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#71114 - 13/02/2002 21:54 Remote problems
jorrdan10
new poster

Registered: 09/01/2002
Posts: 12
Loc: Santa Monica, CA
I dunno whats wrong but my remote hasnt been working for awhile...it will work for like 10 min then stop...and its not the battery...any help would be nice...thanx

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#71115 - 13/02/2002 22:03 Re: Remote problems [Re: jorrdan10]
tanstaafl.
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5541
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
.it will work for like 10 min then stop...and its not the battery.

How do you know it is not the battery?

I am not trying to be a smart-aleck here... apparently a lot of remotes that shipped with the new players had defective batteries. They would work for a few minutes and then quit. A lot of people have found that putting a new battery in their remote solved all their problems.

tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

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#71116 - 13/02/2002 23:21 Re: Remote problems [Re: jorrdan10]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31573
Loc: Seattle, WA
Doug is right. Until you have actually gone to the store and purchased a brand-new battery and put it into the remote, you don't know that it's not the battery.

We are serious about this. Definitely buy a new battery. Just because the remote is new out of the box doesn't mean its battery is fresh. Just because the remote works sometimes doesn't mean its battery is fresh. Just because the battery make the needle on the volt meter jump, doesn't mean it's fresh.

After you've gone to the store, purchased a brand-new battery, put it in the remote, and then seen that it doesn't work, then contact support.

By the way, if you have any software version labeled 2.0-beta-anything, there might be a bug in the player that causes all front-panel and remote input to lock up. If the remote seems to lock up, check the front panel input and see if that is also locked. If so, the remote has nothing to do with it, it's the current bug in 2.0 beta x.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#71117 - 14/02/2002 16:48 Re: Remote problems [Re: tfabris]
lectric
pooh-bah

Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
Ditto what the last 2 guys said. I went ahead and bought a new remote. It wasn't the remote... BOTH remotes would lock up at the same time. With 2.0b11, The remote lockups seem to have gone away for me, though now I get more total input lockups. BTW, rebooting the player did NOT necessarily fix the problem when there was a lockup.
Anyway, I wanted 2 remotes regardless, one for each side of the car. (Or rather, 1 for me, 1 for everyone else to share.)

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#71118 - 15/02/2002 11:22 Re: Remote problems [Re: lectric]
Blunt
new poster

Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 4
Now I would say it’s the not the battery also. I have replaced the battery in mine because I thought it had gone bad, except the new one only lasted a week before it stoped working. I took the battery out and placed it in my SONY remote and it works great (several feet away from the cdplayer) I put the battery back into my empeg remote and it works fine. A day later it stoped working I shake it and then it starts working.

I decided to go ahead and replace it with a new battery anyways. Guess what it does it too. Looks like my remote has contact issues. His might as well.

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#71119 - 19/02/2002 23:05 Re: Remote problems [Re: jorrdan10]
gobigred
new poster

Registered: 29/01/2002
Posts: 3
Just throwing in my 2cents....I seem to have the same problem after a new batt. The remote works for about 10 minutes at a time...usually after the deck has been on for about 2min it will start working...then work for 10 min then dead...usually until an extended down time...power off that is....help!!

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#71120 - 20/02/2002 00:16 Re: Remote problems [Re: gobigred]
kswish0
enthusiast

Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 212
Loc: Virginia, USA
i have the same problem with my rio remote. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. it seems to be completely random. sometimes, removing the battery and putting it back in will make it work for a while but usually not. i have gotten a new battery and tried it and the same thing happens. so it has to be either the remote or the IR sensor on the player that is causing the problem. How can i figure out which of these is my problem?

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#71121 - 20/02/2002 01:55 Re: Remote problems [Re: kswish0]
mtempsch
pooh-bah

Registered: 02/06/2000
Posts: 1996
Loc: Gothenburg, Sweden
IR-LED on remote: if you have a video camera, most are sensitive to IR. Check it first with a known working remote, ie TV, other stereo etc and check if you see the LED light up when pressing buttons. If you do, then check the empeg remote.
I think you can get a little card/film type thing that has a material that gets excited by the IR light, and emits visible light instead. Don't know where one would find it, Radio Shack maybe?

IR sensor: Install Hijack and go to the Button Code Display page and then try any and all remote you can get your hand on. If the (carrier) frequency the remote uses is the same as the empegs you'll probably get codes displayed on the page as you press buttons. Sort of hit and miss though, since you can't be sure the remote is 'understood' by the empeg IR sensor. If you have or can borrow a Kenwood car stereo remote, it should work though (unless you deselected it in emplode) as that's what was originally used by the empeg.

/Michael
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/Michael

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#71122 - 20/02/2002 02:32 Re: Remote problems [Re: mtempsch]
beamer
stranger

Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 34
HMmm... wierd, i thought i was the only one with this problem, mine works at random too :-(
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- Regards from - Christian Byriel - Empeg MK2a

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#71123 - 20/02/2002 07:31 Re: Remote problems [Re: jorrdan10]
Narkotic
member

Registered: 20/02/2002
Posts: 158
yes I am having the same issue.. At first I thought it was the remote battery, but no, it is an intermittant problem, sometimes after I load a playlist it will "freeze" the remote only. Even after a hard reboot will not fix my problem. (on AC mode), then when I return it to the car it works again, or just comes back on in AC mode after a few minutes.

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#71124 - 20/02/2002 08:31 Re: Remote problems [Re: jorrdan10]
David
addict

Registered: 05/05/2000
Posts: 623
Loc: Cambridge
The battery terminals on the Rio remotes can be a little dodgy. Sometimes they can be re-positioned using a small screwdriver.

If you continue to have problems, email [email protected]

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#71125 - 20/02/2002 11:05 Re: Remote problems [Re: David]
lectric
pooh-bah

Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
I actually bought an extra remote... One seems to work better than the other, but they both lock up. 'Course, since it's an intermittent problem, it's rather difficult to track down. Oh, and a hard reset does typically clear it up.

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#71126 - 20/02/2002 18:28 Re: Remote problems [Re: Narkotic]
andygjones
journeyman

Registered: 30/07/2001
Posts: 63
I think it is the remote. I have the same problem. I have one of those remote sender units (to control satellite from another room). It has an LED that flashes when it receives IR signals. Ive tested it when my rio remote has stopped working and it doesnt show any sign of receiving signals.
_________________________
RioCar 40GB RGB - can never decide

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#71127 - 22/02/2002 21:10 Re: Remote problems [Re: jorrdan10]
docrings
new poster

Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 16
Loc: San Diego
Just got my BRAND NEW RioCar and the remote worked for exactly 3 days before dying. Occasional intermittent operation for about a half day, then died.
Replaced the battery (CR2025) from the drug store for $3 and it worked immediately. Probably get it a Wal-Mart for half that...
My unit was made in April of 2001 and it was installed in February of 2002, so they obviously go bad on the shelf. Who knows when the remote was made... obviously a LONG time ago!
Just try a new battery.
Dr. Rings

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#71128 - 23/02/2002 07:30 Re: Remote problems [Re: docrings]
justinlarsen
old hand

Registered: 31/12/2001
Posts: 1109
Loc: Petaluma, CA
try hijack.. and go into the remote codes screen and see if the signals are going thought.. it will give you the code of each remote botton and display it on the screen.. just to see whats going on..
_________________________
---- Justin Larsen

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#71129 - 24/02/2002 16:35 Re: Remote problems [Re: justinlarsen]
AndrewT
old hand

Registered: 16/02/2002
Posts: 867
Loc: Oxford, UK
I just want to get my 2 pence worth in here ......

I was having remote 'lockups' on my 2-week old empeg, it was so repeatable I even started to document a simple process to repeat the failure - the failure was simply that the unit ignored the remote, everything else worked ok.

I knew it couldn't be the battery since the empeg was so new and a DVM (Digital Volt Meter) read 3.2v across the battery and after a few reboots the problem would go away. In the process of documenting this the repeatability vanished and it stopped working completely so I decided to 'learn' the Rio remote onto a Philips Pronto - no luck, the Pronto wasn't 'seeing' the Rio remote.

Tonight (after re-reading this thread) I changed the CR2025 and guess what? It works flawlessly!

While I'm here, I just want to to pass on an unrelated tip for handling coin cell batteries - Don't handle them with your bare hands! The residual sweat on your hands is slightly conductive and will set up a continual but gradual discharge of the cell across the +'ve and -'ve terminals. This is more critical in lower discharge rate situations like watches or calculators but it's a good practice anyhow.

Cheers,
Rue

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