USBUIRT not transmitting in 10.04 [solved]

[jamo]

Afaict, my new USBUIRT is not transmitting. The receiving part is working nicely but when I do a "test code" in webadmin from a device that is a child of the "USBUIRT embedded transmitter" nothing happens (apart from the ok box popping up on the screen). I'm carefully watching the unit with a digital camera to check for any IR flashes but there's not a thing.

Any ideas? Anyone else got a USBUIRT working nicely in 10.04... any tricks I should know about?

thanks
James

[Marie.O]

Most of the time when the USB UIRT is not working as expected it has to do with the fact, that web admin and the user do not have the same room in their mind.

Make sure the AV device and the USB UIRT device are in the same room.

[jamo]

Thanks, possy, I'll double check the webadmin setup and ensure any and all devices are located in the same room! However, since the receiving part is working... would that not make it unlikely that this is the issue? As I understand it the transmitter is a child of the receiver so they will probably be in the same room? Will check this evening, thanks.

[jamo]

Nope.. all in the same room - see device tree below.

I see it says "registered: No" whereas the parent device has "registered: Yes" Does this mean anything to anyone?

[tschak909]

Only devices that have Implements DCE checked (and are thus typically parent devices providing an interface, or direct control to a device), have Registered, set to Yes...child devices which are dummies (generic children, only meant to hold device data), say Registered: No.

-Thom

[jamo]

Haven't had a chance to look into this further yet, still fiddling with the remote mapping for the receiver, but I wanted to ask if anyone has one (USBUIRT) working as a transmitter in 10.04? If so, when you transmit a code (say in "Test" mode when you are entering codes and you press the test button), can you see a flash from the unit? I've tried using my mobile phone camera to watch the unit and I don't see anything so I'm presuming it isn't happening.

I see there was a bug in 07.10 and there are a few references in the wiki to transmission problems and I haven't tried any of those fixes, assuming they are no longer an issue in 10.04?

Anyone care to comment?

[jamo]

I know the embedded transmitter (usb uirt embedded transmitter) is a child device, sort of a dummy device as referred to by Tshak, but should it still have a log file? Only the parent has a log file in my case (the parent being the receiver, which is working).

I do get the "some devices failed to start" message when I start up my MD. How do I track down which devices? Is it possible that the embedded transmitter is the one failing? Is it supposed to start (being a dummy/child device and all)?

[phenigma]

Haven't had a chance to look into this further yet, still fiddling with the remote mapping for the receiver, but I wanted to ask if anyone has one (USBUIRT) working as a transmitter in 10.04? If so, when you transmit a code (say in "Test" mode when you are entering codes and you press the test button), can you see a flash from the unit? I've tried using my mobile phone camera to watch the unit and I don't see anything so I'm presuming it isn't happening.

The USBUIRT will flashes the same red led when it emits an IR code that it flashes when it reads an IR code.  You will see it.

I see there was a bug in 07.10 and there are a few references in the wiki to transmission problems and I haven't tried any of those fixes, assuming they are no longer an issue in 10.04?

Anyone care to comment?

You should not need any fixes from 0710.  I have been using 2 USBUIRTs on 1004, for a couple of years now, and have never had a problem with them.

As possy says, not emitting a code is usually due to room differences between the device and the UIRT.

J.

[phenigma]

I know the embedded transmitter (usb uirt embedded transmitter) is a child device, sort of a dummy device as referred to by Tshak, but should it still have a log file? Only the parent has a log file in my case (the parent being the receiver, which is working).

I do get the "some devices failed to start" message when I start up my MD. How do I track down which devices? Is it possible that the embedded transmitter is the one failing? Is it supposed to start (being a dummy/child device and all)?

Hmm, try the log for the Orbiter?

J.

[jamo]

Thanks for the reply, phenigma. I can at least confirm, then, that the UIRT is not transmitting (no red LED flashing on test code).

Will scour the logs on the MD. From memory, though, I believe there is no log for the "child" device- embedded transmitter at all. If you get a moment, would be handy if you could let me know if your MD with UIRT connected has a log for the child device... ie whether I should expect one.

I actually re-installed (ie deleted devices and then re-plugged them in) the UIRT over the weekend but that didn't help anything. Regarding the room association, I posted a screenshot higher up on the log that shows, as I interpret it, that the UIRT is assigned to the correct room.

Will tinker more this evening.

[phenigma]

No log for the child.  I expect that entries from the child would make it into the UIRT's log, but I don't know.

J.

[jamo]

Thanks for the reply, but no need! It's started working. Maybe the "reinstall" worked after all.

I checked last night and when I did the "test code" the visible LED flashed. Not only that, but I was even able to learn pronto codes from my TV remote. Yahoo!!

Thanks for all the help. I'll mark as resolved and also put one or two things in the wiki about the UIRT that would have clarified for me.

Regarding the logs - I had a close look at the logs before I realised things were working and it seems quite clear that the child device (transmitter) should not and does not - as you confirmed, have its own log. There are references in (I think) the parent device XX_USBUIRT.log log when the system starts up that shows the child device "starting" along with any children it has - AV equip controlled by it. Each one remarks that there are no event handlers but that appears to be OK for these types of devices.

Great stuff.

One last practical question - the UIRT has a receiver and apparently 2 transmitters on the same physical side of the device. This has always struck me as odd because the receiver needs to receive codes from the remote in my hand -> therefore needs to be facing me... whereas the transmitter needs to send codes to my AV devices.. so it needs to face 180 deg away from the reciever? What's the point of it sending IR back at me? How do you handle that?

[Marie.O]

Most people put a little extension IR diode onto the USB UIRT.

[jamo]

Most people put a little extension IR diode onto the USB UIRT.

I plan to do that but it seems a bit like having to cut your own hole in a toilet seat 

[jamo]

Ohhhh, I spoke too soon.

It is transmitting but... it's rare. Currently, it does so under the following circumstance:
1. When MD has just started up
2. From the AV properties (IR commands) of the TV device screen - Test Command.
It will not do it from the "Test Command" on my media scenario.

In addition, the USBUIRT stops working after a "quick reload". It joins the ranks of "Some devices failed to correctly start..." and even the receiving part no longer works despite the littel LED desperately flashing. Arrrggghh. As you can imagine, this is pretty frustrating because I'm trying to set up commands, scenarios etc and reload/regen needs to happen quite often. Now they have to be replace with a reboot.

Questions-
My age-old question - When some devices "fails to start correctly" and you get that polite little message in the top left... how do I track down the problem? It doesn't tell me which devices... and how do I know which?

2nd question- how do I track down what is causing the USBUIRT to enter the above group of devices on quick reload?

3rd question - why does the unco-operative little begger stop performing (ie transmitting)? I thought it was even after the IR codes are "received" for the first time because shortly after I push the "right" button on my remote to get to the menu, transmit stops working. However, an odd thing happens in between - my TV switches off. It's almost as if the MD is sending the "toggle power" to the TV because I've never had conflict between my MD remote and the TV before. Maybe as soon as I start to "use" my MD it tries to power on the TV because the TV is connected to the MD? But since the TV is already on, that results in a power off? And maybe the entering of that state (scenario, whatever) is correlated to the transmit stopping.

Sorry, all very confusing at this moment.