Jim Yanik wrote:
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in
:

This type of remote is meant to be thrown away when it
fails anyway, like just about everything else these days.
We're not talking about universal remotes.




yes,factory remotes often have instrument-specific functions that a
universal remote will not activate;I have a Pioneer PD-M70 CD player where
the remote died,and a universal remote does -some- things,but not many
commonly used functions.

and a universal remote will not operate my new Magnavox OTA DTV converter.

I've posted this before....

Buy a Palm unit. There are several programs out there which convert the
unit to a universal, learning remote. Libraries are posted online of
codes for various devices. There are forums where you can request codes
for esoteric gear. People who have that gear can teach their Palm
remote and post the results for those hard to find functions.

A Palm M130 goes for maybe $15 on eBay. It has a sufficient IR range to
function as a useful remote control. Either buy a new battery (if
needed) for a few bucks, or leave it in a charging cradle close to where
you use it. Even an old Palm III X, that you might have in a drawer
somewhere, can be a viable device remote with an IR extender added.

Better yet, you can control your devices with any Palm-enabled smart
phone....

http://www.pacificneotek.com/omnisw.htm
http://www.novii.tv/palm/
http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA005810/remocon/premocce.htm

jak