Help with setting up Pronto keyboard emulation

wyerd

Prominent Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2000
Messages
775
Reaction score
28
Points
261
Location
Upstate New York. USA
Can anyone help me with setting up my Pronto to emulate a keyboard on my HCPC?

I am using it currently to control Showshifter using Irman and Girder but would like to use it as a micro keyboard. Has anyone managed to do this, or am I wasting my time thinking of going this route? Is there another alternative (I looked at the Gyration keyboard & mouse suite, but it’s just too expensive and I’d like to keep the clutter to a minimum)?

Also, is it also possible to use the Pronto mouse mode with Irman & Grider?

Any help and ideas is appreciated.

Cheers,
David.
 
I can't see why you can't do this with your current setup. You can use Girder to send keyboard input to 'foreground' task, one command per letter. You then need a set of ir codes to link the Pronto buttons to the girder commands. Because you can teach girder the codes you can use any set that you are not already using.
 
I downloaded a ccf file from remote central which had the keyboard ir codes, but when I tried to teach Girder, it didn't register the same ir code from the same button on the Pronto. I've tried it a number of times.
 
Not sure what you mean by
Originally posted by wyerd
it didn't register the same ir code from the same button on the Pronto

For example say you have created a command for the letter 'a' in girder and then taught the command to respond to the ir code from your Pronto button 'a'.

Does the command also respond to other buttons on the Pronto aswell as 'a' or just a different letter button?
 
ok, ive created the command in girder - selected learn - press the letter a on the pronto - a load of hex appears in girder, but if i press a again girder sees a different hex code.

The same thing happens with any key i try.

I seem to remember when I set up girder in the first place I had to use the original remotes as it didn't take the codes from the pronto, even though it was taught using the original remote!
 
Okay I,m not sure what's wrong but how about:

1) Using another remote that you know works with girder to make sure the command you created is okay.

2) I have an USBUIRT so I don't know if your irman is the same but I can paste the ir codes from a ccf straight into the girder plugin, can you do this?

Try a different ccf from remote central with a different set of ircodes.

I have an irman in the loft so I'll have a try over the weekend if you still can't get it working.

I'll be trying it with an ipaq running pdawin (Pronto emulator) so not exactly the same.

I'm now using Netremote on my ipaq this again uses a Pronto ccf but sends the command via wifi or bluetooth) to the girder pc (server). It takes a bit more setting up but you can then control the pc from anywhere within range of the wireless network link. The very neat trick is that the girder pc can send messages back to your remote. So things like DVD run time etc can be viewed on the remote.
 
1) I've created commands using another remote and they do work ok with the pronto. It appears to be an issue using the Pronto to teach Girder. Could be a problem with Irman?

2) Using an iPaq Wifi as a remote sounds loke the future to me. Howver I did try it last year with my old 3600 model and PDAWIN but it's IR transmitter was useless. Tell me more about your iPaq setup - if it's as good as you say I might try it again.
 
There is a problem with IRMan ....

.. it will only allow a certain length of IR code through to be registered in Girder. So if you have a series of IR codes in your CCF that are quite long and only differ at the end then, potentially, Girder will be seeing them as the same code.

I posted this problem a while back as I was trying to get my Sky+ remote cursor keys to work in Girder with IRMan!

As BBD says you can get around it with USBUIRT by cutting and pasting, however with IRMan you have to seek alternate IR codes in your CCF. I'd try assigning 'RC5' codes to your pronto keyboard which should be ok with IRMan.

Mark.
 
1) The Irman may be being swamped by the powerful output of the Pronto. You could play with using different distances.

2) There two software solutions I have found both use a 'remote' software programme on the remote control device which can be either a pc2000/2002 device or a windows PC. The pc to be controlled runs a server program which responds to messages sent from the 'remote' device via a network connection. The network connection can be hardwired/wifi or bluetooth. I'm using wifi because I already have a wifi access point into my home network.

You can buy ipaq's with bluetooth for about £200 on ebay or buy a cf adapter sleeve with built in bluetooth for around £50-70 and use your current ipaq. If you haven't got bluetooth on your pc you can buy a USB one for about £40.

If you are already familar with girder and creating Pronto ccfs I would use netremote .
The ccf files have to be edited in Tonto but the install includes Tonto. Tonto is very similar to the Pronto software with useful extra features.

To control girder via netremote:
Edit your ccf and replace the ircode for each button with a special ircode '5001 0000 0000 0002 ffff 0000 0001 0000'. Then give the button name like 'DScaler.start'. Load the completed ccf into the 'remote' software and set the configuration details with the address of the pc to be controlled and a password.

Download the 'internet event server' plugin for girder and load into girder, use the settings option to set the password.
Create a command in Girder to complete required task. Click the learn button and press the matching button on your remote. Girder should recognise the message just like an ir learned command.

I haven't played with sending messages back to the remote yet.

If you want to control other equipment with IR codes then you will need a UIRT to send codes out from girder. I use a USB version which works with my Sky box and Rotel processor. The link from the remote is network only the ir output is not used.

One of the many advantages of this system is the cross platform compatibilty. If you want to use a small windows notebook or tablet pc to control the HTPC you don't have to start again with the control software. Also if your remote device supports it you can create larger ccf panels.

I hope this gives you the general idea. Let me know if you are still unsure about anything.
 
1) I'll try the teaching girder from different distances, but I don't hold up much hope. Is there is no way of copying & pasting the hex code into Girder with Irman? What is RC5?

2) I like the sound of this, especially sending events back to the remote. How easy is this? for example I'd like it to display the track name and time left of a cd being played through ShowShifter.

The UIRT is required to control devices such as the Sky digibox, DVD player. Does it have to be in line of sight of these?


Thanks for the help and info so far. As usual, there are different ways of skinning a cat!
 
1) RC5 is a standard Philips ir code set. In Pronto edit you can enter the RC5 number instead of the raw ir code. I haven't checked but from Mark's post it looks like you can't post into the Irman plugin.
2) I haven't tackled sending codes back to the remote yet, although from what I've seen it is possible to have a display of CD track title and run time but I'm not sure if anyone has got it working with Showshifter. Have a look at the website for more info there is also a support Forum you should checkout.

Like all ir control the uirt does need line of sight. The USB version has a socket which can be used with remote ir leds. At the moment I'm using mine with a cheap battery powered ir extender. The reception range of the extender isn't very good but because the UIRT is sat 1" away from it it works 100% reliably.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom