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#1
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
Hi... I have a SONY VCR which is about 10 years old and lately, from
time to time it doesn't respond to the remote controls all the time. I would say abot 50-50. I am talking about either the remote that comes with it or the two universals I have. The last couple of days, it won't respond to any remotes period. I've tried "reprogramming", fresh batteries etc... to no avail. What usually causes this. Do the "sensors" on the VCR go bad? I've tried cleaning it really well and even had the unit unplugged for awhile today and it still won't work with the remotes. Any suggestions? Otherwise, I'll just get another one. They are ceratainly much cheaper than this one which cost me about $200. Thanks in advance Melissa |
#2
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
The sensor is a photodiode, and should last "indefinitely". It appears the
diode is failing, and that's the likely source of your problem. If you have a technically competent friend, you might ask him to open it up and have a look. Touching up the solder joints might be a good idea, but I doubt that's the problem. You never know, of course. |
#3
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
Another possibiliyt is that something else is generating
interference. Maybe a different remote control thaty is stuck ON or some other infrared light source. |
#4
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
Another possibility is interference, possibly from
an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. |
#5
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:42 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote: Another possibility is interference, possibly from an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? Not my vcr, but my digital to analog converter goes "on" once every 2 or 4 weeks, but it's not really on. The light on the box is on, but no televiion is coming out of the wire. And when I use the remote for it to try to turn it off, it doesn't go off. I have to unplug it from the wall, and then plug it in again, and still the light is on, but it seems 5 or 10 seconds after that the light goes off. Then I can turn it on with the remote, and off again. (There is no switch on the box itself.) So it seems to have more problems than just turning on for no apparent reason, but do you think the CFL or two in ceiling fixture could be doing this? I"m not trying to hijack the thread. I think these are related. |
#6
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
In article ,
mm wrote: Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? They're rather notorious for creating IR interference which can block IR remotes. If the CFL's internal switching duty cycle happens to come close, in frequency, to the IR pulse frequency used by your IR remote control, you've got a real problem (desense and false triggering are the usual symptoms). The effect is often brand- and model-specific, for both the CFL and the equipment being interfered with. Many (most) combinations get along just fine, but some combinations will give you massive headaches. -- Dave Platt AE6EO Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |
#7
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
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#8
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
mm wrote:
On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:42 -0800, "William Sommerwerck" wrote: Another possibility is interference, possibly from an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? Not my vcr, but my digital to analog converter goes "on" once every 2 or 4 weeks, but it's not really on. The light on the box is on, but no televiion is coming out of the wire. And when I use the remote for it to try to turn it off, it doesn't go off. Does it respond to any of the buttons on the unit itself?? (i.e., is the processor responding to everything *except* the remote -- see below) I have to unplug it from the wall, and then plug it in again, and still the light is on, but it seems 5 or 10 seconds after that the light goes off. Then I can turn it on with the remote, and off again. (There is no switch on the box itself.) Most of the DTV converters I have seen are "90 day wonders". I suspect yours is "crashing" and cycling power is essentially reseting it. Peek inside. They typically run very hot. If you are the type that leaves it on for extended periods (turning off the TV but not the converter), you will likely find toasted caps. So it seems to have more problems than just turning on for no apparent reason, but do you think the CFL or two in ceiling fixture could be doing this? I"m not trying to hijack the thread. I think these are related. |
#9
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
Thanks for the replies... The thing is, this problem is somewhat
"intermittent". For about a half-hour last night, the all three remotes worked. Then... they didn't once again. I do have some CFL, but nothing new. I do have some other electronic devices in my apartment, including a laptop and a desktop PC... cell phones etc... But certainly nothing new. All other devices that have remotes are working perfectly. This one VCR is the "black sheep" so to speak. Thanks again Melissa |
#10
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
Melissa Davidson wrote:
I do have some CFL, but nothing new. I do have some other electronic devices in my apartment, including a laptop and a desktop PC... cell phones etc... But certainly nothing new. All other devices that have remotes are working perfectly. This one VCR is the "black sheep" so to speak. If it starts doing things on its own, try covering the sensor with a piece of aluminum foil. If it stops then it's an IR noise problem. We also have occasional problems with noise coming down the power line and upsetting things. If that happens, get a power line FILTER (not a cheap surge supressor). You could also try the foil over the sensor trick with a pinhole in the center. Hold the remote up to the pinhole and see what happens. Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to misquote it. |
#11
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:07:51 -0700, D Yuniskis
wrote: mm wrote: On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:42 -0800, "William Sommerwerck" wrote: Another possibility is interference, possibly from an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? Not my vcr, but my digital to analog converter goes "on" once every 2 or 4 weeks, but it's not really on. The light on the box is on, but no televiion is coming out of the wire. And when I use the remote for it to try to turn it off, it doesn't go off. Thanks for replying. Does it respond to any of the buttons on the unit itself?? There are no buttons on the unit itself. (It's undercover. MI-5.) (i.e., is the processor responding to everything *except* the remote -- see below) I have to unplug it from the wall, and then plug it in again, and still the light is on, but it seems 5 or 10 seconds after that the light goes off. Then I can turn it on with the remote, and off again. (There is no switch on the box itself.) Most of the DTV converters I have seen are "90 day wonders". I suspect yours is "crashing" and cycling power is essentially reseting it. Peek inside. They typically run very hot. If you are the type that leaves it on for extended periods (turning off the TV but not the converter), you will likely find toasted caps. No, I don't leave it on. But other than this problem, which may have started when I put a new bulb in the ceiling fixture, CFL for the first time, other than this problem, it still works fine. I think it probably is the CFL. Next time a bulb burns out, I'll change brands, or put the CFL on the far side of the fixture, or remove it, or all three. So it seems to have more problems than just turning on for no apparent reason, but do you think the CFL or two in ceiling fixture could be doing this? I"m not trying to hijack the thread. I think these are related. Well, they would have been related, except Melissa says there are no new fluroescents in that room. And come to think of it, her remote should work anyhow. Melissa, what do you do between the time it doesnt' work and the next time it does work? Just wait? Unplug it? ??? Some people are getting rid of their VCRs now, so yardsales and freecycle are possibitlies. Be sure to get the remote, because all but the cheapest ones have buttons that don't get picked up by universal remotes, as I guess you already know. Even the cheap one I"m using now requires me to use the FF and RW buttons for right and left on the menu. Nothing on my Maryland Terrapin remote works for those two buttons. I paid $500 for my first one in 1984 and it was excellent until 2002 or so, when the head motor started to wobble or something. I thought I'd be able to get another expensive one for 300 since prices had come down, but none that were for sale, even at the hotshot stereo stores had nearly the features that mine did. They found the most popular features, like Slow Speed, and put them in even the cheap ones, and then made only cheap ones. Mine had more good features than I can remember but four of them were that all the buttons on the remote were also on the VCR itself, the VCR always displayed the time, and one could see it on-screen also with the remote, it had separate buttons, both on the VCR and on the remote for setting *and* erasing index points with one press of the button. And best of all, it calculated, hours before the tape ended**, accurately and precisely, how much time was left on the tape, so I knew if there was space to record something. It had four forward speeds and four reverse. And of course after playing one recording, it went straight to the next one, unlike the DVD players (although now that I have remote control from the basement to the second floor, that's not so important.) **It must have used the rotational speed of the two spindles or the capstan and the supply spindle to figure out how much was left to play or record. It was great. And it too was always displayed. They didnt' scrimp on the size of the display. |
#12
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
mm wrote:
On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:07:51 -0700, D Yuniskis wrote: mm wrote: On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:42 -0800, "William Sommerwerck" wrote: Another possibility is interference, possibly from an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? Not my vcr, but my digital to analog converter goes "on" once every 2 or 4 weeks, but it's not really on. The light on the box is on, but no televiion is coming out of the wire. And when I use the remote for it to try to turn it off, it doesn't go off. Thanks for replying. Does it respond to any of the buttons on the unit itself?? There are no buttons on the unit itself. (It's undercover. MI-5.) Ah. : (i.e., is the processor responding to everything *except* the remote -- see below) I have to unplug it from the wall, and then plug it in again, and still the light is on, but it seems 5 or 10 seconds after that the light goes off. Then I can turn it on with the remote, and off again. (There is no switch on the box itself.) Most of the DTV converters I have seen are "90 day wonders". I suspect yours is "crashing" and cycling power is essentially reseting it. Peek inside. They typically run very hot. If you are the type that leaves it on for extended periods (turning off the TV but not the converter), you will likely find toasted caps. No, I don't leave it on. But other than this problem, which may have started when I put a new bulb in the ceiling fixture, CFL for the first time, other than this problem, it still works fine. I think it probably is the CFL. Next time a bulb burns out, I'll change brands, or put the CFL on the far side of the fixture, or remove it, or all three. My point is that there is no *valid* way for the device to get into the state that you have described. *Perhaps* you can argue that a "bug" is causing it to react incorrectly to some bizarre "Ir code" that it *thinks* it is seeing. I'm suggesting that the processor has actually "gone south" (a point I was hoping you could verify by "pressing buttons on the unit itself" while it was "crashed"). Anything that can potentially "stay on indefinitely" should be designed with some sort of automated "crash recovery" mechanism in place (watchdog timers, etc.) so that they "fix" themselves i *if* they crash. |
#13
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:55:13 -0700, D Yuniskis
wrote: mm wrote: On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:07:51 -0700, D Yuniskis wrote: mm wrote: On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:42 -0800, "William Sommerwerck" wrote: Another possibility is interference, possibly from an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? Not my vcr, but my digital to analog converter goes "on" once every 2 or 4 weeks, but it's not really on. The light on the box is on, but no televiion is coming out of the wire. And when I use the remote for it to try to turn it off, it doesn't go off. Thanks for replying. Does it respond to any of the buttons on the unit itself?? There are no buttons on the unit itself. (It's undercover. MI-5.) Ah. : (i.e., is the processor responding to everything *except* the remote -- see below) I have to unplug it from the wall, and then plug it in again, and still the light is on, but it seems 5 or 10 seconds after that the light goes off. Then I can turn it on with the remote, and off again. (There is no switch on the box itself.) Most of the DTV converters I have seen are "90 day wonders". I suspect yours is "crashing" and cycling power is essentially reseting it. Peek inside. They typically run very hot. If you are the type that leaves it on for extended periods (turning off the TV but not the converter), you will likely find toasted caps. No, I don't leave it on. But other than this problem, which may have started when I put a new bulb in the ceiling fixture, CFL for the first time, other than this problem, it still works fine. I think it probably is the CFL. Next time a bulb burns out, I'll change brands, or put the CFL on the far side of the fixture, or remove it, or all three. My point is that there is no *valid* way for the device to get into the state that you have described. *Perhaps* you I believe you on that. can argue that a "bug" is causing it to react incorrectly to some bizarre "Ir code" that it *thinks* it is seeing. I'm suggesting that the processor has actually "gone south" (a point I was hoping you could verify by "pressing buttons on the unit itself" while it was "crashed"). Anything that can potentially "stay on indefinitely" should be designed with some sort of automated "crash recovery" mechanism in place (watchdog timers, etc.) so that they "fix" themselves i *if* they crash. Yes, it should. That would be a good idea. But it's coy, and it's lazy, and feels entitled, and expects me to do for it, what it won't do for itself. I think it grew up rich and spoiled. It is labeled DISH TV. Why a satellite provider handles digital OTA conversion boxes I don't know. It cost 40 dollars in addition to one of the 40 dollar coupons that every household in the US was entitled to get, making it among the most expensive. It has a program timer with maybe 8 slots that can be set to correspond to a VCR timer, providing the desired channel at the same time the VCR records. And I think it has a better Program Guide than most other boxes (but I never use that anyhow. I use a webpage, that shows much more stuff at one time). Thanks. |
#14
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
"mm" wrote in message
... On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:55:13 -0700, D Yuniskis wrote: mm wrote: On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:07:51 -0700, D Yuniskis wrote: mm wrote: On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:42 -0800, "William Sommerwerck" wrote: Another possibility is interference, possibly from an infrared light source. Fluorescent lamps put out a lot of infrared, and I actually had one that occasionally changed channels on a Sony VCR. Make sure all fluorescent lamps are turned off. Have you added any new incandescent lamps? A bright IR source will reduce the receiver's sensitivity to the remote's commands. Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? Not my vcr, but my digital to analog converter goes "on" once every 2 or 4 weeks, but it's not really on. The light on the box is on, but no televiion is coming out of the wire. And when I use the remote for it to try to turn it off, it doesn't go off. Thanks for replying. Does it respond to any of the buttons on the unit itself?? There are no buttons on the unit itself. (It's undercover. MI-5.) Ah. : (i.e., is the processor responding to everything *except* the remote -- see below) I have to unplug it from the wall, and then plug it in again, and still the light is on, but it seems 5 or 10 seconds after that the light goes off. Then I can turn it on with the remote, and off again. (There is no switch on the box itself.) Most of the DTV converters I have seen are "90 day wonders". I suspect yours is "crashing" and cycling power is essentially reseting it. Peek inside. They typically run very hot. If you are the type that leaves it on for extended periods (turning off the TV but not the converter), you will likely find toasted caps. No, I don't leave it on. But other than this problem, which may have started when I put a new bulb in the ceiling fixture, CFL for the first time, other than this problem, it still works fine. I think it probably is the CFL. Next time a bulb burns out, I'll change brands, or put the CFL on the far side of the fixture, or remove it, or all three. My point is that there is no *valid* way for the device to get into the state that you have described. *Perhaps* you I believe you on that. can argue that a "bug" is causing it to react incorrectly to some bizarre "Ir code" that it *thinks* it is seeing. I'm suggesting that the processor has actually "gone south" (a point I was hoping you could verify by "pressing buttons on the unit itself" while it was "crashed"). Anything that can potentially "stay on indefinitely" should be designed with some sort of automated "crash recovery" mechanism in place (watchdog timers, etc.) so that they "fix" themselves i *if* they crash. Yes, it should. That would be a good idea. But it's coy, and it's lazy, and feels entitled, and expects me to do for it, what it won't do for itself. I think it grew up rich and spoiled. It is labeled DISH TV. Why a satellite provider handles digital OTA conversion boxes I don't know. It cost 40 dollars in addition to one of the 40 dollar coupons that every household in the US was entitled to get, making it among the most expensive. It has a program timer with maybe 8 slots that can be set to correspond to a VCR timer, providing the desired channel at the same time the VCR records. And I think it has a better Program Guide than most other boxes (but I never use that anyhow. I use a webpage, that shows much more stuff at one time). Thanks. Possible causes include a film from cigarette smoke, either on the sensor itself or the IR window, bad solder connections, ripple on the sensors' power supply, and of course the sensor itself could be bad. Late to this thread, excuse me if some of this already mentioned. Mark Z. |
#15
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
"Dave Platt" wrote in message ... In article , mm wrote: Hmmm. What about compact fluuorescents? They're rather notorious for creating IR interference which can block IR remotes. If the CFL's internal switching duty cycle happens to come close, in frequency, to the IR pulse frequency used by your IR remote control, you've got a real problem (desense and false triggering are the usual symptoms). The effect is often brand- and model-specific, for both the CFL and the equipment being interfered with. Many (most) combinations get along just fine, but some combinations will give you massive headaches. -- Dave Platt AE6EO Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! Yes indeedy. Just yet another reason to dislike them ... :-\ Arfa |
#16
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... The sensor is a photodiode, and should last "indefinitely". Well actually, it isn't. It's a photodiode with quite a bit of additional signal processing electronics 'glued' to it. It is typically a three-legged device, those being power, ground and output, and a highly processed and cleaned up version of the signal that is actually received from the remote, emerges from that output pin. And it is by no means uncommon for them to fail totally, intermittently, or with poor sensitivity. I replaced one in a hifi just a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. A 'scope check on the output pin showed a reduced amplitude waveform, which was just hovering for level on the threshold that the system control micro could 'see'. It appears the diode is failing, and that's the likely source of your problem. If you have a technically competent friend, you might ask him to open it up and have a look. Touching up the solder joints might be a good idea, but I doubt that's the problem. You never know, of course. It is not at all uncommon to see bad joints on them, although less so on equipment of this age, which will have been built using traditional leaded solder. Arfa |
#17
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Help.... VCR not seeing the remotes...???
On Fri, 17 Dec 2010 01:42:43 +0000, Arfa Daily wrote:
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... The sensor is a photodiode, and should last "indefinitely". Well actually, it isn't. It's a photodiode with quite a bit of additional signal processing electronics 'glued' to it. It is typically a three-legged device, those being power, ground and output, and a highly processed and cleaned up version of the signal that is actually received from the remote, emerges from that output pin. And it is by no means uncommon for them to fail totally, intermittently, or with poor sensitivity. I replaced one in a hifi just a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. A 'scope check on the output pin showed a reduced amplitude waveform, which was just hovering for level on the threshold that the system control micro could 'see'. I just replaced an IR receiver in an RCA 19" CRT set on Monday. Had a few 'gadgets' on the module certainly designed to individualize its output to the ROM. -- Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse |
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