Yet another fantastically difficult project...

If you would be so kind as to mosey on over to the site http://www.blaupunktusa.com/receivers/receivers_accessories.html , you would find a super-snazzy remote control for the steering wheel (RC-09). Now, while this is not all that different from the kenwood remote, you would find that it has a rather unobtrusive profile on the wheel, and would fit an application like our players happily.

Now, I know it would be simple enough to remap the button functions using hijack, but here's the thing--I'd like to remap the search feature. It would be great if--

1. The little button at the bottom simulated a knob press, which would send you right into search mode
2. You could use the right/left directional buttons to page through the various numbers on the remote that you could send (send "2" for the values "abc", "3" for the values "def", and so on) in such a fashion as we have come to know and love.
3. After you have searched for this tune, the OK button confirms, and you're on your way...

The implements exist for everything I've described so far, except for the method of emulating the alphanumeric button presses by scrolling through a list of possible values. How, in the name of all that is good and righteous, can this be done?

I'd really dig a solution that better than the remote at night, when touch really doesn't do a whole lot of good. If anything, this would certainly prevent my immenient demise in an auto accident of some sort, I'm certain.

Thanks to the community for all your input!

It "would" be great. But do a search for "thumber" in the forums and you'll quickly find reports stating that the remotes aren't compatible with the empeg's IR sensor.

Besides, they look a *lot* more obtrusive than the Kenwood 700 model.

Bruno

yah but the pioneer is laid out almost the axact same way, imho better, and it works perfectly. model sr77 is what i use..

info here

it says it is archived, may be sorta hard to find now, i dunno.

BTW, i had a kenwood as mentioned above.. i HATED it. it wouldn't stick well.. and well the pioneer is just a lot easier to use.

the cd-SR80 (model after SR77) Pioneer remote is redily available at places like http://www.crutchfield.com

hmm, i wonder where the remote sender is now, compared to the 77, i looked at the pic on crutchfield, but i can't see it, i wonder if the 80 has a little better reception, it looks like a slightly improved design.. either way, it is a great remote

Ya know... i almost took the sucker apart just to figure out where the emitter is, buecause there's no transparent plastic anywhere on the unit. Anyone know how it works?

on the 77 it is at the bottom, i would assume it is the same place.. that makes me thing that maybe they added relay points.. it is rare, but on some occaisions(in a sweeping turn) i try to hit it and i need to wait till the wheel is straightened.. but as i said that is really rare.

What a bummer that the thummer thingy won't work...however, the pioneer looks like a good alternative. The question still remains, though: can there be a button assignment that allows one to search via a remote that doesn't have 9 buttons?

The question still remains, though: can there be a button assignment that allows one to search via a remote that doesn't have 9 buttons?

I'm not sure what you're asking here, because the Pioneer remotes have 11 buttons. Can you search using the Pioneer? Yes, but it's not incredibly intuitive due to the button layout. I've managed to set up my Hijack IR translations such that I can do it pretty reliably, but it involves the following:

1. Picking one of the buttons to be the Search button.
2. Picking a button which sends the Hijack "shift" code which toggles the definition of all of the buttons.
3. Giving the other 10 buttons the numbers 0 through 9 when they're shifted.

So to do a search, I need to hit quite a few buttons.. Search, then shift, then type in the characters to search for, then shift again to get back to the normal button definitions, then OK. I've gotten good enough at it that I can do a search for any album/track within maybe 15 seconds, though... Not too bad while still keeping one's eyes and attention on the road.

OIC...I didn't realize that there were so many buttons on that remote; it only looks like nine of them from the picture. The request is actually on the line of something Mark Lord-Esque, insofaras it would intercept an IR code, and come up on the screen with a list of numbers available to send. I select the number from the menu (of sorts) and it inputs it as a letter.

The functionality I would see attached to this would be something akin to the palm pilot onscreen keyboard, where you tap a part of the screen and it allows you to type something in, then close out the onscreen keyboard when the input is complete.

I realize that this is a total pain in the ass (hence, the subject of the post) but if this were possible, one would be able to perform any kind of search without a remote. Or, they would be able to perform the search with a limited remote, rather than one that has at least nine buttons arragned in a neat alphanumeric pattern.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Yeah there's two buttons on the back in a rocker configuration that are usually used for volume.

I see what you mean about the "keyboard interface", actually the interface that some people thought of is an "enter your initials" arcade-style thing for typing in search strings, but it'd be a little unwieldy. The strategy I outlined actually works pretty well for me, and is a LOT less buttonpresses than would be needed for an on-screen display like you're talking about.

I could probably whip up some kind of arcade initials style input application in an hour or two, but I have too many other programming chores I have started and never finished.

After loads of trial and error getting my SR80 to work in my RHD car, I think I can say with a fair degree of certainty the emitter is on the opposite end to the battery compartment.

How about this suggestion for a popup input for searching... The following would appear in a box:

ABCDEFGHI
JKLMNOPRS
TUVWXYQZ

A highlight would appear over the letters corresponding to the number buttons on the remote. This is similar to a high-score list, but the highlight won't move by one one character at a time. So you get ABC then DEF then GHI, etc... With so regions to highlight, you can use two keys to scroll the highlight, one to cancel and one to select. Of course it would be nicer to be able to scroll 4 ways... Anyway, if this would pop up near the right side of the screen you could still see some of the items you're searching for. And it would be nice if it were persistent, until you exited it manually or a timeout. So this way you wouldn't have to re-enter the popup to keep selecting letters.

Anyone want to see if that's something Mark can put into Hijack?

Bruno

Searching through all the old posts, I see quite a lot of enthousiastic users of the pioneer steering wheel remotes. Is it possible to use the CD-SR80 when the empeg is connected as AUX into an Pioneer head unit? The Pioneer has a separate AUX-input setting, however I'm not sure if all (any?) of the remote functions will be available as well when in AUX position (with or without remapping with hijack).

I could remap all IR buttons, however it should be nice that both empeg and head unit could be managed using the remote...

Anyone experience with this?

Jelle

Hrm... Well, if the Pioneer head unit DOES ignore the remote (or most of it, i'd guess it would react to the Source button), then you could just make one of the buttons on the remote a Shift Lock button, so that when pressed, subsequent button presses on the remote will send commands for the empeg. In an "unshifted" state, it would just be seen by the Pioneer. So all of your IR Translate stuff would be accompanied by the .S shift modifier.

That 's indeed what I hope for. Anyone tested this?

Jelle