trouble with ir output

[jryan15]

i've had my usb-uirt working great for a couple months now using it only for SageTV. i'm now trying to use xLobby and i've been able to send and receive ir signals with xLobby.

the problem is that whenever i connect the 1/8" mini plug into the usb-uirt (which is landed back onto my connecting block) i loose 10 feet of range off my ir receiver which passer through ir to all my components.

my setup is below:

1. one in wall ir receiver in living room which passes ir to all components (except tv) which are located in another room.

2. wires (ir) from the ir reciever land on zone 1 of a xantech 4 zone ir distribution system.

3. all of the devices come off of dedicated zone 1 outputs while some come off of the all zones output.

PRE USB-UIRT ALL WORKED WELL.

4. for use with sage, i connected an ir blaster to the zone 1 INPUT on my xantech and taped it to the face of the usb-uirt.

THIS WORKED GREAT FOR SAGE AND EVERYTHING WORKED GREAT FOR 2 MONTHS

5. installed xLobby and learned several ir codes.

6. used a stereo headphone cable to plug the 1/8" minijack into the usb-uirt and landed the other end of the cable to the zone 1 INPUT on my xantech (both of the usb-uirt zones as landed on the signal input).

WITH THIS SETUP, i can pass ir in and out of xLobby and control other components on my system. the problem is that now i have to point my remote within 6 feet of my ir receiver where as before i could be closer to 15 feet away.

anyway, i wanted to be detailed. hope i wasn't too detailed to get responsed. thanks!

[jryan15]

still having the same issue, loss of range when connecting the 1/8 minijack output of the uirt onto the zantech ir distribution center. could the added load be enough to weaken my input signal that much?

could i amplify? i would image that the zantech distribution system that i have already amplifies though.

[jryan15]

tryed a few things this weekend, but still having the same loss of range problem... i looked at the xantech 795-20 zone controller, and it does amplify. it works in low power mode with a 470 ohm resistor in series with the emitters.

i'm using an ir blaster taped to the front of the usb-uirt to send the ir into the uirt. i did have the blaster connected directly to the ir reciever, but have since moved the blaster to connect to one of the zone common outputs.

everything works great until i plug in the usb-uirt output. i've landed the two signal wires on the xantech signal terminal and i landed the shield/common wire from the uirt to the xantech common.

it still drops the range quite a bit. i also get some spuratic strange behavior on my sony reciver. sometimes it will throw up a <locked> message on the receiver...

[jryan15]

still hanging in there hoping someone may be able to offer some advice. i've been thinking about spending $70 to replace my xantech 780-10 ir receiver that claims 22' of range and replace it with a xantech 780-80 which is the plasma friendly version that boasts >60' of range.

i don't want to waste money, but not sure what to do...

all this is to remedy the issue that i have when i plug in the ir output (1/8" minijack) port on the usb-uirt.

any help or comments would be appreciated. thanks!

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi

It appears to me that the output of your usbuirt is loading the xantech bus....

I think you need to some sort of interface between the two pieces of hardware.......Im sure i read somewhere about a simple interface between

someone else on this forum posted this ....

http://www.russound.com/857.htm

HTH
Frank

[jryan15]

thanks for the input. i wonder if i could find some sort of isolator circuit to act between the devices.

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi

>thanks for the input. i wonder if i could find some sort of isolator circuit to >act between the devices.

Im sure i seen a little schematic somewhere showing how to do this.....Might need to google......

If you have no joy contact me offlist and i might be able to make something up for you that you can try.......

My email address is frankmc AT internode DOT on DOT net......

I wont be around till late afternoon here in Melbourne Oz (currently 7:30 am)

HTH
Frank

[jryan15]

thanks for the reply. i haven't searched yet for an isolator because i'm not sure what exactly i need to isolate . i thought that the output jack on the usb-uirt is output only, so i'm not sure how it's loading the output from my ir receiver...

i went ahead and drew up a diagram on my system to see if the graphic will help to understand my problem... i'll try to attach below.

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi Jryan

Did a bit of googling and on the Cinemar Forum someone mentioned this device as a interface for a xantech single zone to USBUIRT ...so i would hope it would also work on your Multi zone xantech system...

http://www.smarthome.com/8175.HTML

I think its worth a try....

Good Luck

Frank

[jryan15]

thanks very much Frank, you've been very helpful. i will let you know how it turns out!

[jryan15]

i was reading further on the product page that you listed and noticed the following statement -

"The IR output from HouseLinc and other interfaces with IR outputs, is not compatible with the Xantech and many other brands of hardwired IR signal distribution equipment (higher voltage/current)."

i'll try to dig around an find one compatible with xantech. thanks!

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi Jryan


I think thats referring to the Houselinc products themselves...Hence the interface in the link allows you to connect to a xantech system....

Look at the pdf on theinterface ...it states that it can be connected to a xantech system....I think what you read meant that a houselinc receiver for instance could not be connected to a xantech system.........

HTH
Frank

[jryan15]

Hi Jryan


I think thats referring to the Houselinc products themselves...Hence the interface in the link allows you to connect to a xantech system....

Look at the pdf on theinterface ...it states that it can be connected to a xantech system....I think what you read meant that a houselinc receiver for instance could not be connected to a xantech system.........

HTH
Frank

you're correct. in researching i found that many people made similar errors in interpretation.


Regarding the problem at hand: SUCCESS! I found a post on the remotecentral site that mention inserting a diode between the usb-uirt output and the xantech zone controller. apparently the problem was due to the voltage difference between the xantech (12 volts) and the usb-uirt (5 volts). when remote commands were routed through the xantech, the 12 volts from the xantech was back feeding into the usb-uirt... not good, but apparently nothing was damaged.

the diode blocked current flow from the xantech to the usb-uirt while allowing current to flow from the usb-uirt to the xantech.

thanks for all the help Frank, i was about to give up on the problem again until you posted! thanks!