Thanks to all that offered opinions. I went shopping today and the 1st
place I went was to Radio Shack that is run by the owner, here in my
small town. I told him my problems as stated previously. He offered me
a RCA remote that was sold as a replacement remote for the old Satellite
system I have. (I'd ask there a year ago and the guys wife told me they
were no longer available. ) It was preprogrammed for the dish tuner and
was easily programmed for the TV *and* the VCR (which I'd never been
able to do before). For less than $20 I got a new remote that does what
I need. If it hadn't worked, he would have taken it back. The point is,
a knowledgeable salesman whose livelihood depends on his customers is
worth a lot. Thanks again to all who helped.

Steve
41N