as possible (assuming I understand that setting correctly).

If it all stops working again in the near future (I wouldn't be shocked) I'll drop a note into this thread, but for the past few days at least, things seem to be working well for me.

One thing I can't explain about my "fix" is back when I was having problems, WHY my switches always seemed to be able to recognize IR543 hard-button-triggered commands when they could not recognize IR-triggered commands. That was the reason I had assumed it was an IR problem with the IR543 all along. I can't imagine why the signal triggered by the hard-buttons would be different than from IR, but then again, I believe that holding down the hard-buttons might do something which IR can't (not really sure here, but I'm wondering if holding down DIM or BRIGHTEN from the IR543 unit works like the wall switch) so perhaps there is some difference between the two actions?

Anyway, for the moment, my system seems to be working. Of course if it starts failing again I may still decide to replace out the IR543.

BEK
Post 18 made on Monday June 16, 2003 at 18:22
equium
Long Time Member
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February 2003
134
you might want to test the dimming function of your ir543 with your remote. i didn't realize how screwed up my first ir543 was until last night. when i would use the dim function on my first ir543(the bad one), i would select a unit and then press the vol + or - to dim. this would literally take about 25 to 45 seconds to go from full bright to full dim. i thought this was just the way it was. i just tried the dim on my new ir543 last night and BAM! i was able to dim my lights in about 4 to 6 seconds. this tells me that my first ir543 was really, really bad. BEK, check to see how fast you can dim and brighten. you may have a bad ir543 after all. i know when i would move my first one around the room, it would work fine for about a week and then mis-behave. it's just toying with us :)
OP | Post 19 made on Thursday June 26, 2003 at 01:27
BEK
Long Time Member
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40
Thanks for the response equium. I've tried DIMming in the past, though I don't do that often (I use scenes in place of dimming). When I've tried it, my experience has been that manual dimming via my remote (MX500) is responsive, and if anything, too responsive as a single keypress changes the light level by A LOT. Also, I wish the MX500 / IR543 combination could support some kind of "hold-down" feature (do they?) so that I wouldn't have to keep pressing DIM,DIM,.....

BTW, 3 weeks have passed and my IR543 is still working well (for the most part). Apparently changing the switch sensitivity setting solved my problems.

BEK
Post 20 made on Friday June 27, 2003 at 13:15
chris_h2
Long Time Member
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October 2002
85
On 06/26/03 01:27, BEK said...

Also, I wish the MX500 /
IR543 combination could support some kind of "hold-down"
feature (do they?) so that I wouldn't have to
keep pressing DIM,DIM,.....

I also have the MX500/IR543 combo. The trick to making the dim key (or any other) a repeating key is the way you learn the button to the mx500. If you hold the button down on the sending remote, the mx500 senses the repeating sequence and somehow knows to allow this key to be repeatedly sent when held down. If you are using the pre-programmed code in the mx500 for x10, you may need another learning remote (or one that has x10 codes that repeat) to do this programming.
OP | Post 21 made on Friday July 4, 2003 at 12:13
BEK
Long Time Member
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March 2003
40
Thanks Chris! That works like a charm! I had been learning the key but hadn't known you could 'learn' a hold-down feature on the MX500!

BEK
Post 22 made on Tuesday December 15, 2009 at 20:26
kurtbennett
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2002
25
This one really had me going too. I even bought another IR543, but it exhibited the same problem. I've read numerous forums concerning this issue, but no one seemed to really have a definitive answer as to how to fix the problem. After much experimentation, I think I've found the solution.

The problem seems to be the amount of ambient infrared light reaching the IR543 sensor. The device is actually being "locked up" by this ambient infrared light. Since we can't see infrared, it's impossible to detect it's origin.

The solution was to limit the amount of ambient infrared light reaching the sensor. I first tried using a piece of opaque tape with a small hole in the middle of it in front of the sensor. Both of my IR543 units functioned perfectly after this mod.

I've produced a set of two black-on-clear stick-on P-touch labels with different hole sizes that I can send to anyone who is experiencing this problem to modify their unit.

Let me know if you need one.

Last edited by kurtbennett on January 17, 2010 15:45.
Post 23 made on Monday July 25, 2011 at 18:59
kurtbennett
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2002
25
 Don't bother to return it. A new one won't work any better. I have a simple fix for the problem that I'll send to anyone who wants it. Free of charge. Just send me your mailing address.
Post 24 made on Monday November 28, 2011 at 10:31
The A/V Guy
Lurking Member
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Posts:
January 2010
6
So whats the fix. I have a customer with an RTI xp-8 and some old Relay switches. They dont work all the time. I have tried to get him to change the switches but he wont do it.
Post 25 made on Sunday October 28, 2012 at 23:29
ssshake
Lurking Member
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October 2012
3
can you reply back with photos of this mod if you still have it. I would like to know what size these holes are that worked for you. I tried something similar with little improvement.

I've noticed that it's my TV affecting it most often but I dont know how to possible correct that since this is in my home theater room. If I angle the unit down towards the floor, essentially vertical, parallel to my tv and below my tv, I get best results. Unfortunately it's out in the open and ugly in the position.

Thanks.
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