Next Generation Remote Control Extender review
What's included
The basic functional setup consists of an RF transceiver, a RF-to-IR base station and a rechargeable 2/3-AAA size battery. Next Generation also supplies an extra 2/3-AAA battery, an AAA-to-AA battery conversion sleeve, a single-eye IR emitter and a wall wart power supply. First up is the RF transceiver module which you couple with one of the 2/3-AAA batteries, and then slap the combo inside your remote as a AA or AAA replacement. It turns out that each IR command issued by your remote also produces a small amount of RF leakage that "looks" just like the IR command. So the transceiver handles the task of sniffing out this wimpy RF signal and forwarding it to the base station, effectively making your IR remote into an RF remote.
Setup
Getting this up and running was trivial. First, slide one of the 2/3-AAA batteries into the sleeve of the transceiver. This combo is AAA-sized, so if your remote runs on AAA's, just replace one of the batteries with this. If your remote uses AA's, just put the combo in the included AA adapter. Then position the base station so that it can reach your components with either its blaster or your IR-emitter setup and plug in the wall wart. That's it -- enjoy your newly RF-ized remote.
Our experience
In our tests, the extender worked well. We got about 50-feet of range with a wall between the base station and the remote, which was more than enough for our purposes. Most importantly for us, using the extender made it so the remote did not have to stay pointed at the equipment rack to work. Admittedly, this is a bit of a workaround solution, but it's a pretty elegant workaround at that. Even the detail of what to do when the rechargeable 2/3-AAA battery in your remote dies has been covered: two are included with the set, and the base station has a charger that you can leave one in, so you'll always have a charged one ready.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you're looking for a way to use your existing remote throughout the whole home, this solution will fall short if you have any walls in the house (we're guessing you do). But, if your remote only needs to work in one room or between adjacent rooms and you'd like to get beyond IR's line of sight limitations, the Next Generation extender is certainly worth a look.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ferret @ Feb 4th 2008 12:28PM
Yup, I've been using one of these babies for over a year now with my Harmony. They work great!
djbarry @ Feb 4th 2008 12:49PM
Harmony 880 user need not apply.
YouFaceTheTick @ Feb 4th 2008 1:39PM
Love my 4 year old harmony. Not sure what's the problem beyond the lack of BT to control a PS3.
tivoboy @ Feb 4th 2008 5:16PM
been using these, oh, bout five years now. for the most part, they work okay. YMMV. I find if something is going in the cabinet, this is the only way to get it to work. Works fine. 40$ OTD is a great deal.
Marrvia @ Feb 4th 2008 5:42PM
I have one of those things, and I've been using it for about a year. It works perfect for my setup because I have a front projector and my components are behind me. So I just have it by the screen facing back to the components, that way I don't have to turn around and point to the stuff.
ljasper79 @ Feb 4th 2008 9:09PM
How does the battery (transceiver) receive the IR signal while enclosed in the battery compartment of your remote? It seems like it would need an IR eye wired to the front of the remote?
Marrvia @ Feb 5th 2008 12:08AM
That's not how it works. The battery sends an RF signal to the base station, then the base station send out the IR signals. So you can use the remote from anywhere as long as the base station is pointed at your components.
David B @ Feb 5th 2008 11:18AM
ljasper: didn't you read the article?
"It turns out that each IR command issued by your remote also produces a small amount of RF leakage that "looks" just like the IR command."
sdub @ Feb 4th 2008 11:22PM
This thing rocks... I've had one for about 3 years and it works great. To extend the range, I put the RF receiver in the middle of the house, and point it at a Radio Shack IR receiver/blaster to extend the range down to the basement where my components actually sit. Works like a charm.... don't know why they don't sell these in the stores.
Mike @ Feb 5th 2008 11:22AM
I have had one for well over a year and have had nothing but success. I use it through a TIVO remote. The TIVO is broadcast on a signal modulated throughout the whole house. Wherever I go, the remote goes with me. Great, easy solution.
joetron2030 @ Feb 5th 2008 5:09PM
Interesting...
ljasper79 @ Feb 5th 2008 9:25PM
Hello People??? IR is LINE OF SIGHT hence the need for an RF conversion. But where does the IR get changed into RF? At the remote? The battery doesn't look like it has an IR detection diode on it. Nor is it in line of sight to the front of the remotes IR sending diode. If you say it's the UFO that receives the IR you need to think about this. In most cases this UFO looking RF receiver(IR repeater) won't even be in the same room so it can't be what's receiving the IR directly. IR repeaters traditionally have 2 parts. One to receive IR and convert to and send RF. Another to receive RF and convert to IR(then sending to A/V components). HOW IS THE IR GETTING FROM THE REMOTE TO THE RF SENDER? Ever put your hand in front of the remote? What happens? IT STOPS WORKING. When you put the lid on the battery compartment then there is no line of sight to the IR sending diode on the front of the remote not even with the lid off(unless your remote had some freak fire accident and melted into a fish hook shape). IR leakage come on people this isn't RF yet. IR may reflect but it sure as heck doesn't leak into the battery compartment of a remote.
Steven Kim @ Feb 5th 2008 11:21PM
ljasper: I think you've misunderstood how this device works. Your IR remote emits a small amount of RF leakage, which is detected by the battery-looking transceiver (which you install in your remote) and sent as RF to the UFO-like base. The base listens for RF, and then re-emits it as IR. This setup acts as a booster for RF leakage that every IR remote has.
Felix Z @ Feb 5th 2008 11:24PM
ufo
3Dogfarm @ Feb 12th 2008 10:54AM
How is it working with multiple devices in a cabinet that are separated by dividers? The base emits IR and it has one lead right? Are there options for multiple leads?
Steven Kim @ Feb 12th 2008 4:30PM
3Dogfarm: You could try just mounting the IR blaster on the inside door of the cabinet. If you need three emitters or less, you can buy a strand of 1, 2 or 3 emitters. For more than that, I'd suggest an IR repeater block: feed the output of the NextGen base to the repeater block, and then pull emitters off the block as necessary.
b_waters @ Feb 14th 2008 12:36PM
Rather than it looking for RF leakage I would think that it actually just looks at the current draw from the battery. The IR LED will modulate the current and that would certainly be easier and more reliable to detect. After all one of the designers goals is to minimize RF leakage so that it doesn't violate FCC rules. A really well shielded remote would have undetectable levels.
Jon @ Feb 23rd 2008 4:11PM
Crap i have the harmony one and LOVE it ... But it doesnt use AAA or AA battery
Andrew @ Mar 31st 2008 2:21PM
I've had the Next Generation RF extender for over a year and it has been great! I bought it to control the second zone of my Outlaw 990 Preamp/Tuner. My second zone is for my outside patio speakers, so rather than have to run the wiring for an IR receiver, I was able to pop in the little transmitter into the remote (the stock Outlaw 990 second zone remote takes AAA batteries), position the flying saucer receiver in an innocuous place out of eyesight but with a direct line-of-site to the components, and added an IR receiver that would plug into the back of the Outlaw.
This Next Generation RF extender thing works just fine through an outside wall. It's about 40 feet from my grill to where the flying saucer sits, and I've never had a problem with it working, provided the batteries were charged. ;-)
By far, the most expensive and difficult part of my whole setup was adding the IR receiver to the Outlaw. It would have been perfection if the flying saucer could output a signal directly to the Outlaw, but that didn't seem to work. I don't know why, but it didn't, so I had to buy an IR receiver, a controller board, and power supply to take inputs and position the IR receiver to capture the signal.
One year later, I'm writing this and contemplating getting a universal remote to handle the second zone tasks. I've ordered a Harmony 550, which takes AAA batteries (very convenient since my existing second zone uses this type of battery and transmitter) and I'm hoping that the two play nicely together so I can now utilize the 550 to do things like change radio presets, pause and change the CD tracks, and potentially switch to internet radio or DVD sources without me having to leave the grill or guests outside.
I'll update the blog when I get this working (or if it doesn't work) in case anyone is interested.
Andrew @ Apr 16th 2008 4:15AM
OK, I've installed the RF extender in a Harmony 550 and it works fine. I had some challenges with the 550 controlling the Outlaw 990's tuner, however. It turns out that the primary zone has to be turned on (it can be on any source) for you to be able to change the radio station. That is not, of course, a drawback to the RF extender, so again, this devices works great for my second zone on the Outlaw.