JP1 Remotes

Hi all,

I'm a newbie, so be gentle . I've done plenty of reading on these forums, and feel I've educated myself enough to take on the wonderful world of JP1.

I recently purchased a JP1.2 cable from diygadget and have downloaded the appropriate software for use with this cable. From what I understand, the JP1.2 cable will work fine with both JP1.2 and 1.3 remotes. I have a few Atlas 5 PVR with day remotes. 1 of them is Jp1.2, and 2 of them are JP1.3. When I plug the JP1.2 remote in, and click "download from remote", it works fine. With the JP1.3 remote, however, I get "JP12 read failed, -1". When I go to check interface, it says "Remote Interface check succeeded!".

I have all of the Rdf files from the file section, and feel as though I've covered all my bases. Is there something I'm missing? I could always use the JP1.2 remote, however I'd prefer the new 1.3 remote as the numbers are worn off the 1.2 remote.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

There has been issues with the JP1.3 remotes and interfaces that have pin 5 connected. I haven't got time to search for you, but searching for "pin 5" should yield some answers.

The JP1.3 interface has to have "Pin 5" removed from the remote or the cable for the interfaces to work properly. This is due to historical support for the older JP1.1 interface.


The easiest thing to do is to open the remote, cut off pin 5 from the header and put it back together. Alternatively you can modify the cable

thanks for the responses guys. I thought that the pin 5 issue was related to the jp1.x cables which were supposed to work for jp1.1 and jp1.2 (but not JP1.3)? Either way, I just want to make sure we're talking about the same cable here. I was under the impression that the cable i had purchased was compatible with jp1.2 and jp1.3 without any modification. The cable I ordered was "JP1.2 Serial Cable". I just want to make sure that pin 5 is in fact the issue before i start cutting pins hehe.

Thanks

I think you have it right, baggio. The Pin 5 issue has only affected use of JP1.3 remotes with JP1.X cables, and had not previously been associated with JP1.2-only cables, so I'm not sure Pin 5 is the issue. Of course, neither do I have an alternative theory.

There has been some recent posting about an Atlas-specific JP1.3 problem with Tommy Tyler's newest USB JP1.2/1.3 interface, but DIY Gadget doesn't sell that interface AFAIK. What interface are you using?

It's a serial interface... If that's what you're asking . In IR i have it set as "JP1.x (Serial or serial-usb)"

Bend Pin 5 on the remote to make it work.

BRiT wrote:Bend Pin 5 on the remote to make it work.

I hate to sound contrary, especially contradicting acknowledged experts Mark Pearson and unclemiltie, but unless DIY Gadget is incorrectly describing the cable (which is certainly possible), I repeat my earlier comment that it SHOULD not be a pin 5 issue.

DIY Gadget's website wrote:This is the dedicated JP1.2 cable (not the JP1.x design with a few component removed). These cables are made by professionals, all the components are soldered on a tiny PCB inside the DB9 shell. Each cable is fully tested before the we ship it.

Now it is still of course possible that the cable YOU got from DIYGadget is NOT a dedicated JP1.2 cable and IS the JP1.x cable in which case cutting Pin 5 will/should fix your problem, but the information you have provided does NOT suggest that you bought a JP1.x cable (unless, of course the symptom is proof that your cable is wrong one - which nobody has actually stated to this point)

I'm just hesitant to suggest mutilating your remote unless you are ABSOLUTELY certain that it will solve your problem. Before doing something irreversible to your remote, it might be less permanent to open up the interface and check to see what components are present and figuring out whether the cable is indeed a JP1.x variant.

I know, but it takes all of 5 seconds to bend the pin and try it again. Bending the pin is reversible. It's not mutilating the remote at all. If it doesn't work, nothing lost, and nothing broken any further. Just bend the pin back.

I've bent and unbent pin 5 on my first remote multiple times when troubleshooting the setups with no ill consequences.

ok then

just an update: since i have a few JP1.3 remotes, and I only intend on programming one of them, i figured I'd bite the bullet and bend pin 5 on one of them. Sure enough, it works. Looks like diygadget sent me the wrong cable (I'll have to take that up with them since I dont feel like mutilating my remotes).

As for BRiT suggesting one can bend/unbend the same pin repeatedly, i've bent pin 5 once, and it already looks very brittle. I dont plan on unbending it, and I definitely wouldnt recommend this method for testing your cable out. I was fortunate enough to have a spare jp1.3 remote I wasnt scared to mess with .

Thanks for the help guys!

Although I agree with the general principle of not mutilating remotes, the way I understand it, you willl NEVER EVER have cause to require pin 5 for ANY purpose, so even breaking it ought not be THAT big a deal. I just personally prefer not to do it if I don't HAVE to.

I agree that breaking the pin on a JP1.3 is no big deal although I'd like to raise another issue to put a stick in the spokes, concerning the Atlas remote. Some Atlas remotes are labeled improperly and there may be other models mislabled too. For instance, I'm looking at an Atlas 1047C "marked" JP1 but it does not work with the JP1 cables. Troubleshooting in another thread turned up that it is probably a JP1.1. So the labeling can't always be trusted as reason to break the pin.

Actually, insofar as labelling goes, if I understand correctly, the only instances of incorrect connector labelling has been that some JP1.1 and one JP1.2 (Atlas URC 1055) remotes are labelled JP1. I have never heard of an error in the other direction, nor with a JP1.3 connector being mislabelled at all.