tripod Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi all, I've got a Kenwood (VR-309) receiver that has been giving me fits for at least a year and it finally dawned on me to ask here. It intermittently stops responding to its IR remote for varying amounts of time and at varying frequencies. I have tried MANY times and I can't detect a pattern to this occurrence in terms of what triggers it or what causes it to resume working. Just every now and then (typically at least once a day) it stops responding to the remote for anywhere between 5 minutes to several hours. During this time the receiver continues to function correctly with its switches, just not from the remote. Also, Kenwood replaced the remote and I have purchased another remote on my own and the problem continues. The remotes also work fine with my other components during the times that the receiver is not responding. Any ideas/suggestions?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 I think you may have another device in your home that is "jamming" the air (or light) waves. I have a PowerMid remote extender which, when placed in a certain corner of my HT, picks up a stray signal that causes it to always be in transmission mode (which effectively blocks any other remote from working). I know that is not your exact symptom, but I think the effect may be the same. Whatever is causing the jamming apparently cycles on and off, which may explain the sporadic problem. When your receiver isn't responding, try re-orienting your receiver, or shielding it with a solid material (like your body ) while you place its remote directly in front of the pickup eye and see if it responds. But, I could be wrong! Doug ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 along the lines of what dd was suggesting; does light thru a window shine on your equipment? any other strong light sources in the room? infra-red motion detectors? spy satellites...secret decoder rings...(slap!)o.k. i'm alright again avman. ------------------ 1-pair klf 30's c-7 center (looking for 1-m.o.klf-20) ksps-6 surrounds RSW-15 sony strda-777ES receiver upgraded to v.2.02 including virtual matrix 6.1 sony playstation 2 sony dvpnc 650-v 5-disc dvd/cd/SACD changer dishnetwork model 6000 HD sat rcvr w/digital off-air tuner sony kv36xbr450 high-definition 4:3 tv sharp xv-z1u lcd projector w/84" 4:3 sharp screen Bello'international Italian-made a/v furniture panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner monster cable and nxg interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire Natuzzi red leather furniture set KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 or could be like i have right now w/ my genie garage door opener - bad circuit board on the receiving unit. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripod Posted July 16, 2002 Author Share Posted July 16, 2002 I'm guessing that it's something along the lines of what Boa described. It might be interference but I don't think it is. The receiver is behind a glass door, and there are several other things nearby that might be causing intereference including a bright halogen lamp, an IR motion detector (around a corner, reflection?) and a small spy satellite. In my quest to figure this out I have placed the remote only inches from the receiver to see if it was a weak signal or something like that, no response. I'll try again and report back, after powering down the satellite of course. Any other clues/tests I can do to look for a bad circuit board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 (do NOT do this):put the receiver in the oven for about 1/2 hr at 225 degrees, then take it out and immediately spray it w/co2 to test for hot/cold expansion rate.NOT!! i would think-all kidding aside-that heating of the unit may cause the board to expand?does it do it right away,or when it's cool? avman. ------------------ 1-pair klf 30's c-7 center (looking for 1-m.o.klf-20) ksps-6 surrounds RSW-15 sony strda-777ES receiver upgraded to v.2.02 including virtual matrix 6.1 sony playstation 2 sony dvpnc 650-v 5-disc dvd/cd/SACD changer dishnetwork model 6000 HD sat rcvr w/digital off-air tuner sony kv36xbr450 high-definition 4:3 tv sharp xv-z1u lcd projector w/84" 4:3 sharp screen Bello'international Italian-made a/v furniture panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner monster cable and nxg interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire Natuzzi red leather furniture set KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripod Posted July 16, 2002 Author Share Posted July 16, 2002 Geez, I wish you had been clearer with your last post AVMan, I just burned the hell out of my receiver! I think the problem was that I put it in at 325, not 225 degrees. As far as hot vs. cold, it seems to occur at any time, including first thing in the morning or after several hours of working. I have conducted one more trial since my last post, but the results are not yet conclusive. As soon as I turned on my system, it was not responding. First, I brought the remote within inches of the receiver, nothing. Then I covered the receiver with my forearm for about 30 seconds to block out the secret death rays the people living in my walls keep shooting at me. Viola! The receiver began responding to the remote. I stood back from the receiver and it continued responding for the next few minutes, but that's all I could take of my son's Bob the Builder tape so I came up to play on the computer. I will try several more times tonight to see if it consistently resumes working after being covered. I'll keep you posted. This message has been edited by tripod on 07-18-2002 at 01:46 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 "In my quest to figure this out I have placed the remote only inches from the receiver to see if it was a weak signal or something like that, no response." again just like my garage door opener. was anyway, i gave it a few hard whacks w/ my fist a few weeks back & its been fine ever since. if its still under warranty anyway, that may be worth a try. (just kidding, well sorta). ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripod Posted July 16, 2002 Author Share Posted July 16, 2002 Bummer, three more trials of the forearm method and it didn't work once. For what it's worth, the receiver has been on for a few hours and is plenty warm. I'll try recording exactly when it occurs over the next couple of days and see if a pattern emerges that I didn't detect on my own. At last, a real life application for all of my research methodolgy training! As far as the warranty question, I recently discovered the stamped (33 cent stamp) warranty card living beside the receiver where it had been hiding for the past 2+ years. I mailed it in, but I'm pretty sure the warranty is up. Maybe I'll check Kenwood's site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripod Posted July 18, 2002 Author Share Posted July 18, 2002 Unbelievable! After repeated trials with the forearm method (2/10 worked), I finally resigned myself to the fact that it must be a loose connection or some other physical problem. As I was considering where to take the recceiver for repairs I thought to myself "Self, why not at least try whacking it once or twice and see if that does the trick?" Tada! It is now working after the first gentle tap on the top of the box. I am such an idiot for not trying it sooner. Everyone knows one of your first options should always be the adjustment hammer. 2 years of frustration ended with a tap, unbelievable. Thanks for the advice everyone, especially Boa12 who knew what to do all along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardhead Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 Tripod-- As time passes, don't forget Webb's 3rd Law of Adjustment: "The size and weight of the adjustment tool and the vigor with which it is applied are directly proportional to the age of the device to be adjusted." Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Hardhead: Tripod-- As time passes, don't forget Webb's 3rd Law of Adjustment: "The size and weight of the adjustment tool and the vigor with which it is applied are directly proportional to the age of the device to be adjusted." Good luck. Drake's Corollary (sp?): "And the size and weight of such tool shall have no bearing whatsoever to the delicate nature of the device to be adjusted." ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 quote: Drake's Corollary (sp?): No problem Doug ! You spelled Drake perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 disclaimer: my above solution has never been tried by me w/ audio equipment. only garage door openers & vending machines & small inexpensive radios. do so w/ more expensive & intricate audio/vid equipment at your own risk, though a slight tap obviously may be the way to start. ------------------ My Home Systems Page This message has been edited by boa12 on 07-18-2002 at 04:58 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 Excellent posts. I was going to suggest a bad connection at the IR sensor in the reciever. And to use the "give it a love tap" method. Boa knows whats up! The above posts say it all. Classic stuff. "One persons' love tap is another persons' regretful smack" Me 2002. This message has been edited by Audioreality on 07-19-2002 at 09:20 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 i'm still waiting for the expected joke unslaught. tri writes in for troubleshooting advice & highly tech advice by me is give it a whack. & it works! hopefully for tri the fix lasts. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 ...if it doesn't work,get a hammer..then a bigger hammer, then the 'blue wrench' (oxy-acetelyne torch) avman. ------------------ 1-pair klf 30's c-7 center (looking for 1-m.o.klf-20) ksps-6 surrounds RSW-15 sony strda-777ES receiver upgraded to v.2.02 including virtual matrix 6.1 sony playstation 2 sony dvpnc 650-v 5-disc dvd/cd/SACD changer dishnetwork model 6000 HD sat rcvr w/digital off-air tuner sony kv36xbr450 high-definition 4:3 tv sharp xv-z1u lcd projector w/84" 4:3 sharp screen Bello'international Italian-made a/v furniture panamax max dbs+5 surge protector/power conditioner monster cable and nxg interconnects/12 gua.speaker wire Natuzzi red leather furniture set KLIPSCH-So Good It Hz! This message has been edited by avman on 07-19-2002 at 11:19 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 I worked at ComputerLand back in the days when the sales reps had to populate each motherboard with individual 8K RAM chips - 8 per row without parity check, 9 per row with parity check - to get 64K RAM installed. In a box that you were configuring with 320K RAM and parity, that meant plugging 45 of these little buggers into a memory card, and each one had bent legs that needed to be straighted, had to be oriented with the little difficult-to-see notch on the same side or else (POP! No more RAM...), and at least one of two of them always had a bad bit, so you had to trace down the bad chip and pull it out and replace it, then retest. You also had to install all the option cards, set the jumpers, connect all the ribbon cables / edge connectors, etc. In many cases, when you put everything together and turned it on, nothing happened. Something inside was not fully seated, or loose, or something. Also, people would frequently lug a CPU back to the store that appeared to be DOA with nothing obviously wrong. Our techs and salespeople used - and I'm dead serious here - what we called the "four inch drop test" as one of the first diagnostic aids. If something wasn't working, take it to the carpeted workbench, hold it level about four inches high, and drop it. Lower didn't provide sufficient jarring, much higher would break stuff. This frequenty worked. Problem fixed, don't know what was wrong, is working fine now, that'll be $75 and thank you very much. In the five years I was affiliated with CompuerLand, I saw this (and did this) literally hundreds of times. I never saw a computer system damaged by doing this. Sometimes the whack upside the head approach works when no other course of action accomplishes anything at all. *DISCLAIMER* - I am a trained professional. These manuvers should not be attempted by amatures. Ray ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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