Remote Control of zone 2in RX V 659

[rgb1111]

Hello,
I am looking for remote control of my Yamaha RX- V- 659 zone 2 speakers from a room away (10 mtr) from the receiver. So the supplied ir remote will not work.
The manual says many possibilities, but there are no Yamaha products. I contacted their support center, they dont make such things.
Has anybody an idea to achieve this ??

 

[MDS]

As long as you have the original remote with functions to control Zone 2 any good universal remote with learning and RF capability can do what you want.

I am fond of the Universal Remote Home Theater Master Remotes. The MX-350 plus MRF-200 base station should have no problem with it as long as you have the original Yamaha remote to use to teach the MX-350.

 

[rgb1111]

Thanks

Thanks for the tip, I understand RX 659 V is not RF compatible.
The remote you suggested is RF , I believe, OR does it converts IR to RF & then has another unit to convert RF to IR & transmit to receiver ?
What technology it has, any idea ?

 

[jcPanny]

RF remote controls

URC and Harmony are brands of universal remotes. You can program them to control your receiver and all of your other electornics (TV, DVD, CD, cable, etc.) Many of the URC remotes can be upgraded with an RF basestation and some of the high end harmony remotes also offer this feature. The remote sends an RF signal to the basestation through walls, etc. up to 100'. The base station has IR blasters that connect to IR receiver on the front of your receiver and other gear.

I got a URC-300 and RF base station for just over $100 and I am very happy with this setup. With 2 remotes and 1 base station you could leave one of the remotes in the "Zone 2 location"

The other option would be to wire an IR repeater system from the Zone 2 room bacak to the receiver.

 

[FunkIncubator]

JC (or anyone): have you done this with the RXV-659? I have this AVR and I'm trying to do the same thing. Using the remote that came with the AVR is a b!tch (even in the same room), and teaching a non-geek to do it is impossible.

The problem is, you have to push 2 buttons at once and then you can command zone 2, but you have to do it within 10 seconds or the remote and/or AVR reverts to zone 1 mode again. Before I spend the bucks on a universal remote, I'd like to know if it will continue to work like this, or if the universal remote will remain in zone 2 mode as long as I want it to, especially if the remote is to be left in zone 2.

Oh yeah, the other problem is that of the 2 buttons you must push simultaneously, one of them is the main power button. Even for a geek like me, I try to turn on the radio in zone 2 and instead my whole receiver and/or TV is turning on and off! It really is a pain, so if a universal will solve it for me, I'm all in.

 

[j_garcia]

If the codes are not specific to Zone 2 then a universal will still have the same issues that you currently have. If they are discrete, then you should be able to program them into the universal and it will work fine.

You will have to use the remote in the primary zone also if you block the IR repeater for the receiver with a blaster, if you don't have a setup where the base can relay the signals on its own.

 

[MDS]

The problem is, you have to push 2 buttons at once and then you can command zone 2, but you have to do it within 10 seconds or the remote and/or AVR reverts to zone 1 mode again. Before I spend the bucks on a universal remote, I'd like to know if it will continue to work like this, or if the universal remote will remain in zone 2 mode as long as I want it to, especially if the remote is to be left in zone 2.

With any remote you have to put it in the proper mode to control the device(s) you want to control; ie press the DVD mode button to switch the remote to DVD commands. This two button sequence you describe would be the same thing - it switches the remote to Zone 2 mode so that the buttons control zone 2 functions (eg. vol up in zone 1 mode increases the volume of the main zone but in zone 2 mode the same button increases the volume in zone 2.)

If you have to press the two button sequence before every command for zone 2 so that every command is really three button presses, then you'd have to use a macro on the universal.

If, as I suspect, the two button sequence just puts the original remote into zone 2 mode and every subsequent button press executes the command against zone 2 then when teaching the universal you just do the two button sequence on the original then put the universal in learn mode and press the next button on the original remote.

If you will need many buttons that are actually a sequence of 2 or more button presses from the original then you need a remote like the MX series from URC that can allow a macro on any button.

 

[rgb1111]

Will RF20 +MRF100B do ?

As long as you have the original remote with functions to control Zone 2 any good universal remote with learning and RF capability can do what you want.

I am fond of the Universal Remote Home Theater Master Remotes. The MX-350 plus MRF-200 base station should have no problem with it as long as you have the original Yamaha remote to use to teach the MX-350.

RF20+MRF100B has similer features can it do this job ?
I do not wish to use more than 6 comp. for controlling by this, neither I have issue of multiple RF units in the same premises, so dont need addressable i.d.s.

 

[MDS]

RF20+MRF100B has similer features can it do this job ?
I do not wish to use more than 6 comp. for controlling by this, neither I have issue of multiple RF units in the same premises, so dont need addressable i.d.s.

I've never owned the RF20 but in reading the manual it is very similar to the MX-350. The main difference is the addressable emitters you've mentioned and the fact that it always sends both RF and IR at the same time where the MX-350 can be set to send IR, RF, or both for each device button.

All other programming is the same so it should work just as well.

 

[jcPanny]

Zone 2 commands

When you do the simultaneous button press to enable zone 2, the two buttons probably output a single IR command to the receiver. If this is the case, any learning remote (including URC, Harmony, etc.) can "learn" the command from the Yamaha remote. If that works, selecting the source is a simple macro of a couple different buttons.

My HTR-5860 receiver doesn't have the zone 2 feature so I can't test it.

I have the URC-300 and RF base station. The new version of the RF30 and the RF20 is similar without the touch screen.
You can get the RF20 and basestation for $100 at JR:
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4164316

 

[FunkIncubator]

Logitech Harmony 720

The Harmony 720 did the trick. This model is only available at Costco, I think; it's not even listed on the Logitech web site. It has the color LCD screen like the 880, but it's rectangular like the XBOX one, rather than that ugly peanut shape of the 880. Anyway, I'm sure most of the Harmony remotes will work the same.

After unsuccessfully trying to 'teach' the remote the IR code for powering on Zone 2, I resorted to the help pages of the Harmony software, where I learned on the FAQs that all you have to do is set it up in the remote as a second receiver. You name it Yamaha RX-V659 (zone 2) and the remote knows to send it zone 2 codes. So, unlike the Yamaha remote, the Harmony will stay in Zone 2 mode as long as you want, and will change inputs, control volume without affecting zone 1 at all.

I highly recommend the Harmony for zone 2 control. My zone 1 is the master bedroom, and zone 2 is the bathroom where I have ceiling speakers for music, so I just turn on the music from the bedroom and let it play. I don't need a second remote that stays in zone 2. If I did, I would get a RF Harmony remote.

I don't know anything about the other models that other posters have mentioned, so I'm not saying it's better. Just wanted to give another option that I can confirm works perfectly.

 

[rgb1111]

The Harmony 720 did the trick. This model is only available at Costco, I think; it's not even listed on the Logitech web site. It has the color LCD screen like the 880, but it's rectangular like the XBOX one, rather than that ugly peanut shape of the 880. Anyway, I'm sure most of the Harmony remotes will work the same.

After unsuccessfully trying to 'teach' the remote the IR code for powering on Zone 2, I resorted to the help pages of the Harmony software, where I learned on the FAQs that all you have to do is set it up in the remote as a second receiver. You name it Yamaha RX-V659 (zone 2) and the remote knows to send it zone 2 codes. So, unlike the Yamaha remote, the Harmony will stay in Zone 2 mode as long as you want, and will change inputs, control volume without affecting zone 1 at all.

I highly recommend the Harmony for zone 2 control. My zone 1 is the master bedroom, and zone 2 is the bathroom where I have ceiling speakers for music, so I just turn on the music from the bedroom and let it play. I don't need a second remote that stays in zone 2. If I did, I would get a RF Harmony remote.

I don't know anything about the other models that other posters have mentioned, so I'm not saying it's better. Just wanted to give another option that I can confirm works perfectly.

Which IR blaster you used ?