Problems with Harmony 890 RF

Jonathanengr-


First thing I wanted to tell you is that you are NOT crazy! I say this because I too am going through the same exact thing right now with my remote as you are with yours. I have had the Harmony 890 (normal version, not the pro version) since May 2007. The remote worked flawlessly since May to about November 2007. At that point things went bad, really bad. My remote stopped functioning with the RF Extender except when I was within a very short area (like 1-2 feet).


I tried everything as well. I upgraded the firmware, redid commands, removed the extender to an interference free area and still it would not work, I also tried re-establishing the Z-Wave pairing.


All of these solutions did not seem to fix a thing. I then bought a new one and had the same issues. I then sent that one back and got a 3rd one sent out to me, which worked fine for the first few days then, right back to only working in a 1-2 foot radius from the unit.


Here is what I am running near the Remote & Extender:

Panasonic 50" Plasma

Xbox 360 Elite

DirecTV HR100-S

Microsoft Media Center PC

Harmon Kardon AVR75 Receiver

Linksys WRT54G Router


I also thought about any interference from lighting and do have 6 compact flourescent flood lights and 6 incandescent lights that are in the area. Turning the lights off though seems to make no difference with the extender.


Did I get 3 bad remotes? Not likely, I think there is an issue either with the software / firmware or there is some interference issue that I have not thought of.


So you are not crazy! please post all equipment you have in the area.


Glad to hear I was not the only one either!

-Magik



Quote:
Originally Posted by Magik Empire /forum/post/12957778


It's my 3rd RF extender in a row, so it seems unlikely, but as flaky as Logitech products have been for me its possible. I have a support request in with Logitech for what to do next.

Click to expand...

Doh. We're addressing the problem presented by the OP. Neither he nor you mentioned the possibility that his RF Wireless Extender might be bad. And you've gone through three of them?

I know this thread is very old, but I wanted to chime in that I am seeing the exact type of IR interference problem with my Harmony 880 and some IR sender throughout my ohuse.


Most of the time they worked flawlessly. Sometimes, it would go intermittent for 30-60 minutes, but mostly worked fine.


Well, last week, it got intermittent, and didn't come back, 1 out of 20 commands gets through. The wierd thing is the commands for the remote cable box work 95%+. The Tivos, sat receivers, HTPC work 5% or less.


So, I am assuming the strength of the IR being 'reconstituted' went lower.


So my question. Is there an amplitude level on IR? Or is it on or off? I mean, if a repeater gets a 50% signal, does it then send out a 50% signal?


See where I am going with this?



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fatso /forum/post/17356634


Mine just did the exact same thing. I have an 890 for our living room because of the RF capabilities and the "activities" feature (for the wife and kids). Bought one from logitech - it arrived DOA, with the IR not working. Got a replacement - it worked perfectly for about 10 months. Last week it just stopped. The RF no longer works at all. I won't be buying another.

Click to expand...

I've just bought another 890 as insurance for when my existing one will pack it in. I need the 890 for its ability to zone the IR LEDs which the 900 apparently cannot do.


So, reading about this wierd phenomena of reduction in range scares me a bit.


I know about RF interference - it's related to my my job - I just wonder when you guys last did an update on your Remotes? I haven't done one for the last 3 months and everything is still operating normally. Would like to hear if anyone can tie their problem down to a PC Software and or Remote Firmware update?


As some of you have replaced both the Remote and Extender and have done so at least 6 months ago, it kinda leaves RF interference as the major suspect. The interfering source needn't be just in your house - it can come from a few houses down if it's strong enough. The symptom of severe loss of range remind me of not being able to get into your car because of a nearby building site that uses RF transmitters to communicate with its fleet. There have been times when I've had to search around the windscreen of my car with my key to find a spot where it would open the car.

Hi,


I posted ths on the Harmony forum two days ago. Here is my problem:




I have my audio rack behind a closet door so verything is confgured to work with the 890 in RF mode and the devices receiving commands via the IR extender. Everything was working fine but I upgraded my pre-amp/processor (from a Rotel RSP-1072 to a Rotel RSP-1570) The new device actually uses almost identical IR codes as the old device, except now it doesn't seem to respond to the IR extender unless I am standing with the remote in a specific location- close to the blaster location. BUT if I keep the remote in the exact spot where it works, and move my body to the side or in a different position, it won't work!?!?) All devices work perfectly- EXCEPT this one component! Arrrrrgh!!!!




I have spent several days reading the forum and postings to try to figure out what is going on. I have done the following to try and fix / trouble-shoot, some many many times:

• reset the extender, reloaded firmware, updated remotes
• used IR codes from device database,
• used learned codes from device remote
• confirmed the LEDs on the extender (receiive & send) light when I use remote
• remote will operate device properly in direct IR mode
• I have no other new RF devices in my house I know of which could be causing interference (and if there was one in the neighbouhood how would I know, and what could I do about it??)
• adjusted different timings
• adjusted different "sensitivity" settings 0 - 5 to "5" to try and address device occasionally responding

If it is RF interference, why is just one componen not getting commands reliably? I too have another Harmony remote and extender that I was going to use for my bedroom system. I have swapped out the new extender for the old one and no change- same problem. I am charging up the remote battery and will try a totally new remote/extender set-up, but I am not optomistic.


If the RF interference is coming from down the street, what are you supposed to do? How can you possibly tell!??

It doesn't sound like you're suffering from RF interference as everything works, at a good distance, like it did before, for all your equipment except for your new pre-amp. Is that right?


That leaves very little left to blame the 890 for. Just a long, very long shot here. At one time I had a Snazio Media Player that just like your new pre-amp, would not work properly and consistently in my system - everything else would. Turned out, after many weeks of frustrating experimentation, which you know all about now , that I was flooding the IR receiver on the Snazio. I had to move the IR eye AWAY from the proper spot just in front off the IR receiver.


As a test, if you completely remove the IR eye from the pre-amp, does it then work? If you leave the blaster ON in the RF module, it's surprising how well most equipment will still work, even though there is no direct line of sight to the blaster!!.


This long shot doesn't completely address all of the symptoms you list, but atm it's all I can think off to do. Let me know how you get on.