[easton]

Have any of the recent software updates made RS232 control more reliable on the PRO?

I know I can add a USB to serial adaptor, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a serial port on the back.

I'm installing 3 of these right now and I want to use 1-way serial with a Crestron processor.

 

[greynolds]

Have any of the recent software updates made RS232 control more reliable on the PRO?

I know I can add a USB to serial adaptor, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a serial port on the back.

I'm installing 3 of these right now and I want to use 1-way serial with a Crestron processor.

I'd recommend going with the rear IR input for now instead - less expensive than getting a USB to serial adapter and will give you everything that 1 way serial control will. That's what I'm doing with my Pro's until the RS-232 port is deemed reliable.

 

[Chip Moody]

Hey GR... Fancy seeing you here.

I sold an engineer on using the RS232 port over IR, plus we bought the ControlWorks module for the same reason, so I'm gonna have to make good on this. I'm crossing my fingers that one-way 232 doesn't cause a lockup, and failing that hope they fix the things before I gotta go install...

- Chip

 

[greynolds]

Hey GR... Fancy seeing you here.

I sold an engineer on using the RS232 port over IR, plus we bought the ControlWorks module for the same reason, so I'm gonna have to make good on this. I'm crossing my fingers that one-way 232 doesn't cause a lockup, and failing that hope they fix the things before I gotta go install...

- Chip

Hey Chip. I'd definitely suggest getting a USB to RS-232 adapter for the install or you're very likely to run into lots of lockups on the HR21 Pro even with just one-way control. I currently have one HR21 and 2 HR21 Pros (both of which had to be replaced under warranty for overheating / reboot issues). The HR21 has been working great (no lockups) with a USB hub, AM21, and Belkin USB to RS-232 adapter. The Pro units will eventually lockup (usually quickly, but it sometimes takes a while) if I use the RS-232 port, but haven't locked up yet with the IR input. I have not tried a USB to RS-232 adapter on the Pro units, but based on how the non Pro unit behaves and reports from others, I'm pretty sure you'd be fine going this route. I also haven't tried the RS-232 port with the latest software update, but from what I've read the situation hasn't improved yet . I still have the ports hooked up and my SIMPL program is setup so I can switch back to RS-232 control with minimal work when (if?) the problem is resolved. Let us know here and on that other forum we both frequent how it works out.

 

[easton]

I bit the bullet and got the IOgear serial-USB adaptor. I've been controlling my HR21-200 2-way serial reliably for the last 10 days! I really wish I could confidently use the built in serial port though.

 

[greynolds]

I bit the bullet and got the IOgear serial-USB adaptor. I've been controlling my HR21-200 2-way serial reliably for the last 10 days! I really wish I could confidently use the built in serial port though.

There have been reports on the Yahoo Groups Crestron forum that the serial ports work fine with the most recent software on the Pro units. I haven't tried yet as the rear IR input is working fine for now and I'd rather hold out until I see more reports of success as I'd like to avoid red button resets where possible.

On a happy note, I was able to fix my broken (kept overheating and rebooting) Pro unit that DirecTV sent a warranty replacement for. They didn't want the bad one back, so I opened it up, found the fans weren't spinning, piped in external power for them and re-wired them to use the external power. I used a Radio Shack adjustable voltage wall wart, chassis mount power connector, a little soldering, and some wire connectors. This little project cost me about $20 and an hour or so of time and yielded a fully functional HR21 Pro. I reactivated it on my account this morning and so far it's working fine AND running 15-20 degrees cooler than my other 2 pro units (I've got the voltage set to 9 volts on the wall wart).