# remote upgrade



## TinyFargo (Jul 19, 2018)

About 10 years ago, I built a rack (more like a shelf) in my basement for my A/V equipment and mounted my TV on the wall over the fireplace in my living room (directly above the rack). We were about to start a family, and I didn't like the thought of a toddler pulling a TV down or yanking on cables...

In my living room next to the TV, I have a small cabinet under a bookshelf with a blu-ray player and the base station for a Harmony 900 remote. I have a cable bundle running to the rack in the basement including all the speaker wires to the 7.1 surround system, Ethernet cable, IR blaster cable, HDMI cables (from blu-ray to receiver and another from receiver to TV), coax to the TV (HD Antenna), and digital audio out from the TV back down to the receiver (so I can get surround sound on OTA broadcasts).

It's pretty neat and has served us well for quite some time. It's a setup that demands some kind of IR blaster since I need to control the stuff in my basement rack - mostly the receiver which is very big and probably would get too hot to put in the very small enclosed cabinet upstairs.

Well now that our kids are older, the Harmony remote's been dropped more than a few times and it's a little... intermittent. It freezes up about once every other day and needs a battery-removal reboot. I've read about the options for "surgery" on it to try to address the likely cause, but so far we've decided to just live with it. But it's been getting worse...

If I open it up to fix it, I'm just as likely to break it for good. I thought I'd also seek recommendations for replacement hardware. Control via wifi / alexa would be a cool feature, but not required. Anyone have a setup for home theater control that they absolutely love? Seems like all the home hubs have very mixed reviews, including the newer versions of the Harmony products.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Harmony makes great remotes. Things break. Doing surgery on such an intricate piece of hardware may just waste your time unless you KNOW what you are doing. Bite the bullet and upgrade (if there is one) to a better Harmony.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

You may not need major surgery. Sometimes is you just stretch the springs where the batteries are, that's all that's needed. I put tape on the back of one of my remotes to make the cover/connection tighter.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Most often on the Harmony items I have owned random buttons begin to fail, making it worthless. Never had the problem with the entire unit faulting due to battery problems.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

I had a Harmony 800 which served me well for years. Eventually the charger stopped working.

I replaced this with the Harmony Ultimate.










The Ultimate comes with a couple of IR Blasters which link to the base unit. These are placed near devices that have trouble connecting otherwise.

Configuring the device was relatively easy with a nice array of options to customize its operation. It even allows you to upload custom icons for the activities.


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## TinyFargo (Jul 19, 2018)

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm always interested in hearing more.

The issue I currently have with the 900 is that the little icon to indicate that it's transmitting IR or RF never turns off after I hit a button and it won't respond to subsequent commands. 

Web searching seems to indicate that the issue is that the CPU has a loose contact to the board. Apparently, disassembling the whole thing and putting a shim in the remote to push the CPU more firmly against the board can help in many cases. However, I'm not ready to take it apart unless I know I can get something else I'll be happy with if I can't get it back together in the same or better condition.

Other than the setup being difficult (the software to set up the 900 feels like it was designed for Windows 3.1), I've loved the remote. I was thinking of replacing it with a Harmony Hub, but the reviews on Amazon for the hub aren't great and I'd also need to run an extra blaster cable up to my TV.


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## adamz (May 13, 2018)

Can you list the items that you'd like to control remotely from your basement. I suspect that you'd like to control the hardware upstairs.

Is ALL the hardware upstairs able to be be controlled via infrared or is it a mixture of RF remote and infrared remote control?


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## adamz (May 13, 2018)

Tiny,

I miss-read your original post. I see that you'd like to remotely control the hardware in your basement from an upstairs TV set perhaps with another, similar setup.

I'm not an expert, but I work in an AV related industry. I'll post back once I research some solutions.


In the meantime, please consider the level of complexity. For instance, if you add Alexa to your setup, you will add a layer of Internet hardware to your setup. This may or may not be an issue depending upon your comfort level with technology.


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## TinyFargo (Jul 19, 2018)

adamz said:


> Can you list the items that you'd like to control remotely from your basement. I suspect that you'd like to control the hardware upstairs.
> 
> Is ALL the hardware upstairs able to be be controlled via infrared or is it a mixture of RF remote and infrared remote control?


I could in theory control the stuff upstairs by IR, but the view of them is obstructed.

Upstairs, controlled by the Harmony 900:
TV - Sony Bravia KDL-52V5100
Nintendo Wii (not really controlled by remote)
Bluray - Sony BDPS1700
Harmony 900 Base Station

Downstairs, controlled by the Harmony 900 IR blasters:
Receiver Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K
XBox 360
Roku
GW Security NVR security system (simple display on TV)


Downstairs, not presently controlled by the remote:
Cable box (Comcast) - it is unplugged; I use an OTA HD Antenna instead
Wireless router
gigabit switch
POE switch (for security cameras)
Synology NAS


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## TinyFargo (Jul 19, 2018)

adamz said:


> Tiny,
> 
> I miss-read your original post. I see that you'd like to remotely control the hardware in your basement from an upstairs TV set perhaps with another, similar setup.
> 
> ...


Yeah, thanks...totally agree. WiFi control would be cool, but I'm not sure its necessary. It's just that most options with currently supported hardware seem to be driving that way.

Complexity and integration seems to be the crux of most of the poor reviews for equipment, whether it's the new Harmony stuff or more complex home automation stuff like the Wink hub or SmartThings.

I'm comfortable with technology, but I am also not the most patient person... know your weaknesses, right?


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## adamz (May 13, 2018)

I see what you mean by the bad reviews of Alexa integration. 



There are other options for Harmony integration like Google Home: 





I think your best option might be a harmony hub with harmony remote where the Hub has option to integrate with voice. So if you decide on voice integration, you can try it. One benefit is of the voice option is you can do other things with your voice too besides control your A/V equipment.


This Apple IOS Option looks very comprehensive going by their website. https://www.simplecontrol.com/why-simple-control/
You might consider it. Looks like it has yearly fees though.


You might find some hands on advice in AV forums like these: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/93-r...-simple-control-v-remote-home-automation.html


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## TinyFargo (Jul 19, 2018)

I've been on AVS forum before... forgot about that place, but it's a board I frequented when selecting my receiver, speakers, and other hardware back in the day.

I hadn't seen the "Simple" brand before. Will have to look into that. If anyone else has recommendations, would still love to hear it. Unless I'm wowed by Simple or someone else comes in with a great recommendation, the most likely thing for me is to get a Harmony hub where the 900 worked pretty well for me while it lasted.

The wife and I watched a bluray yesterday after the kids went to bed and I had to reboot the remote twice. It's definitely getting worse, so the replacement may come sooner than later!

Thx.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

I would never put Alexa, Echo or any similar technology in my home. You might as well invite Google and Amazon to live in your house and know ever bit of your business.


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

I'd go with a new Logitech as well, and for all hidden devices, install a Dinky Link.

Available here:

https://smile.amazon.com/Xantech-DL...78&sr=8-2&keywords=dinky+link+ir+receiver+kit

They aren't the cheapest, but I installed about 30-40 of them in Customers Homes, and they simply work. No failure on any of the Installs.
The small cables on the Sensors can be extended, I usually use Cat3 or Cat5 to do that.


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

Drachenfire said:


> I would never put Alexa, Echo or any similar technology in my home. You might as well invite Google and Amazon to live in your house and know ever bit of your business.


And yes, I have multiple Alaxa's in my Home. She controls most lights in my home, some Cameras, the Sprinkler System, etc.
I'm not worried about Google or Amazon. I got nothing to hide.
:glasses:

People on Facebook, on the other hand, should be worried. A lot.
Cheers,


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

Deja-vue said:


> And yes, I have multiple Alaxa's in my Home. She controls most lights in my home, some Cameras, the Sprinkler System, etc.
> I'm not worried about Google or Amazon. I got nothing to hide.
> :glasses:
> 
> ...


You do realize that these are essentially microphones all over your home. Despite companies claim to respecting your privacy they still have the ability to listen and record everything in the home. 

This is an ability that can be abused by government agencies.

This is not a conspiracy theory. LE has already utilized GM's OnStar to monitor suspects. In one case it got LE in trouble when it was learned this act interferes with the vehicle owner's ability to use the systems emergency function should it become necessary.

LE has already tried to compel Amazon to give up data. 

As surveillance becomes more and more prevalent in buildings, stores, and restaurants we are told more and more that we have no expectation of privacy in these places.

This is not far from some court one day deciding that by knowingly installing these "listening devices" in our homes, we no longer have any expectation of privacy there either.

Additionally, like any other technology, these devices are susceptible to hacking after all there is no such thing as hacker-proof technology.

I do not think anyone wants some degenerate person listening in on what is being said or "done" in their home.


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

Alexa isn't really listening or "recording" all the Time, that is a myth.
Only when you say the "Wake-word" is when she is listening to your command or question.
Btw, I'm a Network engineer and have the highest possible encryption on my Firewalls and wireless Access.
But, I'll let you know when the Black Suburbans pull up to my House.
:wink2:


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

I to work in IT.

I did not say they were recording all the time. What I said was, _"Despite companies claim to respecting your privacy they still have the ability to listen and record everything in the home._ In other words, should they want to, they can enable your devices at their discretion.

The firewall and encryption does help but as I said before, I do not believe anything is hacker-proof.

As far as seeing black suburbans..., I will admit to occasionally changing the SSID on my router to "FBI Surveillance Van #4" just for fun. It freaks out the neighbors.
One weekend I am going to try "ICE Surveillance" and see what happens.


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

> I will admit to occasionally changing the SSID on my router


LOL!
I have to try that.
My SSID's aren't even visible.
:vs_smirk:


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## TinyFargo (Jul 19, 2018)

Thanks guys. God bless anyone who listens in on my house. With 3 kids under 10, it's a freaking war zone...


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