Home AMX User Forum AMX General Discussion

More Channel Codes

I'm interested in using RTI in some of our installations. In RF installations in the past, if I had multiple remotes on the same RF receiver, the AMX remotes all shared the same functions mapped to 1-254 (or something like that). If I'm using RTI, is there a way to tap into the remaining 3700+ channel codes so that I can have 2-3 remotes on the same receiver with distinct numbers? e.g. 1-254 (Living Room TV/Audio), 301-554 (Bedroom TV/Audio)

I've heard that RTI supplies the RF codes but I suspect that they only covered 1-254 that can be learned from a MIO. Can I use the hex edit functions in RTI to go beyond that range?

Comments

  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    mkipe wrote: »
    I'm interested in using RTI in some of our installations. In RF installations in the past, if I had multiple remotes on the same RF receiver, the AMX remotes all shared the same functions mapped to 1-254 (or something like that). If I'm using RTI, is there a way to tap into the remaining 3700+ channel codes so that I can have 2-3 remotes on the same receiver with distinct numbers? e.g. 1-254 (Living Room TV/Audio), 301-554 (Bedroom TV/Audio)

    I've heard that RTI supplies the RF codes but I suspect that they only covered 1-254 that can be learned from a MIO. Can I use the hex edit functions in RTI to go beyond that range?
    I don't believe so. The devices that are receiving the commands from the RTI (the IR receiver, or the RF receiver) are Axcess devices - thus 254 is all you'll get.
  • mpullinmpullin Posts: 949
    No, we have used RTI RF installations as well and I do not believe that is possible. You can only do 1-255.

    What I do, if I need more channels, is I divide my commands into 2 halves. Think of a number from 1-255 as a string of 8 bits. I have developed a "protocol" where the first 2 bits signify which remote is sending this command (can be 00 through 11, max. 4 remotes in a system), the next bit signifies which half of the message it is (0 = command, 1 = parameter), and the next 5 bits represent the contents of the message.

    Each button press on the RTI sends two codes, a command (3rd bit is false) and a parameter (3rd bit is true).
    The program has an event block CHANNEL_EVENT[dvRF,0] and stores everything in an array, executing a command for a remote whenever there is a complete command present.

    For instance:
    00 0 00010 = remote number 1, command = 2
    00 1 00001 = remote number 1, parameter = 1 (execute command 2 with parameter 1, for instance say command 2 is for sources, and 1 means turn on source 1)

    So the RTI macro would send two AMX trigger codes: 002 and 033.

    I have four versions of the RTI interface in my RTI file, named Remote00, Remote01, Remote10, and Remote11. They are all the same except that all the AMX trigger codes are bumped up 64 from the previous remote.

    It sounds ridiculously complicated, and it can be a little slower than people expect a remote to be, but it works.
  • ericmedleyericmedley Posts: 4,177
    mkipe wrote: »
    I'm interested in using RTI in some of our installations. In RF installations in the past, if I had multiple remotes on the same RF receiver, the AMX remotes all shared the same functions mapped to 1-254 (or something like that). If I'm using RTI, is there a way to tap into the remaining 3700+ channel codes so that I can have 2-3 remotes on the same receiver with distinct numbers? e.g. 1-254 (Living Room TV/Audio), 301-554 (Bedroom TV/Audio)

    I've heard that RTI supplies the RF codes but I suspect that they only covered 1-254 that can be learned from a MIO. Can I use the hex edit functions in RTI to go beyond that range?


    It's a limitation of the reciever box. The box is limited to 254 channels. The RTI file you'd be uploading is AMX RF codes. You could in theory get two boxes. One at 418mhz and the other at 433mhz. That way you'd have at least two sets of 254 channels.
  • TonyAngeloTonyAngelo Posts: 315
    Or...

    You can add an RP6 and have it send strings to a serial port on the NI. Then you can do what ever you want.

    This method is courtesy of: the8thst.
    http://integrationpros.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3824&page=2&highlight=rti+amx
  • mpullinmpullin Posts: 949
    TonyAngelo wrote: »
    You can add an RP6 and have it send strings to a serial port on the NI. Then you can do what ever you want.
    That sounds a helluva lot simpler than what I've been doing.
  • GregGreg Posts: 13
    Does an RTI remote work with an AXR-RF or are you going from its RF basestation to something like a MIO-IRRX or AXR-IRS+? Most of those kinds of remotes are 418Mhz, but I've been hit or miss getting the brands we carry to talk directly to the AXR-RF.
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    Greg wrote: »
    Does an RTI remote work with an AXR-RF or are you going from its RF basestation to something like a MIO-IRRX or AXR-IRS+? Most of those kinds of remotes are 418Mhz, but I've been hit or miss getting the brands we carry to talk directly to the AXR-RF.
    It can talk directly to the AXR-RF, though only the 433Mhz codes are available I believe.
  • TonyAngeloTonyAngelo Posts: 315
    mpullin wrote: »
    That sounds a helluva lot simpler than what I've been doing.

    I think it's the best method of integrating RTI.

    Not only does it give you more then 254 channels, the RTI RF receivers are less then half the price of the AMX RF gateways.
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    But don't you start burning 232 ports pretty quick that way?
  • TonyAngeloTonyAngelo Posts: 315
    It only uses one 232 port. The RP6 can handle all of the incoming RTI traffic, from however many devices you have. You just program all the buttons on the RTI remotes to send the corresponding strings to the NI.

    The method that the8thst uses just emulates pushes from an AMX panel with DO_PUSH commands, but you can set it up however you want. The RTI can send any kind of string.
  • ColzieColzie Posts: 470
    At home I have a Universal Remote MX-950 using AMX codes talking to an AXR-RF. It is very reliable but the commands are slow to trigger. If I push a button on the remote, the receive light on the RF box immediately illuminates, but (if I monitor button presses in Netlinx Studio) the button press isn't registered with the processor for 1/2 second or so. This isn't a big deal for source selection, but for things like controlling transport commands on a DVR it becomes quite annoying. I have tried changing the jumper inside the RF box (it supposedly changes how many times it needs to see a command before reporting it as a valid command) and also a different RF box altogether.

    As far as being limited by 255 channels, I don't find this a problem. I've reserved a handful of channels for things like source selection. Based on what source is selected I can reuse channels across devices.
  • sridleysridley Posts: 21
    RF Repeater

    One limitation we have found is the range of the RF signal between the RTI and the AMX-RF. Putting in 2 AMX-RF's would give a double push if you were using the remote within range of two devices. Has anybody ever come across an RF Booster which would work with the AMX-RF?
  • Jimweir192Jimweir192 Posts: 502
    You can successfully boost the range of the AXR-RF - but it involves some heavy duty modifications, somewhere I might still have the instructions... but basically you need to remove the original antenna and replace this with a length of 4-6mm2 copper conductor tuned to half wave of the freq your using (418 /433MHz) i.e. 33cm for 433MHz
    Connect the wire directly onto the PCB, removing the original coax. The wire can then poke out of the original antenna hole.

    On the Antenna Screen side you'll want to add a nice big ground plane using some steel plate, if your clever this can be cut down to fit inside the case of the AXR-RF. Connect this to the PCB Screen using an appropriate sized conductor.

    Obviously this will invalidate your warranty, but it will give you massive Rx improvements.

    Cheers & HTH
  • sridleysridley Posts: 21
    If you did have any full instrictions that would be fantastic, before I dismantle an AMX-RF!
  • iainshawiainshaw Posts: 133
    RTI - Netlinx comms

    I can't find the external forum thread outlining the RTI RP6 solution quoted above. Probably because I've not yet scanned my driving license, proved my id and got access to the Pro area. I'll do all that but in the meantime can anyone help. I've got an RTI remote, RTI RP6 processor and a NI3100 communicating. The RP6 is supposedly sending out defined 232 strings but all I see at the NI-3100 end is a single[$00]. Can someone point me in the direction of what I might be doing wrong

    *************** more info *****************

    The RTI RP6 is connected to the NI-3100 via the RTI 232 connector cable and then a null-modem cable
    The comms settings I'm trying are 9600, N, 8, 1

    ************** Solved **********************

    The issue was the cable. Using a null modem cable doesn't work even though pins 2 & 3 have to cross over. We made up a custom cable with only pins 2, 3 and 5 connected and all is fine. This gives us everything we need to send an unlimited number of strings from an RTI processor to a Netlinx controller
Sign In or Register to comment.