Find a remote that's never used in the room containing the light switches - I used the remote from my workshop stereo.
Decide what buttons you want to use on the Harmony, to control the lights. I've only got a single varilight, so I used the "prev" button.
Connect the Harmony to your PC, and teach it 2 codes from your spare remote.
Use the Harmony to learn the codes into the varilights.
The Harmony database seems to have some pretty wierd ideas about how to set up a Varilight, so I deleted all the codes from the "light controller" device, and just learnt a single "power" code. You just need to have 2 buttons for the 2 channels.
Mine works just fine - a quick press toggles power on and off, a longer press fades up/down, just like operating the switch with your finger.
I'm failing even after reading the instructions.
I've tried to get the lights recognize different remotes, a light remote from the bedroom, a YSP-800 remote and a spare DVD player remote and I can't get any of them to be learnt by the varilights.
I tap the light six times but it doesn't work.
IIRC, tap 6 times. Press the remote button, and hold until the lights ramp up (takes a couple of seconds). Press again the remote button again until the lights cycle twice.
Are you sure that you've got a master Varilight, with the IR sensor in the middle of the metal button? IIRC, they make a slave unit that doesn't have the IR sensor.
I've done that I've tried tapping it quickly, slowly, remote near, remote far, 2 seconds up to 10 seconds, nothing.
I've got a 2 gang 2 way master and a slave, I'm trying it on the one with the black dots in the middle of the chrome button.
I tap the switch at 1.5 second intervals, the light switches on/off each time I tap it. On the sixth tap, the light "steps" up and down again (it does 4 discrete steps, rather than a smooth "ramp").
Press the remote button (for 2 seconds), and the light ramps smoothly up, then goes off.
Press the remote button a second time, and the light ramps up/off twice.
If your light doesn't step on the sixth tap, it's faulty