Need some help please...

[NCT]

Over the past year i have purchased the RF-62 surround system from
Klipsch. I have a Harmon Kardon Receiver and a sub 12 subwoofer by
Klipsch.



I have a 50" Samsung LCD Tv that hangs over my mantle. What i need help
with is i am about to have all the wiring ran and i would like to put
all my components and satellite box on shelves that are in the basement.
I already have the tubing ran so i can feed the wires to the
television.



The wife says that she doesnt want anything else on the mantle or on the tv, so that means no ir repeater system.



So my question to all of you in the know is what else are my options?

[Ironsave]

Would love to try and help; but I do not understand your question....

1. What is an IR Repeater system?

2. What is it you need to do that will please her; The surrounds will go on the walls; the center, perhaps a bracket under or above the TV; the mains are there......

Please explain how I (we) can help....

[NCT]

i need something that will transfer the signal to the basement from upstairs in the living room being that my directv box, my reciever, and my dvd player is going to be moved on a shelf in the basement directly under the fireplace. IR Repeater= Remote Extender

[WMcD]

I'm gonna be sent to comedy hell: but I have a long shot which is a remote possibility. Ahem.

There are two oddball ideas presented below.

If I understand the esthetic and technical problems; the remote repeater system needs an IR pick up sensor which typically positioned near the screen and has some bulk and wires. The wife doesn't want the clutter. Also, you have to point your IR remote toward the TV screen to operate the IR pick-up in the TV screen for various functions.

The system you speak of is basically a repeater which has one unit which picks up the IR signal from the hand held remote control and then has another IR transmitter in the basement to recreate the signal with an IR sender aimed at the various units under control.

The hand operated remote has an IR sender but it projects over a somewhat limited angle. You have to aim it.

So, you could put the pick-up of the remote system off on the left or right wall of the living room where the wife might approve of its location. But that mixes up how to aim your hand operated remote control. You'd have to aim toward the screen to operate the TV and then toward thse left or right wall (location of the remote transponder) to work the stuff in the basement.

One possible solution would be to put the repeater system pick up at the back of the living room and have a glass mirror at or near the flat panel TV screen to bounce the IR signal from the hand unit to the repeater pick up sensor.

Of course, you don't have a glass mirror at the flat screen. . . or do you? The screen of the TV is a pretty good mirror. (Oddball Idea #1)

I performed a simplistic test on my flat panel tonight and remote and cell phone camera to see if this is possible.

You might know that a cell phone camera (and other such stuff) is sensitive to IR. You can aim the cell phone camera at the business end of an IR remote and push a button on the remote. You will see the IR signal (not visible to the eye) from the remote shown as a a white or pink image on the cell phone camera display. Therefore you have an IR sensor in your cell phone, at no cost! (Oddball Idea #2)

Using this, I tested to see whether my flat panel TV reflected the IR from a hand held remote to the cell phone. It did.

So you can see where this is going. You could adjust the TV screen so that it is pointing a bit toward the viewer and hand unit sender and also a bit at the location of the IR pick up on the back wall taking into account where the IR pick up is located -- angles for reflection, etc. You could use a cell phone camera to futz with locations and angles to see what works.

Will this work? I don't know. There is still an issue with the path being long (hence long shot) and that the sweet spot for reflection working out is narrow.

WMcD

[cyclonecj]

You can also pick up any standard repeater & disassemble it. Find the IR sensor & de-solder it from the board, & extend it out. Its tiny & not easily visible. Hide the main unit & place the sensor somewhere near the TV.

If she still objects to this, find a new wife.[]

Edited for clean-up... not sure where all that extra came from!

[Arkytype]

Good sleuthing Gil!

I've used the Buffalo Electronics IR repeater system in custom-built lecterns in seven of our classrooms. The AV gear and IR repeater/flasher are rack mounted behind closed doors below and the IR 350 pickup is mounted in the top of the unit. The professor can activate any of the gear with either a universal remote control or the ones for each device.

After our seven lecterns were built and being tested, we noticed the IR repeater would work with some units and not with others. We discovered that the lecterns parked under the overhead fluorescent luminaires would not respond to remote commands while those away from the luminaires would.

A call to the helpful folks at Buffalo electronics confirmed that the fluorescent lamps were a good source of IR! They suggested de-sensitizing the receiver by removing the dome and partially covering the IR chip with a tiny piece of paper. That did the trick!

http://www.buffaloelectronics.com/infrared/ir350.htm

While our application involved a short distance, BE claims you can control devices several hundred feet apart.

Lee