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Using GC-IRE and RG1 as an IR receiver

Karen Parry

December 14, 2012 20:58

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Hello

I have recently purchased the GC-100-6, the GC-IRE and the GC-RG1.

The intention behind these purchases was to enable my remote control to trigger a sequence of events via a software package (CQC).

However, the software is unable to recognize the IR code being sent because - as demonstrated via the iTest utility - the GC-RG1/IRE seems to be capturing a different code each time I press the button (I have tried up to 50 times without getting a repeated code. I have also tried 3 different remotes).

I have done some searching on the web, and it seems a lot of people have this problem, with some saying they could never get the GC receiver to work, yet when changing to UIRT, it works perfectly.  According to a lot of people out there, it seems that there is a very low chance of the IRE/RG1 combo working, which is a bit upsetting to hear as the two items cost me over £130 which is an awful lot money for something that doesn't work.

I purchased all 3 units from CyberSelect.co.uk. (BTW I am happy with the GC-100-6 unit in terms of IR out).

Can anyone help me get the IRE/RG1 working, and if not, will I be able to return the items for a refund? (CyberSelect will not refund items which are not defective, and which are not untouched, ie where the packaging has been removed.)

 

Thanks

 

 

 

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9 comments

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  Josh Sherman December 17, 2012 19:59

  In order to use the IRE/RG1 combination to do what you are trying to accomplish, you will need software which is capable of looking at the captured IR data and matching it to the pattern of the preset command you program into the system. There are a few pieces of software out there that have similar functionality, but sadly it looks as though CQC is not able to do what you are trying to do. The reason why you are seeing what you are seeing is because the IRE/RG1 combination is an optical capture device, and IR capture is not a guaranteed perfect protocol. Devices that match IR codes are usually matching against an internal database, which handles these sorts of inaccuracies by finding a match with a known good code. This logic can be implemented in software, but to our knowledge is not something that is currently available for use with our products. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.

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  Karen Parry December 17, 2012 22:58

  So if I understand this correctly - you are selling a very expensive combination of devices to capture IR codes even though the capture cannot be guaranteed? If the IR capture cannot be guaranteed, why on earth are (a) you even selling these devices, (b) selling them so expensively and (c) not at least placing a warning that there is a very good chance that the device will not be able to "be used as an input device for equipment control"? The following text is the advert published for the IRE:

  The Global Caché GC-IRE IR Extender extends infrared capability by converting IR signals to digital data, which can then be read from any PC or RS232 serial port. The GC-IRE is designed for use with various IR input devices to capture IR commands that can be recorded, played back, and used to initiate actions across a network. For the first time, an IR device, such as a remote control, can be used as an input device for equipment control throughout the home.

  Sounds pretty cut and dried to me.  Buy this stuff, then you can use your remote control for anything you like. As you can see, nowhere in the text does it talk about non-perfect IR protocols or the 80% chance that it will not work. Quite the opposite in fact.  This is frankly misleading advertising.

  As I said above, I used 3 different remotes, and iTest never captured the same code twice, so how can any piece of software match it to a pattern if no pattern can be found? The items I purchased are actually not fit for purpose and I feel ripped off to the tune of £130. The internet shop where I purchased them offered to refund me if the items were 'in pristine condition including packing and packaging' which is frankly ridiculous because of course I removed them from the packaging to try them out!

  You really need to change the wording on the adverts to indicate to the purchaser that they are taking an expensive risk on iffy technology.

   

   

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  Josh Sherman December 17, 2012 23:31

  Technically, our units are not capable of doing anything without software to handle the interactions and necessary data streams. We apologize that you found this to be misleading. Please let us know if you have issues returning these to your distributor, and we can take steps to make sure that things are resolved to your satisfaction.

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  Mark Stega October 12, 2013 13:03

  I just found this thread while starting to research why the CQC GC-IRE interface is dysfunctional. I've repeated the findings of Karen using iLearn, i.e., after some 25 attempts to read a single (same) button press I never received the same string twice. I know that there must be some transformation possible because a USB-UIRT reliably spits out the same string for a command every time (it is hardware processing the received command and does NOT have an internal library of commands). And presumably every IR receiver in a CE device also does some sort of processing to recognize these commands in spite of the variability.

  If we had an algorithm to process the raw received data we could implement proper support of the GC-IRE in CQC, As it stands now we have had to remove support. Does GC have knowledge of this process?

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  Caleb Clapp May 06, 2014 16:30

  Has there been a resolution to this discussion, or should we plan that the CG-IRE cannot effectively be used to Home Automation / AV Control?

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  Mark Stega May 06, 2014 17:15

  Yes, this was resolved; CQC now processes the received IR and creates a unique hash for each command. So for CQC it is resolved. For general use it would be up to each manufacturer of HA software to implement their own version of the logical processing of the received IR..

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  Euan Murray May 25, 2014 21:32

  I've just stumbled on this thread also as I'm trying to use the GC-IRE as an IR input to an AMX Netlinx system since no AMX solution exists. I'm using it with a Keene IR Receiver (UK made) via a little 5v-12v driving circuit due to the fact they work on different voltages, and I'm seeing exactly what is described above. I was considering dropping £50 on the GC-RG1 until I read this.

  I'm a bit confused by this statement - "The reason why you are seeing what you are seeing is because the IRE/RG1 combination is an optical capture device, and IR capture is not a guaranteed perfect protocol". I can imagine getting the odd weird result here and there but I can press a button on a remote and go well over 50 times without getting a single repeated string. 

  I've used the USB-UIRT in the past along with other IR learning units from Procon, Extron, etc and they all manage to capture the same data pretty reliably, is there something I'm missing here?

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  Euan Murray May 26, 2014 12:13

  After some Googling I've realised how deep the rabbit hole of IR decoding really goes. 

  For reference: https://learn.adafruit.com/ir-sensor/reading-ir-commands

   

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  Mark Stega October 02, 2014 21:53

  I don't know why, but I was just (more than 4 months later) notified of Euan's comments in this thread.

  Euan,

  You found a good reference into the ins and outs of IR decoding. A USB-UIRT and most learning remotes/units do similar processing and result in a single hash value to represent the IR. That is what we did in CQC. The GC-IRE sends the raw timings and values and you need to implement a filter in software.similar to what was described in the adafuit article.