However, it's done it twice today, so I decided I'd look into it further. I grabbed for my digital camera (and found its batteries were dead, so charged 'em!), and pointed it at the remote. Conclusion: The IR LED is *constantly* emitting IR light - it appears white on the screen.

The digital camera trick is a good diagnostic, thanks for checking that first.

NOTE: I have seen this happen as well on my Rio Remote. You are not the only person having this problem. When you point a digital camera or a camcorder at the remote, you can see the LED shining steady-white on the camera's LCD.

The IR LED should be off except when a button is pressed. And when that button is pressed, you should see the LED blinking, not being steady. So when you see the steady LED, something is definitely up with the remote. What exactly, I don't know.

Normally, if the remote doesn't work, I'd assume it's a problem with the battery contacts. But if the IR LED is shining steady, then the thing is at least getting power. So what's up with that? If you open the remote and fiddle with the contacts, you're just "rebooting" it by removing the power long enough to clear it. Hence giving the false impression that fiddling with the contacts has fixed the problem.

I would like to update the FAQ with definitive information on this subject, but I don't have any concrete information. Do any of the Empeg Guys have anything to add to this?