Hello all, I'm new to the forum and hope some of you may be able to help me out. im installing two polk audio atrium 55's outside by the deck and am connecting them to a pioneer receiver that i have in my garage. what would be the best way to control that receiver from my deck so i can raise and lower the volume? Im also connecting a cd player to that receiver as well and wish to be able to change the tracks on it. id also like to keep this whole set up as discrete as possible and don't want to do it through any RF signaling, just IR. any help would be really appreciated.

I seriously doubt any IR repeater system would work outdoors. The sun's IR emissions are orders of magnitude greater than what a remote control can pump out, and the IR receiver would be totally desensitized.

Why don't you want RF? The Next Generation Remote Extender ( the one with the battery transmitter ) might be an inexpensive solution for you if you're not too far from the garage where your gear is.

If your budget is a bit larger, you might consider one of the URC RF remotes paired with their MRF-350 base receivers. The MRF-350 has a separate antenna / pre-amp unit which can be connected via sheilded cable to the base. This way, you could have the base near your gear, and have the antenna mounted outside your house for better RF reception.

Jonathan