RS 15-2117 Remotes

[arcadefreaque]

Back when I thought JP1 was gonna be the next addiction for me, I bought a few of these remotes from various sources, and a couple cables too. I've figured out that I'm probably never going to have enough time to fully foster this addiction, so I figured maybe someone else might be interested in picking up one of my remotes and cables.

The remote is still in the blister pack and the cable is still ... well... still a cable (didn't come IN anything other than a box).

I paid 45+ shipping for the pair (from separate sources), so I have about 54 dollars into them total (paypal is nice for referencing just how much money I've wasted.. hope the wife never checks!!), but I'd sell them for 40+shipping for the set if anybody is interested. If not, no biggie, they'll fit in one of my boxes-o-junk.

You guys ever go back through your old boxes of stuff and find stuff and say "WHAT the heck was I THINKING!?" Maybe it's just me! I found some things today that I have no idea why I bought them, or what I would possibly do with them... (did run into some old arcade pcbs that I forgot I had though.. so now I gotta go play some games!!)

Thx guys/gals!

af

[ClearToLand]

Originally posted by arcadefreaque
...You guys ever go back through your old boxes of stuff and find stuff and say "WHAT the heck was I THINKING!?" I've still got *BRAND-NEW* "STUFF" from the "Lafayette Radio Store Chamber Street NYC Clearance Sale" - they were forced to close the store because somebody wanted to build some "World Trade Center"... :)

Originally posted by arcadefreaque
...and a couple cables too... I bought a pair of RS 15-2117s too (always need a spare for backup, right?) and have been see-sawing as to whether to jury-rig up a JP1 cable or just order one - which one(s) did you buy? Name a price for one, including the cheapest shipping...

Originally posted by arcadefreaque
...I've figured out that I'm probably never going to have enough time to fully foster this addiction... I keep pushing that thought back into *DEEP* storage... ;)

[arcadefreaque]

Originally posted by ClearToLand
I've still got *BRAND-NEW* "STUFF" from the "Lafayette Radio Store Chamber Street NYC Clearance Sale" - they were forced to close the store because somebody wanted to build some "World Trade Center"... :)

I bought a pair of RS 15-2117s too (always need a spare for backup, right?) and have been see-sawing as to whether to jury-rig up a JP1 cable or just order one - which one(s) did you buy? Name a price for one, including the cheapest shipping...

I keep pushing that thought back into *DEEP* storage... ;)

Ha! thanks, now I don't feel so bad :)

I would really rather sell the pair together rather than just the jp1 cable (since I only have 2 cables, and plan to keep one). I bought the cheapie kit (don't remember where) for 10+shipping. Works great though. I would recommend buying the kit and building the cable yourself (or just get the little end from a dealer, since if you are like me, you already have everything else in your junk box somewhere!) I think people are much more happy if they can build their own gadgets (guess this is why I am such a sucky salesman too.. I always try to talk people into doing things themselves if they appear to be capable!)

[plyons10]

These things were cleared out of Radio Shack earlier this year for something like $19, if I remember correctly (they were actually cheaper than the 2116s without the RF capacity).

[arcadefreaque]

yep, unfortunately I got into looking for them too late... paid an avg of 35 each from 3 different sources more recently. I'm just trying to get what I paid for it back outta it.

I saw that on that the last two times one of these sold on ebay, the remote (no jp1 cable) sold for 37.92 + shipping and 52.00 + shipping. I simply hoped to get my investment back out of the remote and cable - minus my shipping costs.

[The Robman]

Even though RS cleared out the 15-2117 for $15 each, that in no way means they are worth just $15 IMHO. The original asking price was $50 each for these before they were reduced to their pre-clearance sale price of $30 each.

This remote is so cool that I personally think it was worth the original $50 price tag.

As for the JP1 cables, if you already have most of the parts by all means go ahead and build it yourself, but as the sifference between the price of a kit ($10) and a ready-made cable ($14) is just $4, you might as well buy the completed cable. We still get posts in the JP1 forums from people who bought the kit only to find that their home-made cable doesn't work, then after a little investigation (and time spent on our part) it turns out they put the diode in backwards.

The cheapest way to ship the 15-2117 remote is to take it out of the blister pack and box it up in a O-1096-LARGE "Priority Mail" box, available for free at the Post Office, then put the box in a "Priority Mail" flat rate envelope. That way you can ship it for just $4 (well, $3.85 to be exact).

If you want free delivery confirmation, pay for the postage at http://www.usps.com/clicknship/

[ClearToLand]

Originally posted by The Robman
...If you want free delivery confirmation, pay for the postage at http://www.usps.com/clicknship/ You DON'T have to pay to get [color=blue]*FREE* Delivery Confirmation[/color] - just print out the bar code label from their web site, attach it to your package, and bring the whole deal into your local Post Office. No need to set up an online account - I've been doing it this "frugal" way for years! :)

[arcadefreaque]

Also have one of those webtv keyboards that work for typing in text on your RTV. I'd toss in with the 15-2117 & jp1 cable for the same price :)

[Mike Cornwell]

Originally posted by ClearToLand
You DON'T have to pay to get [color=blue]*FREE* Delivery Confirmation[/color] - just print out the bar code label from their web site, attach it to your package, and bring the whole deal into your local Post Office. No need to set up an online account - I've been doing it this "frugal" way for years! :)

What's so frugal about this? Either way you pay for the shipping, and I'd rather avoid the lines at the post office and print my postage at home, and just drop the packages off on the counter.

[sfhub]

Originally posted by Mike Cornwell
What's so frugal about this? Either way you pay for the shipping
He's referring to skipping the *separate* delivery confirmation option
tacked on to the standard shipping.

[ClearToLand]

Originally posted by sfhub
He's referring to skipping the *separate* delivery confirmation option
tacked on to the standard shipping. Thank you! ;)

[The Robman]

Personally, I always ship stuff using the "Ship" option in Paypal, which let's you use your Paypal funds to pay for the postage and you still get to print the "delivery confirmation" labels for your packages. Even when someone pays for something by check, I just send a dollar to myself from my other paypal account and use that transaction to print a shipping label. The only drag is that the Paypal version doesn't allow for the new $7.70 flat rate boxes, so you still need to use the USPS site for those.

Also, just FYI, the USPS restriction that states that you can't mail boxes that weigh more than 1lb only applies to boxes bearing STAMPS, so if you pay for your postage online this restriction doesn't apply.

[Jeff D]

Originally posted by The Robman
Also, just FYI, the USPS restriction that states that you can't mail boxes that weigh more than 1lb only applies to boxes bearing STAMPS, so if you pay for your postage online this restriction doesn't apply.

Actually I just checked into this on the 18th and found it to not be true.

I was using USPS Shipping Assistant instead of click-and-ship *I have no idea why I forgot about click-and-ship... Anyway, put $16 in stamps, gotta love 60 and 85 cent stamps, and sent it off.

Got it to the mail box right as the carrier arrived. I asked if he could take an 8lb package. My mother-in-law witnessed the whole "find the stamps frenzy" asked why I didn't just pay with a credit card... Dumb azz award to me for not even thinking about it and using Shipping Assistant instead.

A week later and several folks are without gifts. My package never made it. I'm really wondering if 30 stamps had anything to do with the delay. The free tracking didn't give me any helpful info.



ClearToLand, do you think it's fun to go to the post office? How about the DMV? I just pay with a CC and put the box in the mailbox.

[pg525b]

AF,

I'm interested in the 15-2117 remote and the keyboard if you still have it and the shipping isn't too much. I'm in the 92603 zip code (Irvine, CA).

I sent you a PM.

[arcadefreaque]

remote, jp1 cable, and webtv keyboard are sold. Thx guys!

[The Robman]

Originally posted by Jeff D
Actually I just checked into this on the 18th and found it to not be true.

I was using USPS Shipping Assistant instead of click-and-ship *I have no idea why I forgot about click-and-ship... Anyway, put $16 in stamps, gotta love 60 and 85 cent stamps, and sent it off.

Got it to the mail box right as the carrier arrived. I asked if he could take an 8lb package. My mother-in-law witnessed the whole "find the stamps frenzy" asked why I didn't just pay with a credit card... Dumb azz award to me for not even thinking about it and using Shipping Assistant instead.

A week later and several folks are without gifts. My package never made it. I'm really wondering if 30 stamps had anything to do with the delay. The free tracking didn't give me any helpful info. I don't follow you Jeff. I'm not sure your answer is related to my post. What I said was this, there is a USPS security restriction in place (since 9/11) where they don't let you put packages in the mailbox that weigh more than 1lb, if you used stamps to pay for the postage. If you pay for the postage online, using a credit card or paypal, this restriction doesn't apply. My guess is that they figure that if you've used your credit card to pay for postage, you have left a very clear trail back to yourself and therefore you're not very likely to be the next uni-bomber. I drop 2lb packages in the mail box all the time, with pre-paid postage labels, and they all get accepted, but back when I used stamps, they would all come back to me.

In your case, it does appear that your packages were accepted (or they would have come back to you), but of course, that doesn't mean than the USPS doesn't still have the ability to lose them in transit somewhere! :)

The "tracking" number that you get with USPS Priority Mail is really just a "delivery confirmation" number, it generally doesn't get updated until the package actually arrives.

Even though my experience with the USPS has been fantasic (they get all my packages to their destination very quickly), I've had two packages go astray over the holiday season. The funny thing is that the delivery confirmation link shows both of them as having been delivered, it's just that the recipients didn't actually get them! I'm guessing that USPS put them in the wrong mail box. They've done that to me a few times, dropping my stuff off at one of my neighbors by mistake.

[Jeff D]

Rob, sorry for that, my package was labeled with USPS'es Shipping Assistant (different than click and ship). Shipping Assistant gives you free Tracking on Priority and $.13 tracking on media mail, but it doesn't allow for online payment. It just prints the labels, you still have to do postage with stamps or at the P.O.

My package was 8lbs (greater than 1lb) and contained $16 dollars in stamps. I have checked several times in the last months about that 1lb restriction. Numerous USPS employees have told me there is not a 1lb limit on self postage packages. They also promote the in P.O. kiosks as another way to pay and ship without talking to a PO employee.

So... it may be lost, or in transit delayed by snow, or on its way back to me... I don't know.

[OWeiler]

Please excuse the newbie question:

What's the difference between the 15-2116 (currently available from RS) and 15-2117 (that seems very hard to find)? The manuals at radioshack.com seem to show that both are 8 function remotes. Other sources show them both to be JP1 capable.

The only difference I see is a feature in the 2117 manual that says "IR/RF Command Center for extended range". If I don't need extended range, is there a need to scour the countryside in search of a 15-2117? I do have some X10 capable devices that I would like to control via a remote (these devices are RF only). Would that be a reason to try to find a 2117? If I didn't care that much about RF and I'm impatient, will the 2116 do everything the 2117 does except the RF?

[sfhub]

2117 is the same remote as 2116 with added RF puck. This will transmit
proprietary RF to the extender base to increase the range of the IR.

You will *not* be able to use this RF puck with any general RF device. It
is designed to work with RF extender only.

Given your needs, just go with 2116.

The reason a bunch of us went for the 2117 is because they were on sale
for $15 when the 2116 was still $30.

[mhargr03]

.

[icecow]

I'd like to emphasize that the RF in the 2117 does not directly control X10.

You could have the 2117 RF remote control the the 2117 Commander. The commander will recieve the remote's RF signal and resend an IR signal. To control X10 you would have to have an X10 modual that recieved the Commanders IR signal and sends out a standard X10 RF signal. Doing that is convoluted, yet on another level it's still straightforward. I'm considering doing it(when I get around to it) so I can even control X10 with 2117 Remotes.

I digress because you dont have access to 2117s it looks.

The thign that made the 2117s so special is their $15.99 clearence price. If I didn't get them at that price (and have special use for the RF) I'd consider one of the next-gen remotes that are comming around (and it's about time). They may gravitate to $100 (for a fricken remote) but if you chose wisely you probably can get rid of your other 6 remotes..without toiling with learning JP1. I'm thinking if you hold off 6 more months the $100 remotes will become $50.

If you want to take your one shot in hell at getting 2117s at this point.. call a ratshack and ask them to search their entire district for them. You can even figure out the boundries of each district and call one store from each district. Not as hard as it sounds, especially ifyou have speakerphone.

It doesnt sound likely, but I'm sure theres a sleepy town out there somewhere that has em. maybe arkansas ;)

<add 2 more paragraphs of bla bla bla here>

[sfhub]

Prior to the 15-2117 deal many folks chose the URC-8810w which is
available at Walmart for around $18.

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3206

It is a clone of the 8811 and is very good value. Extender is available
so you don't really lose much over 15-2117 except the RF extender.
http://www.ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC%208811