OK... I have my gear installed in a seperate room from the TV and sitting area. There is no direct line of site. I was going to buy the harmony 1100 ($599) and the rf extender ($129) (Yes...thats expensive, but I live in Canada...everything cost more here). I am no longer keen on the idea of a touch screen being the majority of the my control, i want a remote style device. So I did some research and discovered that the 890 remote is classic shaped remote and is alot cheaper. From what I have read... it also comes with the RF extender for free. I am unable to buy this remote at my local stores, I guess it is an older model no longer carried. So I need your guys help to answer some questions for me before I purchase this remote online and find out it wont work for my application. Here are my questions...

Does the 890 remote come with the wireless extender or not???

Will that wireless extender be able to allow me to control my gear in a seperate room with out line of site to the extender?

Will I have to buy any other gadgets to use this in my application or is the wireless extender good enough?

Since the 890 is an older remote...will it work with gear that is brand new? (is it future compatible?)

Are there any known problems with the 890?

Can the 890 control my gear in a seperate room via the extender...AND control the TV in front of me ? or does it have to sync strictly to the extender?

Where do you suggest I buy an 890?

Any reason to not buy a used 890?

Thanks guys.

AND ONE MORE QUESTION

I am set on getting a lgoitech remote... Are there any other logitech remotes that handle my remote located application other then the 890,1000,1100 ???

OK... I have my gear installed in a seperate room from the TV and sitting area. There is ....
The 890 can control a TV in front of you by IR while simultaneously sending RF to the next room to allow IR control of that gear via IR.

The 890 does come with an FR Wireless Extender - the 890 PRO does not. (The PRO version can control more than one wireless RF extenders ans is colored black vs the 890 being silver.)

Some have complained about the charging stand's contacts not making adequate contact with the remote's battery charging contacts. I have an 890 PRO and do see this occur every six months or so - the solution has been to swipe a piece of emery cloth over the contacts and the "problem" goes away for six more months.

Some have complained about the buttons being tiny and not clearly marked. It took me a day to get used to the layout and I personally don't share this complaint.

As far as being able to control devices that become available or being "future proof", that should not be a problem as long as the devices are controlled by IR.

Based on what you said, no you will not need to buy any other devices to accomplish what you wish.

Also, if you wish to simultaneously be able to control room lighting, the 890 and the 890 PRO allow RF control of Z-wave devices.

I am not sure where to get the best deal on these remotes... I caught a sale at crutchfield.com a few years ago. I'm a big amazon.com fan also.

Maybe someone else can suggest a source?

Best deal I've seen was a refurb 890 for $100 on amazon a few months ago. May want to check ebay. Just make sure the extender is included.

Realize you can go down a notch (mono screen instead of color, and no fav's) and get a 600 series and next gen rf extender pretty cheap. A refurb 659 or 670 is less than $50 at tigerdirect. And the next gen is around $40 most places. Compare HERE (http://www.harmony-remote-forum.de/harmony_compare.php?lang=en).

FWIW, I'm very happy with my refurb 500 series plus next gen, especially since it cost me $65 for the whole package.

I was under the impression that the 890,1000,1100 are the only remotes that have the wireless technology to talk to the rf extender?

I was under the impression that the 890,1000,1100 are the only remotes that have the wireless technology to talk to the rf extender?To the logitech extender, yes. But next gen (http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generation-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000C1Z0HA) works with any remote that uses AA or AAA batteries. Logitech extender has the advantage of addressable blasters. The only time you need something like that is if you have several identical devices.