IR Receiver refurbished

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Contents

[edit] Preamble

[edit] Loss of Remote Control

Did you ever happen to run out of control while navigating through the menus of your ReelBox using your Remote Control Unit? You’ve already thrown away three Remote Control Units? Got an IR transmitter which you may control all TVs, AV-Receivers and other equipment of the whole neighbour but not your ReelBox? Read on - there’s help available!

First of all: the problem resides at the ReelBox, not the Remote Control Unit. "Ah, they are using a poor IR-Receiver" I can hear you saying. I don’t know, maybe. But the loss of control is mainly caused by some black paint – too much black paint.

The process of painting the faceplate in front of the graphical display seems to challenge our Chinese friends who are doing this. This has been a problem already for the ReelBox PVR-1100 and still is for the ReelBox Lite (early charges of the chassis only – RMM says, they solved this issue).

So what to do with your ReelBox? Well, you might send it back to your dealer and ask him to mend. This will take a while, though. As Murphy is everywhere (one of the developers once said: "RMM seems to have a Murphy magnet!"), it will even take longer than expected.

This situation made me looking at it myself. Before i started surgery, i've been talking to [Gene]. This was of great help: he gave me some explanations and even provided me with some of the picture you'll find below. While I was at it, I did some documentation. Hopefully, this is of any help for, if you run into the same situation.

What I’m going to show is how to remove some of the black paint from the faceplate in front of the display in a careful way.

[edit] Disclaimer

Make sure, your have red and accepted the legal stuff.

[edit] Surgery

[edit] Preparations

Small wooden spatle
<div align="center">Small wooden spatle</div>

Before starting the ReelBox's surgery, have the following tools ready:

  • some soft cloth to put the display cover on (no need for a green one, no blood to be expected)
  • 2 wooden spatles, one sized like a mid size screwdriver, one like a wooden spoon
  • some drops of ethyl alcohol (you might also want to try nail polish remover, see below)
  • Sellotape
  • some Q-Tips
  • slotted screwdriver, small size

[edit] Disassembling the deseased Cover

Move the cover horizontally
<div align="center">Move the cover horizontally</div>
Move the cover vertically
<div align="center">Move the cover vertically</div>

The part covering the display and the IR receiver at the right of the display is fixed with a double faced adhesive tape. To remove the cover, start moving it with the small wooden spatle like shown. Do not move it more than just 1-2 mm! This is only to get a feeling, how strong the cover plate is fixed. If you move it to much, you may damage the adhesive tape. You might use a screwdriver for this, but chances are, that you create some not so sexy kerfs. So be careful!

Dismount the cover [by Gene]
<div align="center">Dismount the cover [by Gene]</div>

Now you may start to slowly dismount the cover starting at the left side with the help of the big wooden spatle. Some people told me, starting at the right side of the cover worked even better for them. You have to evaluate this cautiously.

[edit] Healing the Desease

Soak Q-Tip with ethyl alcohol
<div align="center">Soak Q-Tip with ethyl alcohol</div>

Protext the area around the rectangle with some Sellotape and soak the first Q-Tip with some ethyl alcohol. Use a few of this fluid only.

Take the Q-Tip and cautiously start to remove the black paint from the backside of the cover in the small rectangualar area in front of the IR receiver. You may not remove all of the black paint there without losing the sexy look of your ReelBox. So take your time, use several soaked Q-Tips and work cautiously and give your remote control a try in between.

There are reports telling us ethyl alcohol not being very much effective. Some people used nail polish remover, which really gets off everything. If you are going to use this fluid, chances are, that:

  • IR reveiver works even better
  • the cover will give you some insight through the rectangular area. If this appears sexy to you or not: your choice.

Because aceton - that's what nail polish remover is basically - corrodes the material of the cover, you have to be really carefull!

Don't forget to take off the Sellotape.

The more colour you remove, the more remote control you'll have at the end. I took it all off myself and am now able to remote control the box by aiming at the wall approx. 5m across from it.

[edit] Aftercare

If you removed all the black paint in front of the IR receiver and don't like the insight through the windows now, you may try to put some slightly colored plastic foil on the area you just worked on.

[edit] Adjusting the IRR position

Reposition the IRR [by Gene]
<div align="center">Reposition the IRR [by Gene]</div>

Leave the cover alone for while and go to your ReelBox. You will see the naked IR receiver at the right of the display. Bend it a bit forward using the small screwdriver. As this is like open-heart surgery, be carefull. You might loose remote control completely and definitely otherwise.

[edit] Closing the Wound

Done! Needs a bit of care now.
<div align="center">Done! Needs a bit of care now.</div>
No more black - in front of the IRR
<div align="center">No more black - in front of the IRR</div>

Now it's time to assemble the cover again. Hold it in front of your box, make sure, it's in the right position and press it onto the box. Et viola: You'll not run out of remote control any more that easy!

You may want to polish your box now.

If you wonder what's about the ReelBox's buttons to change colour from silver to black and back to silver: this is the normal behaviour of the ReelBox species when being undressed. If yours doesn't change colours, you've got a shameless one. ;-)

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