Amulet Voice Remote

[mclough6]

Thanks for the reply regarding waking from standby/hibernation.  Sorry if this is the wrong forum to discuss this, but I could not find on the aumulet website how many components can be controlled by amulet and is it a learning remote?  Are there preconfigured componet downloads as in the harmony type remotes?  Seems like a great product and I am on the verge of buying one.

[Kalle]

Thanks for the reply regarding waking from standby/hibernation.  Sorry if this is the wrong forum to discuss this, but I could not find on the aumulet website how many components can be controlled by amulet and is it a learning remote?  Are there preconfigured componet downloads as in the harmony type remotes?  Seems like a great product and I am on the verge of buying one.

Hi mclough6,

here is the answer of your question "is it a learning remote?" from this topic: http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=324.msg1290#msg1290

3 - it includes a good quality MCE infrared remote with back-lit buttons.  There are a few buttons that can "learn" codes and be used to control your tv volume etc. and the rest can be remapped if you want, using eventGhost.  Thus, properly configured this one device could theoretically replace all your microphones and remotes, especially if you have a MCE receiver capable of re-blasting ir signals to other devices.  I am actually waiting for an IR receiver to arrive in the mail so I have not tested this aspect of the remote but I assume it will be fine.

Greetings Kalle

Greetings

[jitterjames]

yes, and this: http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=324.msg1304#msg1304 and the few posts below go on to explain that pretty much all the keys can be programmed, and each key can hold up to 5 codes, according to which keymap is active.

to get a better understanding of how the ir learning works I am attaching part of the user manual that explains how to program the remote.

[jitterjames]

Please note that you need to have a usb IR receiver if you want to control your computer with the remote.  It is not included with the Amulet remote, but is inexpensive.  Amulet sells one but there are many out there to choose from.

[jitterjames]

  Are there preconfigured componet downloads as in the harmony type remotes? 

No.

[mclough6]

Thank you all for the prompt informative replies.  One more question.  What is the effective range?  I would like to take the remote outside to my back porch to control music.  The distance would be approximately 30 feet and through a brick wall.

[mclough6]

I probably should have thought a bit more before asking the previous question.  Since it is an IR remote, I doubt it would work on my back porch since it would need line of sight.  Is that correct?

[mclough6]

I should not post to forums on Monday mornings.  The buttons on the remote would likely not work due to the IR interface.  However, does anybody know if the microphone RF function would work 30 feet away and through a brick exterior wall?   

[Kalle]

I probably should have thought a bit more before asking the previous question.  Since it is an IR remote, I doubt it would work on my back porch since it would need line of sight.  Is that correct?

for IR-function Yes it is right, but you can control your system by eventghost and amulet with VC

Kalle

[jitterjames]

you really should a read this thread a little bit.  The range issue is addressed at the very beginning of the thread in the Q and A post.

[Kalle]

I should not post to forums on Monday mornings.  The buttons on the remote would likely not work due to the IR interface.  However, does anybody know if the microphone RF function would work 30 feet away and through a brick exterior wall?  

should work (90 feet meters), see here: http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=324.msg1285#msg1285  (there are many answers of your questions)

From a conversation with James and Eddy (by amulet devices):

"Q: What is the expected range for the RF connection.  I will test this myself, but I'm wondering what your data says on this.
 
A: Our range is ~90 feet in free space; less if travelling through walls etc. (At home, I find I can easily use the Amulet from the kitchen two rooms away from the living room where the Media Center is, though I lose the connection at the far end of the kitchen. I feed my Media Center into a Sonos multi-room audio system, so it's nice to be able to control the music I'm listening to in the kitchen by voice.)"

Greetings Kalle

[jitterjames]

should work (90 meters), see here: http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=324.msg1285#msg1285  (there are many answers of your questions)

90 FEET! Not 90 meters!  I think it would work 30' through a brick wall, but it might depend on the wall.  For me it worked two floors up and 30 feet over from the receiver.

[mclough6]

Thanks again for everyone's kind responses.  I did read the introductory information, but I was interested in an opinion regarding my specific circumstance (exterior brick wall) and whether anyone had experimented with that scenario.  In any event I think I am sold.  Althought the price is high, I don't want to walk around with a headset on.  This forum is great.

[jitterjames]

Thanks again for everyone's kind responses.  I did read the introductory information, but I was interested in an opinion regarding my specific circumstance (exterior brick wall) and whether anyone had experimented with that scenario.  In any event I think I am sold.  Althought the price is high, I don't want to walk around with a headset on.  This forum is great.

Sorry if I got a bit snippy.  Not enough coffee this morning.  I did do a test by going outside my house and down the street a bit, and I did not get too far before it died (maybe 40 or 50 feet from the receiver).  The house is brick, but my laptop was in the front room of the house which has a lot of windows.  I don't think I have any big brick walls here that don't have windows so I can't tell you much more than that.

I suspect that it will probably work if there isn't too much other stuff in your wall, but the range will be severely reduced.  Whether it will still work at 30' is not certain.  Also note, than when the microphone is tilted up and turns on, there can be a slight delay before it manages to reconnect.  It is possible that in your scenario this time will be increased.

I have found that if I am actively tilting the microphone up and down it reconnects almost instantly, but if I don't touch the remote for a while (long enough for the backlit keys to go dark) then it fully disconnects and then takes a bit longer to reconnect.  In this case, the big round light will not turn red until it has fully connected, and also Vox will not turn on automatically or adjust your master volume until the mic is fully on.  Even after all of this has happened and everything is back on, I find it is best to wait 1/2 second before speaking.  In reality this all happens pretty fast, and is no big deal, but may take some getting used to.

[mclough6]

Wow, thanks for conducting the experiment.  I don't have a "big" brick wall, just a wood framed house with a full height brick veneer (single layer of brick).  Also my distance is probably closer to 20 feet than 30.