Locating IR, testing IR emitter

[sublime1]

I have one of the IR blasters from SmartHome -- a receptor "eye", a powered box, and a ribbon cable with 6 emitters that you stick on the devices you want to control, plus a green led that lights when a signal is being sent. I have my receiver and TiVo box in a (ventilated) cabinet with wooden doors and the eye located outside the cabinet.

I just got a new AV Receiver set up and relocated components, and now the IR blaster doesn't seem to be working -- I have one emitter attached to my TiVo and one to the receiver. I am pretty sure I have the TiVo emitter located correctly as it is in the same place as it was before I revamped things. I'm less sure about the new receiver (Yamaha HTR-5990) -- I shined a flashlight in the panel, but it is not obvious where the IR receptor is. I did some basic testing by putting a magazine over the panel and am pretty sure I got it pretty close.

So, I think the blaster is not working. If I close the cabinet doors and aim right at the IR "eye", no IR requests are processed, either TiVo or Receiver. Usually when emitters are just mislocated, you get some commands processed.

Any suggestions on how I might test the blaster? It worked before I "fixed" things

Is there a telltale sign that would help me locate the IR receiver inside a component?

Other ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

[MDS]

The manual for the receiver should show where the IR receiver is located - it is usually shown in the picture of the front panel of the receiver where they have a line and a number pointing to each button on the panel. It is usually somewhere in the display area, either left or right of the display.

IR isssues:
- If you are taping the emitter right over the eye of the component you want to control, it's possible that the ir signal from the blaster is overwhelming the ir receiver. If the blaster is pretty strong, you may be able to get away with just placing the emitter inside the a/v cabinet rather than directly over the eye on the receiver.

- Does the blaster have settings for intensity? If so, you may be able to turn it down to avoid saturating the ir receiver as in above.

 

[sublime1]

IR receiver located, thanks. Still not working.

The manual for the receiver should show where the IR receiver is located

Yep, right there on page 5. Doh. Who woulda thought to read the instructions

IR isssues:
- If you are taping the emitter right over the eye of the component you want to control, it's possible that the ir signal from the blaster is overwhelming the ir receiver. If the blaster is pretty strong, you may be able to get away with just placing the emitter inside the a/v cabinet rather than directly over the eye on the receiver.
- Does the blaster have settings for intensity? If so, you may be able to turn it down to avoid saturating the ir receiver as in above.

I thought about signal being too much, but it used to work on the TiVo, and doesn't seem to anymore so i would guess the TiVo should be able to handle the signal, if not the receiver. I tried various tests (most of which required three hands and none of the emitters seems to work from any location. It's bothersome that the little green light on the ribbon cable lights up when the blaster gets a signal: this kind of rules out the eye, and probably the little control box, and it seems unlikely that all six emitters are damaged.

I guess I'll set up a more controlled test method.

It's really too bad that I become obsessed by these stupid things

 

[sublime1]

Problem diagnosed: IR Emitter not working

I happened to have another of the same model of emitter in another room, swapped out my non-working one and all is well. Grumble.

Thanks for the help!